Introduction to Modern Chinese History and Modernity

Vocabulary flashcards capturing key terms, historical events, figures, and concepts from the lecture on the Opium Wars, Chinese imperial dynasties, and concepts of modernity.

Opium

A highly addictive substance used as a stimulant and for medication, which was exported from India into China by the British, causing a trade crisis and major conflict.

Opium Wars

A series of two historical conflicts triggered by trade dynamics and the opium trade between China's Qing dynasty and Western powers led by Great Britain.

East India Company (EIC)

A branch of the British corporate and government trading apparatus that profited heavily from the opium trade into China.

Hong Kong

An island off the Pacific permanently ceded to Great Britain after the Qing dynasty was defeated in the First Opium War, serving as a British trade base until its return in 1997.

Century of Humiliation

A period in Chinese history initiated by the Qing dynasty's defeat in the First Opium War and the subsequent loss of territorial sovereignty to foreign nations.

Dagu Fort

A historical site located in Tianjin, China, that was burned down by joint Western military forces.

Tianjin

A city in northern China where the historical site of Dagu Fort is located.

Anthony Peterson

An English sociologist whose definition of modernity outlines an industrial civilization marked by specific attitudes toward world transformation, economic institutions, and political institutions like mass democracy.

Modernism

An artistic movement characterized by expressions of anxiety, abstract feelings, and disturbed states of mind experienced during wartime.

Postmodernism

A cultural and artistic expression involving parodies of classical works, playfulness, and individual enjoyment without strict traditional seriousness.

Tributary System

An ancient Chinese trade and diplomatic system in which foreign nations presented gifts to the emperor to secure trade permissions.

Ming Dynasty

The Chinese dynasty that ruled from 1368 to 1644, establishing achievements and traditions upon which the Qing Dynasty built its rule.

Qing Dynasty

The last imperial dynasty of China, coming to power in 1644, whose defeat during the Opium Wars marked the start of the modern period in China.

Mandate of Heaven

The traditional Chinese concept that emperors were given divine authority to rule, which could be lost if the ruler failed their moral obligation to the people.