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China’s Road
to
1911
Context & Life Prior to 1800

China believed itself to be the
Middle Kingdom
 Tribute system

China was the world’s superpower
from 200 BC until 1800
 Qing dynasty led China into the 19th
century, a period of great change

Contact with the West in the
1800s changes everything
Change is Brewing, BUT
China Maintains Superiority

Europeans begin exploring world
 Barbarians seek tea, silk, porcelain
 Resist tribute system

China dominant, but problems
 Tension b/t growing population &
class differences
 Qing dynasty: weakened rule
 Still limit foreign trade & influence
“As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess
all things. I set not value on objects strange and
ingenious and have no use for your country’s
manufactures.” ~Emperor Qianlong
Turning Point

Industrial Revolution

Gateway drug: Opium
Road to 1911

Opium
• Cripples China
• Transfer of wealth
• Opium Wars of 1840s

Unequal treaties & rise of foreign
influence
• Spheres of influence & loss of Hong
Kong
Road to 1911

Peasants suffer
• Drought
• Famine

Taiping Rebellion (1851-1865)
• 50 million die
Road to 1911

Tension: reform vs. isolation

Boxer Rebellion
• Anti-West faction attacks
Western influence
Road to 1911

Public calls for change
• Idea of Middle Kingdom
crumbling
• Foreign influence spreads
• Emperor dies in 1911

End of Dynastic System