The Opium War: Watershed between Ancient and Modern China

1. The Opium War:Watershed between Ancient and Modern China Session 2

2. Table of Contents I. Britain’s Efforts to Open China’s Door for Free Trade before the Opium War • Diplomatic action • Opium trade • Military force II. The First Opium War III. The Second Opium War IV. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War V. The Consequences of the Opium War VI. Deep Roots of the Opium War VII. Discussion III. Struggle between socialism, liberalism & bureaucratic capitalism from 1921 to 1949 IV. Conclusion

3. I-1. London’s Efforts to Open China’s Door before the War • The Macartney Mission in 1793 • To acquire a place near the tea & silk-producing area • To negotiate a commercial treaty • To release abuses at Canton • To create a desire in China for British products • To arrange diplomatic representation at Beijing • To Open Japan, Cochin China to British commerce • Amherst Mission in 1816 • Failure of the mission because of refusal to comply to China’s ritual ceremonies

4. I-2. The Opium Trade • Favorable trade imbalance to China • 90% of East India Company’s shipment to China is gold and silver, and only 10% were commodities. • From 1781-1790, 16.4 million taels of silver flowed into China, and from 1800-1810, 26 million. • The opium trade • Britain took a lead in opium trade from 1773 • Favorable trade imbalance to Britain • 1800-1810: 26 million taels of silver to China • 1831-1833: 10 million taels of silver out of China

5. The Opium trade and China’s response Young men from rich families-officials, merchants, soldiers, literati, women, servants, even monks, nuns and priests • If opium was not suppressed, China would have no soldiers to fight the enemy and no fund to support the army. 数十年后中原几无可以御敌之兵，且无可以充饷之银 • Commissioner Lin Zexu took actions in 1839 and banned opium trade

6. I-3. Military Force-II. The First Opium War from 1839 to 1842 • The abolish of the monopoly of East Indian Company in 1834 escalated conflict between Chinese government and British government. British government coordinated the China trade by appointment of Superintendent of Trade in China. Individual private business became a state affairs. • Lin’s determination & actions to stop opium trade • Under pressure from Lin, Charles Elliot, Chief Superintendent of Trade, agreed to submit Lin 21,306 chest of opium on behalf of the British government. • Lin’s letter to Queen Victoria in January 1840

7. Letter to Queen Victoria • …… • I have heard that the smoking of opium is very strictly forbidden by your country; that is because the harm caused by opium is clearly understood. Since it is not permitted to do harm to your own country, then even less should you let it be passed on to the harm of other countries—how much less to China! • Suppose there were people from another country who carried opium for sale to England and seduced your people into buying and smoking it; certainly your honorable ruler would deeply hate it and be bitterly aroused. • This letter was carried by Captain Warren in Jan., 1840

8. Discussion • Would Great Britain change its policy to invade China through military force if Commissioner Lin would not confiscate English merchants’ opium? • Do you think that Queen Victoria would accept Lin’s argument against opium trade? • Watch the movie: The Opium War

9. The Immobile Empire: the first great collision of East & West - Alain Peyrefitte “The pastoral world of mills driven by donkeys was gone, and the horse gave way to the steam engine.” Great Britain became the most powerful industrial county in the world. In this way: • “He who controls trade controls the world’s wealth, and therefore the world itself.” – Lord Walter Raleigh to Elizabeth. • “Shortly after 1763 Lord Clive, flushed with his recent victories over the Mogul Empire and the French, proposed that he be sent to conquer China by armed force.”

10. Continue: • “Every British citizen knew the words to the anthem of that ambition: Rule, Britannia/Britannia rules the waves.” As rulers of the waves, eight million Britons were confident that they could speak as masters to three hundred million Chinese.” • “The fact was that the East was going to have to open its doors to the West, whose masters now proclaimed, asserting their own power and interests, that the world was on and that they intended to travel it and trade in it freely.”

11. II-2. Military Defeats • May 24, Elliot urged London to take action and Palmerston informed Elliot to dispatch an expeditionary army to China • June 1840, the British Expeditionary army arrived in China • The First Opium War from 1839-1842 • Movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R44wJZqy6W8

12. II-3. The Nanking Treaty in 1842 • An indemnity of $21 million • Abolish of the Canton trade system • Opening of five ports for trade & residence of English officials, merchants and their families • Concession of Hong Kong • “A great change in more than three thousand years of history” – Li Hongzhang

13. II-4. The Wangsha Treaty & Huangpu Treaty • The Wangsha Treaty with the US in July 184 • The Huangpu Treaty with France in October 1844 • Extraterritoriality allowed foreigners to have exempt from the jurisdiction of Chinese laws • The Most Favored Nation to allow all the foreign countries to share benefits and privileges from any treaties • The right to maintain churches and hospitals in the five port cities

14. III. The Second Opium War 1856-1860 • In an effort to expand their privileges in China, Britain demanded the Qing authorities renegotiate the Treaty of Nanking (signed in 1842), citing their most favoured nation status. The British demands included opening all of China to British merchants, legalising the opium trade, exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties, suppression of piracy, regulation of the coolie trade, permission for a British ambassador to reside in Beijing and for the English-language version of all treaties to take precedence over the Chinese. • The Qing rejected the demand of Britain. An Anglo-French force invaded China from 1856-1860.

15. III-2. Treaties of Tianjing • Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. would have the right to establish diplomatic legations (small embassies) in Peking (a closed city at the time) • Ten more Chinese ports would be opened for foreign trade, including Hankou, and Nanjing • The right of all foreign vessels including commercial ships to navigate freely on the Yangtze River • The right of foreigners to travel in the internal regions of China, which had been formerly banned • China was to pay an indemnity to Britain and France in 8 million taels of silver each.

16. III-3. Treaty of Aigun • On 28 May 1858, the separate Treaty of Aigun was signed with Russia to revise the Chinese and Russian border as determined by the Nerchinsk Treaty in 1689. Russia gained the left bank of the Amur River, pushing the border back from the Argun River. The treaty gave Russia control over a non-freezing area on the Pacific coast, where Russia founded the city of Vladivostok in 1860.

17. 瑷珲条约中中国丧失的领土

18. III-3. Yuan Ming Yuan Was Looted & Destroyed

19. IV. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War

20. IV. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War • The Sino-French War from 1883-1885 • China lost Vietnam to France • The Sino-Japanese War from 1894-1895 • China recognized the independence of Korea • ceded Taiwan to Japan • Pay an indemnity of 263,176,701 taels of silver (about 150 million U.S.dollars ) • Offered most favored nation trade status and • opening of Shashi, Chungking, Soochow and Hangzhou. • China vs. 8 Powers in 1900 (the Boxer Rebellion)

21. IV-2. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War

22. V. Consequences of the Opium War • Politically, China became a semicolonial country because of the loss of the three national rights: fixed tariff, extraterritoriality and the most favored nation • Militarily, foreign gunboats were allowed to navigate freely in Chinese inland waterways. • Economically, the fixed customs rates deprived China of a protective tariff, which damaged China’s self-sufficient economy. • Socially, the collapse of China’s agrarian economy led to caused social disturbances and rebellions. • Diplomatically, China took the first step in its long journey to membership of the international society

23. V-2. Self-sufficient Economy Disintegrated &Domestic Rebellions The Taiping Rebellion broke out from 1850-1864. It ravaged 17 provinces, destroyed more than 600 cities, took an estimated 20 million lives, it weakened the Qing rule significantly. The Nian Rebellion from 1851-1868 The Moslem Rebellion from 1855-1873

24. VI. Deep Roots of the Confrontation • Conflict of the Chinese claims of universal overlordship with the Western idea of national sovereignty. • Conflict between self-sufficient agrarian China and the expansive and industrial Britain. • Conflict between the Chinese tributary relationship with the Western system diplomatic intercourse. • Conflict between Smithsian idea of free trade and China’s contempt for trade

25. Questions • What are the consequences of opium trade in China? • What were Chinese rulers and elite' attitude to challenges from the West? • What were China's strategies to deal with challenges from the West? • Any other questions?

26. Thank you! Questions?