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Home › Forums › Core Seminars › Modern East Asia, Fall 2020 › Session 2 (9/30) - From Monarchy to Republic
Cynthia Jackson.
cgaoSpeaker: Clayton Dube, USC
First - congratulations to all who have contributed posts for session #1. You've done fantastic work, raising interesting questions and sharing good ideas. Let's keep it going. This is a beginning list of resources - I'll finish it very soon. - Clay
19th Century China
This session looks at China's long 19th century. The first lecture focuses on internal and external challenges to the Manchu-dominated status quo. It covers the period 1800-1875 and many themes including
a) the difference between economic growth (China had a lot of that) and economic development (there was not enough of that)
b) the interplay between domestic problems and outside threats (Opium War, Taiping Civil War, Arrow War)
c) efforts undertaken by the Manchus and local elites to address perceived threats
Required readings for the first lecture
China: Fall of the Qing & the Early Republic
The second lecture looks at the last 40 or so years of the Manchu Qing dynasty and the first 15 years of the Republican era (1875-1924). The themes examined include:
a) efforts to strengthen and reform China's technological base and state institutions, including the influence of those with foreign experiences
b) the shock of war with a modernizing Japan and backlash against reformers
c) how China backed into creating a Republic, the first in Asia
d) the fragmentation of China under warlords, continued abuse by outside powers and the creation of rival political parties
For the second lecture and our discussion session on Wednesday, Sept. 30, please prepare to take one side in the "encounter" described in the attached file, "To Save China." Plan to be a self-strengthener, a reformer or a revolutionary.
Recommended readings
The attached readings will be helpful in preparing for our encounter. You are NOT expected to read all of them, but you may wish to read the readings on "the side" you are taking. And you may wish to scan the readings for your opponents. Please feel free to highlight aspects from any of these readings in the forum.
OPTIONAL resources:
clay dubePlease be sure to read the "To Save China" handout (an attachment to the first post for this session). Then plunge into the readings on the self-strengtheners, reformers and revolutionaries. You are not expected to read everything, but at least read one of the selections for your group and take a look at the others. Be prepared to offer an assessment, from the point of view of your group, of what the problem is, where China needs to be, and how to get there. Please feel free to use the discussion forum to toss your thoughts out.
Self-strengtheners
Katherine C.
Tara C.
Chad E.
Donna L.
Thomas P.
Brigid S.
Serece T.
Julie W.
Reformers
Maria C.
Jennifer C.
Cynthia J.
Zoey M.
Nayeli R.
Stacey S.
Betsy T.
Paige W.
Rebels
Verisha C.
Jennifer D.
Joe K.
Lupe M.
Khrstle S.
Susie S.
Lizbeth V.
Ester Y.
Maria CardenasThe financial requirements of the agreement would benefit Great Britain. Article III states "The Emperor of China agrees to pay 6 million dollars [value of Opium]" Britain was charging China 6 million dollars because it is the value of Opium and Britain was also asking for the release of the British subjects. Article V says that China will pay 3 million dollars because of Debt accumulated. Finally Article VII states that China will pay Britain a total of 21 million dollars including the amount from Articles III and V. This article breaks down the amount and when should the money be given to Britain. There are also conditions to the breakdown of the payments.
Like I said the beneficiaries to this agreement was Great Britain. The British government was going to be receiving all of that money. British merchants that wanted to settle down in China for trading purposes or so would also benefit. Article II says, “British subject and families allowed to live for trading purposes in China.” Hong Kong was also given to Britain. There would be no limitations as to where and with who the British merchants would be able to trade with. Ports would be open and there would be a Fair and regular tariff of export.
The “Treaty of Nanjing, 1842” is an unequal treaty because everything listed as an agreement in the treaty benefits Britain. Only thing beneficial to China from the Treaty’s perspective is Article I, which stated there would be peace. But peace is what was wanted so that the war could end. Everything else is for the benefit of Great Britain. The British subjects that were imprisoned because they broke Chinese laws were to be released.
Zoey McKinneyI think the possible pressure and opportunities arising from population growth can be taught in an engaging way through simulations. For example, you could start with a couple student "farmers" who can produce x amount of food and need to eat y amount. By adding more farmers, they can produce more even though they need to eat more too. But what happens when you add members to the population that can't contribute economically, like children, people who are sick, or the elderly? You can add students representing those groups to try it out. You can also talk about the needs of those people, and all people, beyond food. If there are sick people in the society, who will take care of them? As more people are added to the population, you can show students that there are increased needs, but there are more people to enter specialized roles, including roles focused on further development. When people are able to work on developing new technologies because there is a surplus of resources, economic development can occur.
If the Manchu Qing rulers are not able to expand their government, they will experience difficulty in controlling their growing population. There will be no way to enforce laws or keep the country united if the government does not expand. Instead, the country will become more disjointed.
Zoey McKinneyThe arrangements of the Treaty of Nanjing heavily favor the British over the Chinese. The treaty opened China to British traders in a way that it had not been previously. Financially, the Chinese had to pay 21 million dollars to the British government. This includes the debt of Chinese merchants, the costs incurred by British expeditions during this period, and ransom for the lives of British citizens who had been imprisoned. Britain also gained control over Hong Kong in this treaty, as well as the release of all British prisoners in China. China may have benefited from increased trade with Britain as well as the withdrawal of British troops in areas such as Nanking, but overall China had to give up much more than Britain. For this reason, it is labeled an "unequal treaty."
Zoey McKinneyFor students who are old enough, I think reading the primary sources, the treaties themselves, is the most effective way to teach about unequal treaties. If students are reading the actual language (or translated language) of the document they are studying, they can imagine themselves on the receiving end of the treaty and discuss how they would feel if presented with those terms. They can think about how the terms of the treaties would have affected different areas of society and how various people would have been affected in their daily lives. I think it is always effective to draw parallels to students' own lives. Have they ever been treated unfairly by someone with more power or authority than them? Did that affect how they felt about that person, even after the situation was over?
The perception of missionaries is often colored by their status as outsiders entering a community. When missionaries specifically belong to a group that has historically been aggressive to the community, it is understandably more likely that they will be met with distrust. When missionaries take an approach of imposing their beliefs or attitudes as the "correct" way of thinking, they are, in a way, exerting force over the community. Their messages might be seen as further attempts to dominate or subdue the community as they remove or supercede traditional ways of thinking.
Zoey McKinneyI think family dynamics can help students think about the various forces at play in 19th century China. For younger students, economic factors can be understood in terms of a family's resources, such as money, food, or clothes. What if prices went up while the family's income stayed the same? For social tensions, what if someone from the extended family or even a stranger came to stay in the student's home? How would it make them feel if a visitor came and refused to follow the rules in their home? For administrative issues, how would their family be affected if one of their parents was sick, or if the number of children in the family increased? External shocks can be compared to fights with people outside of the family, while civil war can be compared to fights within the family. What if all of these tensions existed at the same time? I think students can also understand these issues in the context of the classroom, as it is allows for discussions of shared experiences. This can also help students understand some of the complexities facing our country, from internal political division to economic downturn.
Tara CorralI think students in elementary will be able to understand the positive and negative effects of a population pretty well. We can use our class size as an example and point out positive aspects of having a class size that large as well as negative aspects. I imagine most students will mention being in class with their friends first but if we ask them to think about it if we were the size of a country what that could mean. We would probably come to the conclusion that if there is more people the government gets more help, taxes, and a larger size army. We can then look at the disadvantages and think about getting in line. Have the look at who is most focused and who begins to stop paying attention. Maybe the students closer to the teacher are more behaved and as the line gets longer and further away we begin to see students acting out. This will explain the extent of government control, and how much the main government can oversee.
I imagine that the Manchu Qing rulers will begin to experience more fighting on the edges of their country if they are unable to expand their government. Things further away from their main developments will experience more attacks from foreign invaders and maybe even poor living experiences as well since they will not have the same support. So the communities will be much more poor and lacking in supplies.
Tara CorralI think students in elementary will be able to understand the positive and negative effects of a population pretty well. We can use our class size as an example and point out positive aspects of having a class size that large as well as negative aspects. I imagine most students will mention being in class with their friends first but if we ask them to think about it if we were the size of a country what that could mean. We would probably come to the conclusion that if there is more people the government gets more help, taxes, and a larger size army. We can then look at the disadvantages and think about getting in line. Have the look at who is most focused and who begins to stop paying attention. Maybe the students closer to the teacher are more behaved and as the line gets longer and further away we begin to see students acting out. This will explain the extent of government control, and how much the main government can oversee.
I imagine that the Manchu Qing rulers will begin to experience more fighting on the edges of their country if they are unable to expand their government. Things further away from their main developments will experience more attacks from foreign invaders and maybe even poor living experiences as well since they will not have the same support. So the communities will be much more poor and lacking in supplies.
Tara CorralThe agreements listed in the Treaty of Nanjing completely favor the British Government and do little to nothing for the Chinese. There is no retrebuition for the the Chinese, the British will continue to sell opium and on top of that have acquire land from the Chinese and forced them to pay around 21 Million dollars. China was forced to open up a port for the British, hand over Hong Kong, return all priosners and more. Though China may have been able to end the war and continue to trade, the Treaty of Nanjing was clearly one sided and benefitted the British.
Tara CorralWhen working with elementary students I believe giving students a breakdown of what these treaties meant for the countries and explaining the inequality within them will help them understand a bit better. I feel like students may see the inequality right away and understand how difficult these treaties were for the country, hopefully then they can put themselves in the shoes of the citizens and try to understand how they may feel towards foreigners. I expect most students will make connections and begin to see that if a country even now has difficulties with foreigners it could stem from the mistreatment that happened in the past.
Thomas PinedaEconomic Growth v Development:It would be a great exercise for ELD students to compare the terms, but also find ways to relate it to real life. In a sense, they could view it as having to do busy work in class, where they were completing lots of work, but perhaps only learning the same thing over and over. They could also compare situations where work (whether manual labor or academic work) had to be completed with and without the aid of technology, and they could predict which way would be more productive.- If Manchu China was not able to expand gov’t control over a growing empire, then there would be a lack of central leadership and loss of control, eventually leading to revolt or fighting for independence?
Thomas PinedaTreaty of Nanking: In this treaty, control of trade powers and lands/ports were subjugated to British rule, notably Hong Kong and 5 other large cities. China also got stuck with the dinner tab of 21 million 1842 dollars (pounds? Yuan? inflation adjusted?). It is interesting now to see all of that British “influence” in cities like Shanghai and obviously in Hong Kong. In a sense, it is a treaty as it ends the “misunderstandings” of not letting one group profit in a mostly unregulated manner which led to years of violence. However, it seems like a legal version of shakedown, and one that is well documented from both perspectives.
Thomas PinedaThis topic is highly relevant in society today and our students can look at events throughout American history with the same lens and recognize a recurring theme. The process of learning about these parts of history can easily evoke a range of emotions and responses from students and lead to what? A discourse or debate that can sometimes derail the class from the learning objectives. However, it can invoke a passion in history that leads to a deeper understanding of power struggles and the complexities therein. Often times, no group or country may end up looking perfect or without fault throughout their entire history, or even in current times. It is the groups in which there is very little or no history written about that become the most interesting or disturbing. Through the experience of these events in a related class with a qualified teacher, students can hopefully develop a broadened world view that not only helps them navigate our current globalized society, but prepares them to be better global citizens. I’m still working on integrating that part into my Math classes at the moment.
Khrystle San DiegoI believe that my students will be able to see the differences between the effects of population on the economy. I can use the individual sizes of my three classes to show how having more students in one class can affect how they earn their classroom points. For example, if I did a competition between grade levels, it could be easier for my fourth graders to earn points simply because they have more classmates in that grade level. It could also be a negative aspect of having a larger class size because that means that they could end up losing points if their classmates are always caught disobeying the rules. As a larger class size, the students can bring up important questions such as - "If our class is larger, what can we do to make sure that everyone is doing what they need to do?" This would bring into question the type of roles they can create within their own grade level to keep everyone accountable.