Superior individuals should be moral, influencing others.
Filial piety and acceptance of unequal relationships are important.
All about social harmony and good government
Non-religious.
Daoism
Focuses on nature.
Believes acting naturally is the answer to disorder.
Sees effort to improve as useless.
Dao equals the way of nature.
Became a popular religion.
Ideology for peasant uprisings (Yellow Turban).
Period: 600 CE - 1450 CE
The Reunification of China
China was reunified under the Sui dynasty (589-618 CE).
The Grand Canal was constructed during this period.
The Sui dynasty was short-lived due to ruthless emperors, unpopular policies, and a failed attempt to conquer Korea, which wasted resources and upset the people.
The Sui dynasty was eventually overthrown.
The Tang (618-907 CE) and Song (960-1279 CE) dynasties followed the Sui.
Both dynasties maintained a centralized government with six major departments: personnel, finance, rites, army, justice, and public works.
The Censorate was an agency that supervised the government to ensure smooth operation.
Government officials were chosen through a revived Confucian-based examination system.
The "Golden Age" of China
This period emphasized arts and literature.
There was excellence in poetry, landscape painting, and ceramics.
Neo-Confucianism emerged, blending Confucianism with Buddhist and Daoist elements.
The "Economic Revolution" of China
Significant advancements occurred in agriculture.
The adoption of a fast-ripening and drought-resistant strain of rice from Vietnam was crucial.
This led to rapid population growth, reaching 120 million by 1200 CE.
The Urbanization of China
Many people migrated to cities.
Dozens of Chinese cities had populations exceeding 100,000.
Hangzhou, the capital of the Song dynasty, had over 1 million residents.
Women and the Economy: Textiles
China's economy became more commercialized.
More factories and workshops emerged, reducing home-made products.
These workshops and factories were primarily run by men.
Factories began producing silk and other textiles, which took work away from women.
Women and the Economy: Other Jobs
Women engaged in various occupations instead:
Operating restaurants.
Selling fish and vegetables.
Working as maids, cooks, and dressmakers.
Becoming concubines, courtesans, entertainers, and prostitutes.
Positive Trends for Women
Property rights expanded.
Women controlled their own dowries.
They inherited family property.
There was promotion of further education for women to raise sons effectively and increase family fortune.
The Tribute System in Theory
Foreigners and non-Chinese authorities acknowledged Chinese superiority.
Foreigners would go to the Chinese court and:
Perform ritual bowings and gestures.
Present tribute, which included valuable goods/products from their homeland.
The Chinese emperor, in return, would:
Grant them permission to stay and trade in China.
Provide them with gifts or “bestowals.”
The Tribute System in Reality
China dealt with large nomadic empires (like the Xiongnu) with powerful militaries.
In reality, the tribute system was often reversed.
China gave the nomads “gifts” of wine, silk, grains, and other goods.
In return, the nomads promised not to invade or attack China.
China and Korea
The initial outlet for Chinese influence was the temporary conquest of Korea by China during the Han dynasty.
Korean resistance led China to withdraw its military presence in 688 CE.
The tribute system and trading relationship persisted.
Koreans adopted Chinese cultural elements:
Buddhism.
Confucianism.
Government set-up.
Chinese models of family life and female behavior.
Impact on Korean Women
Korean women were no longer allowed to live and raise their children in their parents’ home with their husband.
Practices that diminished:
Husband buried with the wife’s family.
Remarriage of widowed or divorced women.
Female inheritance of property.
Plural marriages for men.
China and Vietnam
Vietnam was part of the Chinese state for over 1000 years (111 BCE to 939 CE).
Vietnamese adopted Chinese cultural elements:
Confucianism.
Daoism.
Buddhism.
Administrative techniques.
Examination system.
Artistic and literary styles.
China and Vietnam: Forced Chinese Elements
Chinese elements forced upon the Vietnamese:
Confucian-based schools.
Chinese as the official language for businesses.
Mandatory Chinese clothing and hairstyles.
Chinese-style irrigated agriculture.
This resulted in Vietnamese resistance and rebellion.
Several failed rebellions à Ex: the Trung sisters.
A successful rebellion occurred in the 10th century when the Tang dynasty weakened in China.
Major Chinese Influences on Eurasia
Two major Chinese innovations that impacted the world:
Printing and books.
Gunpowder.
Period: 1450-1750
Ming Dynasty (1369-1644 CE)
Kicked out Mongol Yuan Dynasty.
Built the Forbidden City.
Re-established Civil Service exams.
Repaired damage by Mongols.
Voyages of Zheng He.
Making China an Empire
Achieved by the Qing (aka Manchu) Dynasty, which ruled from 1644 to 1912.
The Qing were foreigners à invaders from Manchuria.
They expanded China and incorporated non-Chinese peoples to the north and west.
Qing Rulers: Cultural Elements
Maintained
Chinese language.
Confucian teachings.
Chinese government techniques.
Adopted
Ethnic distinctiveness à forbade intermarriage between themselves and native Chinese.
Making China an Empire: Motivations
A major motivation was security concerns seeing expansion as a defensive necessity.
The Qing dynasty undertook an 80-year military effort (1680-1760) to bring surrounding regions under Chinese control.
Life in the Chinese Empire
Generally, the Qing rulers respected other cultures.
They did not force people to assimilate to Chinese culture.
Chinese settlers did not flood the other regions of the empire.
Asian Commerce
Despite European naval dominance, Asian merchants continued to operate successfully.
Chinese merchants carried spices from Southeast Asia to China.
Christian merchants from Armenia were active in overland trade linking Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
Indian merchants and moneylenders lived throughout Central Asia, Persia, and Russia, connecting these regions to markets in India.
Silver and Global Commerce
Most of the world’s silver supply ended up in China.
Foreigners could purchase in-demand Chinese goods with silver.
Many merchants flocked to Manila (capital of the Philippines) to sell Chinese goods there for silver.
China issued a new single tax in the 1570s that all people were required to pay in silver.
This led to more goods being sold, increasing silver in China, allowing taxes to be paid.
Silver and China
Impact of silver on China’s economy:
Led to more commercialization.
To pay the silver tax, people had to sell something, leading to economic specialization (e.g., selling just rice or just silk).
Impact on China’s environment:
More land was used to grow cash crops.
This resulted in the loss of about 1/2 of China’s forests.
Period: 1750 - 1900
China: The Crisis Within
From the 1700s to mid-1800s, there was massive population growth.
Results:
Growing pressure on the land.
Smaller farms for China’s huge peasant population.
Unemployment.
Poverty.
Starvation and misery.
China: The Crisis Within - Government Inability
China’s centralized government did not expand to cope with this growing population.
It became unable to effectively perform many functions:
Tax collection.
Social welfare.
Flood control.
Public security.
The central government lost power to officials in the provinces and local landowners.
Many were corrupt and treated the peasants harshly.
The Taiping Rebellion
This led to many peasant rebellions and uprisings.
1850 – 1864 = Taiping Rebellion.
Leaders believed in a unique form of Christianity.
The leading figure was Hong Xiuquan, who proclaimed to be the younger brother of Jesus and was sent to establish a “heavenly kingdom of great peace” in the world.
Goals of the Taiping Rebellion
Abolition of private property.
Radical redistribution of land.
Equality of men and women.
End of foot binding, prostitution, and opium smoking.
Sexually segregated military camps of men and women.
Expulsion of all Qing dynasty “foreigners.”
Transformation of China into an industrial nation with railroads, health care for all, universal public education, etc.
The Taiping Rebellion: Eventual Failure
Taiping forces and followers swept out from southern China and established their capital in Nanjing in 1853.
The uprising eventually failed due to:
Divisions and indecisiveness within Taiping leadership.
Inability to link up with other rebel groups throughout China.
Western military support for pro-Qing forces.
Rebel forces were finally crushed in 1864.
The Taiping Rebellion: Effects on China
Weakening of the Qing centralized government.
Disruption and weakening of China’s economy.
Destruction and devastation to the land.
Estimated 20-30 million lives lost.
Continued social instability.
China: Western Pressures
Shifting balance of power between Europe and China evident in the Opium Wars.
Late 1700s = British began to grow and process opium in India and illegally sell to the Chinese to make up for its trade imbalance.
By 1830 = very profitable market for British, American, and other Western merchants.
Chinese/British Trade at Canton (1835-1836)
British Exports to Canton
Opium: 17,904,248 (in Spanish dollars)
Cotton: 8,357,394
All other items (ex: iron, tin, etc.): 6,164,981
Total: 32,426,623
British Imports from Canton
Tea: 13,412,243
Raw silk: 3,764,115
Vermilion: 705,000
All other goods (gold, copper, etc.): 5,971,541
Total: 23,852,899
The Opium Trade
China had several problems with the opium trade:
Political problem: Opium was illegal, disregarded Chinese law, and led to the corruption of many Chinese officials who were bribed.
Economic problem: Massive outflow of silver to pay for opium was causing serious economic decline.
Social problem: Millions of men and women became addicted and couldn’t function as productive citizens.
The Opium Trade: Crackdown and War
1836 = Chinese emperor decided to crack down on opium use.
Millions of pounds of opium seized from traders and destroyed
Western merchants expelled from the country.
British response = sent naval expedition to China
Offended by violation of property rights.
Wanted to end the restrictive conditions under which they’d long traded with China.
Result = 1st Opium War.
The First Opium War
The British had superior military might and easily won.
The Treaty of Nanjing ended the war in 1842.
Imposed restrictions on the power of the Chinese emperor.
Opened 5 ports to European traders.
The Second Opium War (1856-1858)
British forces were victorious once again.
The Treaty of Tientsin ended the war in 1858.
10 more ports opened to foreign traders.
Foreigners allowed to travel freely and buy land in China.
Foreigners allowed to preach Christianity under the protection of Chinese authorities.
Foreigners allowed to navigate along and patrol some of China’s major rivers.
Chinese forbidden from referring to the British as “barbarians” in official documents.
Further Chinese Military Defeats
1885 = lost to the French in the Sino-French War
Lost territory of Vietnam to the French
1895 = lost to Japan in the Sino-Japanese War
Lost territories of Korea and Taiwan to the Japanese
By the end of the 1800s = European powers, Russia, and Japan carved out spheres of influence in China establishing military bases, extracted raw materials, and built railroads.
China: Failed Attempts at Modernization
1860s-1870s = “self-strengthening” policies implemented to reinvigorate a traditional China.
Overhauled examination system = designed to recruit qualified candidates for official positions.
Support for landlords.
Repair of irrigation systems.
A few industrial factories producing textiles and steel.
Coal mines expanded.
Telegraph system initiated.
Creation of modern arsenals, shipyards, and foreign language schools.
China: Failed Attempts at Modernization (Problems)
Problems with China’s “self-strengthening” program that eventually led to its failure included:
Little support from conservative leaders à feared urban, industrial, and commercial growth would hurt the power and privileges of the landlord class.
New industries largely dependent on foreigners for machinery, materials, and expertise.
New industries only helped local authorities who controlled them, not the Chinese state.
The Boxer Rebellion (1898 – 1901)
Clear indication of the failure of the “self-strengthening” program
Erupted in northern China as an anti-foreign movement.
Led by militia organizations called the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists.
“Boxers” killed many Europeans and Chinese Christians and attacked the foreign embassies in Beijing.
The Boxer Rebellion (1898 – 1901): Aftermath
European and Japanese forces occupied Beijing to crush the rebellion.
Imposed a huge payment on China as punishment.
Clear that China was a dependent country under foreign control.