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The Qing Empire and the Opium War by Haijian Mao Pdf
The Opium War of 1839-42, the first military conflict to take place between China and the West, is a subject of enduring interest. Mao Haijian, one of the most distinguished and well-known historians working in China, presents the culmination of more than ten years of research in a revisionist reading of the conflict and its main Chinese protagonists. Mao examines the Qing participants in terms of the moral standards and intellectual norms of their own time, demonstrating that actions which have struck later observers as ridiculous can be understood as reasonable within these individuals' own context. This English-language translation of Mao's work offers a comprehensive response to the question of why the Qing Empire was so badly defeated by the British in the first Opium War - an answer that is distinctive and original within both Chinese and Western historiography, and supported by a wealth of hitherto unknown detail.
As China reclaims its position as a world power, Imperial Twilight looks back to tell the story of the country’s last age of ascendance and how it came to an end in the nineteenth-century Opium War. As one of the most potent turning points in the country’s modern history, the Opium War has since come to stand for everything that today’s China seeks to put behind it. In this dramatic, epic story, award-winning historian Stephen Platt sheds new light on the early attempts by Western traders and missionaries to “open” China even as China’s imperial rulers were struggling to manage their country’s decline and Confucian scholars grappled with how to use foreign trade to China’s advantage. The book paints an enduring portrait of an immensely profitable—and mostly peaceful—meeting of civilizations that was destined to be shattered by one of the most shockingly unjust wars in the annals of imperial history. Brimming with a fascinating cast of British, Chinese, and American characters, this riveting narrative of relations between China and the West has important implications for today’s uncertain and ever-changing political climate.
‘A gripping read as well as an important one.’ Rana Mitter, Guardian In October 1839, Britain entered the first Opium War with China. Its brutality notwithstanding, the conflict was also threaded with tragicomedy: with Victorian hypocrisy, bureaucratic fumblings, military missteps, political opportunism and collaboration. Yet over the past hundred and seventy years, this strange tale of misunderstanding, incompetence and compromise has become the founding episode of modern Chinese nationalism. Starting from this first conflict, The Opium War explores how China’s national myths mould its interactions with the outside world, how public memory is spun to serve the present, and how delusion and prejudice have bedevilled its relationship with the modern West. ‘Lively, erudite and meticulously researched’ Literary Review ‘An important reminder of how the memory of the Opium War continues to cast a dark shadow.’ Sunday Times
During the 18th century, a series of military conflicts known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Chinese War took place between Britain and the Qing Empire. The immediate issue leading to the war was China's official seizure of opium stockpiles at Canton and the threat of death penalty for future offenders. British merchants sought free commerce and equal diplomatic recognition for all nations, and with British government support, they achieved their goals. As a result of their victory, the British imposed a treaty that granted them territory in China and opened the country to trade. The trade imbalance between China and the United Kingdom arose in the 18th century due to British demand for Chinese luxury goods like silk, porcelain, and tea. The Canton System limited inbound foreign trade to the port city of Canton and allowed European silver to enter China. To counteract this, the British East India Company began cultivating opium in Bengal and illicitly selling it to Chinese smugglers. This led to China's trade surplus being reversed, silver depletion, and a rise in opium addiction rates, causing concern among Chinese leaders. In 1839, Lin Zexu, the nominated viceroy of the Daoguang Emperor, was tasked with eradicating the opium trade in Canton. He used forceful measures, including the seizure of opium supplies and imposing a naval blockade on the Pearl River. Lin also destroyed a large amount of European opium he had confiscated. In response, Britain dispatched a military force that achieved significant victories over the Chinese Empire, leading to the signing of the first "unequal treaties" in 1842. These treaties granted indemnity and extraterritoriality to British citizens in China, opened five treaty ports to British merchants, and ceded Hong Kong Island to the British Empire in compensation.
Victorian Great Britain was the most technologically and economically developed country in the world at the time. As such, it had the power to protect its interests.
Succeeding the Ming dynasty in 1644, the Qing emperors managed to create one of the largest empires ever to exist in the territories of Asia and the fifth largest empire in the world.
The Qing Formation in World-Historical Time by Lynn Struve Pdf
For many years, the Ming and Qing dynasties have been grouped as “late imperial China,” a temporal framework that allows scholars to identify and evaluate indigenous patterns of social, economic, and cultural change initiated in the last century of Ming rule that imparted a particular character to state and society throughout the Qing and into the twentieth century. This paradigm asserts the autonomous character of social change in China and has allowed historians to create a “China-centered history.” Recently, however, many scholars have begun emphasizing the singular qualities of the Qing. Among the eight contributors to this volume on the formation of the Qing, those who emphasize the Manchu ethos of the Qing tend to see it as part of an early modernity and stress parallel and sometimes mutually reinforcing patterns of political consolidation and cultural integration across Eurasia. Other contributors who examine the Qing formation from the perspective of those who lived through the dynastic transition see the advent of Qing rule as prompting attempts by the Chinese subjects of the new empire to make sense of what they perceived as a historical disjuncture and to rework these understandings into an accommodation to foreign rule. In contrast to the late imperial paradigm, the new ways of configuring the Qing in historical time in both groups of essays assert the singular qualities of the Qing formation.
During the middle of the 19th-Century, Britain and China would twice go to war over trade, and in particular the trade in opium. The Chinese people had progressively become addicted to the narcotic, a habit that British merchants were more than happy to feed from their opium-poppy fields in India. When the Qing dynasty rulers of China attempted to suppress this trade--due to the serious social and economic problems it caused--the British Government responded with gunboat diplomacy, and conflict soon ensued. The first conflict, known as the First Anglo-Chinese War or Opium War (1839-42), ended in British victory and the Treaty of Nanking. However, this treaty was heavily biased in favour of the British, and it would not be long before there was a renewal of hostilities, taking the form of what became known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or Arrow War (1857-60). Again, the second conflict would end with an 'unequal treaty' that was heavily biased towards the victor. The Lion and the Dragon: Britain's Opium Wars with China, 1839-1860 examines the causes and ensuing military history of these tragic conflicts, as well as their bitter legacies.
From Diplomacy to War - British Foreign Policy in China 1793 – 1860 by Derya Ünal Pdf
Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject History - World History - Modern History, grade: 6.0, University of Basel, course: The British Empire, language: English, abstract: From the beginning, British trade with China was restricted to confinements in Canton, as the Qing Emperors saw the foreign intruders as a potential threat and were keen on keeping the foreigners beyond their borders and under tight control. This relationship between the two Empires only changed at the beginning of the 19th century when the British decided to renew their trade interests in the Far East. The following time was then characterized by an increase of diplomatic efforts between the expansionist British and the reluctant Qing Emperors, which was eventually disrupted by war. In this paper, I want to analyse the development of the British political and economic relations to China, during the period of time in 1793 – 1860. This period was chosen as it marked a turning point in the Anglo-Chinese relations, causing events that immensely affected the histories of both Empires to come, and leading to the rise of one, and the downfall of the other. The year 1793 witnessed the journey of the Macartney Embassy to the court of the Qing Emperor, which was the first renewed attempt to secure trade concessions for the unsatisfied East India Company. This first diplomatic act was bound to failure due to the fundamental differences in cultural self-conception. The subsequent events demonstrate the continuation of failed awareness from two Empires each seeing themselves as the centre of the world. In this way, the tensions during this time between the powers were also influenced by the change from a cultural to an economic clash, exposing the interests of both nations in the conflict. The failure of diplomatic measurements is of particular interest in this case, as they gave rise to the catastrophic events of the two Opium Wars. In order to understand this process, I will focus on the employed strategies and policies by the British to reach their goals of opening China to trade. Further, the aim is to provide an evaluation of both countries‘ motivations during the Opium Wars, so as to understand why the British employed different and increasingly pushing tactics, or why the Qing Emperors goals were dissimilar to such an extent. The year 1860 was chosen as the end of this period, as it saw the destruction of the Imperial summer palace by the British as retaliation for their tortured ambassadors, and can be seen as a symbol for the disastrous consequences the conflict had on both sides.
In the early nineteenth century China remained almost untouched by British and European powers - but as new technology started to change this balance, foreigners gathered like wolves around the weakening Qing Empire. Would the Chinese suffer the fate of much of the rest of the world, carved into pieces by Europeans? Or could they adapt rapidly enough to maintain their independence? This important and compelling book explains the roots of China's complex relationship with the West by illuminating a dramatic, colourful and sometimes shocking period of the country's history.
The First Opium War - The Chinese Expedition 1840-1842 - The Illustrated Edition by Duncan McPherson Pdf
The first Anglo-Chinese War of 1839-1842 was fought essentially over trade restrictions between the British Empire and the Qing Dynasty. European traders were only permitted to sell though a cartel of Chinese merchants known as the Thirteen Hongs, and were not allowed to travel, live or trade in any other part of China apart from the Thirteen Factories in Canton. Due to the ever-growing demands of the home market for tea, and China's insistence on payment in silver, a trade imbalance in China's favour developed, and so the British, via the East India Company, began to trade in opium. Initially the Chinese authorities tolerated this, but in 1839, the new governor of Canton seized all the opium, banned its sale under threat of death, and closed the channel to Canton, effectively holding the British traders hostage. The resulting retaliation from the British was somewhat delayed, but in April 1840 the Chinese Expedition, a force of 3000 soldiers and a small naval force arrived in Singapore. After decisively defeating the Chinese in the summer 1842, the war finally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Nanking and the ceding of Hong Kong to the British Crown. Fully illustrated throughout with contemporary paintings, engravings and maps, this authoritative eye-witness account of the First Opium War was written by Duncan McPherson, a surgeon with the 37th Madras Native Infantry. Highly readable, McPherson's vivid descriptions of China and its people, and his detailed accounts of the battles give a unique perspective to the conflict. Also included is an in-depth appendix featuring the official battle reports, general orders, circulars, notifications and returns of the dead and wounded.
Author : James M. Polachek Publisher : Harvard Univ Asia Center Page : 422 pages File Size : 52,5 Mb Release : 1992 Category : History ISBN : 0674454464
Why did defeat in the Opium War not lead Ch'ing China to a more realistic appreciation of Western might and Chinese weakness? James Polachek's revisionist analysis exposes the behind-the-scenes political struggles that not only shaped foreign-policy decisions in the 1830s and 1840s but have continued to affect the history of Chinese nationalism in modern times. Polachek looks closely at the networks of literati and officials, self-consciously reminiscent of the late Ming era that sought and gained the ear of the emperor. Challenging the conventional view that Lin Tse-hsu and his supporters were selfless patriots who acted in China's best interests, Polachek agrues that, for reasons having more to do with their own domestic political agenda, these men advocated a futile policy of militant resistance to the West. Linking political intrigue, scholarly debates, and foreign affairs, local notables in Canton and literati lobbyists in Perking this book sets the Opium War for the first times in its "inner," domestic political context.