China: Historical Background

1
China Historical Background

• March 23

2
Overview

• Europe, Japan and the unequal treaties with
  China
• 1911 Revolution created Republic
• Civil war ends in 1949 with Communist victory
• The Maoist Period

3
European Contact

• China was not directly subjected to European
  colonialism, but the European powers (and
  missionaries) did exert significant control in
  the 19th century.
• The Portuguese reached China in 1513, Spaniards
  followed in the 1570s, the Dutch in the 1620s.
• By the early 18th century, the British East India
  Company has established a presence in China.

4
European Contact and War with Japan

• It was not until the 19th century, however, that
  Britain was able to force its way into China and
  open its ports to Western trade.
• First Opium War, 1839-42
• Resulted in British control over Hong Kong
• Second Opium War, 1856-58
• Japanese defeats China, 1894-95

5
Boxer Uprising 1900

• The foreign presence was challenged in 1900.
• International forces rushed to put-down the
  uprising.

6
Taiping Rebellion, 1850-64

• China was also weakened by internal struggles and
  rebellions, the largest being the Taiping
  Rebellion.

7
Civil War, 1927-1949

• 1911 revolution, a Republic established.
• Japan invaded China, 1937.
• In 1949, the Communists led by Mao Zedong (as of
  1934) defeated the Nationalists led by Chiang
  Kai-shek.
• The Nationalists retreated to the island of
  Taiwan.

8
China under Mao

• land reform, state-directed industrialization
• Great Leap Forward, 1958-60
• Cultural Revolution, 1966-76
• Mao dies, 1976

9
Deng Xiaoping

• Deng Xiaoping gains control in 1978.
• An economic reformer, he begins the process of
  market reforms. This process accelerates from
  1992 onward.
• He remains a political hardliner, maintaining the
  grip of the Communist Party.