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Internal Corruption
Beginning mid 18th century, China's government lost control to the local gentry and slowly all military leaders and government officals became corrupt. -
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Taiping Uprising / Civil War
Leaders rejected Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism and embraced their own form of Christianity. The leader of this was Hong Xiuquan and he, nor the new rulers alongside him, wanted to restore an idealized Chinese society, they only sought drastic change. -
Soldiers beat citizens
As the government became corrupt they also became greedy and lost mercy for citizens who owed debts to tax collectors. As a result, Chinese soldiers harassed, beat and sometimes killed those who owed them money in order to get every penny back. -
Taiping Rebels capture Nanjing
In 1853 the Taiping rebels captured the city of Nanjing and made it their official capital. -
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Second Opium War
Following military defeats at the hands of the French (1885) and Japanese (1895), China lost control of Vietnam, Korea, and Taiwan. By the end of the century, the Western nations plus Japan and Russia all had carved out spheres of influence within China because of the Opium wars which extremely weakened their already stuggling nation. -
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Self-strengthening policies enforced
Created an examination system, designed to recruit qualified candidates for official positions, sought the “good men” who could cope with the massive reconstruction that China faced in the wake of the Taiping rebellion. -
Chinese military remains inferior
One Chinese general in 1863 confessed his humiliation that “Chinese weapons are far inferior to those of foreign countries.” A number of modern arsenals, shipyards, and foreign-language schools sought to advance because of this setback. -
Taiping Rebellion crushed
Qing Dynasty loyalists banned together and rose to crush the Taiping peasant rebellion with Western military aide. -
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Boxer Rebellion
An anti-foreign movement known as the Boxer Uprising erupted in northern China. Led by militia organizations calling themselves the Society of Righteous, the “Boxers” killed numerous Europeans and Chinese. When Western influences had to get involved it was apparent that China remained a dependent country, substantially under foreign control.
