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Date
CHAPTER
28
GUIDED READING
China Resists Outside Influence
Section 1
A. Analyzing Causes and Recognizing Effects As you read this section, note
some of the causes and effects of events and policies that affected China.
Causes
Events/Policies
Effects
1. Opium War
2. Taiping Rebellion
3. Self-strengthening movement
4. Open Door policy
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5. Boxer Rebellion
B. Drawing Conclusions Explain why China was able to isolate itself from Western
influence until the nineteenth century.
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________
C. Clarifying On the back of this paper, define sphere of influence and
extraterritorial rights.
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CHAPTER
28
Section 1
GEOGRAPHY APPLICATION: MOVEMENT
The Opium Wars
Directions: Read the paragraphs below and study the map carefully. Then answer
the questions that follow.
users. Opium became a recreational drug and created a vast market of opium addicts.
The British government had a vested interest in
not only maintaining, but increasing the amount of
opium sold in China. Silver gained from the sale of
opium helped purchase Chinese tea, which the
English drank by the millions-of-gallons every year.
The tax on this tea provided the British government
with ten percent of its revenue.
Britain’s expanding sales of opium to China
caused the Opium War of 1839. China wanted sales
stopped and destroyed an opium shipment at
Guangzhou. The British responded by attacking the
port cities shown on the map. The war ended in
1842 with a treaty favorable for the victorious
British.
I
n the 1700s, Britain began smuggling from India
into China a narcotic known as opium in order to
open Chinese trade markets. The English had been
desperate to find a product the Chinese would buy.
Opium became that product.
The East India Company, the English company
chartered to trade in Asia, opened Chinese trade
markets by addicting the Chinese to opium. In the
beginning, the Company kept the distribution of
the narcotic to a small amount in order to increase
the price. At that time, opium was a drug used only
by wealthy Chinese—it was not yet a drug of the
common people. However, in 1819, the British
began distributing massive amounts of opium in
order to eliminate the competition. Though flooding the market temporarily dropped the price, the
cheaper price of the drug increased the amount of
Chinese Opium Imports, 1700–1840
0
Approximate number
of chests per year
equals 2,000
opium chests
1,000 Miles
0
2,000 Kilometers
Nanjing
CHINA
Shanghai
Ningbo
Xiamen
Guangzhou
Hong Kong
Calcutta
20,000
Bombay
South
China
Sea
INDIA
um
8,000
ium
Bay of
Bengal
Opi
5,000
Op
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40,000
Op i um
200
INDIAN OCEAN
S t ra i t o f M a l a c c a
(Br.).)
Singapore (Br
1,000
1700 1770 1800 1820 1830 1840
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The Opium Wars continued
Interpreting Text and Visuals
1. In the graph what does each box represent? ________________________________________
2. How many chests were imported by China in 1820? __________________________________
3. By how many chests did the annual opium imports increase between 1770 and 1800? between
1830 and 1840? ________________________________________________________________
4. Describe the route by which opium reached China. __________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
5. What is the approximate sailing distance from Bombay to Guangzhou? __________________
6. How do you think British control over India and Singapore supported and protected its opium
trade? ________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
7. Why did the British government encourage the opium trade? __________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
8. Describe the cycle of silver from Britain to China and back to Britain again. ______________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
78 Unit 6, Chapter 28
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____________________________________________________________________________
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CHAPTER
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Section 1
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L
Date
PRIMARY SOURCE
from Letter
by Lin Zexu
to Queen Victoria
In 1839 the Qing emperor instructed Lin Zexu, an important Chinese official, to
end the opium trade with Britain. Lin ordered a large amount of opium seized
and publicly destroyed and sent a letter to Queen Victoria about the problems
caused by opium. Britain refused to stop trading opium, however, and British
warships based in Hong Kong harbor initiated the Opium War by attacking cities
along the Chinese coast. As you read this excerpt from Lin’s letter, think about
why he opposed the opium trade.
in, high imperial commissioner, a president of
the Board of War, viceroy of the two Kiang
provinces, &c., Tang, a president of the Board of
War, viceroy of the two Kwang provinces, &c., and
E, a vice-president of the Board of War, lieut.-governor of Kwang-tung, &c., hereby conjointly address
this public dispatch to the queen of England. . . .
We find that your country is distant from us
about sixty or seventy thousand [Chinese] miles,
that your foreign ships come hither striving the one
with the other for our trade, and for the simple reason of their strong desire to reap a profit. By what
principle of reason then, should these foreigners
send in return a poisonous drug, which involves in
destruction those very natives of China? Without
meaning to say that the foreigners harbor such
destructive intentions in their hearts, we yet positively assert that from their inordinate thirst after
gain, they are perfectly careless about the injuries
they inflict upon us! And such being the case, we
should like to ask what has become of that conscience which heaven has implanted in the breasts
of all men?
We have heard that in your own country opium
is prohibited with the utmost strictness and severity:—this is a strong proof that you know full well
how hurtful it is to mankind. Since then you do not
permit it to injure your own country, you ought not
to have the injurious drug transferred to another
country, and above all others, how much less to the
Inner Land! Of the products which China exports
to your foreign countries, there is not one which is
not beneficial to mankind in some shape or other. . . .
On the other hand, the things that come from your
foreign countries are only calculated to make presents of, or serve for mere amusement. It is quite
the same to us if we have them, or if we have them
not. If then these are of no material consequence
to us of the Inner Land, what difficulty would there
be in prohibiting and shutting our market against
them? . . .
Our celestial empire rules over ten thousand
kingdoms! Most surely do we possess a measure of
godlike majesty which ye cannot fathom! Still we
cannot bear to slay or exterminate without previous
warning, and it is for this reason that we now clearly make known to you the fixed laws of our land. If
the foreign merchants of your said honorable nation
desire to continue their commercial intercourse,
they then must tremblingly obey our recorded
statutes, they must cut off for ever the source from
which the opium flows, and on no account make an
experiment of our laws in their own persons! . . .
Let your highness immediately, upon the receipt
of this communication, inform us promptly of the
state of matters, and of the measure you are pursuing utterly to put a stop to the opium evil. Please
let your reply be speedy. Do not on any account
make excuses or procrastinate. A most important
communication.
from The Chinese Repository, Vol. 8 (February 1840),
497–503. Reprinted in Peter N. Stearns, ed., Documents in
World History, Vol. II (New York: Harper Collins
Publishers, 1988), 55–58.
Discussion Questions
Clarifying
1. According to Lin, what was Britain’s motivation
for trading opium?
2. Why did Lin oppose the opium trade with Britain?
3. Making Inferences What does Lin’s letter
reveal about China’s attitudes toward foreigners
and Western influence?
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CHAPTER
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HISTORYMAKERS
28
Section 1
Cixi
Conservative Force
“If we cannot rely on the supernatural [powers], can we not rely upon the
hearts of the people?”—Cixi, arguing for support of the Boxer attacks
D
uring the 19th century, Cixi rose from relative
obscurity to become the most powerful person
in China. She ruled from behind the scenes, but
with few challenges to her power. As China flirted
with reforms to help face the challenge posed by
European powers, Cixi’s conservative views ended
those changes.
Cixi began her career as a low-ranking wife to
the Chinese emperor. Her fortunes improved in
1856, when she bore him his only son. When the
emperor died five years later, Cixi and another former wife moved quickly to seize power. When
members of the council of eight elder officials
objected, the two women had three of them put to
death and had the five others removed from office.
Cixi now shared power with the other empress
and a reform-minded prince. During this time, the
government weathered two conflicts: the Taiping
Rebellion in the south, which ended in 1864, and
the Nien Rebellion, which was crushed in 1868.
The government then enacted some reforms.
Schools were built to allow the Chinese to study
foreign languages, and the army was modernized.
In the middle 1860s, though, Cixi reduced the
power of the prince who had backed these changes.
Gradually, she undid those reforms.
Over time, Cixi became the real power, and she
controlled China for almost 50 years. As advisers
spoke to her son, now the emperor, she sat behind
a screen, making all the important decisions. In
1873, the emperor finally reached adulthood, and
Cixi could no longer rule as regent. Nevertheless,
she still maintained control from behind the
scenes. Using a network of spies, she could remain
informed about the actions of the government.
When the emperor died in 1875, Cixi stepped in
and named his successor. She broke with tradition to
choose her four-year-old nephew, whom she adopted.
With a child once again on the throne, Cixi became
regent. The young emperor’s actions were limited by
their relationship. As her son, he owed her obedience. Aware that Cixi had made him emperor, he was
equally aware that she could unseat him.
86 Unit 6, Chapter 28
Cixi continued to rule actively for several more
years. Then in 1889, she retired to a luxurious
palace that she had built for herself. In the mid1890s, however, China was defeated in war by the
Japanese. Her nephew, now an adult, joined forces
with a group of reformers to try to strengthen China.
Concerned officials in the government contacted
the empress, who returned to Beijing. She overthrew
the emperor and retook control of the government.
Anger and frustration spread throughout China,
and a group of rebels called Boxers gained in popularity. They hated foreigners and hoped to rid China
of all traces of foreign influence. The Boxers began
to attack Christian missionaries, and a Chinese governor employed Boxers as militia troops. Cixi soon
joined with a group of court officials that backed
the growing movement.
The situation grew to a crisis. Foreign diplomats
in Beijing worried for their safety and brought
troops to protect themselves. In 1900, the Boxers
began a series of attacks in the capital. When foreign
powers sent more than 2,000 soldiers to Beijing,
Cixi ordered her army to turn them back. She then
decided to combine the Boxers with the army in an
effort to drive out the foreigners. Many Europeans
were killed in these attacks, but officials in the
provinces did not follow Cixi’s orders. Finally, a large
foreign army arrived and ended the Boxer threat.
Cixi then had to agree to some reforms required by
the foreigners. She managed to win revenge at least
on her nephew the emperor, though. The day before
she died, she ordered him poisoned to ensure that
he would not rule after her death.
Questions
1. Clarifying Give two examples of conservative
actions that Cixi took.
2. Making Inferences Why did the Boxers enjoy
rising popularity?
3. Making Predictions What do you think would
be the result for China of Cixi’s policy of no
reforms?
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CHAPTER
28
RETEACHING ACTIVITY
Section 1
China Resists
Outside Influence
Determining Main Ideas Choose the word that most accurately completes each
sentence below. Write that word in the blank provided.
extraterritorial rights
sphere of influence
opium
Dowager Empress Cixi
special economic zones
Open Door Policy
Boxer Rebellion
nationalism
Taiping Rebellion
rice
cotton
Treaty of Nanjing
1. Crop upon which China’s agricultural economy was based: __________________________
2. Narcotic from the poppy plant that found a market in China: ________________________
3. Clash between the British and the Chinese: ______________________________________
4. Treaty that gave Britain the island of Hong Kong:
________________________________
5. Exempted foreigners from Chinese law at Guangzhou and four other Chinese ports:
__________________________________________________________________________
6. Areas today on the coast of China established to attract but also control foreign investment:
__________________________________________________________________________
7. Movement led by Hong Xiuquan to build a kingdom in which no one would live in poverty:
__________________________________________________________________________
9. A “foothold” in China; an area where a foreign country controlled trade and investment:
__________________________________________________________________________
10. U.S. proposal that China be open to merchants of all nations: ________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
11. Campaign against foreigner privilege by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists:
__________________________________________________________________________
12. Feeling that emerged in China partly as the result of the Boxer Rebellion:
__________________________________________________________________________
90 Unit 6, Chapter 28
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8. Qing ruler in the last half of the 19th century: ____________________________________