World History: China's Changes - From the Opium War to Taiping

A naval battle from the First Opium War

The last time we discussed China we looked at the Qing, but even then faults were emerging in the empire. Today, we will look at, some, of the period which has been referred to as 'The Century of Humiliation'. From the 1830s until 1949 China saw itself attempt to reform itself in the face of domestic turmoil and imperial aggression which would lead to the rise of republicanism, civil war, and colonialism. Over the next two posts we'll be looking at the immense changes which China underwent during the 1800s and early-1900s. Naturally, we cannot cover everything, but the bibliography at the end will contain the sources which I have used, and they give an interesting narrative of this period. In particular, I would recommend The Search for Modern China by Jonathan Spence; it covers a huge span of Chinese history, from the late-Ming up to 1989, but it is an easy and informative read. This post, we will look at the the cracks which emerged at the end of the 1700s until the brutal war with the Taiping; next post we'll look at the aftermath of the Taiping until the Warlord Period. From the 1830s until 1949 this period is often referred to as the 'Century of Humiliation.'

The Cracks Begin

It is often seen that imperial intervention is what brought down the Qing - after all the 'Century of Humiliation' is often dated from 1839 with the beginning of the 'Opium War'. However, imperialism exacerbated domestic tensions, and these tensions predate the arrival of imperial ships. Immanuel Hsu has identified six factors about why Qing authority started to wane when the Jiaqing Emperor took over in 1795 after the abdication of Qianlong. The first, administrative inefficiency - strict regulation of administrators meant that, quoting one high courtier, success in government was to 'kowtow more and talk less.' Power was concentrated with the emperor, and such a system succeeded when the emperor was competent - while Qianlong was, his successors were not. However, this administrative inefficiency caused future emperors to be inefficient - they had to contend with an inactive administration preventing efficient rule. Second, corruption was widespread. Qianlong's imperial bodyguard Ho-shen amassed a fortune of 800 million taels (about $1.5 billion), so that, following his execution in 1799, it was joked that 'When Ho-shen fell, Jiaqing feasted.' Third, the degradation of the bannermen. Like the samurai in Tokugawa Japan, the Manchu bannermen had brought military victory to the early-Qing, but through centuries of privileged land ownership, coupled with corruption, meant they stopped being efficient. Fourth, the Qing coffers were running dry. Qianlong loved big displays of power which cost the state over 120 million taels, and constant wars of expansion further drained the treasury. Corruption made this worse, officials purposefully postponed fighting the White Lotus Rebellion (1796-1804) so they could get more money. Fifth, rising population. Large landowners controlled arable land, and they kept it despite the growing population. From 1644 to 1812, the land available rose by 50%, whereas the population rose by 100%. As land was not redistributed to accommodate this, it created a poor and unemployed rural population who turned to rebels or bandits. Sixth, intellectual decline. Thanks to tight restrictions on what administrators could do by the late-1700s scholars, who made up the civil service, stopped being administrators. Why bother applying knowledge when bribes and kowtowing could do the same quicker and more safely?

When we think of Qing era revolts we either think of the Ming loyalists of the 1600s, or the revolts which emerged in the mid to late-1800s. However, the late-1700s saw a wave of secret societies emerge or outright rebel. Since the 1300s there had been a Buddhist secret society called the White Lotus; it attracted Han Chinese who were enticed by the idea that soon the new Buddha would arrive. There had been several White Lotus uprisings and movements throughout Chinese history, and one broke out in 1774. Rebels led by a herbalist called Wang Lun rose up to challenge to a general antagonism to the ruling Manchu order - Wang famously stated that 'If I call on Heaven, Heaven will assist me; if I call on Earth, Earth will give me magical strength. Their guns will not fire. What men will dare impede me?' Although Wang Lun's rebellion, after initial early success, was crushed it would inspire other rebellions. In the 1780s, the Heaven and Earth Society rose up in Taiwan and declared a new dynasty 'Obedient to Heaven'; in Gansu province two Muslim revolts emerged opposing the state appointed Muslim officials; and in the southwest Miao tribal people revolted. Most importantly, in 1799 a new White Lotus rebellion emerged directly more political than Wang Lun's rebellion. They directly linked their rising to local tax inequalities and managed to spread across Sichuan, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Henan. All these rebellions were eventually crushed, but it showed one thing - Qing rule was being rocked. 

Imperialism and the First Opium War

Lin Zexu, c.1843

For decades the imperialist powers was eyeing up China - now free from the Napoleonic Wars and the rise of Industrial capitalism made China a new market for expansion. As we saw previously, China had rebuffed the Macartney mission in the 1790s, this was an attempt for Britain to open an embassy in Beijing. Europeans, and especially missionaries, were only allowed to operate in either Macau or Canton, and even then they were only allowed to trade with permission from local officials. In 1834 William John Napier arrived at Canton and demanded that he be allowed to trade, he was refused and war almost broke out. These feelings festered for five years, and in the meantime Britain started illegally selling opium. Britain was more reliant on Chinese goods than China was on Britain creating a trade imbalance which Britain disliked. Consequently, Britain decided to sell opium grown in India through Canton to address this; opium had been banned by the Jiaqing Emperor so British merchants became the primary source of opium. Within only a few years the amount of opium sold to China exploded - by 1835 it had passed 30,000 chests and within three years it exceeded 40,000. More and more people became addicted, and a significant chunk of Chinese silver went towards the opium trade. It was decided to stamp out the opium trade, so Lin Zexu was sent to Canton to stamp it out in 1839. As governor-general of Hubei and Hunan he had virtually wiped out opium through ruthless means; he wrote a letter to good friend and outspoken reformer Gong Zizhen that he wished to hang all opium smokers and all peddlers should be beheaded. He quickly set to work against opium. Using a mixture of reason, persuasion, and coercion he quickly started wiping out opium. Students and gentry were told the dangers of opium, and were allowed to anonymously give the names of addicts and distributors. Within three months he had arrested over 1,600 people; had seized over 78,000 pounds of opium; and had seized a further 55,000 opium pipes. Having a weak navy he tried a different approach with Europeans going as far as to write a letter to Queen Victoria urging her as a 'honourable nation' to help 'remove the source of evil'. When foreigners refused to hand over all the opium he had them blockaded, had Chinese workers leave their employment, and even had gongs banged all night to keep them awake. After six weeks 3 million pounds of raw opium were handed over and eventually funnelled into the sea. Lin made a special prayer saying that 'you [the Southern Sea] who wash away all stains and cleanse all impurities...tell the creatures of the water to move away for a time, to avoid being contaminated.' 

A British depiction of the Battle of Chinkiang

The British were enraged about another nation destroying their trade, and wealthy opium merchant William Jardine even returned to Britain to help calls for military action against China. Lin continued to firmly stamp out the opium trade, and was even mobilised locals against the British after they refused to hand over someone who had murdered a villager outside Kowloon near Hong Kong. Angered, Britain sent a fleet under George Elliott which blockaded Canton and Ningbo, and seized Zhoushan in 1840. To avoid war and reopen trade governor-general Qishan saw that Lin was dismissed and banished, an indemnity paid, and that the British could meet the Qing court. However, the prime minister, Lord Palmerston, wanted to dominate China and sent Sir Henry Pottinger to enact this. The Qing were unprepared for the strength of the British military. Steam-powered British ships, like the Nemesis, allowed quick transport and superior firepower compared to the Chinese ships. That does not mean that the Qing did not put up a serious fight - Lin had commissioned scholars to study Western ships, and the invading British army found near-complete warships in Wusong, Xiamen, and Shanghai. However, the British still won an easy victory occupying several ports including Shanghai, Xiamen, Nanjing, and Ningbo. The ensuing Treaty of Nanjing, the first of many Unequal Treaties, was humiliating for the Qing, and is now seen as the beginning of the Century of Humiliation. The Daoguang Emperor himself was forced to agree to pay an indemnity of $21 million, lift restrictions on trade, open five cities (Canton, Shanghai, Xiamen, Ningbo, and Fuzhou) to trade, station British consuls in each port city, and perpetually cede Hong Kong. This was the first setback the Qing had seen since they came to power, and would shatter the image of their security. The earlier mentioned faults in Qing power would come spilling out.

Societal Changes

From a HSBC advert for their Shanghai branch

There were shifts emerging in society even before the humiliating defeat in what is now seen as the First Opium War. Landlessness and unemployment had fuelled the rise of banditry, rebellions, and exoduses to urban areas; pressures in urban areas worsened thanks to corruption and the British purposefully encouraged a surreptitious opium addiction among the unemployed to create a continuous demand for opium; and the image of the Qing had been shattered. Modern Triads emerged during this period as an avenue for the landless and unemployed to find a living, or those in British Hong Kong to resist imperialism. Although we'll discuss life in the treaty ports more next time, it is worth discussing it briefly here. Russia, the US, and France soon joined Britain in having Unequal Treaties signed with China under the threat of war. Especially from the 1850s, an increasing European presence could be found in the treaty ports. Indian troops became a common site and locals in Shanghai combined local traditions with imperial capitalism when the first European banks were opened in Shanghai. Lions were seen as lucky, and HSBC banks had lion statues outside them, so photos show statues with shiny paws after repeated rubbing. Local Chinese were further exploited and discriminated against. The ports became integral parts of colonial empires, albeit more informally; a myth emerged that a Shanghai park had a sign, written in English, saying 'No dogs or Chinese allowed'. Although not true many wanted it to be, and in certain areas it practically was true. Ethnicity made a resurgence. Han nationalism started to emerge as the ruling Qing were Manchu - the weakness of China was increasingly blamed on Manchus, and many rebellious organisations, especially the Triads, were made of only Han. Minorities, often referred to as 'Guest Peoples', also began agitating against Manchu rule. Christian missionaries further made their mark - Christian texts were smuggled out of Canton, and later missionaries followed them. The arrival of a new faith shifted how things were understood in China. We will discuss women more in detail elsewhere but the emergence of women's emancipation can be seen during this time. Scholar Li Ruzhen in 1825 wrote Flowers in the Mirror which sees the characters travel to a world where women rule, and they have to have their feet crushed before being confined to the isolation in a critique of how women were treated.

The Second Opium War

In the 1850s and 1860s the Qing faced major military actions - another war against Europeans, and three major revolts. Britain, America, France, and, to an extent, Russia were seeking treaty reform with the Qing - their expanding economies wanted even more domination over China. In 1856 they got their excuse. Searching for opium shipments China was accused of raiding a British ship in Hong Kong called the Arrow, so to 'defend' themselves Britain went to war. Initially set back by the 1857 Indian Rebellion, which can be read about here, Canton was captured in December 1857 and its governor-general exiled to Calcutta. This shows how much Britain viewed China as its colony - it felt powerful enough to exile another state's officials. Capturing the Dagu forts in the far north the road to Beijing was open so a new treaty was signed. The 1858 Treaty of Tianjin destroyed Chinese autonomy - Christian missionaries were allowed free access to the country, four treaty ports would be opened when the rebellions were crushed, six would immediately be opened, communication would only be done in English, and the character yi (barbarian) was banned. One of the negotiators, Prince Gong, would be inspired by this treaty to bring change to China. However, not everyone at court accepted this and fighting continued.

The Yuanmingyuan today

The second half of the war came to an end in 1860 but was devastating for China. It, arguably, was the most devastating part of the Century of Humiliation until the Rape of Nanjing in 1937. Anglo-French forces wanted to punish China for daring to rebel against the Treaty of Tianjin, so they opted to destroy a cultural icon when they reached Beijing. Originally the Forbidden Palace was chosen as the residence of the emperor, but this was scrapped in favour of the Summer Palaces. As mentioned when we discussed the Qing, the Summer Palaces were one of the greatest icons of Chinese culture. The army destroyed the Yuanmingyuan and looted the Yiheyuan destroying centuries of Chinese culture. The Yuanmingyuan remains destroyed to this day as a symbol of imperialism, and if you visit a museum in Britain or France today and see a Chinese artefact obtained, or dated, from the 1850s/1860s it was looted from the Yiheyuan. The destruction of the Summer Palaces still is a deep rupture in Chinese culture and political thinking. In 1860 the Convention of Beijing made China an informal part of the Euro-American empires: the Treaty of Tianjin was to be ratified, an indemnity of up to 16 million taels had to be paid, opium was legalised, Kowloon was ceded to Britain, and Tianjian (which was close to Beijing) was open to trade. This was not the end of China's troubles.

The Nian and Muslim Revolts

Li Hongzhang in 1896

Although these revolts occurred concurrently with, or after, the Taiping I want to quickly discuss them here. Originating in the north, the Nian Revolt had its roots in the earlier White Lotus Rebellions. The Nian were raiders who took in poor or former peasants, and following floods in Jiangsu in 1851 their numbers boomed. Despite only numbering between 30,000 to 50,000 troops their access to firearms and ability to isolate Beijing while government forces were fighting the Taiping allowed them to be powerful. Their leader Zhang Luoxing became popular thanks to his raiding on other areas to feed local villages, and his attempts to curb rape and raiding. Even though Zhang was killed by General Senggelinqin at Anhui the Nian continued in 1863 the Nian Rebellion continued for another five years. Senggelinqin's massacres of the population became coupled with his continuous falling into traps helped the rebellion drag on. He was replaced by Zeng Guofan, who was integral in toppling to Taiping, and even he failed to defeat them, so his protege Li Hongzhang was given control. Li managed to defeat the Nian in 1868. Meanwhile, heavy taxation and expulsions of Muslims from their land to access mines led to revolts in the west from 1862. Another scholar turned general, Zuo Zongtang, was instrumental in putting it down. Zeng, Li, and Zuo will become very important in our next World History post.

The Taiping 

The Taiping Rebellion remains one of the bloodiest events in history causing up to 30 million people to be killed. It began in a strange way. A member of the Hakka minority Hong Xiuquan was born in the very poor province of Guangxi. His family worked hard to allow their son to go for the examinations, something very difficult for a minority and peasants, but he would end up failing the exams four times. As a young man he had been introduced to Christianity by American missionary Edwin Stevens, theorised by Spence as we're not actually sure, but after having strange dreams years later inspired him to read the text. Hong had dreams where two golden haired men, calling him son and brother, had visited him, and he realised that they were God and Jesus. Hong believed himself to be the son of God, and younger brother of Jesus, who would throw down the corrupt Manchu. Isolated from the rest of China, his influence quickly garnered over 10,000 followers. His harsh criticisms of the Manchu, calling them demons sent by the devil, and preaches of equality, inspired by Christianity, caused his following to grow. In 1850 Lin Zexu was brought back from exile but died on the way to fight Hong, and his successor was roundly defeated. On January 11, 1851 Hong Xiuquan declared himself the Heavenly King of the Taiping Tianguo. In 1853 he took Nanjing and ruled there for a decade. 

The Taiping Tianguo was a state of contrasts. While sexes were rigidly segregated it offered a way to grant women increasing independence. As Hakka women did not bind their feet it allowed them to bolster their armies where Su Sanniang became one of the most important generals of the Taiping. Ono Kazuko has further emphasised how women had considerable power in choosing who they married. This did not mean that women were truly equal - Hong did promote men over women, and said 'Can the Chinese even consider themselves men?' as they had been conquered by the Qing. There were attempts to rebuild society - opium addiction was successfully dealt with, dancing was banned, exams became based on Christianity, a communal bank was opened, and Hong tried to redistribute land equally in the most ambitious land policy until the communists of the 1950s. Why then, despite ruling from Nanjing with a population of over 30 million, did the Taiping fail to oust the Qing? Jonathan Spence identifies several reasons. Hong declared other generals 'kings' but the most capable were killed early on or tried to challenge Hong for power - Yang Xiuqing was killed in a palace coup in 1856 and Shi Dakai was killed by the Qing in 1863 when he tried to form his own kingdom. Losing key allies Hong's rule became increasingly erratic and inefficient. For this reason his land policy fell through losing support of the peasantry. Hong's isolation and aestheticism prevented collaboration with other revolts - his rigid rules in Nanjing alienated many Han. Although Euro-American powers initially toyed with supporting the Taiping in order to create a Christian China, Hong's view on Christianity put them off - the person who converted Hong, American missionary Issacher Roberts, distanced himself from Hong. The 'Ever-Victorious Army' under Auguste Protet and Charles Gordon allied with Qing officials, like Zeng Guofan, to fight the Taiping. Protet would be killed, but Gordon would be Christened 'Chinese Gordon' - he would later be killed trying to put down an anti-colonial rebellion in Sudan. In 1864 Hong died - either from suicide or eating a poisoned mushroom - as Nanjing was starving, people had resorted to eating grass and their dead. With him the Taiping Tianguo came to a close.

Conclusion and Next Time

The first half of the 1800s would be used by reformers to bring change to China. Those involved in the Opium Wars and rebellions would see their defeats as a way to 'modernise' China - the self-strengthening movement would soon emerge. Reform would lead to revolution, and the eventual collapse of the Chinese Empire. Observing the Second Opium War and Taiping Tianguo Karl Marx would observe how institutional government came under threat by the greed of colonial exploitation, and how a revolutionary China would break the international system exploiting it. He would reflect that European conservatives would one day flee from the proletariat hoping to find refuge in a conservative power only to find written on the Great Wall, 'Chinese Republic: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity'. Before then we have to see the successes and failures of reform, Sun Yat-sen, more colonial exploitation, rebellions, Chinese communities abroad, and civil war.

The sources used are as follows:

-Jonathan Spence, In Search for Modern China, (New York: 1990)

-Ono Kazuko, Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution, 1850-1950, (Stanford: 1978)

-Immanuel Hsu, The Rise of Modern China, Sixth Edition, (New York: 2000)

-Kumari Jayawardena, Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World, (London: 1986)

-Frances Wood, No Dogs and Not Many Chinese, Treaty Port Life in China, 1843-1943, (London: 1998)

-Chun-tu Hsueh, (ed.), The Chinese Revolution of 1911: New Perspectives, (Hong Kong: 1983)

-Jonathan Spence, God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan, (New York: 1996)

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