The current essay examines the decline of Chinese power during the Ming and Qing dynasties which took place mainly during the 19-the century. For more than two thousand years China was a cradle of civilization that created an army, fleet, technology which Europeans didn’t even dream of. Chinese was the dominant power in Eastern Asia for many years as well as a cultural and religious center. But with the rise of capitalist empires in the West their dominance quickly progressed and was projected at the formerly powerful Chinese Empire. The colonization of China which was predominantly economic though of course with the great role of military power divided it into several spheres of influence leading the economy and social fabric to despair.
Of course, that could not help but bring fundamental changes to Chinese society which quickly polarized with the emergence of dispossessed peasants and workers who had to leave their ordinary way of life as they were forced into capitalist exploitation at Western factories, plants, etc. There is no denying the importance of the fact that foreign colonization resulted in a significant rise of liberation movements of developing national petit-bourgeois classes and vast layers of popular classes which later ended up in the Chinese revolution.
Ming dynasty should be regarded as the precursor of Chinese capitalist development and its intellectuals elaborated new Neo-Confucian doctrine which placed more emphasis on individualism and inner morality. There is no denying the importance of the fact that these mindset changes were similar to those made by Protestants in the late 16 century which was interpreted by some scholars as the ideological legitimization of rising capitalist relations.
During the Ming dynasty, the Chinese empire was still on the run to its dominant position in Asia as it made Chosun Korea its vassal. However, the Ming dynasty existed only until 1644 when it was replaced by a more powerful Qing Dynasty (Perry, 1980). Under the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese rulers realized the importance of the rest of the world (especially the West) as they were forced to open their doors to economic and cultural penetration of Western empires such as France, the British Empire, Portugal, Belgium, and later Germany.
Christian evangelical missions developed their base of religious supporters and disseminated Western interests across the Chinese empire. The narcotics such as opium produced in British India were exported to China to get profits and transform Chinese people into ‘zombie slaves’ which resulted in two Opium Wars between the British Empire and China which further weakened and made it a victim of Western penetration.
The economic and political crisis in China, comprador character of the Qing dynasty resulted in bloody conflict and clashes inside China such Taiping Civil War (1851-1862), Punti-Hakka Clan Wars (1855-1867), Panthay Rebellion (1856-1873), Miao Rebellion (1854-1873) (Jenks, 1994).
The decline of China also resulted in empire partial disintegration under the influence of rising Japanese military power. Under the protection of Japan Korea declared its independence in 1984 which was the pretext for the First Sino-Japanese War. As a result of this war, China had to abandon both Taiwan and Korea to Japan which was a real humiliation never experienced before in Chinese history.
The destruction of Chinese society continued after the ill-fated Boxer Rebellion against western dominance in 1900 which took place in Beijing. Mass civil disorder and rebellions against Westerns intensified but were unsuccessful due to the lack of organization. Finally, in 1912 the longstanding Chinese empire collapsed leaving China in total despair and deprivation.
The consequences of foreign penetration to China are evident. Though they were detrimental to the Chinese economy and society they created vast civil movements which later led this country to independence.
References
Jenks, R.D. Insurgency and Social Disorder in Guizhou: The Miao ‘Rebellion’, 1854–1873. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. 1994.
Perry, Elizabeth. Rebels and Revolutionaries in Northern China, 1845–1945 Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 1980.