The Qing Empirein the 19th Century:

Rebellions, Foreign Incursions,

and Decline

January 29, 2013

Review•What was more important in the decline of

the Mughal empire in the 18th century, the power of the British or the internal weaknesses of the Mughal empire?

•What was the impact of the Industrial Revolution on India’s textile industry?

•Do we see evidence of nation-wide nationalistic resistance to the British in the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century?

China in the 19th century

• The problems China faced: (Ebrey, pp. 304-5)

Overpopulation leading to a decline in the standard of living.

Technological stagnation--oversupply of labour led to lack on interest in labour-saving technology.

Threats from an unexpected direction-- “barbarians from the seas to the south”

Corruption and inertia, including failure to maintain the Grand Canal. (p. 269,306)

Tax inflation

Opium addiction.

Barbarians break through the gates

•What restrictions did European merchants face?

• (pp.272, and 305)

•The Opium War (1839-1942) and the consequences of the Chinese defeat ( pp.305-308)

•Why did the British try to force opium down Chinese throats?

•Why was China unable to resist the West? Technological weakness, unprepared for an attack from that direction, could not mobilize all its resources against the West.

•The Arrow War of 1856-1860 -another defeat for the Qing. ( p. 312).

Treaty Ports

Unequal treaties (extraterritoriality, tariff limits, barriers to missionaries lifted, etc) and the creation of treaty ports which stimulated nationalism and produced compradors--Chinese who worked with Western merchantsTreaty ports were not colonies. Instead, in treaty ports, foreigners were allowed to establish “concessions,” area in which Chinese law did not apply, within Chinese port cities. What is extraterritoriality?When did Hong Kong become a colony? (p. 308)

Wars on the Home Front• The Taiping rebellion (1851-1864) (pp. 308-311)

• Who were the Taiping?

• The Nian Rebellion (1853-1873)

• Two Muslim rebellions (religious and ethnic roots)

•one in Yunnan (1855-1873)

•and one in the far west (1863-1873)

• 3 of those 4 rebellions had religious origins.

•How could the Qing suppress 4 rebellions but be unable to defeat the West?

•Why do peasants rebel?

•For survival, either to protect themselves or to seize things they need to survive.

The Qing response to Crisis

• Devolution of authority to the provinces

• Self-strengthening: an attempt to create an industrial sector strong enough to challenge the West.

• Three stages: a) importing Western technology b) government-sponsored commercial ventures, and c) joint government-merchant enterprises

• Why did self-strengthening fail? Did not encourage private capitalism Did not promote nationalism. Could not overcome the contradiction between Confucian and

Western values. Would have created new centres of power, which could have

threatened Manchu control and thus was half-hearted.

Defining Nationalism

•What is nationalism?

•It is more than patriotism. Modern nationalism turns subjects into citizens who identify their self-interest with the self-interest of their nation-state. People move beyond identifying only with families and neighbours to define themselves as a member of a much larger, politically-defined community.

Modern Nationalism

• Nationalism is a commitment to the political entity known as the nation-state. Under nationalism, subjects become citizens, and people demand a government they can identify with. That means they wanted to be governed by people like themselves rather than by outsiders.

• Modern nationalism is distinguished from earlier forms of patriotism in three ways:

• Entails a political more than a cultural commitment

• a willingness to jettison tradition if that is what national survival requires.

• However, sometimes tradition is redefined rathers than jettisoned so that it can better promote the political survival of its adherents.

• is mass-based rather than an elite defence of class privileges

• recognizes the existence of other nations as legal equals

More on Nationalism• Nationalism can refer to a commitment to an already

existing nation, or to a desire to create a nation which is is under the control of one’s own community rather than under the control of foreigners. What makes nationalism different from other forms of group consciousness is that a nationalistic community identifies itself with a political entity called the nation-state, which requires embodiment in an independent government.

• We need to distinguish elite nationalism from mass nationalism.

• Nationalism is not natural--it must be taught, often in primary schools, the army, and through political rituals, and promoted through vernacular publications . It is also reinforced with myths and “invented” histories and traditions.

Conditions for Nationalism

• How do people come to identify with a national community? It helps to have (not all are necessary):

• a homeland defined by a geographically distinct border

• a common language , a common ethnicity, and a common religion,

• a common culture

• urbanization

• a common history.

• These conditions do not have to be real. They can instead be imagined.

Pre-Nationalism in China

•The Qing responded to the challenge of the West with “Self-strengthening,” an attempt to implant the latest Western technology, both military and industrial, in China. It failed because the Manchu, as an ethnic minority, could not promote nationalism, and because Confucianism placed scholars rather than engineers and merchants in charge. (Unlike Japan, China did not have a shift to a new ruling elite in the 19th century.)

Carving up China

• What are “concessions”? They aren’t colonies. ( p. 315)

• Japan (Manchuria, taken from Russia) [Taiwan is a colony, not a concession]

• the UK (Shanghai region and Guangzhou region) More of Hong Kong becomes a colony.

• France (across the border from Vietnam)

• Germany (Qingdao region)

• Why were there no US concessions?

• Led to a “dual economy,” one modernizing and one traditional

The Boxer Rebellion•Who are the Boxers? (p. 320)

•More an ethnocentric rebellion than a nationalistic movement. (pp. 319-21)

•was supported by the Empress Dowager but not by much of the Chinese military.

•Defeat told Chinese that it had been the last gasp of the old order.

Social Darwinism• Fear for China’s survival caused some Chinese intellectuals to

begin to doubt that China would survive the onslaught of Western imperialism. This led some to even doubt the viability of Confucianism, and to move toward nationalism (the willingness to use any means necessary for the survival of the nation, and the willingness to jettison any traditional institutions, beliefs, values, and practices which were seen as hindering that survival).

• They were influenced by SOCIAL DARWINISM:  The application to human society of the biological principle of natural selection. Applied to international relations, social darwinism justifies the conquest of one country by another “more advanced” country.  Just as “might makes right” appears to be the dominant mode of interaction in the animal kingdom, social darwinism makes “might makes right” a legitimizing principle in international relations.