Week 9 Early Modern China

China century of Crisis

• Asking King George III for less restricted trading relationship 

• Earlier china strictly controlled and limited activities of european missionaries and merchants 

• China's imperial state had collapsed so participated in afro eurasian world and were dependent in european dominated stuff 

• They viewed themselves as the middle kingdom 

Taiping Uprising

what: civil war in China from 1850 to 1864 (against Qing Dynasty)

• Called for abolition of private property, distribution of land, equality of men and women, end of prostitution and opium smoking

who:

• Hong Xiuquan: leader proclaiming to be younger brother of Jesus 

• Hong Xiuquan cousin → wanting to do railroads, health insurance and newspapers, public education

why: Leaders rejected traditional chinese beliefs: confucianism, daoism and buddhism —> wanted to implement Christian beliefs

Nanjing (Taiping context) 

What: in 1853, the Taipings captured Nanjing and renamed it the Heavenly Capital (Tianjing).

Why: It became the center of their kingdom, where they tried to implement their radical reforms—land redistribution, gender equality, bans on opium and prostitution, and their Christian-inspired laws.

End: Nanjing remained their capital until 1864, when Qing forces destroyed the city and ended the Taiping movement

Main Idea of Confucianism

when: 5th century BCE

why: emerged as practice Harmonious living “civil religion” but no deity + use of Confucianism by the imperial institutions to legitimize themselves

What:

• Confucian owes it to his family, society, and nation

• education within family and family relationships 

• Virtues:

  • Ren: humanness, goodness or benevolence (respect for and love of humanity)

  • Li: proper behavior (propriety and ritual)

  • Xiao: emphasizes respect for parents and elder relatives (filial piety) 

Guo Jia

• Guo-jia: nation state (a state and family) for centuries  (guo=country, jia=family) 

• The nation comes first and the family is second

  • For the interest of the state

5 Social Relations of Confucianism

1. Ruler → Subject

   • The ruler should lead with virtue and care; subjects should obey and be loyal.

2. Father → Son

   • Fathers guide and protect; sons show respect and filial piety.

3. Husband → Wife

   • Husbands provide and act responsibly; wives support the household (in classical ideology).

   • Modern scholars view this as historically patriarchal.

4. Older Brother → Younger Brother

   • Older brothers act as role models; younger brothers show respect.

5. Friend ↔ Friend

   • The only truly equal relationship—friends treat each other with sincerity and trust.

China’s Social Structure

• Emperor

  • The “Son of Heaven,” seen as the moral leader who maintains order.

• Scholar-Bureaucrats (Shi)

  • Educated elites who passed the imperial examinations and ran the government.

  • Highly respected because Confucianism valued education and moral leadership.

• Farmers / Peasants (Nong)

  • Considered productive and essential because they produced food.

  • Ranked above many other groups despite being poor.

• Artisans / Craftsmen (Gong)

  • Skilled workers who produced goods; respected for their craft but ranked below farmers.

• Merchants (Shang)

  • Ranked low because they were seen as making profit off others’ labor rather than producing anything themselves.

Emperor: “Son of Heaven”

• The emperor was believed to have a divine right to rule, serving as the link between Heaven and Earth.

• His authority came from Tian (Heaven), giving him a sacred status

Mandate of Heaven

• The emperor’s right to rule was not absolute—it was conditional.

• He kept the Mandate only if he maintained:

  • Economic stability

  • Social harmony

  • Moral governance

• Natural disasters, famine, corruption, or rebellion were taken as signs that the emperor had lost the Mandate of Heaven, giving justification for overthrow

How Does One Become a Scholar-Bureaucrat?

1. Confucian Examination System 

• pass a series of Confucian exams.

• required rote memorization of classical texts—not creative or original thinking.

• Success meant you could join the elite scholar-bureaucracy (shi class).

2. Mastery of the Five Confucian Virtues

1. Benevolence (ren)

2. Righteousness (yi)

3. Propriety (li)

4. Wisdom (zhi)

5. Trustworthiness (xin)

3. Significance: Merit and Social Mobility

• In theory, the exam system created a meritocracy, allowing talented men from humble backgrounds to rise.

• Passing the exams brought enormous prestige, wealth, and political power

4. Reality: Aristocratic Background Still Helped

• Although the system allowed some mobility, those from wealthy or aristocratic families had better education, tutors, books, and time to study

---

If you want, I can also connect this to how the Qing collapsed, why reformers criticized the exam system, or how it compared to Europe.

Farmers importance to society

• Produced essential goods like grain, tea, and silk, which formed the backbone of the economy.

• Most lived in a subsistence economy, growing mainly what they needed to survive.

• Farming was highly valued because it sustained the entire population

Artisans importance to society

• Specialized in skilled crafts, especially pottery and porcelain, which China became famous for globally.

• Their work contributed to domestic markets and international demand.

Merchants importance to society

• Handled taxation, trade, and standard measurements, helping stabilize economic activity

• By 811 CE, China introduced paper currency, making trade more efficient and sophisticated

Maritime Trade importance to society 

• China developed vibrant sea trade networks, connecting with Africa, Korea, Japan, and India.

• As maritime commerce expanded, coastal cities grew rapidly, becoming major hubs of economic activity.

Why did China want to isolate?

• after maritime exploration China withdrew from global contact

• fear of European influence: Europeans became more aggressive in trade, religion, and military power

• want to preserve internal stability: fearing that foreign ideas, merchants, and missionaries would disrupt social order and Confucian values

• avoid involvement in foreign conflicts or power struggles that had nothing to do with China.

• a stable, self-sufficient empire should not depend on or be entangled with outsider

Mongol Rule - Yuan Dynasty (THE POWER OF THIS CENTURY)

• Barbarians (Mongol Rule): Period marked by foreign (Mongol) control over China.

• Economic Prosperity: Trade and commerce expanded; economy flourished under Mongol policies.

• Confucian Exam Abolished: Civil Service Exam suspended until 1315, weakening traditional bureaucracy and elite culture

• Major floods and natural disasters = loss of divine approval —> Loss of the “Mandate of Heaven”

  • gods no longer supported their rule, undermining legitimacy

• Social Disorder & Collapse:

  • Widespread unrest, peasant uprisings, and instability.

  • These pressures contributed directly to the dynasty’s fall.

Ming Dynasty — The Hongwu Emperor (1368–1398)

• Restoration of Han Rule: Reestablished power of the Han majority ethnic group after overthrowing the Mongol Yuan Dynasty.

• Rise Through Rebellion: Came to power by leading widespread rebellions against Mongol rule.

• Peasant-Centered Society: Promoted a vision of self-sufficient rural peasants as the foundation of a stable and moral society.

• Tolerance and Integration: Practiced relative tolerance to heal divisions after foreign (Mongol) domination and unify society.

Ming China: Economy & Trade

• Paper Currency: Continued use of paper money, though it eventually weakened due to overprinting and inflation.

• Expansion of World Trade: China saw new profits as global trade networks expanded.

• Key Exports:

  • Porcelain (called China) and silk became major luxury exports

• Silver Influx: Massive imports of New World silver (via Spanish trade) fueled the economy but later contributed to inflation.

• Regional Competition: Japan grew wealthier and increasingly rivaled China in silver production and trade.

• Rising State Revenue: The growth in commerce created new tax sources for the Ming government

Ming Decline (1600s)

• Stagnation in Innovation: Few new intellectual or technological breakthroughs (beyond early navigational advances).

• Corrupt Gentry Elite: The educated gentry held immense power, leading to widespread corruption and weakened governance.

• Weakening Emperor: The emperor increasingly withdrew from active rule, leaving the state vulnerable to mismanagement.

• Loss of the “Mandate of Heaven”:

  • Roving banditry

  • Peasant uprisings

  • Large-scale rebellions

  • Severe population pressure
    These crises were interpreted as signs that the dynasty had lost divine legitimacy.

Qing Dynasty 1644-1912

• Manchu Rule: Manchurians, a non-Han people from northeast Asia.

• Frontier Origins: Originated in dispersed communities across the northeast, bordering Mongol, Tibetan, and Uighur minority regions.

• Skilled Horsemen: Known for being excellent horsemen and archers, with livelihoods based on hunting, fishing, and farming.

• Hierarchical Society: elites at the top and slaves at the bottom.

• Dual Military System: Created a separate military establishment (including the Manchu Banner forces) to preserve their power and protect the regime from internal and external threats.

Qing China: Governance & Expansion

• Early Prosperity: The dynasty began with strong economic and political stability.

• Continuity with the Past: Maintained much of the traditional Ming framework, especially in administration and ideology.

• Self-Protection Through Law: Passed strict laws and institutions designed to protect Manchu rule, helping the dynasty survive for centuries.

• Confucian Administrative Base:

  • Relied heavily on educated bureaucrats (the Confucian scholar-gentry).

  • Promoted Confucianism to stabilize society and legitimize rule among the Han population.

Qing: Territorial Expansion

• Major Expansion of the Empire:

  • Pushed the Mongols further north.

  • Conquered Muslim Central Asian territories.

  • Took over supervision of Tibet.

  • Compelled tribute from Vietnam and Burma.

• This made Qing China one of the largest land empires in Chinese history

Qing: Political Structure & Centralization

Manchu Military + Chinese Administration: Success came from merging Manchu martial skill with Chinese bureaucratic expertise, creating an efficient and resilient state

• Government Centralization: Tightened imperial authority over provinces and local elites.

• Administrative Centralization: Strengthened control over taxation, law enforcement, and bureaucracy.

• Grand Council Established: A powerful inner governing body created to coordinate policy and streamline decision-making.

• Legal Code to Suppress Rebellion: Implemented strict laws to punish local uprisings, preventing regional warlordism and maintaining stability.

Silver-Based Economy (Ming–Qing China)

• New World Silver → Rising Inequality: Massive imports of New World silver (especially from Spanish America) created wealth for some but widened economic inequality.

• Global Price Imbalance:

  • 1 ounce of silver in Amsterdam could be exchanged in China for 2 ounces of gold (or equivalent commercial goods).

  • This huge price difference made China a magnet for global silver flows.

• Sycee Silver Ingots:

  • China used the sycee, an uncoined silver ingot currency, for large transactions and official payments.

• Tax Reforms in Silver:

  • The Ming and Qing governments shifted taxation to require payment in silver, increasing reliance on global trade and tightening the link between China’s economy and the world silver market

Portuguese at Macao + guangzhou(Macau)

• 1557 – Portuguese Arrival: The Portuguese established a trading foothold at Macao, long-term European presence in China

• Strict Chinese Supervision: Europeans were allowed to operate only under tight regulation, confined to Macao and monitored by Chinese authorities.

• Jesuit Missionaries (16th Century):

  • Jesuits were permitted into China beginning in the late 1500s.

  • They adopted Chinese customs to gain acceptance—endorsed ancestor worship, wore Confucian scholar clothing, and engaged in elite cultural exchange.

Canton system (guang zhou)

• 18th Century: Marked by a greater influx of Western traders, especially British merchants.

• Canton System: A strict trading system created by the Qing to control foreign contact.

  • Foreigners could only live and operate in a designated “foreign quarter” of Guangzhou.

  • allowed to reside in Canton for only 5 months each year.

  • All foreigners had to leave at the end of the trading season

  • No women or families

  • Cohong- guild of merchants 

  • Paid high prices for Chinese goods

  • Trade imbalance

Macartney Mission (Macartney Embassy, 1792–93)

Purpose: Britain sought to break the Canton System and secure freer trade with China.

Context – Industrial Revolution:

• Britain needed raw materials for industrial production.

• Strong demand for Chinese goods (tea, silk, porcelain) but limited access due to strict Qing trade rules.

• British Arrived with 600 packages of gifts intended to impress the Qianlong Emperor and demonstrate British technological and industrial superiority.

British Goals

1. Open additional Chinese ports to British merchants.

2. Establish a permanent British ambassador at the Qing court.

3. Improve trading conditions in Canton, better treatment and fewer restrictions

4. Showcase British wealth and power to encourage more open relations

Rejections / Gifts vs. Tributes

• The Qing court rejected Macartney’s proposals because they viewed British “gifts” not as diplomatic exchanges between equals, but as tributes offered by an inferior power.

• Macartney came as an envoy, but the emperor interpreted him as a subject paying homage — “not a legate of the sovereign.”

• The emperor insisted that China was already self-sufficient:
  “Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in abundant supply and lacks no product within its borders. There is therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians in exchange for our own produce.”

• Meaning: China believed it did not need foreign goods and should not rely on other countries. Anything coming from abroad was seen as unnecessary “extras,” not necessities.

The Key to Opening China: Opium

• Opium became Britain’s strategy for forcing open trade with China.

• It was grown and processed in British India, making India far more profitable under British rule

• British Plan:

  1. Export opium to China.

  2. Create a demand through addiction.

  3. Use that demand to reverse the trade imbalance, since China had been

  4. exporting tea, porcelain, and silk while importing very little.

• As millions of Chinese became addicted, silver began flowing out of China to pay for opium, finally reducing Britain’s trade deficit.

• Addiction weakened Chinese society and economy, giving Britain leverage to make China bargain, ultimately contributing to the Opium Wars and the forced opening of ports

Opium Czar: Lin Zexu (1838–1839)

Lin’s anti-opium campaign:

• Refused to compromise

• Set up sanitoriums (treatment hospitals)

• Cracked down on users and Chinese dealers.

• Pressured foreign traders, especially the British.

1839 Actions concerning Opium

• Ordered British traders to leave Canton.

• Blockaded the foreign factories (trading compound) in Canton.

• Seized and destroyed over 20,000 chests of opium, dumping it into the sea without compensation — the event that triggered the First Opium War.

The Opium War (1839–1842)

• After Lin Zexu cracked down on opium and destroyed British supplies, British merchants appealed to their government for protection.

• Britain responded with military force, sending a modern navy to China.

• War broke out in 1839 when Britain attacked to defend its opium-based trade system and force China to open more ports.

Treaty of Nanjing (1842)

• Ended the Canton System, ending China’s ability to restrict all foreign trade to one port.

• Established a “fair and reasonable” tariff, meaning China no longer controlled its own tariff rates — Britain did.

• Opened 5 new treaty ports to British residence and trade:
  Canton, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo, Shanghai.

• Ceded Hong Kong to Britain permanently.

• China paid a massive $21 million indemnity to cover the “costs” of the war and the destroyed opium — a financial punishment.

Treaty of Bogue (1843)

• Signed in 1843 between Britain and Qing China to clarify and expand the terms of the Treaty of Nanjing.

• Granted extraterritoriality:

  • British citizens in China were not subject to Chinese law; they were tried in British courts instead.

• Introduced the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) clause:

  • Any privileges China granted to another foreign power would automatically apply to Britain.

Second Opium War

• Britain and France launched a second war against China after disputes over treaty enforcement and British demands for expanded rights.

• The emperor’s Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)

• Resulted in 5 additional treaty ports being opened to Western trade.

• European steamboats were allowed to patrol China’s interior rivers and ports, undermining Qing control.

• Foreigners gained the right to travel freely within China and purchase land.

• Christian missionaries were granted the right to preach and operate under the legal protection of Chinese authorities.

• China was forced to treat Westerners as equals in official language:

  • The Qing were forbidden from using the term “barbarian” to describe the British in official documents.

Chinese Protectorates (A protectorate is a territory that keeps its own local government, but is controlled and protected by a stronger foreign power.)

• 1850: France conquered indochina (protectorate of vietnam) 

• 1860: Russia advanced and took over some territory in northern China 

• 1894-1895: Japanese took over korea, taiwan and liontung peninsula 

• 1900: Western spheres of influence long term leases on a number of key ports and surrounding territories military bases too 

Self Strengthening 1860s and 1870

• the 1860s and 1870s: sought to reinvigorate a traditional China while borrowing cautiously from the West

• The examination system overhauled: good men 

• Support to farmers 

• Factories producing textiles and steel were established, coal mines were expanded and a telegraph system was initiated 

• Military: a number of modern arsenals, shipyards, and foreign languages schools sought to bolster China's defense 

The Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901)

• A violent anti-foreign, anti-Christian uprising led by a secret society called the Righteous and Harmonious Fists (“Boxers”).

• believed they could use martial-arts rituals to gain spiritual protection against bullets.

• In 1900, they laid siege to foreign embassies in Beijing, attacking foreigners and Chinese Christians.

• response: international coalition (Britain, France, Germany, Russia, U.S., Japan, Austria-Hungary, Italy) occupied Beijing and crushed the rebellion.

• China pay a massive indemnity (huge financial penalty) to the foreign powers

Rise of Chinese Nationalism (late 1800s–1911)

• Growing disillusionment with the Qing dynasty, viewed as weak, foreign (Manchu), and unable to protect China from Western and Japanese aggression.

• 1890s: urban elites formed clubs, study groups, and newspapers to examine China’s crisis and search for alternatives.

• sheer size and split society made political change slow despite internal rebellions

• “National Rejuvenation Society,” advocating for national protection, modern reforms, and confronting China’s “national shame.”

• Many admired Western science, technology, and political institutions, wanting to modernize the state.

• These pressures culminated in the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, ending over 2,000 years of imperial rule.