Conflict in China
Why did the century's long dynastic rule end in china?China is one of the world's most ancient nations with a recorded history that stretches back more than 4000 years. For centuries, China was ruled by dynasties of powerful emperors and had not had any contact with the western world. Over the centuries, China was able to develop and advanced civilisation, producing amazing inventions and remarkable works of art, Chinas single-minded independence, left it unable to deal with the European world. The Chinese emperors refused to allow any political, social, or economic change and China stood still. In the 18th century, European technology overtook China's, and the country was unable to resist the influence of the European traders landing on its shores.
More ports were then open to the Russians, Germans and the Japanese. People became fed up with the emperors, taxes were too high, and some poor families even had to sell their own children to get money. They believed that imperial rule should be replaced by a republic and that way, they would get rid of the foreign rule. In 1858, a second war broke out between Britain and China, and that was the second opium war. Bibliography· Heinemann Studies of Asia - Patrick Burke - Chapter 3· Nations of the World: China - Catherine Field - pages 47 - 74. 581 - 1911, the last one being the Qing dynasty who put their own emperor - a six-year-old boy - on the throne. The Europeans started to come and they brought with them new crops of tobacco and corn. The people were so humiliated that by 1851, they had a massive revolt, which lasted for 3 years, caused widespread destruction and about 20 million people died during this rebellion. The emperors each had their won internal problems. However, there was an imbalance on trade. The British exploited the people by continuously supplying more and more opium. The communists took away many of the traditions of the imperial rule and China changed from being agricultural into a country with international influence and huge industrial power. The Chinese were exploited for their tea, spices, raw silk, sugar, porcelain and jade, and in turn, could only purchase wool and spices from the Europeans. They were mean and strict in their relations with their Chinese subjects.
Common topics in this essay:
Conflict China,
Europeans Europeans,
Chinese Communist,
Britain Germany,
Germans Japanese,
Britain China,
Catherine Field,
Burke Chapter,
rule china,
opium war,
imperial rule,
centuries china,
china ruled,
|