Civilizations+in+Crisis

THE LAST DYNASTY: RISE AND FALL OF THE QIN EMPIRE

Nurhaci unified the Manchu tribes. Organized fighting units called banned armies. Manchu bureaucracy was organized along Chinese ways. The declining nature of the Ming allowed the Manchus to take control in China. For most of the first century of the Qin, Chinese and Manchu officials paired up well, allowing some Chinese to keep their local government’s positions and bureaucracy. The Manchu retained the examination system.

Economy and society Respect for order and rank -following Confucian style- male over female, old over young. Extended family remained the core unit of the social order. Ban of guilds and secret societies. Women’s status remained centered to the household. Male control was emphasized by choosing brides from lower classes. Practice of female infanticide rose. Women continued to work in the fields. Taxes and state labor demands were lowered to ameliorate social unrest left by the Ming. Focus on reparation of dikes, canals, roadways, and irrigation systems. There was not a control over the land-lord classes. The gap between the rural gentry and ordinary peasantry and laborers increased. Regional diversification in crops such as tea matched the development of new ways to finance agricultural and artisan production. Profits from overseas trade gave rise to compradors (wealthy new merchants) that were the link to the outside world.

Bureaucratic breakdown and social disintegration By the 18th century, the Qin were in decline. The exam system started to fail, as the cheating and favoritism increased. Diversion of revenue from state projects to enrich families devastated Chinese history. As the condition of the peasantry deteriorated, with food shortages, banditry, vagabonds presence increase, the decline was certainly coming. China desperately needed innovation in technology and organization to increase its productivity.

Barbarians at the southern gates: Opium war Manchu treated the Europeans like the nomads they saw as barbarians. British had exported silks, porcelains and tea from the Chinese for centuries. Unfavorable trade terms in China for Britain. The solution for the British was the traffic of opium. The opium trade was a major threat to Chinese economy and social order. Agricultural productivity declined, unemployment spread. Government efforts to stop opium traffic enraged the European merchants. Britain ordered China to stop their anti-opium campaign. British gunboats beat Chinese junks during the battles of the Opium war. Hong Kong was established as an additional center of British commerce.

Civilization at risk: Rebellion and Failed reforms Several rebellions swept through much of China. The greatest: Taping rebellion. Led by Hong Xiuquan. The Taipings got to control a wide territory, establishing a capital at Nanjing. They attacked traditional Confucian elite and the learning on which its claims to authority rested. Self-strengthening movement. Encouragements of Western investment and modernization or armies. Manchu rulers occasionally supported officials who pushed for extensive political and social reforms. Manchu relied on divisions among the provincial officers and among European nations to maintain their positions.

The fall of the Qin: The end of a civilization? Underground organizations inspired local uprisings against the dynasty. Scholar-gentry and merchants became more involved in secret society operations to overthrow the regime. In late 1911, opposition to government’s reliance on western powers led to secret society uprisings. In February 1912, the last emperor of China, Puyi, was deposed and a republican government was established. In 1905, the exams were given for the last time. The mix of philosophies that came to be known as Confucianism, the bureaucracy and even the artistic accomplishments of one of the greatest civilization of the world, was being strongly criticized by the late 20th century.