The Growth of Industry-Improved communications and the application of western technologies Flashcards
what was a result of the two unsuccessful wars against Britain for the Qing
weakened Qing empire, British control over the treaty ports
why were the British interested in controlling china’s waterways and river systems
trade deep into the heart of the empire, enable them to sell goods (opium) and extract wealth from china– export goods back to Britain
why was Britain able to control china’s waterways?
new technologies of naval steam power– iron hulled steam powered battle ships destroyed the Chinese Navy in the wars
what was a devastating effect of British steamships being in china?
they introduced modern mass produced goods to the interior of china– disrupted the traditional artisan-based economy
before british control over waterways, what was the only method of navigating china’s rivers?
traditional chinese Junk or sampan
how many miles of railway was there in china by 1881
50 miles
who operated the Shanghai Steam Navigation company, Yangztee steamer company and Indo-China steam company
merchants such as Jardine and Matheson (grown wealthy from the opium wars)
when did foreign investment really begin in china and what did this mean for the development of steamships?
in the 1890s- meant that the development of steamships was the first major western economic advance in china
what did the Qing establish in 1872?
China merchants steam navigation company
what was different about the China mechants steam navigation company to its European rivals
run in a different way, established by imperial bureaucrats and subsidised with government money
what hampered the china merchants steam navigation company
the extent of control that government officials had over it– if they fell out of favour with the Qing then so would the company,
not only was the china merchants steam navigation company meant to make profits but also
prop up national pride
what caused the china merchants steam navigation company to lose profit
it was forced to sail along routes that europeans ignored because they were unprofitable, meant that they had to be heavily subsidised but this was a source of corruption for corrupt officials to steal funds from
foreign captains were hired to pilot chinese ships, what did this mean
that industry could not operate without foreign involvement
why was is far easier for European steam-navigation companies to establish themselves and grow
they had access to loans from british banks established in the treaty ports, they were able to sell shares and raise finance ( china’s finance system was far less developed )
how many ships had the Qing acquired by 1877
33, many of them were old and had fallen into disrepair
what happened to the company between 1877 and 1900
became stagnated, gradually it made a loss, 23 ships became too old and rundown to remain in service– railways were now superseding steamships
which nation used gunboats to exert a large influence in china
USA
what was china’s busiest waterway by 1890
the Yangztee
despite threats from anit-foreign chinese (boxers) what was the true threat to british and US steamships in china?
the Japanese, 1937 attack of Nanjing destroyed the USS Panay and the HMS Bee with aerial bombers
initially, where did China’s railway network develop faster
in northern china (not the south because south was connected by steamships through the major river systems)
who was the first foreign power to start developing china’s railways
britain
when and where was the first stretch of railway built in china by the British
1876, Baoshan
why were Chinese people enraged by and fearful of the railways?
scared of the change they would bring, and thought they disrupted Feng-Shui
how is it possible to see how important popular concerns over the railways were in china
to appease the people, the Qing purchased this first stretch of railway in Baoshan and dismantled it, sending the steel to Taiwan
did all Chinese oppose the early railways?
no some of them can bee seen in photographs gathered in amazement and excitement
how many miles of track were laid in 1881 as a direct result of the growth in steamships?
50 between Tianjin and Tangshan – Tong King-Sing needed a way to move coal from his coal mine to the port of Tianjin
what was the dilemma that railways caused for the Qing?
they represented foreign technological advancement which undermined traditional ideas about Chinese supremacy, but they also were useful for controlling a rebellious country (ability to move troops)
what did railways allow europeans to do
penetrate deeper into china, dominate trade and spread ideas through missionaries (protected by extraterritoriality)
where did the Trans-siberian railway pass through and when did work begin
Manchuria, 1897
what did the Trans-siberian railway mean for china
increased Russian influence and caused tensions
what was the Chinese section of the Trans-Siberian called and when did frequent traffic from China to Russia begin?
Chinese Eastern Railway, 1903
why did the Chinese eastern Railway pass into Japanese hands
they defeated the Russians in war
when did china fight a brief border war over the chinese eastern railway?
1929
when were both china and russian forced to acknowledge japanese control over the chinese eastern railway
after the japanese invasion of manchuria in 1931
what was the scramble for china
period between mid 1890s-1914 – all european powers began a process of de facto colonisation, railways became an important way for colonial powers to extend their control over china
what led to a dramatic escalation in the rate at which railways were being built
european powers raced to counter each others influence
in the decade after 1900, how much railway had china managed to build in comparison to foreign powers
120 miles compared to 9000
what did the french and belgian railway lines threaten in 1904
connecting with the Russian lines in the north– this would split china in two (they were allies)
how did the chinese gentry react to the threat of a franco-russian rail network?
they raised money to lay part of the track themselves, some went to Britain and other European powers to persuade them to complete part of the railway.
what was formed in Guandong
the Canton Railway Company– only allowed chinese people to own shares
what did the rise of chinese involvement in railways indicate
that local elites where adopting western railway technologies and taking responsibility upon themselves for preserving china’s independence– suggests they were politically active
what were these organisations that the chinese formed known as
the Rights Recovery Movement– sought to return foreign-owned railway networks to Chinese control
what were many rights recovery activists really motivated by
financial interests, owning shares in railways was very lucrative
what did the chinese government allow by 1904
network of smaller railway lines to develop, financed by the provinces themselves and shares raised from the local population –ordinary chinese had a sense of ownership over the railway system
what did the Qing do after the boxer rebellion
sold railway rights to foreign powers to repay the debts incurred– decision met with nationalist outrage
what anti-qing group formed in 1911
Railway Protection Movement – 1911 revolution
what had Sun Yatsen planned for railways
70,000 miles of track
what did both Sun Yatsen and now president Yuan Shikai think about railways
that they were needed to bind a divided china together and strengthen it
why were Sun Yatsen’s plans contradictory
he wanted private foreign businesses to invest in the railways but also wanted to nationalise the railways
when did Chiang Kai-Shek come into power
1928
what saw much of the railway damaged in the 1920s
the war that was ongoing against the warlords– looted for their wealth by the warlords
what did Chiang Kai - shek think he could do to starve the communists
build rail networks that moved resources into nationalist areas
how many miles of track had the communists build by 1963
2485 miles
what did the foundation of the PRC do to all business including the railway companies
nationalised them– crippled them
how many peasants were removed from the Yunnan province to become industrial workers in 1857
500,000 (10,000 committed to building railways) – removed them from food production
what did the dramatic increase in economic activity not being matched by the growth in railway capacity mean (PRC and Mao)
existing track system was overwhelmed by the number of train journeys it had to accommodate
what happened to trains and road networks in 1959
paralysed due to fuel shortages – led to food requisitioned from peasants to go to the cities being left to rot in warehouses
how many tonnes of food sat in warehouses in Hunnan in 1959
200,000, only 60,000 tonnes was able to be transported
what was the industrialisation of western china called
the third front
between 1964 and 1980 how much of chinas wealth did the third front consume
40%, 60% of new railways were built in western china (fear of soviet expansion)
when Deng Xiaoping took office what did a commissioned repot show
20% decline in all freight train journeys between 1965 and 1975, serious rail accidents were ten time higher in 1975 and large numbers of locomotives were damaged, 40% less trains being built to replace them than in 1965
when did the building of modern highways begin in china
1860s onwards
who was particularly interested in developing chinas roads
Chiang Kai Shek
in 1936 how many miles of road were there compared to railways?
71,457 miles to 10,000
what was the most strategically important stretch of road built by nationalists
burma road (700 miles, used by britain until 1942 to supply Chiang’s armies with 20,000 tonnes of arms, food and fuel a month)
what did the telegraph allow
fast communications- meant people could urbanise and remain in contact with family send money
from when onwards did British telegraphy companies start
1869
what did the federal telegraph company of california do in 1921
connected china and the usa by telegraph
what was the CAAC
the Civil aviation administration of china
what as mao’s view of air travel
it was a luxury and linked to capitalist consumerism
what did Deng do for aviation in 1980
sped up the rapid commercialisation of civil aviation – made the CAAC independent from state management
by 1989 there were…
4 times as many Chinese commercial aircraft in use as there was in 1979
by 1997…
the aviation industry was experiencing serious problems due to excess capacity – too many planes and high level of demand for flights
