The Opium War :Watershed between Ancient and Modern China (鸦片战争：古代中国与近代中国的分水岭 )

Session 2

Table of ContentsI. Britain’s Efforts to Open China’s Door for FreeTrade before the Opium War 英国打通自由贸易的努力 Diplomatic action 外交 Opium trade 鸦片贸易 Military force 军事入侵II. The First Opium War 第一次鸦片战争III. The Second Opium War 第二次鸦片战争IV. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War 鸦片战争后帝国主义在中国的升级V. The Consequences of the Opium War 后果VI. Deep Roots of the Opium War 根源VII. Discussion

III. Struggle between socialism, liberalism & bureaucratic capitalism from 1921 to 1949IV. Conclusion

I-1. London’s Efforts to Open China’s Door before the War

The Macartney Mission in 1793 To acquire a place near the tea & silk-producing

area 丝绸To negotiate a commercial treaty 洽谈商业协定To release abuses at Canton 废除不公正的广东贸易体制To create a desire in China for British products To arrange diplomatic representation at Beijing 外交人员入京To Open Japan, Cochin China to British commerce 开放日本，印度支那市场

Amherst Mission in 1816 第二次外交谈判Failure of the mission because of refusal to comply

to China’s ritual ceremonies

I-2. The Opium Trade Favorable trade imbalance to China 中国的贸易顺差

90% of East India Company’s shipment to China is gold and silver, and only 10% were commodities.

From 1781-1790, 16.4 million taels of silver flowed into China, and from 1800-1810, 26 million.

The opium trade Britain took a lead in opium trade from 1773

Favorable trade imbalance to Britain 英国的贸易顺差1800-1810: 26 million taels of silver to China1831-1833: 10 million taels of silver out of China

The Opium trade and China’s responseYoung men from rich families-

officials, merchants, soldiers, literati, women, servants, even monks, nuns and priests

“ If opium was not suppressed, China would have no soldiers to fight the enemy and no fund to support the army. ” 数十年后中原几无可以御敌之兵，且无可以充饷之银

Commissioner Lin Zexu 林则徐 took actions in 1839 and banned opium trade 禁止鸦片贸易

I-3. Military Force- 军事入侵II. The First Opium War from 1839 to 1842

The abolish of the monopoly of East Indian Company in 1834 escalated conflict between Chinese government and British government. British government coordinated the China trade by appointment of Superintendent of Trade in China. Individual private business became a state affairs. 废除东印度公司的垄断导致了国家之间的对抗

Lin’s determination & actions to stop opium tradeUnder pressure from Lin, Charles Elliot, Chief

Superintendent of Trade, agreed to submit Lin 21,306 chest of opium on behalf of the British government.

Lin’s letter to Queen Victoria in January 1840

Letter to Queen Victoria 致维多利亚女王的一封信• ……• I have heard that the smoking of opium is very strictly forbidden by your country; that is because the harm caused by opium is clearly understood. Since it is not permitted to do harm to your own country, then even less should you let it be passed on to the harm of other countries—how much less to China! • Suppose there were people from another country who carried opium for sale to England and seduced your people into buying and smoking it; certainly your honorable ruler would deeply hate it and be bitterly aroused.• This letter was carried by Captain Warren in Jan.,

1840

Discussion

Would Great Britain change its policy to invade China through military force if Commissioner Lin would not confiscate English merchants’ opium? 如果林则徐不没收英国商人的鸦片，是否英国仍旧会动用武力入侵中国？

Do you think that Queen Victoria would accept Lin’s argument against opium trade?

维多利亚女王会接受林则徐禁止鸦片贸易的的请求吗？

The Immobile Empire: the first great collision of East & West - Alain Peyrefitte

“The pastoral world of mills driven by donkeys was gone, and the horse gave way to the steam engine.” Great Britain became the most powerful industrial county in the world. In this way:

“He who controls trade controls the world’s wealth, and therefore the world itself.”– Lord Walter Raleigh to Elizabeth.

“Shortly after 1763 Lord Clive, flushed with his recent victories over the Mogul Empire and the French, proposed that he be sent to conquer China by armed force.”

Continue:“Every British citizen knew the words to the

anthem of that ambition: Rule, Britannia/Britannia rules the waves.” As rulers of the waves, eight million Britons were confident that they could speak as masters to three hundred million Chinese.”

“The fact was that the East was going to have to open its doors to the West, whose masters now proclaimed, asserting their own power and interests, that the world was on and that they intended to travel it and trade in it freely.”

II-2. Military Invasion

May 24, Elliot urged London to dispatch an expeditionary army 先遣军 to China.

After debate, the Parliament decided to send an army to China with a vote of 271 vs 262.

June 1840, the British Expeditionary army 先遣军 arrived in China

II-3. The Nanking Treaty in 1842 南京条约An indemnity 战争赔款 of $21 million 两千一百万两白银

Abolish of the Canton trade system 废除广东贸易体制Opening of five ports for trade & residence of English officials, merchants and their families 五口通商

Concession 割让 of Hong Kong 香港 “A great change in more than three thousand years of history” – Li Hongzhang

三千年未有之变局 - 李鸿章

continue

The Wangsha Treaty 望厦条约 with the US in July 184 4

The Huangpu Treaty 黄埔条约 with France in October 1844Extraterritoriality 治外法权 allowed foreigners to have

exempt from the jurisdiction of Chinese laws

The Most Favored Nation 最惠国待遇 to allow all the foreign countries to share benefits and privileges from any treaties

The right to maintain churches and hospitals in the five port cities

III. The Second Opium War 1856-1860In an effort to expand their privileges in China,

Britain demanded the Qing authorities renegotiate the Treaty of Nanking (signed in 1842), citing their most favoured nation status. The British demands included opening all of China to British merchants, legalising the opium trade, exempting foreign imports from internal transit duties, suppression of piracy, regulation of the coolie trade, permission for a British ambassador to reside in Beijing and for the English-language version of all treaties to take precedence over the Chinese.

The Qing rejected the demand of Britain. An Anglo-French force invaded China from 1856-1860.

III-2. Treaties of Tianjing 天津条约Britain, France, Russia, and the U.S. would have the

right to establish diplomatic legations ( 外交使团 -small embassies) in Peking (a closed city at the time)

Ten more Chinese ports would be opened for foreign trade, including Hankou 汉口 , and Nanjing 南京

The right of all foreign vessels including commercial ships to navigate freely on the Yangtze River

The right of foreigners to travel in the internal regions of China, which had been formerly banned

China was to pay an indemnity to Britain and France in 8 million taels of silver each.

III-3. Treaty of Aigun 瑷珲条约On 28 May 1858, the separate Treaty of

Aigun was signed with Russia to revise the Chinese and Russian border as determined by the Nerchinsk Treaty

尼布楚条约 in 1689. Russia gained the left bank of the Amur River, pushing the border back from the Argun River 阿穆尔河 . The treaty gave Russia control over a non-freezing area on the Pacific coast, where Russia founded the city of Vladivostok 海参崴 1860.

瑷珲条约中中国丧失的领土

III-3. Yuan Ming Yuan Was Looted & Destroyed

IV. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War

IV. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War

The Sino-French War from 1883-1885 中法条约China lost Vietnam to France

The Sino-Japanese War from 1894-1895 中日条约China recognized the independence of Korea 朝鲜ceded Taiwan to Japan 台湾Pay an indemnity of 263,176,701 taels of silver (about

150 million U.S.dollars )Offered most favored nation trade status 最惠国待遇 and opening of Shashi, Chungking, Soochow and Hangzhou.

China vs. 8 Powers in 1900 (the Boxer Rebellion) 义和团

IV-2. Acceleration of Imperialism in China after the Opium War

V. Consequences of the Opium War 鸦片战争之后果Politically, China became a semicolonial country because

of the loss of the three national rights: fixed tariff 固定的关税 , extraterritoriality 治外法权 and the most favored nation 最惠国待遇

Militarily, foreign gunboats 军舰 were allowed to navigate航行 freely in Chinese inland waterways. 内陆河Economically, the fixed customs rates deprived China of a

protective tariff, which damaged China’s self-sufficient economy. 自给自足的经济

Socially, the collapse of China’s agrarian economy led to caused social disturbances and rebellions. 社会动荡，造反

Diplomatically, China took the first step in its long journey to membership of the international society.

Territorially, China lost large portion of land. 大片国土丧失

V-2. Self-sufficient Economy Disintegrated &Domestic Rebellions 自给自足的经济开始解体

The Taiping Rebellion 太平天国运动 broke out from 1850-1864.It ravaged 17 provinces, destroyed more than 600 cities, took

an estimated 20 million lives, it weakened the Qing rule significantly.

The Nian Rebellion 捻军起义 from 1851-1868The Moslem Rebellion 穆斯林造反 from 1855-1873

Discussion IWhat is the root of the conflict between China and the West?

中国与西方的冲突的根源是什么？

VI. Deep Roots of the ConfrontationConflict of the Chinese claims of universal

overlordship 天下观 with the Western idea of national sovereignty. 民族国家主权

Conflict between self-sufficient agrarian and isolated China and the expansive 扩张型 and industrial Britain.

Conflict between the Chinese tributary relationship 朝贡制度 with the Western system diplomatic intercourse 平等的外交关系 .

Conflict between Smithsian idea of free trade and China’s contempt 蔑视经商 for trade and merchants

Discussion IIHow to understand the collision between

China and the West?

What kind of impact on China’s history and development?

Is it a threatening challenge to a century of humiliation 屈辱的世纪 or a benevolent challenge to the era of modern China?

Thank you!

Questions?