Global History
SOURCES
‘Oversized Hanging Scrolls and Handscrolls’
‘‘Petition 11’ in Lisa Yun, The Coolie Speaks’
BACKGROUND
Up the River During Qingming
WHAT is it? Visual Image- ink on a silk base.
WHO was the artist? Court artists, commissioned by the emperor.
Vested interest to paint the Qing dynasty in a positive light. Imperative
they did this. Propaganda.
WHEN? Submitted to the Qianglong emperor 1786. The original was
made 1085-1145.
WHAT type of source is this? It’s a handscroll showing a snapshot of
life in the Qing dynasty, but it only shows the positive aspects as it was
a piece of emperor-commissioned propaganda. Debate as to whether
it depicts a real or imagined area.
QUESTION BRAINSTORM
To what extent/ analyse/ assess the effects of… western influence/ the
slave trade/ tea… upon china from
To what extent did the west exploit Chinese workers in the 20th
century
To what extent did the exploitation of Chinese labourers make up for
the decrease in transatlantic slavery (time period 19th century)
, Analyse the impact of the west/ the impact of transport/ the
movement of people upon the development of China’s economic and
material life from 1800 to 1950.
Assess the importance of transport in the development of China’s
economic and material life (time period).
Assess the influence of transport upon China’s economic and material
life (time period). Para 1). The circulation of commodities like silver,
rice and tea over boats for example, caused the development of
china’s links with richer and poorer countries. For good and for bad, eg
the opium war, the trade of silver for tea with the british. Scrolls- tea
stands, coolie- links w developing countries like cuba for tea/sugar
industry. Para 2) transport within china was the most important.
China’s interior market was quite stable (see scrolls, the people are all
trading well with each other, using bridges etc to do business with
many social groups and fields) at the time of the industrial revolution,
links to causes for the Great Divergence (china’s access to coal was
more limited and china had less reason to trade with foreigners as
china was so vast). Thus, the maintenance of transport within china
for continued business was more pressing than the need for
innovation in modern coal-fuelled transport. Para 3) transatlantic
slavery transported slaves and indentured labourers away from china,
diminishing the population of workers available in china. This also
enhanced china’s economies in other ways- coolies working in cuba
grew sugar crops. Richer countries that consumed sugar, developed a
taste for having tea with sugar. Thus, as the sugar economy grew, this
furthered demand for china’s tea. Conc, transport was crucial for
enhancing china’s connection to the world economy, creating demand
for china’s goods, and for china’s interior economy.
Top two paintings and bottom half of the coolie petition 11. Analyse.
2
SOURCES
‘Oversized Hanging Scrolls and Handscrolls’
‘‘Petition 11’ in Lisa Yun, The Coolie Speaks’
BACKGROUND
Up the River During Qingming
WHAT is it? Visual Image- ink on a silk base.
WHO was the artist? Court artists, commissioned by the emperor.
Vested interest to paint the Qing dynasty in a positive light. Imperative
they did this. Propaganda.
WHEN? Submitted to the Qianglong emperor 1786. The original was
made 1085-1145.
WHAT type of source is this? It’s a handscroll showing a snapshot of
life in the Qing dynasty, but it only shows the positive aspects as it was
a piece of emperor-commissioned propaganda. Debate as to whether
it depicts a real or imagined area.
QUESTION BRAINSTORM
To what extent/ analyse/ assess the effects of… western influence/ the
slave trade/ tea… upon china from
To what extent did the west exploit Chinese workers in the 20th
century
To what extent did the exploitation of Chinese labourers make up for
the decrease in transatlantic slavery (time period 19th century)
, Analyse the impact of the west/ the impact of transport/ the
movement of people upon the development of China’s economic and
material life from 1800 to 1950.
Assess the importance of transport in the development of China’s
economic and material life (time period).
Assess the influence of transport upon China’s economic and material
life (time period). Para 1). The circulation of commodities like silver,
rice and tea over boats for example, caused the development of
china’s links with richer and poorer countries. For good and for bad, eg
the opium war, the trade of silver for tea with the british. Scrolls- tea
stands, coolie- links w developing countries like cuba for tea/sugar
industry. Para 2) transport within china was the most important.
China’s interior market was quite stable (see scrolls, the people are all
trading well with each other, using bridges etc to do business with
many social groups and fields) at the time of the industrial revolution,
links to causes for the Great Divergence (china’s access to coal was
more limited and china had less reason to trade with foreigners as
china was so vast). Thus, the maintenance of transport within china
for continued business was more pressing than the need for
innovation in modern coal-fuelled transport. Para 3) transatlantic
slavery transported slaves and indentured labourers away from china,
diminishing the population of workers available in china. This also
enhanced china’s economies in other ways- coolies working in cuba
grew sugar crops. Richer countries that consumed sugar, developed a
taste for having tea with sugar. Thus, as the sugar economy grew, this
furthered demand for china’s tea. Conc, transport was crucial for
enhancing china’s connection to the world economy, creating demand
for china’s goods, and for china’s interior economy.
Top two paintings and bottom half of the coolie petition 11. Analyse.
2
