Term Paper on "China's Modern Society"

Term Paper 5 pages (1659 words) Sources: 3

[EXCERPT] . . . .

China's Modern Society

During the eighteenth century, China would undergo a transformation. Part of the reason for this was because different innovations (such as the invention of gun powder), would allow both the European Monarchs and the Emperors of China to control large amounts of territory. This would improve the security over vast regions, helping to promote increased amounts of trade. At the same time, China would be influenced by the foods and spices that were imported from colonies in the Western Hemisphere. (Dukier 362) This is important, because these two factors would help to transform Chinese society. As it would begin to embrace, certain aspects of Western culture, while continuing to cling to centuries of traditions. To fully understand this requires examining how politics, ethnic relations, gender relations, ecological balance and relations with foreigners would impact these views. This will be accomplished by: examining the extent that China would modernize and had the Opium Wars not taken place if the Qing dynasty would have survived. Together, these different elements will provide the greatest insights as to how the China's modern society would evolve.

To what extent is China said to be "modern"?

Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, China was ruled by a number of different dynasties that would date back centuries. During this period, the Emperors would rule with near impunity. Part of the reason for this, was because Confucius would instill the thinking that all rulers were the direct decedents from the Gods. Any kind of actions that would question their authority or their place in the social structure was considered to be going against their wishes. This would have an impact upon Chinese political thinking, gender relations, ethnic relations and ecological balance. As they forced the population to be subservient to their rulers and the social order that was in place. ("A Rebellion that Nearly Worked" 76 -- 82)

Once the Europeans arrived is when these different views would begin to change. As the Chinese would see tremendous opportunities, yet they were reluctant to engage the international community in a constructive way. What happened was China had a long standing distrust of outsiders that date backs to the times of the Mongolian incursions (under Ghingis Khan). This would have an impact upon how the Chinese would interact with European's, as they were hesitant about becoming too close. The reason why is because many would see the frequent colonization and never ending amounts of trade, as attempts to gain some kind of influence in the country. As a result, actions were taken to restrict the movement of Westerners in China. This was problematic, because it would limit the flow of different goods and it prevented merchants from being able to fully develop Chinese markets. At which point, these frustrations would have an impact upon their relations with foreigners. This would affect all other elements of society itself. ("A Rebellion that Nearly Worked" 76 -- 82)

A good example of the can be seen with the influence that Western European powers would have on China during the 18th century. What happened was; the constant restrictions and limitations of foreign traders would lead to anger from the Europeans about access to Chinese markets. This would have an impact upon future relations as various wars, incursions and occupations of select areas would take place. This was part of an effort to increase influence and ensure that the European traders would be able to have their rights respected by Chinese officials. Over the course of time, this would have an impact upon China's modernization. As the various cultural ideas would: become a competing part of Chinese society, there would be changes in how various political institutions would interact with minorities / women (by giving them a greater voice) and this would tip ecological balances in favor of the European powers.

When you put these different elements together, they are highlighting how the influence of the European powers would help bring China into the modern world. Yet, they came at a price that would often involve the exploitation of the people and various regions. This is problematic, because it would create a love -- hate relationship with the West. Where, China enjoyed the effects that modernization would have, however they were reluctant to fully embrace Western ideas. This is because they felt that they were having: their culture, country and identity slowly taken away from them. In this aspect, one could argue that the modernization of China would serve as both a blessing and a curse that would have an impact on contemporary relations. ("A Rebellion that Nearly Worked" 76 -- 82)

If the Opium War had not happened, would the Qing multi-ethnic empire have survived in the modern world?

Possibly. The reason why is because the Opium Wars were actually a series of two different wars. The first one would take place from 1839 to 1842 and the second war would occur from 1856 to 1860. What happened was the Opium wars were designed to force China, to submit to foreign demands of: increasing influence to Chinese markets and trade routes. The problem was that the Chinese government was resistant to such actions, as they felt that this would undermine their influence in regional affairs and would give the Europeans greater control over trade along with the management of natural resources. At the same time, the Europeans wanted to have favorable trade barriers (at the expense of the Chinese) and unlimited access to different natural resources. Given the fact that China had a historical mistrust of outsiders, meant that these tensions would begin to increase at time went by. This would have an impact upon the British who wanted increased access to Chinese markets for the different goods that were produced in India. ("Chinese History.")

To address these challenges British merchants would quickly begin to establish trade routes into China with large quantities of Opium. At the time, the Qing dynasty had outlawed Opium in China and was heavily restricting the drug. As this was occurring during the 1830's, this would have an impact upon China by creating a large class of people that were becoming addicted to the drug (as the government was powerless to prevent the situation from occurring), Over the course of time, this would have an adverse effect on the Chinese economy, by causing large amounts of foreign reserves to be drained (leading to budget deficits with the British). This would lead to heated amounts of contention between the British and Qing dynasty. As the Chinese government wanted the British to cease with such activities, while the British were demanding increased favorable trading status in return. ("Chinese History.")

At which point, the first Opium War began in 1839. This was an effort by the Chinese government, to prevent the British from continuing with these activates. As the government would send a letter to Queen Victoria; questioning the moral authority of the British to engage in these kinds of activities when this substance was banned in England. The British would respond by sending an army to China and would attack coastal towns with modern gunboats / muskets. At the same time, they would move up the Yangtze and assumed the tax collection for the Chinese government. This would have an adverse effect on the Qing dynasty, with their financial situation become worse and they had parts of the region that were under foreign military occupation. Running out of options, the Chinese government would sue for peace. The British would require the Chinese to: pay reparations, open several different Chinese ports to British merchants grant exclusive control to key markets and relinquish control of Hong Kong. This is important, because the humiliation that the Chinese felt from the First Opium War would set the stage for the Second… READ MORE

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