China : 1899 – 1934
China in 1900
Land, People, Beliefs :
Religion of Confucianism emphasises harmony + order
Whole of China ruled by the Qing since 1644
Qing rule via Mandate of Heaven, but are declining
Strict class structure, emphasis on obedience + women have no rights
Most of country are peasants
Qing = from outside China so viewed as foreign elite (resentment)
Downfall of Qing
Humiliating defeats : lose Opium Wars, first Sino-Japanese war + cede Hong Kong to Britain
Western industrialisation = more powerful so resented by China (but still needed west as a
trading partner ; realised China needed to catch up to west to stay a great power)
Christian missionaries = sent by west + Chinese suspicious of them as they try to divert from
Confucianism + Buddhism
Qing need western help to suppress rebellions (e.g Taiping rebellion) which makes them look
weak
Boxer rebellion
Causes : Anti-Western Feeling
Economic exploitation of China from west ; unequal treaties allowed west access to Chinese
ports + west set up new tech (railways etc) that Chinese didn’t trust
Christian missionaries seen as ‘foreign devils’ as preached against Confucianism
Military/diplomatic humiliation ; loss of land + unequal treaties = embarrassing
Role of Qing Dynasty
Emperor Guangxu plans ‘hundred day reforms’ to modernise China + address national issues
BUT Dowager Empress Cixi takes power + cancels reform, leaving Chinese issues
unaddressed (anger)
Cixi encourages attacks on ‘foreign devils’ to distract from Qing’s failures as rulers
Events
Boxers (peasants who hate foreigners) attack westerners + missionaries in 1899 in north-
eastern China
Uprising spreads to Beijing, where German ambassador is shot
Cixi supports Boxers
Eventually Boxers killed by British soldiers after being unable to overcome defences
Cixi + emperor flee to Xian disguised as peasants
Effects
Continuity :
Western presence in China
Qing still rulers, and still weak
Change :
Increased western presence ; 10 Chinese officials executed + British soldiers placed in Beijing
More humiliation ; China have to pay £67mil to west over 39 years
Qing get weaker ; Cixi not allowed back in Beijing until 1902 + tries to make reforms (e.g
introduction of provincial assemblies in 1909) but these don’t work + Qing remains
unpopular
Overall :
China in 1900
Land, People, Beliefs :
Religion of Confucianism emphasises harmony + order
Whole of China ruled by the Qing since 1644
Qing rule via Mandate of Heaven, but are declining
Strict class structure, emphasis on obedience + women have no rights
Most of country are peasants
Qing = from outside China so viewed as foreign elite (resentment)
Downfall of Qing
Humiliating defeats : lose Opium Wars, first Sino-Japanese war + cede Hong Kong to Britain
Western industrialisation = more powerful so resented by China (but still needed west as a
trading partner ; realised China needed to catch up to west to stay a great power)
Christian missionaries = sent by west + Chinese suspicious of them as they try to divert from
Confucianism + Buddhism
Qing need western help to suppress rebellions (e.g Taiping rebellion) which makes them look
weak
Boxer rebellion
Causes : Anti-Western Feeling
Economic exploitation of China from west ; unequal treaties allowed west access to Chinese
ports + west set up new tech (railways etc) that Chinese didn’t trust
Christian missionaries seen as ‘foreign devils’ as preached against Confucianism
Military/diplomatic humiliation ; loss of land + unequal treaties = embarrassing
Role of Qing Dynasty
Emperor Guangxu plans ‘hundred day reforms’ to modernise China + address national issues
BUT Dowager Empress Cixi takes power + cancels reform, leaving Chinese issues
unaddressed (anger)
Cixi encourages attacks on ‘foreign devils’ to distract from Qing’s failures as rulers
Events
Boxers (peasants who hate foreigners) attack westerners + missionaries in 1899 in north-
eastern China
Uprising spreads to Beijing, where German ambassador is shot
Cixi supports Boxers
Eventually Boxers killed by British soldiers after being unable to overcome defences
Cixi + emperor flee to Xian disguised as peasants
Effects
Continuity :
Western presence in China
Qing still rulers, and still weak
Change :
Increased western presence ; 10 Chinese officials executed + British soldiers placed in Beijing
More humiliation ; China have to pay £67mil to west over 39 years
Qing get weaker ; Cixi not allowed back in Beijing until 1902 + tries to make reforms (e.g
introduction of provincial assemblies in 1909) but these don’t work + Qing remains
unpopular
Overall :
