Blog 14

By 1912, China was unable to keep up with their internal expansion and growing population. They underwent a crisis where they were unable to effectively perform functions such as tax collection, flood control and public security. Eventually China lost its power as internal trade routes lead to a higher rate of unemployment and higher peasant taxes. The Taiping Uprising occurred alongside the crisis in China. Its leader, Hong Xiuquan claimed that he was Jesus' younger brother who was sent down to rid the world of demons. He called for the abolition of private property, prostitution and opium smoking. Hong believed that the Qing dynasty "poisoned" China. Differently from Confucian customs, the Taiping Uprising promoted equal rights for women. The Taiping Uprising then established their capital in Nanjing in 1853. From then, it took Chinas economy nearly a decade to recover from all its devastation. They also went through a phase of "self-strengthening" where they largely depended on foreigners for materials and machinery.
Opium had first been transported from Arab traders to Britain, American and China. It became a highly addictive drug known to relieve pain. Opium was traded illegal into China which dramatically affected their population growth. The legalization of opium became a hot topic for years but Commissioner Lin Zexu had opposed the legalization of such a drug. As the British defeated China in the second Opium war, the Chinese lost control over Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea. Western nations plus Japan and Russia then controlled all influence on China. Later during the nineteenth century, Japan became the leading force in the West. Japan's army became one of the most powerful as they were able to fight for and capture Taiwan, Korea and later on Manchuria. Japans big defeat of Russia became a huge wake up call and proved Japan's military strength.