Jiang Qing

The Opium Wars were a series of wars that took place between 1839 and 1860 although the fighting was not continuous and had brief times of non-fighting. The First war started in 1839 after a realized trade deficit on Britain's side with a high demand for Chinese goods including tea and silk with almost no demand for western good from China mainly because China was a self-sufficient nation and the fact that foreign trade was so tightly restricted. After a series of requests and demands from both…

The Treaty of Nanking was the first of the unequal treaties against the Chinese as the end result of the China’s defeats in the first Opium war. The Treaty of Nanking was signed on the 29 August 1842 to conclude the First Opium War of 1839-1842. The treaty ceded Hong Kong to the Great Britain as well as opening five treaty ports to the foreigner. China’s territories was completely being destroyed, and lost the independent status. For the western capitalist, the five treaty ports become the…

exiles and seeing several other revolutionist squashed. Sun Yat-sen created one of the best revolutions of the 20th century. Chinese dynasties are known for lasting a very long time, and the current Qing dynasty was around for nearly 400 years before Sun Yat-sen’s revolution changed that. The Qing dynasty had heard of the revolutionary group that Sun was part of, and their plans for a revolution. They sent many of the members into exile, Sun retreated…

hina is a large country in Asia. Ancient china had its own achievements, philosophy, and religion. All of this was around the bronze age. China had its own political system. China was very organized during the bronze age. During the Stone Age, people in China lived in small villages and had big men in charge, and then chieftains. But by the time of the Shang Dynasty, about 1800 BC, China was united into an empire and there was an emperor or empress who ruled over many smaller kings. ( quartr.us…

Early Chinese civilization after death rituals and beliefs were very different than our rituals today. The Chinese believed that “Divining a tomb site is aimed at discovering the excellence of the land….When the land is excellent, the spirits will be comfortable and the descendants will flourish,” as said by Master Cheng. So as you can infer the burial sites were extravagant and filled with “grave goods”. In the next few pages we will be exploring the ancient Chinese burial rituals and after…

From 205 BC to 220 AD China was ruled by the Han dynasty. The Han dynasty was a time of great innovation with both positive and negative impacts. Innovations like the development and popularization of the silk road had several positive impacts on China. However, these innovations would eventually cause the fall of the Han dynasty. The Civil Service Exam is one of these innovations. The Silk Road was one of the most revolutionary innovations in all of Chinese history. The Silk Road…

1. Richard Baum suggests five reasons in “The China Syndrome” as to why the socialist regime of China stood firm while many others around the world fell. These reasons are: successful economic reform, communist party unity, military discipline, absence of “civil society”, and a fear of “chaos”. On the argument of economic reform, China was vastly more open to foreign investors and privatized businesses than the socialist regimes of Eastern Europe. For party unity, China did experience a strong…

The Ming Dynasty is one of the greatest of the Chinese dynasties. The Ming Dynasty ruled ancient China from 1368-1644 (1). A dynasty is made up of rulers coming from the same family line over many generations. Sons, brothers, and male cousins would follow each other in controlling the dynasty. The Ming Dynasty lasted over three hundred years with sixteen different rulers taking control of the dynasty. The Ming Dynasty followed the Yuan Dynasty which was run by Mongols. During the final…

The history of Great Britain's empire has always been a little controversial, but by examining their interactions with China during the 19th century, it is apparent that this part of their history was selfishly corrupt and malevolent. This essay shall argue that for many years leading up to the First Opium War, Great Britain fully endorsed the smuggling of illegal opium into China; the goal being to increase revenues within India, and consequently of Britain itself. Despite knowing the harm…

Ai Weiwei is China's most famous international artist, and is one of the most outspoken domestic critics. Against a backdrop of strict censorship and an unresponsive legal system, Ai expresses himself and organizes people through art and social media. “AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY” is the inside story of a dissident for the digital age who inspires global audiences and blurs the boundaries of art and politics. Alison Klayman, a new director, gained unprecedented access to Ai while working as a…