Why was the Qing Dynasty in trouble by 1911?

L/O – To identify the long-term causes of the 1911 Revolution

Introduction• On 12th February 1912, the 6-Year-Old

Xuantung Emperor, Puyi, peacefully abdicated.

• It was the end of not only the Qing Dynasty which had ruled since 1644 but of Imperial China itself. China was now a Republic.

• Many people believed the Qing had lost the Mandate of Heaven and deserved to be deposed. But why did this happen? What were the causes of the 1911 Revolution?

Long-Term Cause 1

Impact of the West

Impact of the West• The humiliations heaped on China by

European powers and Japan is often seen as the primary cause of the decline of the Qing Dynasty.

• Britain first appealed for trading rights and representation in China (an embassy in Beijing) in 1793 when Lord Macartney met the Qianlong Emperor – all demands were refused!

• Chinese officials had no sense of equality between nations. There was the Son of Heaven in Beijing and all else were tributary states or barbarians.

As your Ambassador can see for himself, we

possess all things. I set no value in objects

strange or ingenious, and have no use for your

country’s manufacture.

Qianlong Emperor

Impact of the West• The British tried again in 1816 but

its representative was not even received! Trade remained limited to 13 licensed merchants in Canton (Guangzhou) – the Cohong.

• The British were anxious to extend their trade and force China into a more modern and open relationship. By the 1830s, the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston, was prepared for tough action – drugs gave him the excuse!

The First Opium War 1839-42• During the 1820s and 1830s, illegal

imports of British Opium into China was growing rapidly causing social problems and a drain of silver.

• In 1838, the Emperor decided to ban this trade. He sent the official Lin Zexu to implement it.

• 3 million pounds of raw opium were seized in 1839 and destroyed. Some British merchants were imprisoned.

The First Opium War 1839-42• The merchants lobbied the

government in London and an expedition was sent: 16 warships, 4 newly armed steamers and 4000 troops were sent to Canton.

• The war exposed the technological backwardness of China. Their war junks were no match for armed steamers. The Chinese even tried using monkeys armed with primitive bombs!

The English barbarians are an insignificant race, trusting entirely to their strong ships

and large guns: but the immense disaster they have

travelled will render the arrival of supplies impossible

and their soldiers after a single defeat… will become

dispirited and lost.

Report to the Emperor before the conflict

The First Opium War 1839-42• By June 1842, the British had

captured Shanghai and had pushed up the Grand Canal to Nanjing.

• The result of the war was the humiliating Treaty of Nanjing. Hong Kong Island was given to Britain and 5 other ports were opened to trade.

• China also had to pay compensation and grant Britain equal diplomatic status.

The Second Opium War 1858-60• Problems continued to grow.

Piracy and crime still affected British trade and the original demand for a permanent ambassador in Beijing had not been met.

• In 1856, a British ship, The Arrow, was seized by Chinese authorities in Canton. This gave the British a new pretext to launch another attack on the Chinese.

The Second Opium War 1858-60• The British struck near Beijing

but the Emperor refused to sign a new treaty. The British and French marched on Beijing and burnt down the Summer Palace.

• The Emperor then signed the Treaty of Tianjin which allowed the establishment of embassies in Beijing, greater trade rights in China and allowed Christian missionaries to travel freely across China.

By this war we have practically opened out the

trade of the Yangtze River… We have inflicted a severe blow upon the pride of the

Emperor that the whole face of Chinese politics and our relations with that country must change, before he will

dare insult our flag or obstruct our commerce.

Lt Col G J Wolseley

Foreign Influence Increases• By the 1860s, contact between

foreigners and Chinese elites and merchants began to increase.

• There was a need to learn foreign languages so language schools opened in many ports.

• In Beijing a western-style college opened in 1867 however many opposed this.

Establishment of Missionaries• The greatest resentment of

some Chinese was directed against religious missionaries. Many were persecuted and killed, usually by Confucian gentry who hated reforms.

• However missionaries did open schools and hospitals where Chinese students became imbued with western ideas and the need to promote reform in China.

Loss of the Tributary States• Vietnam and Korea traditionally occupied

a tributary status with regard to Imperial China. The rulers of both recognised the lordship of the Emperor in Beijing, often giving tribute to him.

• In Vietnam, the French severed this link by destroying a Chinese fleet in 1884 at Fuzhou during the Sino-French War.

• In 1894, a Civil War in Korea resulted in Japan invading Korea, Lushun in Manchuria AND the Shandong Peninsula during the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.

Loss of the Tributary States• The Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895 was

even more humiliating to China than the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842.

• China had to abandon any claim on Korea and gave many ports to Japan.

• This caused riots in Beijing. Confucian scholars, gathered for the Jinshi examination, demonstrated against the treaty and demanded reform – the Qing Dynasty was beginning to totter.

Continued Loss of Sovereignty • In 1898 and 1899, China was on the

point of partition between the imperialist powers.

• Russia forced the Japanese out of Manchuria and renamed Lushan ‘Port Arthur’.

• Germany occupied ports in the Shandong Peninsula and the British took Weihaiwei. They also gained a 99-year lease on the Kowloon Peninsula.

The Boxer Rebellion• In this situation, it seemed as if the Qing

Dynasty was unable to defend Chinese sovereignty. Popular feeling in north-east China erupted into the Boxer Rising.

• In Spring 1900, anti-Western outrage spilled out, fuelled by magical beliefs and Han pride.

• Railways lines were destroyed, foreigners murdered and even Chinese in possession of foreign objects like clocks were killed.

The Boxer Rebellion• Mobs from the countryside spread to

Tianjin and Beijing. The German ambassador was shot and Europeans retreated to the British embassy.

• The Empress Dowager Cixi, in control of the Qing Court, threw her support behind the Boxers, basically declaring war on the west.

• In August 1900, an international force advanced on Beijing. The Qing court fled to Xi’an and a peace was negotiated.

The Boxer Rebellion• Massive damages were

extracted, which amounted to nearly twice the annual revenue of the state.

• It was compared to the punishing Treaty of Versailles and provoked a similar reaction of outraged bitterness and nationalism in China.

Nationalist Reaction• In the early 1900s, a genuine nationalist

movement amongst the education elite began to form.

• This new nationalism didn’t hate ALL things Western like some of the educated Confucian gentry did. They also looked to Japan as an example.

• In 1867-68, the new Meiji Emperor in Japan had reformed the country. The only way to compete with the west was to embrace western technology, government and society.

Nationalist Reaction• Many young members of the Chinese

scholar class drew the conclusion that China should follow Japan’s path of reform.

• Zou Rong studied in Japan and believed that China could only be saved with the destruction of the Qing Dynasty. His book, The Revolutionary Army (1903), appealed to Han resentment of the ruling Manchus and hatred of western ‘foreign devils’.

• Sun Yat-Sen built on Zou’s work and spent many years in exile reflecting on Qing China.

Long-Term Cause 2

Internal Problems

Internal Crisis in China• China also faced growing internal problems

and pressures, mainly due to the population explosion of the 18th century.

• Economic crisis – growing addiction to opium damaged society but also caused millions of tons of silver to flow out of the economy (to foreigners to pay for Opium).

• Corruption – bribery was normal for officials and central government failed to extract taxes. Left government with little money to resist the challenges of foreigners.

Rebellions of the 19th Century• Population pressures, government

financial weakness and corruption came together to spark a series of massive rebellions against Qing authority.

• This had traditionally been a sign of dynasties losing the Mandate of Heaven.

• The Taiping Rebellion of 1851-64 was one of the biggest in world history. 20 million people are estimated to have been killed. More than the First World War.

The Taiping Rebellion 1851-64• Its leader, Hong Xiuquan, had failed the

scholar examinations. He had hallucinations of ascending into heaven and being told by the Christian God to exterminate demons.

• He believed he was the younger son of Jesus. He thought the demons were the leaders of the Manchu regime in Beijing.

• He offered a mixture religious mysticism and political and social reform that spread across Southern China and the Yangtze valley.

The Taiping Rebellion 1851-64• The city of Nanjing was captured and

renamed ‘Heavenly Capital’. Power was divided amongst many commanders, each taking the title of King.

• The Eastern King, Yang Xiuqing, called himself the ‘Holy Ghost’. When fighting broke out amongst the kings, Hong the Heavenly King allied with the Northern King to kill Yang in 1856.

• The younger brother of Jesus had thus killed the Holy Ghost.

The Taiping Rebellion 1851-64• A combination of various forces finally

defeated the rising in 1864 but the rebellion proved that the Qing Dynasty was hugely unpopular.

• It had to rely on foreign, local and regional armies in order to defeat the rebels. The national banner armies were strangely inept.

• The Nian Rebellion in the Yellow River region of 1852-68 was another similar protest movement.

Reformers and their Opponents • By the end of the 19th century, many

educated scholars and Manchu leaders were beginning to realise that change was necessary.

• The first such movement for change was known as the ‘self strengthening movement’. It focused on promoting education and modernisation.

• Study societies and newspaper also grew in the 19th century, all promoting change.

‘The Hundred Days Reform’• In 1898, the Guangxu emperor listened to

reforms and between June-September, hundreds of reform laws poured out from Beijing.

• However the Empress Dowager Cixi rallied the conservative forces in Beijing and launched a palace coup on 21st September.

• The Emperor was put under house arrest and kept as a prisoner for the rest of his life. This slowed down the process of reform but not the demand for it.

The Tongmenghui 1905• After the Hundred Days Reforms, many

looked to people like Sun Yat-sen who founded the Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance) in Tokyo, July 1905.

• It published a revolutionary paper which was smuggled into China. Underground cells sprung up in major cities, plotting the downfall of the Qing.

• 7 abortive uprisings took place between 1906-08 and membership of the Tongmenghui had grown to 10,000 by 1911.

Late Qing Reforms• The Qing government responded by

introducing reforms. A more modern army was accepted in 1905 and organised on Western lines.

• The degree system was swept away ending a 1000 year tradition. The first western style universities were introduced.

• Provincial assemblies were introduced in 1909, a national consultative council in 1910. But this was all too little, too late. 9/13 places went to palace nobles. In 1908, the Empress Dowager Cixi died.

Short-Term Causes of the

1911 Revolution

The Revolution of 1911-12• After the death of Cixi in 1908, the child

Emperor who could not govern symbolised the impotence of the dynasty.

• A massive budget deficit was developing to pay for reforms and reparations dating back to the Boxer Rising. New armies were expensive and many new officers were radical nationalists.

• Increased taxes were necessary which further angered people, along with flooding in 1910-11 in the Yangtze River.

The Revolution of 1911-12• Protests began when the government tried

to nationalise (take-over) locally-owned railway companies. By September 1911, the whole of Sichaun province was in chaos.

• On 9th October, in the city of Hankou, an unfinished bomb being prepared by revolutionaries exploded, triggering the Wuchang Uprising.

• Han troops mutinied and took control of Wuhan. Revolution spread to other provinces.

The Revolution of 1911-12• In desperation, the court turned to the

creator of the new armies, Yuan Shikai, and he was appointed chief minister in November.

• Sun Yat-sen arrived in Shanghai from the USA on 25th December. He was elected President of the Chinese Republic in Nanjing, but Yuan Shikai had real power.

• Sun Yat-sen wrote to Yuan, explaining that he should be president. Yuan then persuaded Puyi to abdicate. Yuan Shikai was the new ruler of China.

Summary Questions1. In what ways does the growth of nationalism explain the

downfall of Imperial China in 1911-12?2. ‘It was China’s humiliation at the hands of the west and

Japan that destroyed the Qing regime.’ How far do you agree with this statement?

3. Why did attempts at reform fail to preserve the Imperial regime?

4. ‘A chapter of unfortunate accidents account for the revolution of 1911-12.’ How far do you agree with this statement?

5. Create a diagram illustrating the short-term and long-term causes of the 1911 Revolution.