World History
History of China. This is a decent summary and overview of the history of the Asian nation of China.
From the site:
China is the oldest continuous major world civilization, with records dating back about 3,500 years. Successive dynasties developed a system of bureaucratic control that gave the agrarian-based Chinese an advantage over neighboring nomadic and hill cultures. Chinese civilization was further strengthened by the development of a Confucian state ideology and a common written language that bridged the gaps among the country's many local languages and dialects. Whenever China was conquered by nomadic tribes, as it was by the Mongols in the 13th century, the conquerors sooner or later adopted the ways of the "higher" Chinese civilization and staffed the bureaucracy with Chinese.
The last dynasty was established in 1644, when the Manchus overthrew the native Ming dynasty and established the Qing (Ch'ing) dynasty with Beijing as its capital. At great expense in blood and treasure, the Manchus over the next half century gained control of many border areas, including Xinjiang, Yunnan, Tibet, Mongolia, and Taiwan. The success of the early Qing period was based on the combination of Manchu martial prowess and traditional Chinese bureaucratic skills.
During the 19th century, Qing control weakened, and prosperity diminished. China suffered massive social strife, economic stagnation, explosive population growth, and Western penetration and influence. The Taiping and Nian rebellions, along with a Russian-supported Muslim separatist movement in Xinjiang, drained Chinese resources and almost toppled the dynasty. Britain's desire to continue its illegal opium trade with China collided with imperial edicts prohibiting the addictive drug, and the First Opium War erupted in 1840. China lost the war; subsequently, Britain and other Western powers, including the United States, forcibly occupied "concessions" and gained special commercial privileges. Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking, and in 1898, when the Opium Wars finally ended, Britain executed a 99-year lease of the New Territories, significantly expanding the size of the Hong Kong colony.
- Abahai Khan - Manchu Military
Abahai Khan - Manchu MilitaryAbahai (also named Hung Taiji) was the eighth son of Nurhaci, a Jurchen tribal chieftain who founded the Manchu state in what is today northeastern China. Elected by the Hosoi Beile, or council of clan princes and nobles,...
- Qing Tributary System
Qing Tributary System The Chinese tributary system dated to the Han dynasty (202 b.c.e.–220 c.e.). It reflected the Chinese worldview that China was the center of the civilized world, and that all lands desiring relations with China must be tributary...
- History Of Mongolia
History of Mongolia. This is a brief history of the ancient Asian of Mongolia. The Encyclopædia Britannica notes, "Khalkha Mongolian Mongol Uls , also called Outer Mongolia country located in north-central Asia. It occupies an area of 604,000 square...
- Letter Of Advice To Queen Victoria
Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria. In the 19th century, China got serious about drug abuse. Millions of Chinese were addicted to opium. While the drug was illegal, foreign merchants (mostly British) continued to smuggle drugs into China. Lin Zexu was...
- Chinese Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi
Chinese Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi - The life of Tzu Hsi, who rose from being a concubine in the Forbidden City to become the empress of China. From the site: Tzu Hsi (pronounced "Tsoo Shee" and spelled Cixi in Pinyin) was born on November 29, 1835....
World History
History of China
History of China. This is a decent summary and overview of the history of the Asian nation of China.
From the site:
China is the oldest continuous major world civilization, with records dating back about 3,500 years. Successive dynasties developed a system of bureaucratic control that gave the agrarian-based Chinese an advantage over neighboring nomadic and hill cultures. Chinese civilization was further strengthened by the development of a Confucian state ideology and a common written language that bridged the gaps among the country's many local languages and dialects. Whenever China was conquered by nomadic tribes, as it was by the Mongols in the 13th century, the conquerors sooner or later adopted the ways of the "higher" Chinese civilization and staffed the bureaucracy with Chinese.
The last dynasty was established in 1644, when the Manchus overthrew the native Ming dynasty and established the Qing (Ch'ing) dynasty with Beijing as its capital. At great expense in blood and treasure, the Manchus over the next half century gained control of many border areas, including Xinjiang, Yunnan, Tibet, Mongolia, and Taiwan. The success of the early Qing period was based on the combination of Manchu martial prowess and traditional Chinese bureaucratic skills.
During the 19th century, Qing control weakened, and prosperity diminished. China suffered massive social strife, economic stagnation, explosive population growth, and Western penetration and influence. The Taiping and Nian rebellions, along with a Russian-supported Muslim separatist movement in Xinjiang, drained Chinese resources and almost toppled the dynasty. Britain's desire to continue its illegal opium trade with China collided with imperial edicts prohibiting the addictive drug, and the First Opium War erupted in 1840. China lost the war; subsequently, Britain and other Western powers, including the United States, forcibly occupied "concessions" and gained special commercial privileges. Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking, and in 1898, when the Opium Wars finally ended, Britain executed a 99-year lease of the New Territories, significantly expanding the size of the Hong Kong colony.
- Abahai Khan - Manchu Military
Abahai Khan - Manchu MilitaryAbahai (also named Hung Taiji) was the eighth son of Nurhaci, a Jurchen tribal chieftain who founded the Manchu state in what is today northeastern China. Elected by the Hosoi Beile, or council of clan princes and nobles,...
- Qing Tributary System
Qing Tributary System The Chinese tributary system dated to the Han dynasty (202 b.c.e.–220 c.e.). It reflected the Chinese worldview that China was the center of the civilized world, and that all lands desiring relations with China must be tributary...
- History Of Mongolia
History of Mongolia. This is a brief history of the ancient Asian of Mongolia. The Encyclopædia Britannica notes, "Khalkha Mongolian Mongol Uls , also called Outer Mongolia country located in north-central Asia. It occupies an area of 604,000 square...
- Letter Of Advice To Queen Victoria
Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria. In the 19th century, China got serious about drug abuse. Millions of Chinese were addicted to opium. While the drug was illegal, foreign merchants (mostly British) continued to smuggle drugs into China. Lin Zexu was...
- Chinese Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi
Chinese Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi - The life of Tzu Hsi, who rose from being a concubine in the Forbidden City to become the empress of China. From the site: Tzu Hsi (pronounced "Tsoo Shee" and spelled Cixi in Pinyin) was born on November 29, 1835....