Confucius, Boxers and the end of the Qing dynasty…

60 seconds: discuss what, if anything, you know about Confucius.

(Include “Confucius say…” jokes if you must…)

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Confucius say…Man who

make mistake in lift…

… wrong on many levels.

Man who want to meet pretty nurse…

… must be patient.

Man who walk through

airport check-in sideways…

… going to Bangkok.

What Confucius really said…

…take notes as

you watch, especially

on Confucius’ key ideas…

Confucian relationships…

Confucius developed ideas

about social order, harmony

and good government.

5 relationships were included in Confucianism.

1. Ruler-subject2. Father-son

3. Husband-wife4. Older and

younger brother

5. Friend-friend

Only the last relationship was a

relationship of equals…

Confucian thought became the bedrock of Chinese society for over 2,000 years.

In groups, discuss:

(i) why successive Emperors would have promoted Confucianism;

(ii) Strengths of weaknesses of Confucianism for China’s development; and

(iii) any aspects of Confucianism you find surprising… or other ideas you have about its possible

importance to 20th century China (including Mao).

The Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists… (also known as “the Boxers”)

义和团

… any guesses on what this group wanted?

US troops scaling the walls of the foreigners

compound in Beijing – August

1900

… any more

guesses now?

• The Boxers were a radical anti-imperialist (Western & Japanese) movement in China from 1899-1901.

• In June 1900, Boxer fighters, convinced they were invulnerable to foreign weapons, converged on Beijing.

• Foreigners and Chinese Christians sought refuge in Beijing’s “Legation Quarter”.

• After initial hesitation, Empress Cixi supported the Boxers & declared war on the foreign powers. Thousands of Chinese Christians and foreigners were killed.

• An 8 nation alliance was formed to fight the Boxers… this quickly captured Beijing and lifted the siege on the legation quarter.

• A massive financial penalty (2x China’s GDP!) and other harsh terms were forced on China in the resulting peace treaty.

义和团

The lifting of the siege of Foreign Legations in Beijing...

The following scene is

from a 1963 US-UK film called “55 Days at Beijing”

about the siege of the foreign legations.

The scene shows the arrival of the 8-nation army to relieve their respective besieged

nationals.

Task: can you name all 8 armies/countries shown? Write them down as you

watch.

The 8 nation alliance

against the Boxers

Order in clip:

1. British Empire

2. US

3. Germany

4. Italy

5. Russia

6. France

7. Japan

(8. Austro-Hungary not

shown).

Collapse of the Qing dynasty

TASK – complete the

timeline activity.

Once finished, read and

annotate the additional

information sheet. Sun Yatsen Pu Yi

Extension: write a paragraph explaining in detail what you think the most important reason or reasons were for the collapse of the

Qing dynasty.

Last Emperor - Puyi's Coronation