History of Modern China Midterm

essential elements of chinese civilization

chinese political cosmology (sinocentric order), chinese writing and literary canon, confucianism, bureaucratic government, examination system

cosmology

how you understand how the world works and is ordered

sinocentric

“china” centric; china is at the center of the world

chinese writing and literary canon

seties of foundational documents and writings serve as the underpinnings of how the chinese understand how things should operate

confucianism (ruxue) the study of ideas

contributed to not only bu confucius, the foundation for the chinese system of governing

bureaucratic government

known for establishing a bureuacratic model of government that was then copied around East Asia

shang dynasty’s sinocentric order

the ruler acted as an intermediary; throughout each cultural governance, the shang of chine was an intermediary between heaven (a moral force that governs earth rather than an anthropomorphic god) and earth; the shang was in charge of performing rituals in order to demonstrate appreciation of heaven and ensure a good harvest and plentiful resources

what did the sinocentric order of the shang dynasty do?

created a strong sense of connection between morality and governance; a ruler had to govern in a way that showed that they cared and would abide by heaven;s rule

Mandate of Heaven

heaven acknowledges the shang ruler, and there are signs that heaven approves of that person (signes include peace and plentiful bounty); heaven could also take away thie mandate

son of heaven

the name for the intermediary ruler

what did the mandate of heaven mean for subjects of the shang dynasty?

there was no necessity to be loyal to a ruler who lost their mandate of heaven, so changes in power and revolt were common

what did the sinocentric order of east asia mean

people believed that china was at the center of everything, for there could only be one son of heaven at a time; thus, china had a heavy influence on surrounding parts of East Asia who also believed in the mandate of heaven system

why was the writing system pre-qing important?

based on characters, and everyone used a single script and single way of writing characters; thus, even people with different dialects across china who could not understand each other’s speech would be able to read and write the same language

oracle bones

heat would be used to crack bones, the cracks would be interpreted, and characters would then descrive what was understood of the cracks; the cracks were thought of as divinating what was going to happen

significance of zhou foundational bones

shaped how people would understand their culture

goal of confucius (master kong)

to figure out how to order things properly and achieve stability in the world we inhabit

significance of having a common literary tradition

served as a unifying force in a rather large and diverse empire, but also drew others into china’s orbit

what did confucius focus on when founding confucianism?

human relationships, family as a microcosm of the world, reciprocal relationships, ren, li, xiao, self-cultivation, ideological and cultural glue

human relationships according to confucianism

the human world as a big family; believed that if everyone treated everyone else kindly and like a member of their own family, then the world would be better; if you knew how to treat family, then you could understand every social situation

reciprocal relationships according to confucianism

relationships in a family are reciprocal, and this should be reflected in social relationships

ren in confucianism

benevolence, human-heartedness; have consideration for how other people feel

li in confucianism

importance of ritual; go through motions of ritual for channeling emotions to have a proper demeanor in public

Xiao in confucianism

filial piety; have respect for your family and elders

self-cultivation in confucianism

you need to develop yourself and work hard to become better

what was the effect of the essentials of confucianism?

they served as a cultural glue and held china together as a unit

han synthesis

uniform set of ideas about the government with confucianism at its core

tang bureaucracy

form of government that followed the ideas of the han synthesis

board of censors (censor ate)

a uniquely traditional chinese group whose responsibility is to look for corruption, nepotism, and those who wrre in government who did not do their jobs properly; independent and reponsible for monitoring all levels; led the government to function efficiently and fairly

tax systems — equal field system

further designed to provide order and stability; maintains roads and infrastructure; appropriated equtable amounts of land to allow for families to be properly fel and still pay taxes

purpose of the law code

maintain justice and fairness

what made up the bureaucratic government pre-qing based on confucian ideals?

han synthesis, tang bureaucracy, board of censors, equal field system, law code

what did the bureaucracy create for the chinese?

stable, ordered state and society: incredibly efficient when it worked and became a model for other east asian countries; transmitted from dynasty to dynasty in the 20th century

the examination system

confucianism as a state ideology, meaning that the exams covered confucian canon and everybody in the government was on board with the same worldview; supported a meritocracy as it found people who were thoroughly educated in ideology and could apply it in government; set up schools that taught values and studied confucianism which recognized that talent could come from anywhere; checked elite power as the same five families did not dominate all political positions; channeled elites into government service rather than another profession

takeaways of pre-qing china

they were seeking stability and order, there was continuity and change, and china was incredibly influential in East Asia

what dictates the beginning of modern china in our class?

1600 — the beginning of the qing state

what makes an empire modern?

centralized administrative apparatus, democratic practices, scientific/technological advancements, formal relationship with others, global connections, occurs over 19/20th centuries

what is modern china?

centralized, bureaucratic governmental institutions, advanced economic development, connections to the global economy, formalized relations with other states, scientific method/observation/evidence-based conclusions

were the qing connected to the global economy?

yes; the ming set them up to be closely tied to silver coming from South America

qualities of the ming government (1368-1644)

bureaucratic government,t, taxes/legal codes/examination systems, population grwoth and commercialization, silver trade and mcro regions, tribute system and regional stability, came to power on the heels of the mongols, represented a restoration of chinese rule, forbidden city, great wall, zheng he’s voyages, but finally taxation/corruption/factions, and famine/disease/revolt

bureaucratic government of the qing state

reestablished quintessential administrative functions

what did the ming bring back?

taxes, legal codes, examination system

population growth and commercialization in the ming state

the population grew dramatically from 100 million to 450 million; more people meanty more production which meant more commerce; more urbanization means people are living farther from production in rural areas and have to buy more

silver trade and macro regions in the ming state

development of refinement and high taste, luxury goods; the ming demanded that all taxes be paud in silver

tribute system and regional stability in the ming state

formal relations allowed for contact and communication with other states; rulers of other states entered into a confucian relationship in which the chinese offered protection to the state and the state offers tributes and valuable gifts to chinese; basically, the chinese buy the contribution of neighboring states; this system regulated the area as other states recognized the chinese role

zheng he voyage

went all the way to africa and the middle east as an admiral of huge ships and fleets

what weakened the ming state?

heavy taxation to pay for advancements led to a disgruntled population; meanwhile orruption and factions within the government meant that it was eventually divided and weakened to the point where the qing were able to take over; the people were also experiencing famine, disease, and revolt by the end of the ming dynasty

prganization of the Manchus

tribal organization; plain-based and scattered across manchruia (northeast china); family-based in which each family competed with each other for resources; engages in some agriculture and trade; engaged in the tribute system with the ming

an advantage of the manchus in taking over china

horse and military skills; learened how to ride, fight, and use a bow and arrow from the saddle starting from when they were young; similar to the fighting style of the mongols; at the time, the mounted archer was the best military fighting style

nurhaci and hong taiji

these manchu clans became the strongest and unified their clans instead of fighting against each other to become even more powerful

banner system

this system was enacted to unify the clans; eight banners that people were organized into; each adult male was a member of the military, so their lives were tied up in hunting and military skills; families were taken care of by the banner and the banner did all administrative duties; ultimately there were 24 banners; later, the banner administration became the elites of the dynasty

nurhaci starting the qing dynasty

nurhaci took a chinese name (jin) in order to appeal to the chinese; his son changed from jin to qing; power started to spread and it was becoming harder to create banners as the chinese were not mounted archers and they needed people to serve facets besides the military; the conquest of north china solidified the qing dynasty power in 1644

why is wu sangui important?

he was a provincial leader that struck a deal with the manchus whereby he joined them and gave them access to north china; he chose to associate with the manchus and not the rebels against them because the rebels were rag-tag and did not have a great chance of defeating the manchu military power; his role was essential in the manchus’ conquering northern china

languages and dialects in the qing empire, and why is there being so many important?

manchu, korean, mongolian, jin, mandarin, kazakh, uyghur, tibetan, zhuang, cantonese, hakka, taiwanese, shanghainese, jiang xinese, hunanese, miao; very ethnically diverse empire that the qing had to consolidate their power and prove their worth to

the space for the han chinese in the qing state

the han chinese were 400 million, so the macnhus were only 1-2% of their empire’s population; the qing ruler had to rule over a diverse multi-ethnic empire (not just the than) and was not the son of heaven

how did the manchus impose their rule on china despite their being a minority group?

legitimacy and stability, ming loyalism, the hair edict, dyarchy, intermarriage and foot binding, manchu qaurters and banner garrisons, army of the green standard, county magistrates and local gentry

how did the manchus try to assert their legitimacy and stability?

promise of provisions proceeding patience, fear and intimidation, maintaining certain regional ways of life, being flexible and adaptable

ming loyalism from the manchus

created a balancing act between keeping their own traditions alive and using some chinese systems to appease the han

the manchu hair edict

ordered everyone in china to adopt the manchu hairstyle (the Q ponytail) as a sign of obedience to manchu rule

dyarchy in the qing state

appointed some chinese to government positions; in one area, one chinese and one manchu would rule; in reality the manchu would do the governing but the chinese was there as a symbol of peace and appeasement

the manchus on intermarriage and foot binding

manchus were not allowed to marry the han chinese, and manchu did not let their women bind their feet

manchu quarters and banner garrisons

manchus lived separate from the chinese

the army of the green standard

created a chinese military force separate from the banners

county magistrates and local gentry

made use of local chinese officials and appealed to local chinese scholars; used them as a nonofficial arm to connect to the chinese

when was the highpoint of qing rule?

the qing during the 17th and 18th centuries

what did the highpoint of qing rule look like?

population and agriculture (they started growing new foos in areas that were not previously used for agriculture), economic growth (the qing were very practical in economics), trade and commerce, porcelain production (millions of pieces of porcelain that traveled across the world and created global cultural connections), market regions and networks

takeaways from the start of the qing dynasty

manchu military occupation was successful because of their military strength; the manchu state was of a multi-ethnic nature; the manchus had economic parity with advanced parts of Western Europe and was not “behind” by any means

“new qing theory”

the qing ruled their empire as a diverse state

qing emperors in the 18th century

the kangxi emperor, the yongzheng emperor, the qianlong emperor

kangxi emperor

he wears imperial gold reserved for the emperor; he was photograpged as cholarly and confucian to show people that he was legitimate and had the Mandate of Heaven; wanted to convince people to join the army; he was also photographed as a mounted archer in warrier garb to appeal to manchus and Mongolians

yongzheng emperor

he took pictures in a variety of garbs to appeal to daoist culture, tibetan buddhiest aesthetic, and even a western noblemen

the qianlong emperor

he took photos designed for consumption by the manchus and mongols but also to appeal to confucianism, buddhist culture, and the tibetans

takeaways of the emperors of the qing state

the emperors wanted to convey versions of themselves that could appeal to diverse members of their empire; wanted to show that they could accommodate while maintaining their identity

problems facing the qing in the nineteenth century

environmental change, growing population, white lotus revolt, discontented western traders, the opium trade, the opium war, new treaty system with the west

environmental change in the nineteenth century qing state

agriculture was the foundation of the economic system (both for taxes and feeding the people) and the success of the state was dependent upon economic prosperity coming from agriculture; however, there is limited arable land, dessication and salinization of soil (caused by overfarming and changes in temperature), deforestation and soil erosion, and flood and drought (the yellow river was volatile and would pick up light dusty soil)

population growth as a problem for the qing

population tripled from 1700; the larger population was harder to govern and the qing were no longer on top of everything which led to trickled down local government issues; not enough food to feed the growing population

white lotus revolt 1796-1804

a religiously-inspired revolt with buddhist overtones; there was no single leader or coherent force; made up of rural discontented people using guerilla warfare in their revolts; took eight years for the qing to quiet this revolt during which the qing spent all of their surplus crops to feed soldiers

the qing and western trade

portuguese trading at macau, russians traded at nerchinsk, british east india company was the most important western trade

british east india company

a private company given a charter by the british government which allowed them to govern, sign treaties, and make legitimate decisions

main products of china

silk, porcelain, and tea; the europeans had a fascination with chinese products, and tea became of huge importance to the english population (by 1800, 28 million lbs of tea are being exported by the qing)

trade at guangzhou during the qing state

the qing had tribute systems to deal with trade with their neighbors but saw that people from the west were showing up in greater numbers, requiring a new system; thus, the qings set up one port for the europeans at canton/guangzhou to conduct trade freely

hang merchants

special merchants who were licensed to deal with foreigners; this system worked pretty well

complaints by the west toward chinese trade systems

british merchants at the end of this century began to discuss free trade and did not want restraints; they were experiencing revolution that spurred the emphasis on rights of their nation-state

macartney mission 1793

his mission was to go to the qing emperor and try to get a treaty signed that would change the system of trade with the chinese; he sailed to qianlong with gifts and performed traditiona; chinese rituals

how did qianlong react to the macartney mission

he shut macartney down immediately when he proposed a trade treaty and released a statement concerning the qing’s lack of necessity for trade with and knowledge from the west (he did so for domestic political purposes)

why did the qianlong emperor refuse a trade agreement with Britain?

he did not have to as the son of heaven; he did not believe it to be practical (the british did not know their ports nor speak their language); he did not want to give the british special privilege over other westerners and wanted to preserve a sense of equity; he did not think it would be as personal

how did the opium trade start?

the british east india company was in a trade imbalance with the chinese because of the chinese export of tea; the british east india company could grow opium for very cheap in india and could smuggle it in to china; the chinese had to pay for smuggled goods in silver; as more opium was smuggled, more silver was leaving the country; now, china was in a trade imbalance to the british

consequqnces of the opium trade

socially, drug addiction; economically, outflow of silver and reverse of the balance of trade while the chinese were already extended beyond its surplus

the problem with legalizing opium

if it was legalized, chinese farmers might start growing it to make more money than they would selling crops, then there would be even less food available than before

lin zexu

hired to stop opium smuggling; he cracked down on users and sellers by administering punishments, destroying supplies, and destrying paraphernalia; but it happened everywhere along the coast and the qing did not have a navy and port workers could be bribed

what did the qing do to stop opium smuggling

bring in lin zexu, letter to queen victoria, blockae of factories, charles Elliot

letter to queen Victoria

the qing tried to appeal to queen victoria to stop the smuggling

bloackade of factories march 1839

Lin zexu surrounded guangzhou and di not let traders out until they delivered the opium to him

charles Elliott

a british gobernment representative in guangzhou who was supposed to supervise trae; opium was turned into him who then turned it into the Chinese to destroy it (21 million lbs was turned in); he went back to the British and spoke of how the qing had insulted the British government by putting Chinese authorities above him, and he wanted britan to open ports and engage in free trade by force

state of the qing military at the start of the opium war

it had deteriorated and was no longer in top shape; people in the banners no longer received a stipend from the government and needed money, so they got jobs and no longer focused on honing their military skills; the trade imbalance left their military vulnerable at the time they needed it the most

why was the british military at an advantage during the opium war?

they had percussion caps which were much more reliable than flintlocks and were not ruined as easily; they had steamships as a product of the industrial revolution

what was the nemesis?

a british steamship that proved more effective than the traditional chinese craft

samyuanli incident 1841

british soldiers went out to forage for ood in the interior of china and a storm developed; this detachment was separated from its unit and encountered a group of several hundred villagers who were anrgy about the opium war; the local militia ended up engaging with the british and they yielded the field to the local han chinese militia

effect of the sanyuanli incident

word of the encounter spread and it became a story of the victory of the local people over the foreign devil; since the local han chinese were able to defeat the british, the han chinese came to believe that the manchus were inadequate, corrupt, and had started a war they could not finish; this created a greater sense of tension between the han and the manchu