The Nineteenth Century 1840-1894 Flashcards
What were the two great ruptures in modern East Asian history?
- The arrival of Western imperialism (Mid 19th century)
- WWII and its aftermath (Mid 20th century)
East Asia before 1840
- Sinocentric regional order (Japan isolated)
- Stable political regimes
- Relatively prosperous
- All this will change completely in the 19th century
China: Qing Dynasty 1644-1911
- Empire under Manchu rule
- Centralised bureaucracy (scholar-officials)
- Steady population growth
- Important trade relations with Korea, Vietnam, and indirectly Japan
Japan: Tokugawa Shogunate 1600-1868
- Feudal military government
- Emperor in Kyoto as symbolic figurehead
- Centralised bureaucracy (samurai)
- Sakoku: relatively isolationist foreign policy
- Trade relations with Korea, the Dutch, and indirectly China
Korea: Joseon Dynasty 1392-1910
- Rule by Joseon kings
- Centralised bureaucracy (yangban/scholar-officials)
- Confucianism as state ideology
- Tribute state to China, but fiercely independent
- Trade relations with China and Japan
The Tributary System
- Vassal states paid tribute to Chinese Empire in exchange for protection and recognition
- Centered on the Chinese Emperor
- Tribute = trade + diplomatic purposes
- Joseon kings legitimised through Chinese recognition
- Japanese rulers do not recognise Sinocentric hierarchy
The Challenge of the 19th Century: How to react to new global order
- Collapse of Sinocentric regional order
- New “modern” global order based on capitalist economic system and Westphalian inter-state system
- Especially from 1860’s onward, “Period of Restorations”
Two challenges for Qing China in the 19th Century
Foreign threats (flashcards 9-16):
- Opium wars
- Imperialism
Domestic unrest (flashcards 18-19):
- Rebellions leading to decentralisation
Qing China and the West pre-1840: The Canton System
- Rules of interaction determined by Qing China
- Foreign trade through one city: Canton/Guangzhou
- Trade conducted through Chinese middlemen (cohong)
- Foreign merchants were not allowed to trade directly with producers, leave the ports, or learn Chinese
Challenging the Canton System
- Worsening trade imbalance between Britain and Qing China:
– Increase in British demand for Chinese goods (tea, silk, porcelain)
– Decrease in Chinese demand for British goods (cotton textiles) - Result: British shortage of silver
- No interest in requests for freer trade and embassy (Macartney mission)
Challenging the Canton System: Solution?
- Western merchants need a product that China needs, to balance trade
- Solution: Opium
- Illegal export of small doses until 1834
1834-1838: Massive increase Chinese opium imports
- Now trade imbalance between Britain and Qing China in favour of Britain
- Sudden economic and societal crisis for Qing Dynasty
1839 Daoguang Emperor: “Enough is enough”
- Viceroy/Governor General Lin Zexu sent to Canton/Guangzhou
- Leads massive crackdown on opium trade
- Targets Chinese traffickers and Western suppliers
- 1840: British fleet arrives
First Opium War 1839-1842
Treaty of Nanjing 1842
British gains:
- 5 treaty ports for trade
- No more middlemen (cohong)
- Reparations: 21 million silver dollars
- Island of Hong Kong
- Extraterritoriality for British in China
- Freed British prisoners
- Language of equality
Second Opium War 1856-1860
- Further demands by Western powers for entry to Chinese market
- Qing Chinese conflicts with British and later French escalated into military confrontation
- Ended after British and French forces sacked Beijing in 1860: Summer Palace destroyed
- Emperor flees and then dies, succeeded by 5 year old Tongzhi Emperor
“The Century of Humiliation” 1840’s-1940’s
Domestic unrest: Taiping Rebellion 1851-1864
- Christian uprising
- Leader: Hong Xiuquan
- Son of God and brother of Jesus
- Economic program included land redistribution
- Goal: to establish Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace
- Largest Civil War in world history (20-30 million dead)
Taiping Rebellion 1851-1864
- Taiping capital at Nanjing
- Massive effort by Qing forces to defeat them: almost led to end of dynasty
- One of many mid-19th century rebellions
Historical legacy:
- Central role regional armies in defeating Taiping
- Leads to decentralisation
Effects of foreign threats and domestic uprisings in Qing China in the 19th Century
Leads to:
- Legitimacy and statecraft of existing elites under assault
- Existential crisis for existing elites
Most important international developments:
- China-centered regional order challenged by Western powers
- China forced into Westphalian system of international affairs
Tongzhi Restoration 1862-1874
- China attempts to formulate a response to foreign and domestic challenges
- This response is not entirely unsuccessful
- Goal: to stop dynastic decline of the Qing
Establishments:
- Foreign affairs agency
- Military modernization
- Western-style shipyards
- College of Foreign languages
- Study of math and science
Self-Strengthening Movement 1861-1895
Meanwhile in Japan…
Tokugawa Shogunate in the 19th Century: Foreign threat exposes domestic weakness
- Shogun’s authority (opposed to emperor’s) based on military strength
- Inability to deter foreigners therefore creates massive crisis of legitimacy for Shogunate
- Central question: how to balance western learning with Japanese political structures?
Commodore Perry’s Arrival in 1853/54
- Unequal Treaty System
- Foreign threat and influence;
- Leads to domestic tensions: resistance is pointless but accommodation makes Shogunate look weak
- Japan also forced into new global order of inter-state relations and economic system
Sonnō jōi “Revere the Emperor, expel the barbarians”
First reaction to arrival foreigners in 1850’s:
- Tokugawa Shogunate is failing its first duty: protecting the nation and therefore the emperor
- If Shogunate cannot protect us/emperor, other forces will have to take the lead
- But, anti-foreign sentiment slowly fades and focus becomes using foreign knowledge to settle domestic disputes
Fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate 1867
- Death of Shogun in 1866
- The Shogunate crumbles quickly
- Civil war between pro-Emperor and pro-Tokugawa factions
- Defeat of pro-shogunate faction in four days
- Last Shogun abdicates in 1867
- Pro-Emperor faction proclaimed restoration of Emperor as ruler of Japan
- Emperor moves to Tokyo, the new capital of Japan
Meiji Restoration 1868
- Objective new Meiji government: to transform Japan into strong, modern, centralised nation-state
- Carol Gluck: “Defensive Modernization”
- The Meiji reforms are necessary to counter threat of colonisation by the West
Genro
- Founding fathers of modern Japan
- The real new powerful elite
- Informal institution
- Right to select and recommend Prime Minister to Emperor
- Focused on rapid industrialisation
Constitution of the Empire of Japan 1889
- Meiji Constitution
- Meiji elite very proactive in establishing state:
– Some representative government but firm central imperial control (Prussian model)
– Presented as gift from emperor to people –> to prevent more liberal initiatives
Similarities and differences of 1889 constitution to European constitutions
- Similarities:
– Bicameral Diet
– (Some) Popular representation: 1%
– Independent judiciary - Differences:
– Emperor’s centrality in political organisation
– Emperor’s sacredness because he descended from “Our Ancestors”
Fukoku kyohei “Enrich the country, strengthen the military”
Key reforms:
- Centralized taxation system
- New constitutional order with bicameral Diet
- National conscript army
- Compulsory public education
- State investment in industrialisation
- Important: Centralisation is key
Japan in the 19th Century: Foreign threat exposes domestic weakness
- Foreign threat leads to dissolution of Tokugawa rule and to a certain extent the old elite
- New oligarchs central to Meiji Restoration focused on developing modern nation state
- Relatively coherent answer to the question of how to balance western learning with Japanese political structures
Joseon Korea in the 19th Century: From fierce independence to subjugation
- Since 1392
- Stratified society: King and royal family > Yangban scholar-officials > Commoners
- Increased marketisation of economy
- Growing social unrest
- Regular tributary visits to Qing China; but largely autonomous
- Traded and envoy visits with Tokugawa Japan on Tsushima Island and Busan
First Reaction to the Challenges of the mid-1900s: “Hermit Kingdom” (1863-1876)
- “Daewongun Regency”: seclusion policy from 1863, refuse contact with westerners
- Persecution of Christianity
- Reforms (Restoration?): anti-corruption, tackling bureaucratic inefficiency
- Successfully repulsed external challenges from France, UK, and US
- Limit external contact to Qing Imperial government
1876 Treaty of Ganghwa
- Quickly modernising Japan forces Korea into unequal treaties the way the west had done with Japan
- Korea enters modern nation state system: western style treaty, recognition of independence, and treaty ports for Japan
- Paradox: to counter Japanese influence, the Joseon court relied more on Qing Chinese advisors
- Beginning of competition on Korean peninsula that will lead to Sino-Japanese war
1880-1884: King Gojong’s Reforms
King Gojong introduced self-strengthening reforms modeled on Qing China:
- Study of Western military technology and foreign languages
- New military unit
- Rejected decentering Confucian values and Qing Emperor
- Favoured continuation with seclusion
1884 Gapsin Coup by Pro-Japanese Korean officers who favoured Meiji-style reforms:
- Coup failed, weakening Japanese influence
Outcome: direct Qing interference from 1884-1895
The Challenge of the 19th Century: How to react to new global order
- “Restorations” China/Korea/Japan see different levels of success in different sectors
- By 1880’s the effects of foreign encroachment are still rather unclear
New question arises:
- In new global order, how do the three East Asian nations interact with each other?
