New Imperialism Influence on China Essay

Imperialism was the cause of the economy to beginning to boom in numbers in China. China’s sudden wealth made some eastern nations such as Japan and France very curious. These nations believed that if China was to be colonized that it would make it so much easier for them to have trade routes to and from China. Not only is imperialism impacting the economy but also the culture of China. China’s culture began to change when people all over Europe began to move to China. This is what made the culture of China so diverse. Without Imperialism China would not be the nation that it is today.

Western imperialism in China was very significant, costed the lives of millions of people, but also helped shape China into a much stronger country than it was before, being ruled by the Qing Dynasty. Imperialism is a country extending its power and influence through the use of military force. There were two wars between the imperialists and China, the first and second Opium wars. The result of these wars was the weakening of the Qing Dynasty and led to a time of rebuilding, which was a great struggle, for China. The Europeans wanted to trade with China because of the great opportunity that they saw in the market. China’s population, which was 430 million, was seen as a fast and easy way for the Europeans to make a lot of money. The

China has 5000 years of history which experienced wars, collapses, failures and successes. The Opium War in the year 1839 and 1856 marked the changing point of China’s trade policy with foreigners, especially with British in opium and tea. China changed from getting tributes to being forced to sign the Nanjing Treaty and Tianjing Treaty with British and French. Due to China’s over confidence and unwelcome attitude toward foreigners and opium, it caused the British to declare the Opium War to China which made Chinese suffer for many years, but at the same time it also forced China to open its doors to the foreigners.

While westerners in China pushed to claim rights and generally oppose Chinese reformers who worked to better China, Chinese government and society faced internal problems. Being a main target for imperialism, China faced much western influence. One of the events that marked the beginning of intense western influence was the case concerning the Opium Wars. A main imperialistic power, Great Britain, began trading China opium, a heavily addictive drug, in exchange for tea and silk. At first, it seemed like a positive idea – the Chinese

In the 19th Century British planned to invade China for economic reasons. It had no motives to conquer the state rather entice it to accept a free trade. The country was rich in tea which was in high demand not only in Britain but all over the world. China also had porcelain and silk which the Britons envied. The intruders did not have enough silver to buy the commodities thus opted for a barter system. Consequently, a war between the two states occurred. It was fought between 1848 and 1852 with China becoming unsuccessful due advanced military competence of Britons. The signing of an agreement between them then followed, and British was additionally awarded extraterritorial rights by China. However, the imperialism in China was a positive thing to the natives because it introduced trade and much education in the region which opened up opportunities.

Opium came from opium poppy seeds, which were grown and sold under British ruling in India. The British East India Company developed a monopoly which took place in effectively growing opium and making profits and/or trading it with the Chinese in exchange for their premium good such as silk, porcelain, and tea. According to Memorials on the Legalization and Elimination of Opium by Xu Naiji and Yuan Yulin, they explained how the rise of opium prompted many debts and death around China. Opium became an addiction for many, from the poor to officials in government positions. Cutting off all access of trading opium would’ve started issues in the trading network, not just with Britain but with the Western countries as well. Instead of passing laws to completely ban opium, they reverted to only permitting the barbarian merchants to import opium to pay duty as a medication. This made it unacceptable for money to be involved with the product. According to Xu Naiji, smokers of opium were lazy, with no purpose in life and if they were caught smoking it, the only punishment was getting the opium confiscated. However, if any officer, scholar, or soldier were found smoking opium, the would be immediately dismissed from public employ. Yuan Yulin, a minister, believes that the expansion of opium is the government’s fault, being that they cannot decipher right from wrong; he thought it was unfair that prohibition of smoking opium only applied to the officers of the government, scholars, and military but not the common people. The British capitalized on the effects of opium, because many of China’s population were going to put forth their money, goods, etc. for

Imperialism was bad for China. The British had to create silver; because that was the only thing China wanted to trade with. Because, the British were trading opium with China, it threatened China’s trade balance. China also saw how bad opium affecting people so they decided to take a lot of the opium and throw it into the ocean. The British demanded access to Chinese territory to trade. China did not agree to let them in, the British sent gunships to take over Canton by force. China was defeated and signed the treaty of Nanjing. Signing it meant that China

     Another country that had imperialistic rule was China. The British forced the Chinese to trade with them. As the result of the Opium War, which China lost, they had to accept extraterritoriality. In 1894, Japanese pressure on China led to war. Japan crushed China and western powers moved quickly to carve out spheres of influences on the Chinese coast. Imperial powers accepted the idea of an Open Door Policy, where trade was open to everyone. Negative effects China had were that there land was carved up, they most many rights and people due to wars. Poverty and misery increased, while no nationalism occurred. Chinese

Finally, deeply rooted tensions between Britain and China began to come to the surface as the Chinese attempted to crack down on opium use and trade within its borders.

In this picture, the Chinese man seems to be shouting and throwing his arms up to stop the European and Japanese imperialists to stop cutting or slicing into the “pie” of China. England and Germany are fighting each other on which slice is theirs and Russia, France, and Japan are considering on which section to cut. Germany has the knife in the pie, symbolizing Germany’s aggressive inclinations, and the French female puts her hand on Russia’s arm, guiding him on what part to get.

The expansion of Western imperialism struck many regions across the world, all of which progressed and responded differently. Two specific countries I’m going to compare are China and Egypt. China and Egypt both struggled with Western invasion and influences, resulting in semi-colonization. Semi colonized areas refer to areas that were able to maintain their authentic political leadership, however most of their moral, religious, and cultural diversity was abolished and replaced with new Western ideals (Edgerton-Tarpley lecture, “Experiencing Imperialism,” 10/23/2014). Although both of these countries were bombarded by Western imperialistic ideals, both countries responded

Essentially, the British purchased cotton from India, made textiles and sold it back to India, permitting the British to purchase an abundant amount of opium. This allowed them to smuggle the narcotic into China’s isolated land. Through this new method of trading, opium was steadily flowing into China and into its people, not only as a medicine, but as a recreational drug. Since this particular drug became well-known within China, a sudden increase in demand of this narcotic created a new development in the way to administer this drug: new smoking technique, which eventually made opium not only a medicine or a lousy recreational drug, but a highly-used and effective drug that affected nearly every citizen in China. According to Coburn, since the supply and usage of the opium increased exponentially, opium became a part of the daily lives of the Chinese where “much of the lower-class work force with one-third of

In the late nineteenth century China was plagued with a range of internal issues - political turmoil, floods, famine, and foreign invasions. It was a country stuck in its traditional ways in a industrial and imperialist world. There were issues with the bureaucracy, as it remained small as did its ability to collect taxes for government revenue. This led to minimal spending on the military, which was needed to go against the imperialist threats from the West. These foreign powers, led by the British, sought new markets for their possessions from their empires. One product that became immensely popular was the opium poppy grown in India, which was mass-marketed by the British. Opium spread throughout China and conflict and dissension of its

Unlike the United States, China has been a nation of varying size dating back over 4,000 years with over 20 different ruling dynasties. Within relatively recent history of the past 175 years, China has undergone considerable economic shifts including a heavy communist push. Many times, the causation for these events was war. This idea was seen numerous times in ancient China; for example, the Ming treasure ships that were sent out for monetary and military conquest were a result of a naval and military dominance in the Eastern Hemisphere, which allowed them to gain new countries as tributaries with ease. Although these ships were successful in their missions, they eventually had to destroy the ships to offset the large cost of the growing

The ongoing economic rise in China effects the US in many ways, including things that some people wouldn’t even consider. It can be seen that the Chinese are beginning to need more jobs, but can that be because some of theirs are being given to us? And, that’s not the only thing they’re giving us. China has the proven to be worst pollution in the world, and it has gotten to the point where the polluted air has travelled overseas to the US, and has begun to take a toll on us. But, they’re not only giving to us. Because of it becoming harder to find jobs, the students push themselves to the limit to become perfect, which could create competition with graduates here in America.