Imperial examination

INTRODUCTION When I discovered that I had to write a dissertation as part of a history honours course at the University of North London I naturally turned to the library and archive of my employer: the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain. The library is a treasure trove of fascinating archives and artefacts recording Quaker history over a period of 300 and more years. Discussions with the Head Librarian, Malcolm Thomas, narrowed the immense range of dissertation possibilities to…

The First Tang emperor, Li Yuan, not only instituted the strong imperial bureaucracy that perpetuated elongated Tang peace, but established a competent military to pursue peaceful diplomatic relations with other nations, rather than adopting an expansionist philosophy. The second Tang emperor worked to balance power between the court and the aristocracy by equalising regional roles and influences. He instituted an examination system that tested knowledge of the Confucian classics, pivotal…

194). The war was gruesome; “[foreigners] burned historical buildings, robbed China of its national treasures and many private properties, killed many Chinese, and raped Chinese women” (Xu). The casualties included: 2,500 foreign soldiers and 2,000 Imperial troops. 100,000 civilians in total were killed by Boxers, 32,000 of this number were Chinese Christians and over 200 were missionaries. 5,000 civilians were killed by foreign soldiers (Gale World History in Context 2). Because of the Boxer…

India; we have given it to them. They are not in India because of their strength, but because we keep them.” “We created the circumstances that gave the Company its control over India.” When the British Crown unexpectedly found themselves as the imperial rulers of India, the influence of Orientalism and its implications of unchallenged European dominance was fully exhibited. Through a “long and slow process of appropriation by which Europe, or the European awareness of the Orient, transformed…

Describe The Hundred Days’ Reform and analyse in detail to what extent it succeeded and what its consequences were. “The greatest dangers lie in the allowing of ignorant persons to meddle and talk and argue amongst themselves upon subjects they know not of.” This statement, published in Emperor Guangxu’s second edict during the Hundred Days’ Reform period, ironically summarises one of the major failings of the reform period. Had the Emperor not been swept along by the pace of the reform, but…

between the four continents via John Stewarts Mill’s liberalism and writings of free trade and their influence on British interest in China. British occupation of China demonstrates a lessened desire for land, but an increased interest in “a new imperial governmentality, more involved in achieving and managing the biopolitical circulation of goods and peoples in an expanded international market,” (Lowe 132). British occupation of China also lead to a number of new methods of subjection such as…

remained under Mongol control and paid taxes to the Mongols. The Mongols allowed them to continue to practice Christianity and let the princes maintain rulership in most respects. In China, the Mongols defeated the imperial armies and established themselves as direct rules. Civil service examinations became less important as Mongol rules taxed the people heavily. The Mongols exerted much more influence over Chinese sovereignty, culture, and politics than Russian sovereignty, culture and…

These maps present Muscovite ideas of spatiality in a less local and more imperial context. Unlike Western maps, most of the Muscovy ones includes the regions and the names of the people within that region. And unlike the removal or enslaving of the native populations by European colonizers, such as, British, Portuguese, Spanish…

For thousands of years China relied on traditional, “spiritual” medical techniques to heal any ailment. When Europeans began trading with and bringing Western influence to China, medicine was one of the last areas to change. Many Chinese people were reluctant to take part in Western medicine due to the vast differences between Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine and strength of tradition, as traditional medicine had been passed down for generations. However, Chinese medicine underwent a…

Throughout history, the Taiping Rebellion has become known as the most important radical political and religious event in the 19th century (Britannica). Around 1850, Hong Xiuquan became the leader of the rebellion whose goal was to promote the ideals of anti-manchuism and especially Christianity. Even though the Taiping rebellion is one of the bloodiest movements in Chinese history, there was a positive outcome. One of Hong’s goals, which became a success, was the advancement of women’s rights.…