...The 1911 Revolution was a significant event in Chinese history. It brought an end to more than two thousand years of imperial dynasties and the dictatorial Manchu’s rule. A republic was set up in China under the leadership of Yuan Shikai. It also marked China’s parting with the past. The Chinese began to turn away from Confuscious ideals and became more exposed to western influence. The creation of a western-style republic speeded up and extended modernization in all areas of Chinese city life and culture. Also, the international status of China had increased after 1911. It seemed that China had changed a lot after 1911. However, many things remained the same as before. The 1911 revolution developed China in many ways, bringing down the Manchu Dynasty was most important. “such was the decline in support for the Manchu government that the last years of its life between 1908and 1911may be fairly described as a revolution waiting to happen”( page 19 Lynch) This end to 2,000 years of Imperial rule was most significant, as it was the Manchu's, who were seen as the roadblock to reform and the development of China. Throughout Chinese history, old dynasties had been overthrown or replaced by new dynasties. However the 1911 revolution was the first to cause the downfall of a monarchy entirely and attempt to extend the ideas of democracy and human rights throughout China, this had never been done so before. After 1911 Revolution, a republic was set up in China. This put an end to...
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...China was originally ruled by Manchu.However,the inability of Qing government had aroused social discontent.As a result,more and more people chose to engage in the revolutionary activities.Dr Sun Yat Sin,one of the leader of the revolutionaries,had initiated 1911 Revolution.So was 1911 Revolution a turning point of modern China history?To a large extent,I agree with this statement. To commence with,1911 Revolution had contributed to the end of the monarchical form of Chinese government.Before 1911 Revolution,China had been ruled by the monarchical form of government for over two thousand years.Emperor possessed the highest power in the country and the general public must show absolute obedience on his demand.People were deprived of their political rights as most of them were never granted a chance to become a government official.In the 1911 Revolution,Yuan Shikai,with his military power,forced the Qing emperor Xuantong to abdicate.All the previous Qing officials soon lost their political powers.With the downfall of Qing dynasty,the monarchical form of government seemed to come to an end.On 12 February 1912,268 years of Manchu rule ended.After 1911 Revolution,the head of the country was called president rather than emperor.Instead of monarchism,republicanism was practiced.Every Chinese could have a chance to vote for their leaders.People could also have a chance to speak up for themselves.Electoral elements were introduced to the political system.Comparing with the autocratic...
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...2018 H120 Introduction to the History of East Asia Essay 3 Andy Ricci 622624 Word Count: 2018 Why do we sometimes refer to the events of 1868 in Japan as a 'restoration', but to those of the years following 1911 in China as 'revolutions'? Introduction The Meiji Restoration of 1868 in Japan and the Chinese Revolution of 1911 were responsible for producing an enormous amount of upheaval in both countries. Both nations were immersed in social, political and economic backwardness. In this context, both political episodes should be construed as an attempt to reverse decline and set the course for modernization. The main thesis of this essay is based on the notion that whilst there are some similarities between both political events, the main difference resides in the fact that the Meiji Restoration began the centralization of the mechanisms of governance and induced the social and economic modernization of the country. At the same time, the Chinese Revolution of 1911 did not succeed in engendering a sound system of government capable of reversing the country’s decline. The first part of the essay will deal with the main characteristics of the Meiji restoration of 1868. The second section of the essay will outline the main features pertaining to the Chinese Revolution of 1911. The third part of the essay will examine the similarities and differences between these two events, with the ultimate purpose of determining the qualitative differentiation to be made between the concepts of...
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... Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911, also known as Manchu, was the last of the Chinese dynasties. During the Qing period, imperial China reached its zenith of power and influence. The Qing dynasty lasted for almost 300 years, extended China’s borders farther than they had ever been before, and perfected the Chinese imperial system. After flourishing in the 18th century, it fell apart in the 19th. Like many complicated systems, it grew brittle and inflexible. It could not adjust as new problems arose. Bad harvests, warfare, rebellions, overpopulation, economic disasters, and foreign imperialism contributed to the dynasty’s collapse. One reason for the decline of the Qing Dynasty was that the rulers were actually Manchus and instituted many things in China which the Han people did not agree with - one was the practice of shaving the head but leaving the sides and a long tail required for all males - this practice was brought to China by the Manchus and the Han people saw it as an emblem of their domination by non-domestic rulers. Opium was also a major reason for the fall of the Qing Dynasty. Opium is a drug found in the Opium Poppy Plant and contains the major ingredient in heroin. The British were in possession of a very potent strain of Opium and illegally sold it to China. This cause most people in China to get addicted to Opium. This was detrimental to Chinese society because since everyone was always high on Opium nothing got done in China. Also when China refused to legally trade...
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...revolutionary beliefs was the main reason for the fall of the Qing dynasty 1911-12? This essay will be looking at how much of a contribution the spread of revolutionary beliefs in China had in the fall of the Qing Dynasty. In order to determine the importance of this I will therefore also be looking at other factors such as, foreign interference, double tenth and the inability to change. I believe it is partially accurate to say that the spread of revolutionary beliefs was important in the downfall of the Qing Dynasty; however it wasn’t necessarily the most important factor. This can be determined from the effects of Sun Yatsen’s anti-government movement in China. Initially, the extreme need for revolution and reform stemmed from Cixi’s need and desire for conservatism. Her oblivious attitude towards the failure of the government angered many people and essentially gave reformers the ammunition to spread their own beliefs. As previously mentioned, Sun Yatsen was one of the people who felt strongly about changing the way things worked in China. He was particularly open minded and due to his education abroad had adopted a Westernized style of thinking. Thus, Yatsen attempted to modernise and regenerate China by removing foreign control and reasserting their unique character and greatness by forming the revolutionary alliance in 1905. Within this, his greatest belief was that the only way in which China would be able to modernise was if they became a republic, so his party formalised...
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...In 1930, Chinese officials began to have growing concerns about the increasing trade of opium with the British. China’s social and economic status started to decline due to the opium trade agreement. Chinese addiction to opium became overwhelming and eventually forced China to launch Lin Zexu’s Anti-Drug Campaign in 1839. As a result, this campaign was viewed as a violation of the trade agreement with Britain and helped led to the First Opium War. China isolated themselves from the western world, believing they didn’t need anything from foreign trade. For eight decades, the only port that China opened was called the Canton System. The problem was China only wanted silver in exchange for their exports to Europe. Unfortunately, Europe only traded in gold and silver was hard to come by. Desperate to resolve the foreign trade, Britain realized they can acquire such a commodity in opium from India to exchange for exports in China. The trade of India’s opium started as a medical drug in the early 1800’s between China and Britain. Eventually, it triggered massive dependences throughout China’s society that affected the rich and poor equally. Before long, the demand for the drug was overwhelming, resulting in China importing more opium than exporting trades. Thus, resulting in an imbalanced foreign trade and stability of China’s society. A decree issued in 1810 from the Chinese Emperor stating, “Opium is a poison, undermining our good customs and morality...However, recently the purchasers...
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...For the first half of the 20th century, China faced political chaos. Following a revolution in 1911, which overthrew the Manchu dynasty, the new Republic failed to take hold and China continue to be exploited by foreign powers, lacking any strong central government. The Chinese Civil War was an attempt by two ideologically opposed forces – the nationalists and the communists – to see who would ultimately be able to restore order and regain central control over China. The struggle between these two forces, which officially started in 1927, was interrupted by the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, but started again in 1946 once the war with Japan was over. the results of this war were to have a major effect not just on China itself, but on the international stage. Long-term causes of the Chinese Civil War[edit] Socio-economic factors[edit] Summary of Socio-economic factors In 1900, China was ruled by the imperial Manchu dynasty. The vast majority of the population were peasants. Their life was hard, working the land, and most were extremely poor. It was the peasants who paid the taxes that in turn paid for the great Manchu imperial court.It was also the peasants who faced starvation during floods or droughts, as their subsistence farming techniques often left them with barely enough to feed their families. The population in China grew by 8 per cent in the second half of the 19th century, but the land cultivated only increased by 1 per cent. This imbalance made famines...
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...counterinsurgency which is a military or political action taken against the revolutionaries. These two led to the rise of dictatorship in China leading to oppression to the citizens. Mao Zedong was the prominent person in the fight against imperialism as he championed the transformation into a semi-colony and later into a colony. In this assignment, we will look at how the Chinese revolution tells us about anti-imperialism and counterinsurgency. Chinese...
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...During the years of 1850-1920 China did have some factors of being revolutionary, the decline in imperial China, their rise of their military as well as the change in the political parties, China also had factors of being a continuation such as their economy and the leaderships. However there wasn’t many factors of China showing to be a continuation this was because China was changing massively and at a fast rate during this period of time. One way to show that China was a revolutionary was the Boxer Rising. This was a popular anti-western movement in China, which was supported by peasants (such as farmers) uprising in 1900 which was set up to drive all foreigners out of China. It was a violent anti-foreigner and anti-Christian movement; it was motivated by proto-nationalists and backed by the empress dowager CIXI. In 1900 the Boxers besieged the foreign embassies in Beijing for two months until they were relieved by an international force. The rising was intervened by the Great Powers, which defeated the Chinese forces; because of this it further reduced the authority of the QING dynasty. The Boxer Risings changed China quite a lot: It made the leaders of China realise that they had to modernize and adopt European technology as well as this it also helped to opened the doors for Revolutionary movements such as the Communist Party and the to rise and to gain the support of China's people. Another factor that shows how revolutionary China was, was the End of the Chinese Empire...
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...The first turning point, the fall of the Qing dynasty, occurred in 1911 after an army uprising in October in the city of Wuchang had caused rebellion to rapidly spread. The uprising was caused by disturbances in Sichuan Province where the gentry violently resisted the government’s attempts to nationalise the provincial railway. The court appealed to Yuan Shikai, commander of the first modern army unit (Beyang army) to put down the uprising. Revolutionaries in the Southern provinces called for the establishment of a republic and Sun Yatsen, who was in the US at the time, was elected president on his return to China in December 1911. Sun Yatsen did a deal with Yuan Shikai conceding his presidency in return for Yuan Shikai supporting a new constitution. In February 1912, Yuan Shikai brought about the abdication of the Qing dynasty and in March Sun Yatsen handed over the provisional presidency to him. The country was now led by an important military figure, who had been loyal to the old regime and this did not bode well for the new republic. Under the new constitution, Yuan Shikai was supposed to work with a prime minister and his cabinet and elections were to be held for a parliament and new provincial assemblies. Sun Yatsen now established the Guomindang (GMD), replacing old revolutionary organisation, the Tongmenghui. The Guomindang did well in the election and then relations broke down between the president and the Nationalist Party (GMD). The latter launched a second revolution...
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...From 1911 through 1949, China suffered multiple revolutions and a Japanese invasion, leading to a Communist government established by Mao Zedong in the mainland. In 1911, China was still an Imperialist country, ruled by the boy Emperor PuYi. Since royals lived in a secluded palace away from all commoners, the government had little idea of what life in China was like for peasants. This disconnection between the people and the emperor and his entourage eventually created an irreparable rift. Discontentment grew as warlords became fierce dictators of Chinese provinces and regions. Additionally, as foreign powers, such as Britain, Germany, Japan, and the United States, saw weakness, these nations began moving further into Chinese ports and trade. Eventually, the people of China rose against Imperialist rule and the warlords....
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...Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in east-central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and also the largest city, is home to about 45% of the population. Mongolia's political system is a parliamentary republic. The area of what is now Mongolia has been ruled by various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu, the Xianbei, the Rouran, the Turkic Khaganate, and others. In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire, and his grandson Kublai Khan conquered China to establish the Yuan Dynasty. After the collapse of the Yuan, the Mongols retreated to Mongolia and resumed their earlier pattern of factional conflict except the era of Dayan Khan and Tumen Zasagt Khan. In the 16th centuries, Tibetan Buddhism began to spread in Mongolia and it has been accelerated by the unwavering support of Qing governments after Mongolia had been incorporated by the Qing dynasty. In the 1900s, almost half of the adult male population were Buddhist monks.[12][13] By the mid-18th century, all of Mongolia had been incorporated into the area ruled by the Manchus' Qing Dynasty. During the collapse of the Qing Dynasty the Mongols established Temporary Government of Khalkha in 30 November 1911, before the abdication of the last Qing emperor and the establishment of the Republic of China. On 29 December 1911 Mongolia declared independence from the Qing Dynasty and this National Liberation Revolution ended 220 years of Manchu rule...
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...Tang Dynasty Military expansion into Central Asia Civil service exams main path to government office 960-1270 Song Dynasty North ruled by non-Chinese invaders 1279-1368 Yuan Dynasty Mongol conquest and rule 1368-1644 Ming Dynasty Chinese restoration Great Wall built 1644-1911 Qing Dynasty Manchu conquest and rule 1839-42 1851-64 Opium War Taiping Rebellion 1860s-90s 1885 1894 1898 1900 1905 1911 Self-Strengthening Movement Sino-French War over Vietnam Sino-Japanese War over Korea Kang Youwei’s 100 Days Reform Boxer Uprising Sun Yat-sen forms Revolutionary Alliance Republican Revolution 1912-1949 Republic of China Yuan Shikai Presidency 1913 1915 1916 Yuan establishes military dictatorship Yuan imperial restoration Civil War 1916-26 1919 1921 1922 Warlord period May 4th Incident Founding of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Nationalist Party revitalization by Sun Yat-sen United Front with CCP Death of Sun Yat-sen (Succession by Chiang Kai-shek) 1925 1926-27 1931 1934 1936 Nationalist reunification Purge of CCP Japanese seize Manchuria CCP Long March to north China Kidnapping of Chiang...
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...CHAPTER 30 1500 B.C China had a complex society. 60 B.C Han empire. Europeans began to arrive in the 1500 and 1600s. Asian countries restricted movement of western traders. Netherlands conquered Indonesia. Many European nations and the U.S caused Asian countries to open trade. 1868 Japan had a new government. 1940 conquered Korea, Taiwan. WW2 U.S liberated. 1949 nationalist fled to Taiwan. !960 former Europeans gained independence. 1990 has some capitalist reforms. PHYSICAL: Eurasian and Indian plate colliding causes; Himalaya Mts, Plateau of Tibet, the Kunlun Shun, Atlun Shun, and the Tien Shun. Volcanic islands form the Ring of Fire. Mekong River has curved valleys through the highlands. Australia is largely arid. CLIMATES: Cities in the tropics have seasonal temperatures. Temperate coastal locations. South of the equator monsoons peak in January. Peak in July. Heavy downpours. ECOSYSTEMS: Coniferous forests in the north, mountains, mid-latitude forests of deciduous trees. In rainforests high rainfall and temperatures and the forest in Malaysia. Line coasts of northern Australia and E and SE Asia. Grasslands in China and Mongolia. E Asia and Australia, and New Zealand have deciduous forests. Bears and monkeys. PEOPLES AND CULTURES: 2 billion people. China has over 1 billion people. North central plains, Southern coast of East China, and in the Yangtze River. Australia is spaced. Great cultural diversity. 3/4s of the population is rural. 85 of Australians are in...
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...break out in China in 1927? The seed that planted the Chinese Civil war lies in its social, political and economic instability within the Chinese society. During the period 1911-1927, China can be described to be a state of great "unease". The Chinese civil war was an armed conflict between two ideologically opposed forces - the Nationalists Kuomintang and the Communists People Liberation Army – to see who could ultimately restore power and regain central control over China. The civil war was fought in two separate phases, 1927-37 and 1946-49 respectively, as a result of the interruption of the Sino-Japanese war. Although there are many causes to the outbreak of the war, the overthrow of the Manchu Dynasty coupled with the death of Sun Yat-Sei, which resulted in the rise in power of Chiang’s Kai-Shek’s, who was determined to rid China of left wing factions within the government at all costs, unleashed the ultimate trigger to the outbreak of the Chinese Civil War is. In the following, I shall analyze each of this maneuvers and how they sparked the ultimate outbreak of the Chinese Civil war. The destabilization of China’s ruling regime, which ultimately set fire to the outbreak of the Chinese civil war, was heightened when European imperialist powers humiliated and exploited China in the early 20th century. Due to the defeat of the Opium Wars, the Europeans, Americans and ultimately, the Japanese carved up the Chinese Empire into spheres of influence. A humiliated China had been...
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