Chapter Overviews

Chapter 22: East Asia Under Challenge, 1800-1914

Chapter Overviews

After Western influence increased in China, internal and external forces brought down the Qing dynasty and led to civil war. The shogunate opened Japan to the West, only to be overthrown. The Meiji Restoration brought reform and industrialization as well as Japanese imperialism.

Section 1 The Decline of the Qing Dynasty
Rapid population growth, food shortages, peasant unrest, corruption, and incompetence all contributed to the decline of the Qing dynasty. China's defeat in the Opium War marked the establishment of Western influence. The Tai Ping Rebellion resulted in 20 million dead during the 14-year civil war in China. Mounting external pressures weakened China's ability to address its internal problems. Japan, Russia, and other nations laid claim to Chinese territories. They also challenged Chinese sovereignty by establishing spheres of influence inside the country. To stabilize relations among the Western nations within China, the United States declared an Open Door Policy, which equalized trading privileges in China. The Empress Dowager Ci Xi ordered the emperor imprisoned after he instituted reform efforts. When the Boxer Rebellion threatened Western interests, Western nations responded with military force.

Section 2 Revolution in China
After the Boxer Rebellion, Empress Dowager Ci Xi embraced some reforms. However, an emerging new elite was impatient with the slow pace of change. Meanwhile, increased taxes led to further unrest in the countryside. A young radical named Sun Yat-sen called for a military takeover of the Qing dynasty by the Revolutionary Alliance as preparation for democratic rule. After the death of the empress, Sun's party launched an uprising and installed a military general as president. The old political and social order remained entrenched, however, and China soon lapsed into civil war. The presence of Europeans brought changes to the Chinese economy. Cultural changes followed, particularly in China's cities. China was flooded with Western books, paintings, music, and ideas. Intellectuals often displayed contempt for the Chinese past and advocated a new culture based on the Western model.

Section 3 Rise of Modern Japan
Under military pressure from Commodore Matthew Perry, Japan agreed to establish diplomatic ties with the United States. Similar treaties followed with other Western nations. Samurai warriors from Satsuma and Choshu (Sat-Cho) resisted foreign relations and forced the shogun from power, which ended the Tokugawa shogunate. They then restored the emperor as a figurehead in what became known as the Meiji Restoration. Under a new constitution, most power was in the hands of the Sat-Cho oligarchy. Meiji reformers transformed land ownership, tax laws, the military, and the education system. Aristocratic privilege was abolished, women gained new rights, and Japanese took jobs in industry. However, industrial working conditions were often deplorable. Japan, meanwhile, expanded its territory much as the Western industrial nations had done. This led to wars with China and Russia in which Japan took control of Korea and Sakhalin. Relations with the United States were marked by mutual suspicion.