China in the 19th Century

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China in the 19th Century

• Internal and external crises that made reforms
  inevitable

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The Opium War the origins

• The Canton System and Sino-British trade
• The multi-port system (1685) in which the East
  Indian Companys monopoly matched well with
  Chinas kings merchants
• The triumph of free trade in England in the 18th
  century, and the James Flint Mission to
  Qianlongs court (1759)
• Qianlongs restriction of trade to one port
  Canton, in which foreign traders were confined in
  the factories, while Chinese Cohong (firm,
  guild) managed the foreign trade under the Hoppo
  (imperial customs official overseeing foreign
  trade

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• The Macartney Mission (1793) as King George IIIs
  envoy to China to open trade and bilateral
  relations on an equal base
• The kowtow dispute and the failure of the
  mission illustrated the gap between ancient China
  and modern Europe
• The Amherst Mission (1816) also failed

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The British interest in China Tea Trade

• Tea became the national beverage in 18th century
  the high-tea tradition,
• EIC invested 4 million/year in the trade the
  government revenue depended on the 100 duty on
  tea, which was 1/10 of revenue income.
• The triangular trade Indian cotton to Canton,
  Cantons tea to London, Londons money reinvested
  in India
• The decline of cotton market due to domestic
  competition EICs crisis
• Opium replaced cotton EICs monopoly in opium
  production in 1773, auctioned to dealers to
  traffic to Canton

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Chinas War on Drug

• The drug problems in China
• Currency deflation silver outflow hiked its
  price, copper coins, the peasants money, less
  valued
• Corruption in government and military alarmed the
  emperor
• Crime social problems, such as broken families,
  became pronounced
• The debate in Manchu court enforcing the
  prohibition or legalization?
• The victory of enforcement argument and
  Commissioner Lin went to Canton (1839)

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• Lins measures of enforcement
• Punishment of Chinese dealers, corrupted
  officials, and addicts
• Isolating foreign factories, demanding
  surrendering all opium signing a pledge
• Elliots move to make the British government
  liable for compensating the traders opium
• The conflict of cultures political-economic
  systems
• Free trade v. government control
• Nation-state v. imperial approach
• Misunderstandings of each other culturally
• War was inevitable and opium issue was a trigger
  

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The Treaty of Nanjing and the Treaty System

• War in 1839-42
• Canton fell ransomed British force reached
  Tienjin area Lin dismissed Qishan signed a
  convention, but both London Beijing rejected
  it Nanjing was under British gun, Qing
  capitulated
• The treaty
• 5 ports open for foreign trade with British
  consuls in each
• 21 million indemnity
• 5 tariff 2 inland duty, China thus lost
  freedom to determine its own tariff rate
• Hong Kongs cession permenantly
• Extraterritoriality most-favored-nation status
  (Bogue Treaty)
• Other western powers followed, thus, the treaty
  system
• semi-colonial, semi-feudal society?

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The Taiping Rebellion1850-64

• The deterioration of governance the problems of
  Yellow River floods the Grand Cannel famine,
  poverty, corruption
• Defeat by barbarians caused a moral/ legitimacy
  crisis for Qing, among lower elite population in
  particular, such as Hong Xiuquan and his
  followers
• The problems in the south
• Shanghai replaced Canton job loss in the south
• The Hakka (guests)-Bendi (natives) conflict,
  which caused village regimentation for centuries
• Foreign influence, such as Christianity, provided
  new light for a disillusioned population

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Hongs Taiping Christianity Armed Rebellion

• Hong, a Confucian school teacher, after failing
  the exam system suffered a breakdown and
  near-death experience. His visions and
  revelations
• Audience with God, the younger brother of Jesus
• China as the promise land in Gods original plan,
  only to be abstracted by the devil, the Manchus
  God disliked Confucius as well,
• An egalitarian utopian vision appealing to the
  poor equal possession of land by groups of
  families, puritan moral codes, attempt to
  eliminate private ownership,
• The Association of God Worshippers the core
  organization of the rebellion Hong proclaimed
  the Heavenly King of the Taiping Kingdon in
  1851,
• Armed conflict with Qing the success of northern
  expedition
• The occupation of Nanjing in 1953

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The Defeat of the Taiping and its Consequences

• The internal leadership crisis in 1856
• The rise of regional militia under Han gentry
  elite Zeng Goufan, Li Hongzhang, Zuo Zhongtang,
  etc. while the Qing Banners became ineffective,
• Provincial powers gain at the expense of the
  central power the origins of warlords
• Provincial leaders became the first generation of
  reformers
• The fall of Nanjing in 1864, other rebellions
  uprisings continued
• The Second Opium War in 1856-60 the
  Anglo-French alliance occupied Beijing, the
  burning of Yuanming Yuan
• Qing was forced to reform in order to survive

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