Contemporary+China

Hans Stockton, PhD

__**CONTEMPORARY CHINA**__

1839-1911: Western Aggression; Internal Strife 1911: Revolution 1912: Rep of China: Sun Yat-Sen; Revolutionary Alliance-->Chinese National Party; 3 Principles of People 1915: Yuan Shikai 1915-1926: Warlord Period 1926: Campaigns for National Unification 1928: ROC is finally CHINA 1931: Japanese in Manchuria

__**TAIPING REBELLION**__ 1839-1911: period of Western Aggression and Internal Strife (unequal treaties;legations/extraterritoriality/demands for reparations from Chinese for defending themselves from British aggression)

Why were the Western powers able to run over the Chinese Qing rule? INTERNAL ISSUES--> by 1800s--China as a unified empire is gone--local warlords/provinces ruled their areas: Nien uprising, roving Muslim bandits, took many resources away from the core of the kingdom to suppress rebellions in outerlying areas near Central Asia; [|White Lotus Rebellion] (gangster groups who recruit on a spiritual message); Canal system had silted upused to transport salt (used to pay taxes--valuable commodity); couldn't move military with canals out of service

1851: Taiping Kingdomhuge region of best chunk of kingdom; 10 million people following messianic figure Hong Xiu-quan


 * TAIPING TIAN GUO**
 * Fall of the Taiping Kingdom happens at about the same time Richmond falls


 * 1) TAIPING: breadbasket of China; 5 provinces--war on 15 provinces; capital of Nanjing (home of MIng dynasty); period of rebellion and suppression--20 million lives
 * 2) GENERAL CONDITIONS IN CHINA IN 1850? Qing dynasty in power (Manchu) corruption, weak military
 * 3) CONNECTION TO CHRISTIANITY
 * 4) WHO WAS HONG XIU-QUAN? Hakka people--called the "guest" people---migratory people b/c no one would want them to stick around--> Han were insulted by the Hakka status of women (worked, educated, no foot binding, physically useful, specialized in mining/explosives/digging/tunnels; on scholar track; 1830-1837 --failed shengyuan exam 4 times; Read translated texts from the Old Testament-->1836: "Good Words to Exhort the Age"; 1837: illness & revelation-- after 3rd failure: goes to hell has visitations by animals; washed by angels in a river; new organs; woman takes him to an old man "father" (Anglo man); recovers---> goes back to school and teaches-- >4th failure---reads Old Testament translation (God/Jesus from dream)--> China was a pure Christian place in past/garden of Eden but had been corrupted-->Response from the West: curious/hopeful that Christianity had found a way into China; but many were horrified b/c of how Hong had changed Christianity
 * 5) WHAT WAS THE TR?
 * 6) HOW HAS TAIPING BEEN VIEWED HISTORICALLY? Qing Historians ridiculed Hong; Europeans missionaries relied on Qing and consular reports; Nationalist leader and KMT founder Sun Yat-Sen presented himself ad the "younger" brother of Hong (3 Principles of the People); Hong as revolutionary hero; Chiang Kai-Shek originally praised the Taiping for standing up against the feudal order but later revoked his praise in favor of Tseng Kuo-fen (suppressor of Taiping); CCP alternately praised/damned Hong & Taiping (revolutionary, feudal, socialist, peasant (right & wrong); 1978 Conference to try and figure out the role of the Taiping Kingdom in Chinese history
 * 7) WHAT IMPACT DID TAIPING HAVE ON THE FUTURE OF CHINA?

__**1911 REVOLUTION**__
 * Banner army generals paid and switch sides to Revolutionary groups
 * Yuan Shikai--best army leader that Qing have--> sends army to push back revolutionary: sends messengers back to court and asks what they get if we win this battle & asks revolutionaries what they will give if he defects--> he defects; End of Qing dynasty--> early democratic ideas followed by Shikai--> attracted to Sun Yat Sen [|3 Principles] (nationalism/anti-imperialism, livelihood of the people, democracy (tutelary--Chinese not ready for it yet...needed some tutelage). No NATIONAL identity in China at this point.
 * Sun Yat Sen is the philosophical father of the ROC but he had not army; Shikai becomes first president--> abandons democratic ideas; declared himself the "new emperor"--> noone took him seriously; ROC is established but no effort made to unify the people; later dies of blood poisoning---> succession of puppet governments (

__**1915-1926 Warlord Period**__: no central control or authority __**1926-28 Campaigns for National Unification:**__ Chiang Kai Shek gets army and starts to try to unify China; used the language of Sun Yat Sen's 3 Principles (Chinese Nationalist Party emerges) 1931: Japanese aggressive in Manchuria and 1934 invade China (near Beijing)---fortunately capital in Nanjing 1938: Japan takes up most of coast of China

__**CHINA RISING**__ [| The Chan's Great Continent: Jonathan Spence- western perceptions of China] 1795: British king sends emissaries to China for trade negotiations---[|emperor's response] Chinese flag: red- Communist Party/blood of the people; large star: party; small star-workers, peasant, military or stars represent ethnic groups--> lots of debate--

__**RESOURCES:**__ [|National Palace Museum in Tapai]: Accessible Chinese History Resources [|Odd Man Out: Richard Thornton] [|Last Emperor of China]- movie