General

Question 1

When was the Tang dynasty founded?

Answer 1

7th century CE.

Question 2

When was China invaded by the Mongols?

Answer 2

13th century CE

Question 3

When was China invaded by the Manchus?

Answer 3

Mid 17th century CE

Question 4

What was China known as prior to the fall of dynastic rule?

Answer 4

The Middle Kingdom

Question 5

What two systems are core to Chinese politics and history?

Answer 5

Confucianism and legalism. The yin and the yang of effective Imperial rule.

Question 6

How did Buddhism and Islam find their way to China?

Answer 6

The silk road.

Question 7

When did Imperial China start declining?

Answer 7

Beginning in the late 1700s and culminating in the collapse of the last great dynasty, the Ching dynasty, in 1911.

Question 8

When did dynastic rule of China come to an end?

Answer 8

1911 (fall of Ching or Manchurian dynasty).

Question 9

What are 7 key factors which help explain the grandiosity and longevity of the Chinese empire?

Answer 9

1. Early mastery of wet rice cultivation
2. The perfection of large scale water management techniques
3. Effective civil service with recruitment gated by competitive examination
4. Adoption of patriarchal values system that cultivated discourses of obedience and selflessness (stressing well-being of group over well-being of member)
5. Well developed legal coffee which deterred aberrant behaviour through swift and severe punishment
6. Development of advanced metilurgical techniques which sustained large scale manufacture of military armaments
7. Being ringed on three sides by weaker states who paid tribute in exchange for being left alone

Question 10

When was the high point of Chinese maritime exploration?

Answer 10

15th century under Ming dynasty, expeditions led by famous Jang Hua. They we’re not conquerors but cultural ambassadors.

Question 11

When did China behind so closeted?

Answer 11

Around the end of the maritime exploration under the Ming dynasty (death of Juang Hua) China became more and more insular, shutting itself out from external trade and communication culminating in British imperialistic gunship diplomacy and the forced opening of Chinese foreign trade.

Question 12

What three factors were crucial in the decline of Imperial China?

Answer 12

1. Unprecedented Chinese demographic explosion.
2. The rise of European mercantilism.
3. Self imposed isolationism.

These three factors began to converge in the 18th century, spelling disaster for Imperial China.

Question 13

What were the three primary factors for China’s dynastic downfall in the 1800s?

Answer 13

• isolationism
• unprecedented population explosion (peace, irrigation works, rise in female fertility)
  -Western mercantilism (changing lanes from positive trade balance with silk and teas to negative with opium)

Question 14

When did opium start flooding into China through British merchants and smugglers?

Answer 14

Late 1700s (but grew throughout 1700s) - 1820 was a turning point where opium was the primary Chinese import

Question 15

What was the event that really put the nail in the coffin for Chinese dynastic rule?

Answer 15

The first opium war (1839)

Question 16

What was the final dynasty in China?

Answer 16

The Manchurian dynasty (aka Qing dynasty)

Question 17

What were the two most important factors in the Qing dynasty downfall?

Answer 17

External pressures in the form of negative trade, foreign conquest and regular foreign sorties.

Internal rebellion sure to overpopulation, good shortage, rebellion and expedient highwaymen.

Question 18

What two factors significantly weakened the Ching dynasty prior to collapse?

Answer 18

1. Assault from abroad
2. Uprisings from within

Question 19

What was the Tai ping rebellion?

Answer 19

Roughly 1850 rebellion which saw a dude who failed the Chinese official administration exam 4 times and who subsequently had a nervous breakdown in which he believed he was the brother of Jesus Christ set out to create his own dynasty. He marched across China gather gathering dissenting poor and snowballing to Nanjing where he set up Tai ping, his holy city.

Question 20

When were the humiliating and unequal treaties forced upon China by external Western powers (France Britain USA)?

Answer 20

1840s, 50s and early 60s

Question 21

When did commodore Matthew Perry first sail into Japan?

Answer 21

1853

Question 22

What was the main similarities and difference between Japan and China in the late 1800s?

Answer 22

Both were recently isolationist, both were Confucian and both were threatened by Western gunboat diplomacy.

Japan, leaving it’s period of fragmented Imperial rule, began the Magi restoration under the Magi emperor’. While China has the dowager empress building pleasure boats, Japan was building s modern fleet. While China tried to keep Confucian values and retain traditions, Japan embraced elected government, public education, industry and Western penetration.

Question 23

When did China suffer am inglorious defeat in the sino Japanese war?

Answer 23

1895 - government in shambles

Question 24

What happened in 1898?

Answer 24

China finally started major reform, big changed to civil service examination and education, newspapers system -westernisation, trace increased, technology advancement encouraged - this is the start of the 100 days of reform.

Question 25

What ended the 100 days of reform?

Answer 25

Tsu Shi (empress dowager) raided the emperor’s home, destroying documents related to the reforms and detained the emperor far away incommunicado. Reformers were arrested. Thus a coup was successful. This led to increased isolationism and xenophobia.

Question 26

Who were the boxers (early 1900s)

Answer 26

The boxers were an isolationism, xenophobic group who were devoted to the martial arts and believe their incantations would render them immune to foreign bullets. The shunned guns, preferring swords Lance’s and fists. They wanted foreigners dead. Tsu Shi convinced them to be part of her anti-foreigner crusade (partly to deflect their anger and partly to strengthen herself).

Question 27

Who was the dowager empress?

Answer 27

In the late 1800s and early 1900s the forester empress, named Tsu Shi, held effective power in China having essentially staged a successful coup sharing her son. This coup curtailed the self strengthening movement and ended the 100 days of progress (westernisation and modernization). She was isolationist, xenophobic and traditional. She was crucial in stocking and leveraging the boxer Revolution which led to eat war against foreign powers and ultimately ended in yet another unequal treaty.

Question 28

When did Japan open hostilities with China?

Answer 28

1915, Japan made unreasonable demands to exploit China’s political and military turmoil (these demands were reluctantly accepted). But there was patriotic backlash

Question 29

When was tianamon square?

Answer 29

1919

Question 30

What were the 1950 land redorms in China?

Answer 30

Peasant uprising against landed gentry where large swathes (millions) of land owners were summarily killed by mobs.

Question 31

When was the great leap forward? And what was it?

Answer 31

1958. Mao’s gamble to leap frog Soviet communist growth with their own plans and approach(previously using Russian blueprints)

Question 32

When did China enter the WTO?

Answer 32

2000

Question 33

What was the critical economic change which turned China into a modern economic powerhouse?

Answer 33

Joining the WTO in 2000