How It All Began
For more than two thousand years, China was ruled by imperial dynasties. It was a leader in innovations and technology like paper, gunpowder, etc. Tracing the social lives of tea, porcelain, and silk, it became clear that the Chinese commodities had been integral to global trade for a long time. Most Britons purchased tea leaves grown in the Yangtze River Delta and Fujian region. In the 17th century, the Qing dynasty came to power. During this period, China, under the Ming and Qing dynasties, held a significant portion of the global GDP, possibly around one-quarter to one-third. Undeniably, China was a major player in international trade, exporting substantial quantities of silk, porcelain, and tea. Agriculture remained the backbone of the Chinese economy. There wasn’t a dearth of anything. The Qing trade policy was broadly isolationist. They thought that their land was so wealthy and prosperous that there was no need to exchange the produce of the foreign barbarians. Within the borders of Qing territory, inter-regional and inter-provincial trade exploded in popularity. But soon afterward, the whole system was roiled by the advent of foreign forces into their market. The Chinese describe this period as the ‘Century of Humiliation’.
Period of Humiliation
This period of intervention and subjugation of the Chinese empire by Western powers like Russia, the United Kingdom, Japan, and France was between 1838 and 1949. It was a systematic way of oppression conducted by the Western powers and Japan to control China. The Canton system was present between 1757 and 1842. It served as a means for China to control trade with the West within its own country by focusing all trade on the southern port of Canton (now Guangzhou). ‘Cohong’ is a group of local Chinese who are authorized to deal with foreigners. The growing influence of foreigners needed to be countered. China had seized opium stocks at the Canton port. The British didn’t like it, and the Chinese no longer wanted to deliberate and negotiate on selling opium. Ten million people in China became opium addicts, representing approximately 4.4% of the total population back then. This resulted in the first opium war, which took place between 1839 and 1842. The British Navy easily overwhelmed the outdated Chinese navy with superior ships and weapons. The Chinese navy and technology were obsolete. Though they fought the battle with great vigor, they couldn’t keep China from the impending disaster. The opium trade was a deliberate strategy to weaken China’s youth. China was made to sign the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, which forced China to cede Hong Kong to the British and open five ports to foreign trade. War reparations of 21 million had to be paid. China attempted to resist the Second Opium War in 1856. It lasted between 1856 and 1860. It again resulted in their defeat, and in turn, they had to give the Summer Palace to the British and French forces. This led to a series of wars with the West, such as the Second Opium War, the Sino-French War from 1884 to 1885, and lastly, the First Sino-Japanese War from 1894 to 1895. China’s defeat forced them to pay large reparations and open up their ports for trade. There was no respite for the Chinese, and they had to face the repercussions of revolting. Rural Chinese committee rebelled against foreign interventions and Christian missionaries. They sought to restore the Qing power. This rebellion was termed the ‘Boxer Rebellion’. An eight-nation alliance was formed to suppress the Boxer rebellion and execute the government officers. It included major European powers like France, Britain, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Italy. The rest included Japan and the United States.
Post Boxer Rebellion
In the aftermath, the European influence was limited, and the Japanese started to dominate. The advent of young and strong leaders such as Sun Yat Sen, Mao Zedong, and Chiang Kai Shek bolstered the citizens to fight against the Japanese forces and restore China’s lost legacy. The new nationalist government, KMT, declared to the great powers that China had been exploited for decades under unequal treaties, and that the time for such treaties was over and demanded to renegotiate all of them on equal terms.
End of Humiliation
The Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931 and occupied it until 1945. Japan committed horrific atrocities on China’s civil population. The Nanjing massacre occurred in 1937 and killed around three lakh people. The world was appalled by the crimes inflicted upon the Chinese population by the Japanese. Another large-scale invasion happened during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. In 1945, Chiang Kai Shek declared the end of a century of humiliation in the aftermath of World War Two. With Japan’s defeat, China became one of the ‘Big Four’ among the victorious Allies in 1945. Soon, industrialization took place in China, and its economy started to grow. China also secured a permanent seat on the UNSC, ensuring its global influence.