China interaction with the west and decline of the imperial system · Interaction with the West and Decline of the Imperial System in China
All Destinations | Europe | Asia | North America | Africa | South America | Oceania | Hotels
Interaction with the West and Decline of the Imperial System in China
Interaction with the West and Decline of the Imperial System in China
One of the first Westerners to visit China and write about it was Marco Polo in the late 13th century. He wrote of Hangzhou, "The city is beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world." and rated Quanzhou as one of the two busiest ports on earth. (The other was Alexandria.) Among the Chinese innovations that Europeans first heard of from Polo were paper money, window glass and coal.
When seaborne Western traders arrived in the 16th century, China was initially hostile to them. The first Western base was Portugal's colony of Macau, awarded by the Ming in the mid 16th century. The Emperor imposed various restrictions on trade, allowing Westerners to trade only at Guangzhou and only through a government-approved monopoly of traders. Teaching a Westerner to speak Chinese was a capital offense, even though widely used textbooks for learning Chinese existed. Export of items that would break Chinese monopolies, such as tea seeds or silk worms, was strictly forbidden. Traders eventually smuggled both out, creating two of India's greatest industries. Western traders resented these restrictions and struggled to interest the Chinese in Western goods.
By the end of the 19th century, the situation would be completely reversed. Assorted Western powers had taken various pieces of Chinese territory and relatively free trade was well established through an ever increasing number of treaty ports and spheres of influence. Throughout the century, the Sino-Western relationship was fraught with difficulties. Westerners tended to see China as corrupt and decadent; Chinese often viewed the West as greedy and contemptible.
There was also an enormous difference in world view. To the Chinese court, Western envoys were just a new group of outsiders who should show appropriate respect for the emperor like all other visitors. Some countries, like the Netherlands, were willing to participate. For others, most notably the United Kingdom, treating China's "decadent" regime with any respect at all was being generous. The envoy of King George or Queen Victoria might give some courtesies, even pretend the Emperor was the equal of their own ruler.
The greatest contention was opium. For the West, the profitable commodities were "pigs and poison," indentured laborers and opium. Britain's balance of trade ? paying for tea and silk in silver and being quite unable to interest Chinese in most British products ? would have been disastrous without opium. However, by growing opium in India and exporting vast amounts to China, the British were able to enjoy a healthy trade surplus ? selling opium for silver and using the silver to buy tea, silk, and other trade goods. Millions of Chinese became addicted to opium; many merchants both foreign and Chinese made fortunes from the trade. But every Chinese government from the Qing to the present has been unalterably opposed to the opium trade and all other forms of drug trafficking.
The 19th century was a period of wars, rebellions, territorial cession, and turmoil:
Two Opium Wars, 1839-1842 and 1856-1860, pitted China against Western powers, notably Britain and France. China lost both wars. After each defeat, the victors forced the Chinese government to make major concessions. After the first war, the treaty ceded Hong Kong island to Britain, and opened five "treaty ports" (Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Shanghai and Ningbo) to Western trade. After the second, Britain acquired Kowloon, and inland cities such as Nanjing and Wuhan were opened to trade.
The Taiping Rebellion, 1851-1864, was led by a charismatic figure claiming to be Christ's younger brother. It was largely a peasant revolt. The Qing government, with some Western help, eventually defeated the Taiping rebels, but not before they had ruled much of southern China for over ten years. This was one of the bloodiest wars ever fought; only World War II killed more people. Nanjing, which was their capital, has an interesting Taiping museum.
The Panthay Rebellion, 1856–1873, in Yunnan pitted the Hui ethnic group against central authority. Up to one million people died during the revolt.
In 1858 and 1860, the Qing signed the Treaty of Aigun and the Treaty of Peking which transferred sovereignty of Outer Manchuria (today's Primorsky Krai, Jewish Autonomous Oblast and parts of Amur Krai and Khabarovsk Krai) to Russia.
The Dungan Rebellion, 1862-1877, in central China and Xinjiang saw Hui and other Muslim ethnic groups fighting against local authorities. Suppression of the rebellion, which included genocidal purges, brought what is now Xinjiang firmly under imperial rule.
In 1879, Japan annexed the Ryukyu Kingdom, then a Chinese tributary state, and incorporated it as Okinawa prefecture. Despite pleas from a Ryukyuan envoy, China was powerless to send an army. The Chinese sought help from the British, who instead awarded the islands to Japan.
In 1884-1885, China and France fought a war that resulted in the loss of China's modernized Fuzhou-based naval fleet and China's accepting French control over their former tributary states in what is now Vietnam.
In 1895, China lost the Sino-Japanese War and ceded Taiwan, the Penghu islands and the Liaodong peninsula to Japan. In addition, it had to relinquish control of all of Korea, which had long been a Chinese tributary state.
In 1898, Britain acquired a ninety-nine year lease on the New Territories of Hong Kong in the Second Convention of Peking.
The Chinese resented much during this period – notably missionaries, opium, annexation of Chinese land and the extraterritoriality that made foreigners immune to Chinese law. To the West, trade and missionaries were obviously good things, and extraterritoriality was necessary to protect their citizens from the corrupt Chinese system. To many Chinese, however, these were yet more examples of the West exploiting China.
Around 1898, these feelings exploded. The Boxers led a peasant religious/political movement whose main goal was to drive out evil foreign influences. Some believed their kung fu and prayer could stop bullets. While initially anti-Qing, once the revolt began they received some support from the Qing court and regional officials. The Boxers killed a few missionaries and many Chinese Christians, and eventually besieged the embassies in Beijing. An eight-nation alliance: Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, the U.S., Austria-Hungary and Japan, sent a force up from Tianjin to rescue the legations. The Qing had to accept foreign troops permanently posted in Beijing and pay a large indemnity as a result. In addition, Shanghai was divided among China and the eight nations.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about China
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in China - updated Apr 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount China hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
>>> SEARCH FOR DEALS <<<
WHERE TO TRAVEL NEXT IN 2020
China Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.