The Rise Of The Qing Dynasty

In 1840 the Qing dynasty was in control of the Chinese government. China was threatened by the British and Western Barbarians. This resulted in what is known as the Opium War. The British government was exporting Opium to China. Chinese citizens were getting addicted to opium and eventually the Chinese government stopped opium import from Great Britain. This hurt the British economy and resulted in a war between the two countries. At the end of the Opium War China was forced to give up land and be colonized by western civilizations. The Opium War and influence of Western powers led to The self-strengthening movement. China adopted Western military techniques and began to build a foundation of Chinese culture. A direct result of the self-strengthening movement was the Tongzhi Restoration. The Tongzhi Restoration tried to strengthen the Qing dynasty and restore the power of traditional China. Some reformers felt this was not enough. An example of this was Kang Youwei. Kang brought about …show more content…
The first goal was to drive away the Qing dynasty. The second was to recover China for the Chinese. The third was to establish a republic and the last was to equalize land ownership. It was not until 1911 that their goals would be somewhat achieved. In 1911, general Yuan Shikai betrayed the Qing dynasty. This betrayal led to the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, officially ending Chinese dynasties. The era of Warlordism followed. Warlords were local bosses with private armies that had control over government. During the first World War, Chinese and Japanese tensions risened. Japan issued Twenty One demands in 1915. This led to a boycott of Japanese products in china and an increase in Nationalism. The may 4th movement showed the true emergence of Chinese nationalism. Chinese students protested the treaty of Versailles and the Chinese government’s weak response to the