Case Study: Imperialism in China



The Forbidden City, Beijing, China





For imperial European powers, China was a civilized place with lots of potential for trade. China was a very rich nation. As well, the Chinese did not need anything the West had to offer. Chinese rulers were, in fact, as ethnocentric as their European counterparts. They looked down upon the Europeans, as the following passage notes:

You, O King from afar, have yearned after the blessings of our civilization, and in your eagerness to come into touch with our converting influence, have sent an Embassy across the sea bearing a memorial. I have already taken note of your respectful spirit of submission and have treated your mission with extreme favour and loaded it with gifts...

Yesterday, your Ambassador petitioned my ministers...regarding your trade with China, but his proposal is not consistent with our dynastic usage and cannot be entertained... Our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its own borders...There was therefore no need to import the manufactures of outside barbarians.

Emperor Ch'ien-Iung to King George III of England, 1793

Extraterritoriality and Spheres of Influence

European nations were anxious to establish trade relations with China, but because they could offer the Chinese nothing in the way of trade, they had a problem. The problem was solved when a market for Turkish opium was discovered in China. The government of China was concerned and started its own war on drugs called the Opium War. The Chinese were surprised when the British used superior naval strength to defeat their forces. The British demanded the right of extraterritoriality from the Chinese, that is, the right to be governed by British law when they were on Chinese soil. They also demanded concessions from the Chinese and placed tariffs on their goods. The United States followed the British demands with their own demand for an "Open Door Policy"; that is, each nation would have equal access to trade. Soon Japan, Germany, France, and Russia established spheres of influence along China's borders. In exchange for the privilege of investing in China's mines, railroads, and industry, each nation demanded land on which to build naval bases from which to protect their spheres of influence.

Rebellion and Change

China lost more and more power to outside forces, and the ruling Manchu Dynasty grew weaker and more corrupt. A discontented group from the Chinese Righteous Harmony Society rebelled in an uprising called the Boxer Rebellion 1898-1901. The Chinese again lost to a coalition of United States and European powers. They were forced to give more concessions to the major imperial powers. Eventually the Chinese would establish a republic after the last Manchu Empress died. Conflicts resulting from the upheavals and uncertainties of this period led to further civil war as republicans and communists vied for control of China. By the end of World War II (1945), a communist state was established that had little tolerance or acceptance of interference from outsiders.