Civil Service Examinations
Helped form school curriculum where you mastered confucian texts
This system leveled the competition and gave everyone a chance to become the part of the elite if they excel
This system taught the proper way to behave, respect elders, and rituals
Manchu
In 1644, the Manchus conquered the reigning emperor and until 1912, ruled China under the Qing dynasty
Strong warriors and leaders, nearly doubled the size of China
Prominent emperors: Kangxi and Qianlong
Due to foreign invasion and Westernization that le
Nurhaci
Manchu-J�rchen leader who united Manchurian tribes and expanded power base
Born in 1559 to a noble family of Jurchens.
Instituted the 8 banners system to organize troops into "banners" distinguished by color
Posed as reformist ruler coming to bring a bett
Li Zicheng
Post-station attendant and deserter from the Ming army who in 1644, with his own rebel forces, overthrew the Ming dynasty. From his base of power in Shaanxi province, Li established his rule over much of north and central China. He finally marched unoppos
Wu Sangui
Eliminated the last Ming pretender in the southwest pg 48
He became one of the 3 princes called the "Three Feudatories" and controlled the provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, and sections of Hunan and Sichuan pg 48-49
He later threw off his allegiance to the Qi
Kangxi
Ruled China as the second emperor of the Qing dynasty. He came to the throne at the age of seven and ruled China for sixty-one years. Saw to the consolidation of Manchu rule over China, personally leading successful military campaigns to the northwest bor
Yongzheng
Fourth son of emperor Kangxi, and third emperor of the Qing dynasty (ruled 1723-1735). Deeply committed to direct involvement in government affairs, Yongzheng launched a vigorous reform of the Qing tax structure. To manage his military campaigns more effi
Qianlong
Fourth son of Emperor Yongzheng, who assumed the throne in 1736 as fourth emperor of the Qing dynasty. His sixty-three-year reign saw a large growth in the Chinese population, the military conquest of Xinjiang, the compilation of the Four Treasuries, and
Dynastic Decline
1800 marked the pinnacle of the Ming dynasty which had previously been built up and strengthened by their internal wealth and knowledge, and strong emperors. What began their downward spiral was their adamant suppression of foreign trade. Britain and many
Office of Border Affairs
In 1700 Qing, there was no ministry of foreign affairs thus the relationship with foreigners was managed by a variety of agencies that implied the inferiority of foreigners. The office of border affairs (founded 1638 Hong Taiji) handles relations with the
Canton System
The Qing's control in foreign trade with the Europeans. Qianlong thought that the Europeans businessmen were taking advantage of the trade. So he first imposed trading tax, then closed all the trading ports except for the one in Canton.
British East India Company
Company owned in part by the British Empire
Heavily militarized and basically conquered India
Macartney Mission
The British East India Company dispatched Lord George Macartney in 1792 (he arrived in 1793) to travel to China on a diplomatic mission (Pgs. 120-121).
The main goals of the expedition were to end the restrictive Canton trading system, opening new ports f
Ministry of Rituals
The Ministry of Rituals was one of the systems that handled foreigners in the beginning of China's increased foreign relations. The ministry supervised interaction with non-Chinese peoples in places like Korea and Southern Asia, attempting to control fore
Opium War
Fought between Britain and China; triggered by British outcry against LIn Zexu's confiscation of British opium, and by Chinese anger at the murder of a Chinese by the British. Hostilities were initially confined to Canton and to the east China coast as fa
Commissioner Lin (Zexu)
Scholar-official from Fujian province, appointed in 1838 as imperial commissioner to end opium trade. He led a moral campaign aimed at domestic users of opium and at the same time attempted to stop foreign importation of the drug. His confiscation and des
Triangle Trade
Trade between China, Britain, & India
1770s British traders grew worried of trade deficits that forced them to offer hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of silver bullion each year in exchange for silks, porecelians, & teas so they began to ship opium g
Treaty of Nanjing (1842)
Most important treaty settlement of Chinese history, signed by the British and the Qing governments to end the Opium War. Its twelve articles included the opening of five treaty ports to unrestricted British trade and residence; the cession of Hong Kong;
Most Favored Nation Status
The first mention of "most-favored nation" in Jonathan D. Spence was the "most-favored nation clause" written in article 8 of China's own supplementary treaty of 1843. This clause stated, "Should the Emperor hereafter, from any cause whatever, be pleased
Taiping Rebellion
Led by Hong Xiuquan, a military and social movement that sought to overthrow the Qing and establish a "Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace" in China. With a combination of quasi-Christian beliefs and communal vision, the Taiping armies spread northeast throug
Hong Xiuquan
Leader of the Taiping rebellion, an aspiring scholar from a poor Haka family. Believing himself to be the brother of Jesus Christ, entrusted by God to drive the demon Manchus out of China, he formed the Society of God Worshipers in Guangxi province, procl
Nian Rebellion (1851-1868)
Outbreak is dated to 1851
No clear religious affiliation, ideology, or unified leadership (178)
Had strong communication tactics and many were cavalrymen with firearms.
Conducted grim scorched earth policy where they lured Qing forces into areas where the
Treaty of Tianjin (1858)
Agreement between Britain and the Qing court after the British angered by the Qing refusal to renegotiate the Treaty of Nanjing, sent forces north to threaten the port city of Tianjin. The treaty forced the Qing to accept the establishment of a British am
Li Hongzhang
General/official in the service of the Qing dynasty and a major figure in the self-strengthening movement of the late nineteenth century. Came to prominence in the 1860's under the tutelage of Zeng Guofan as leader of the provincial Huai army against the
Yan Fu
Qing naval student sent to England in 1877 to study naval science; later went on to translate influential works by Darwin, Huxley, Spencer, and Adam Smith. Became the first president of the modernized Peking University.
Sino-Japanese War
China failed and signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki.
Paid 200 million taels in war indemnities;
Added 4 more treaty ports;
Ceded to Japan "in perpetuity" all of Taiwan, the Pescadores, and the Liaodong region of southern Manchuria;
Allowed Japanese to build
Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895)
Disastrous treaty for China, ending the Sino-Japanese War. Under its terms Korea effectively became a Japanese protectorate. China ceded to Japan Taiwan and the Pescadores, added four more treaty ports, and promised to pay Japan 200 million taels in war i
Empress Dowager Cixi
Concubine to Emperor Xianfeng; mother of Emperor Tongzhi; known to Westerners as "the empress dowager". From the time she became regent to the boy-emperor Tongzhi in 1861 until her death forty-seven years later, she held de facto power over the Qing gover
Guangxu
Nephew of Emperor Xianfeng, chosen at the age of four by his aunt Cixi to be the ninth emperor of the Qing dynasty after the death in 1875 of his cousin, Emperor Tongzhi. Sympathetic to the appeals of Confucian reformers such as Kang Youwei, Guangxu helpe
Boxer Rebellion
Anti-Christian, antiforeign peasant uprising that originated in northern Shandong and ended with the siege of the foreign legation in Peking. Participants were mostly poor peasants who practiced a type of martial art that gave the name "boxer" to the move
Sun Yatsen
Considered the father of the Chinese republican revolution. Educated in medicine in Hong Kong, he became an anti-Manchu activist and through his Revolutionary Alliance helped to overthrow the Qing dynasty. As leader of the Guomindang, Sun struggled agains
Puyi
Tenth and last emperor of the Qing dynasty. Ascended the throne in 1908 at the age of two, formally abdicating four years later. Installed by the Japanese as the figurehead of their puppet regime in Manchukuo from 1932 to 1945. After 1945 he underwent ove
Yuan Shikai
Leader of the powerful Beiyang (North China) army, initially loyal to the empress dowager Cixi, later instrumental in arranging the abdication of the Qing in 1912. Because of Yuan's military strength, Sun Yatsen offered Yuan the presidency of the new repu
Song Jiaoren
Early leader of the Guomindang. An ardent critic of Yuan Shikai, Song was assassinated on his way to assuming his leadership role in the first nationally elected parliament.
May Fourth Movement
Term used to describe student demonstrations that took place in Tiananmen Square on May 4, 1919, in protest against the unfair terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Also refers to the period of iconoclastic intellectual ferment that followed the protests, wh
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism posits that like real evolution, only the strongest people will survive, and triumph over the weak.
The Chinese communists believed in this premise, that without a strong people, the country would be weak.
The philosophies of Mao were inf
Marxism
Marxim is a political economic theory created by Karl Marx where a society has no classes, meaning that since there is no class disparity, then every person within the society would work towards a common goal. This economic theory was widely popular in Eu
Nationalism
Believing and agreeing with your country and supporting and advocating for its causes
The KMT wanted to unify China after the growing discontent with the government, they did this with the help of the CCP
They wanted to create a strong sense of nationalis
Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
After Marxist ideals spread into China after the May Fourth Movement, Li Dazhao and Chen established the CCP in 1920
The number of followers of the CCP remained small, so while they dreamed of a China under communism, they decided not to directly confront
Chinese Nationalists (GMD)
Founded by Song Jiaoren and Sun Yatsen after the Xinhai Revolution of 1911
Formed the National Revolutionary Army
Launched the Northern Expedition to unify mainland China
Lost the Civil War to the CCP and retreated to China
Revolution of 1911
Founded by Song Jiaoren and Sun Yatsen after the Xinhai Revolution of 1911
Formed the National Revolutionary Army
Launched the Northern Expedition to unify mainland China
Lost the Civil War to the CCP and retreated to China
Lu Xun
China's most famous short-story writer. His works criticized, with dry, sardonic wit, the traditional culture and mentality of his fellow Chinese. Among his most famous works are "True Story of Ah Q" and "My Old Home".
Chiang Kaishek (Jiang Jieshi)
Military and political leader of the Guomindang after the death of Sun Yatsen. Joined the anti-Manchu Revolutionary Alliance as a military student in Japan. Sent by Sun Yatsen to the Soviet Union for military training in the Northern Expedition, he set up
Mao Zedong
Peasant from Hunan who became an early member of the CCP while working in the Peking University library under Li Dazhao. Rose to party leadership by the 1930s, advocating that China's Marxist revolution would be won by the peasants, not by an urban prolet
Whampoa Military Academy
Military academy near Canton, established by Sun Yatsen in 1924 to train officers for the Guomindang. Many of its graduates were personally loyal to the academy's first leader, Chiang Kaishek, and immeasurably strengthened his political power base.
Northern Expedition
Military campaign, undertaken by allied Guomindang-Communist forces (the National Revolutionary Army) under the leadership of Chiang Kaishek, to free China from fragmented warlord rule and unify it under one government. Two years after the launching of th
Madame Chiang Kaishek
Political figure and known as the First Lady of the Republic of China
She was American educated and spoke excellent english
This helped Chaing Kaishek with forieng relations was well education of westernized topics and ideas
Her sister was Soong Ch'ing-li
Nanjing Decade: 1927-1937
During this time China was reunified and most of the nation was governed by Chiang and the Guomindang. Nationalists introduced policies to stimulate economic growth, industrialisation and private investment. more successful changes of the period included
Jiangxi Soviet
Experimental rural Communist government led by Mao Zedong, centered in the town of Ruijin on the mountainous border between Jiangxi and Fuijian provinces. Established in 1928, it lasted until a Guomindang blockade of the area forced the Communists to esca
Mukden Incident
Refers to an outbreak of fighting between Chinese and Japanese troops on September 18, 1931, instigated by Japanese officers alleging that Chinese attacked them along a railway line outside of Mukden. Following this incident, Japan quickly mobilized its t
Long March (1934-1935)
Journey of 6,000 miles made by Communist forces escaping the suppression campaign of Chiang Kaishek. Only 8,000 to 9,000 of the original 80,000 who began the year-long trek out of the Jiangxi Soviet area in 1934 lived to establish a new Communist base at
Zunyi Conference
The meeting of CCP during the long march in 1935. At that time they were in desperate condition and tried to flee. The meeting is more like a conclusion and future planning about the military strategy. Mao Zedong criticized the failure of leadership of Bo
Zhang Zuolin
Warlord who came to prominence during the presidency of Yuan Shikai and later went on to control Manchuria, eastern Mongolia, and finally Peking with his armies. Staunchly anti-Communist, he ordered the execution of Li Dazhao in 1927. Defeated by Chiang K
Zhang Xueliang
Son of the northern warlord Zhang Zoulin. In 1928, after his father's assassination, he was given the name "the Young Marshall," inherited his father's forces, and established his own power base in Manchuria. Pledged allegiance to Chiang Kaishek's Nanjing
XI'an Incident
Refers to the kidnaping of Chiang Kaishek by the warlord Zhang Xueliang in Xi'an. Attempting to force Chiang to agree to a united Chinese effort against the Japanese, Zhang held Chiang until negotiations between Guomindang and the CCP resulted in Chiang's