Download WH chapter 9 sec 5 China and Imperialism[1]. - BHS-MsQ

9.5 China and the New Imperialism
Focus Question: How did Western powers use diplomacy and war to gain
power in Qing China?
I. Trade Between Britain and China
A. The trade balance changes.
1. China moved from having a trade surplus with Western countries to
having a trade deficit.
B. The Opium War
1. British merchants were getting rich from selling opium to the Chinese.
2. The Chinese became addicted and soon silver flowed out of China in
payment for the drug, disrupting the economy.
3. The Chinese government outlawed opium, executed Chinese drug
dealers, and asked the British to stop the trade but they refused.
4. In 1839, the Chinese warship clashed with British merchants,
triggering the Opium War.
5. The British won.
C. Unequal Treaties
1. Britain then forced China to open more ports to trade and to give
Britain the port of Hong Kong.
II. The Taiping Rebellion Weakens China
A. The peasant revolt known as the Taiping Rebellion nearly toppled the
Qing dynasty and led to the deaths of 20–30 million Chinese.
B. As a result, the Qing government had to share power with regional
commanders.
III. Launching Reform Efforts
A. Self-Strengthening Movement
1. In the 1860s, reformers launched the “self-strengthening movement,”
imported Western technology, books on science, government, and
economy.
2. Problem: the government did not really back it.
B. War With Japan
1. After 1868, Japan began to modernize and joined the Western
imperialist in the competition for a global empire.
C. Carving Spheres of Influence
1. China was no match for Western powers or a modernized Japan, so
imperialists rushed to carve out spheres of influence along China’s
coast.
2. The French, The British, Germany and Russia all gained territory in
China.
3. The U.S. did not take part in the carving up of China, but it called for a
policy to keep China’s trade open to everyone on an equal basis.
4. The imperial powers accepted the idea of an Open Door Policy as to
became called, but no one consulted the Chinese.
D. Hundred Days of Reform
1. In 1898, Emperor Guang Xu began a reform program to modernize
China called the Hundred Days of Reform, but the Conservatives soon
retook control.
IV. The Qing Dynasty Falls
A. Boxer Uprising
1. In 1899, a group of Chinese had formed a secret society, the Righteous
Harmonious Fists.
2. Westerners watching them train in the martial arts subbed them
Boxers.
3. Their goal was to drive out the “Foreign devils”
4. In 1900, the Boxers attacked but lost.
B. Aftermath of the Uprising
1. The defeat forced Chinese conservatives to support Westernization.
2. They industrialized.
C. Three Principles of the People
1. The first principle was nationalism, or freeing China from foreign
domination.
2. The second was democracy, or representative government.
3. The third was livelihood or economic security for all Chinese.
D. Birth of a Republic
1. In December 1911, Sun Yixian was named president of the new
Chinese republic.