14.8: China

The Opium Wars undermined China’s traditional mechanisms of foreign relations and controlled trade, and made it possible for Western powers, particularly Britain, to exercise influence over China’s economy and diplomatic relations. During the 7th Century, opium was used for medicinal purposes. By the 17th century, the practice of mixing opium with tobacco for smoking spread from Southeast Asia, creating far greater demand. In 14.3, you learned about the First Opium War. This section will discuss the Second Opium War, and the aftermath on China and the rest of the world.

The 1850s saw the rapid growth of Western imperialism. To expand their privileges in China, Britain demanded the Qing authorities renegotiate the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. These demands included

• opening all of China to British merchant companies
• legalizing the opium trade
• exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties
• suppression of piracy
• regulation of the coolie trade
• permission for a British ambassador to reside in Beijing
• the English-language version of all treaties to take precedence over the Chinese language.

After an incident regarding the cargo ship called the Arrow and the bombardment of Canton by British troops, the Treaty of Tientsin was signed. Shortly afterward, the hostilities resumed. In 1860, with Anglo-French forces marching on Beijing, the emperor and his court fled the capital for the imperial hunting lodge at Rehe. Once in Beijing, the Anglo-French forces looted the Old Summer Palace and burnt it to the ground. Prince Gong, a younger half-brother of the emperor, was forced to sign the Convention of Beijing (1860). The agreement comprised three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing Empire and the United Kingdom, France, and Russia, and included many of the demands listed above.

In 1899, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay sent notes to France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Japan, and Russia, asking them to declare formally that they would uphold Chinese territorial and administrative integrity and would not interfere with the free use of the treaty ports within their spheres of influence in China. The Open Door Policy stated that all nations, including the United States, could enjoy equal access to the Chinese market. In reply, each country tried to evade Hay’s request, taking the position that it could not commit itself until the other nations had complied. Competition between the various powers for special concessions within Qing dynasty China for railroad rights, mining rights, loans, foreign trade ports, and privileges continued.

Meanwhile.... In the mid-19th century, a series of natural disasters, economic problems, and defeats at the hands of the Western powers weakened the central imperial authority and led to rapid development of anti-Qing movements. The Qing dynasty was blamed for transforming China from the world’s premiere power to a poor, backward country.

• While the Taiping Rebellion was not the first mass expression of the anti-Qing sentiment, it turned into a long civil war that cost millions of lives. It lasted from 1850 to 1864 and was fought between the Qing dynasty and the millenarian movement of the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace.
• A string of civil disturbances followed, including the Punti-Hakka Clan Wars, Nian Rebellion, Dungan Revolt, and Panthay Rebellion. All rebellions were ultimately put down, but at enormous cost and with millions dead. The results were a serious weakening of central imperial authority and the introduction of changes in the military that would further undermine the influence of the Qing dynasty.
• In response to calamities within the empire and threats from imperialism, some reformist movements emerged. However, they were undermined by corrupt officials, cynicism, and quarrels within the imperial family. The anti-Qing sentiment only strengthened as the internal chaos and foreign influences grew.
• The Boxer Rebellion, a violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising that took place between 1899 and 1901, exposed and deepened the weakening of the Qing dynasty’s power. As a result of the rebellion, the European powers ceased their ambitions to colonize China. Concurrently, the Japanese replaced the Europeans as the dominant power. Chinese Empress Dowager Cixi reluctantly started reforms known as the New Policies. The question of the historical interpretation of the rebellion remains controversial.