HIST 1011 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Unequal Treaty, Polytheism, Emperor Meiji
Document Summary
The dynastic crisis: qing had been in power for about 150 years, facing a lot of problems, flood, famine, disease, agricultural production did not match population increase. Increasing power of local gentry and rise of corruption. Foreign pressure: qing tried to handle this through isolationism, lost position of world dominance of trade, western countries, particularly great britain, chafed chinese restrictions, britain found one good that chinese would want opium. China: 1905 chinese government abolished confucian examination system, needed western technological learnings, every time china loses a war china lose more. The end of confucian china: china lost all wars, china lost taiwan to japan. Opening the country: pressure from russia to open the country, holland king wrote a letter to shoguns to open up country they denied, executions of japanese who were corrupted by western ideas. Japan was aware of what happened to china: legitimacy of rule returned to emperor.