Rebellion & Reform
1796 - 1901
Qing empire was mostly self-sufficient economy so they didn't really concerned about trading with foreign countries. However, everything changed due to the excessive use of opium from their citizens. Immediately, the emperor ordered to ban the import of opium from Europe and destroy all opiums that were still on the market without compensating. As a result, it led to the First Opium War which Qing realized their old style military couldn't stand against the British forces. The Qing loss utterly and had to pay compensations to the British by opening Canton, Amoy, Fuchow, Ningpo, Shanghai ports for trading and giving up Hong Kong island to the Britains. In 1856, the Qing went to war with the Britain and loss again. This time, the British forces demanded even more unreasonable clauses such as all government documents must be written in English and British warship could freely travel throughout the Qing water without being interrupted. Aside from the Britain, the Qing also were being harras by France and Japan. Consequently, their people started to rebel as they thought the Qing had lost the Mandate of Heaven. Many rebellions rose up such as Heavenly Kingdom, Miao Rebellion in Guizhou, and Panthay Rebellion in Yunan. Having to face with both foreign and domestic affairs, the Qing government was powerless. However, their final effort was the Self-strengthen Movement in which they reformed their education, abolished imperial exams, learned new technology from the Europeans, and renewed their old and battered armies. In spite of that, they were facing with the Eight-Nation Alliance as they declared wars for entering the Qing's territory without diplomatic notice. Consequently, their armies loss the wars and their capital, Beijing, to the foreign forces.
Remark
Eight-Nation Alliance
Eight-Nation Alliance, composing of Japan, Russia, France, the United States, Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary, was formed in response to Boxers' Movement of China in the 18th century. During the movement, Qing citizens attacked foreign people because they felt inferior as their country were being subdued. Consequently, for the purpose of protecting foreign citizens, these countries sent their forces to China without notice to the Qing government. Together, they conquered the capital of the Qing, Beijing. As a result, the Qing king died while he ran away from the joined forces.
Empress Dowager Cixi
Even though the king was usually the one who controlled the governments of the Qing dynasty. However, during the reigns of Emperor Tongzhi and Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi was the person who actually ruled the empire from behind the scene. Furthermore, she contributed to the process of turning China into a constitutional monarchy. However, the Qing was declined due to her because she would opposed any reform movement which was necessary for the Qing to compete against the foreign power.
