Write notes based of this: "Out of pride in their ancient culture, the Chinese looked down  
Western economic pressure  forced China to open to foreign  trade and influence on all foreigners. In 1793, however, the Qing emperor agreed  to receive an ambassador from England. The Englishman  brought gifts of the West’s most advanced technology— clocks, globes, musical instruments, and even a hot-air balloon.  The emperor was not impressed. In a letter to England’s King  George III, he stated that the Chinese already had everything  they needed. They were not interested in the “strange objects”  and gadgets that the West was offering them. 

Finely made lanterns were among the Chinese goods favored by the  Western merchants. 
China and the West 
China was able to reject these offers from the West because it  was largely self-sufficient. The basis of this self-sufficiency  was China’s healthy agricultural economy. During the 11th  century, China had acquired a quick-growing strain of rice  from Southeast Asia. By the time of the Qing Dynasty,  the rice was being grown throughout the southern part  of the country. Around the same time, the 17th and 18th  centuries, Spanish and Portuguese traders brought maize, sweet potatoes,  and peanuts from the Americas as part of the Columbian Exchange. These  new crops helped China increase the productivity of its existing farmland,  and the crops also could be grown throughout the nation. Therefore, new  
farms and settlements emerged throughout China. The resulting increase  in agriculture allowed China to effectively feed its huge population. In the  Americas, however, the Columbian Exchange had the opposite effect—it  devastated indigenous populations as diseases killed an unprecedented  number of people.  
China also had extensive mining and manufacturing industries. Rich  salt, tin, silver, and iron mines produced great quantities of ore. The mines  provided work for tens of thousands of people. The Chinese also produced  beautiful silks, high-quality cottons, and fine porcelain. 
The Tea-Opium Connection Because of their self-sufficiency, the Chinese  had little interest in trading with the West. For decades, the only place  they would allow foreigners to do business was at the southern port of  Guangzhou (gwahng•joh). And the balance of trade at Guangzhou was  clearly in China’s favor. This means that China earned much more for its  exports than it spent on imports. 
European merchants were determined to find a product the Chinese  would buy in large quantities. Eventually they found one—opium. Opium  is a habit-forming narcotic made from the poppy plant. Chinese doctors  had been using it to relieve pain for hundreds of years. In the late  18th century, however, British merchants smuggled opium into China for  nonmedical use. It took a few decades for opium smoking to catch on, but  by 1835, as many as 12 million Chinese people were addicted to the drug. 
War Breaks Out This growing supply of opium caused great problems for  China. The Qing emperor was angry about the situation. In 1839, one of  his highest advisers wrote a letter to England’s Queen Victoria about the  problem: 
The pleas went unanswered, and Britain refused to stop  
trading opium. The result was an open clash between the  
British and the Chinese—the Opium War of 1839. The  
battles took place mostly at sea. China’s outdated ships  
were no match for Britain’s steam-powered gunboats. As a  result, the Chinese suffered a humiliating defeat. In 1842,  they signed a peace treaty, the Treaty of Nanjing. 

Foreigners were not the greatest of China’s problems in the mid-19th cen tury, however. The country’s own population provided an overwhelming  challenge. The number of Chinese grew to 430 million by 1850, a 30 per 
cent gain in only 60 years. Yet, in the same period of time, food production  barely increased. As a result, hunger was widespread, even in good years.  Many people became discouraged, and opium addiction rose steadily. As  their problems mounted, the Chinese began to rebel against the Qing  Dynasty. 
The Taiping Rebellion During the late 1830s, Hong Xiuquan (hung shee•oo•choo•ahn), a young man from Guangdong province in southern  China, began recruiting followers to help him build a “Heavenly Kingdom  of Great Peace.” In this kingdom, all Chinese people would share China’s  vast wealth and no one would live in poverty. Hong’s movement was  called the Taiping Rebellion, from the Chinese word taiping, meaning  “great peace.” 
By the 1850s, Hong had organized a massive peasant army of some one  million people. Over time, the Taiping army took control of large areas of  southeastern China. Then, in 1853, Hong captured the city of Nanjing and  

Today, as in the late 1800s, the Chinese  
government limits foreign economic activity to  particular areas of the country. Most of these areas,  called special economic zones (SEZs), are located  on the coast and waterways of southeastern  China. First established in the late 1970s, the SEZs  are designed to attract, but also control, foreign  investment. 
One of the most successful SEZs is Shanghai.  Dozens of foreign companies—including IBM of  the United States, Hitachi of Japan, Siemens of  Germany, and Unilever of Great Britain—have  invested over $73 billion in the building and  operating of factories, stores, and other businesses.  This investment has had huge impact. Shanghai’s  per capita gross domestic product, or GDP, grew  from around $1200 in 1990 to over $15,000 in 2014. 
The Taiping Rebellion and several other smaller uprisings put tremendous  internal pressure on the Chinese government. And, despite the Treaty of  Nanjing, external pressure from foreign powers was increasing. At the  Qing court, stormy debates raged about how best to deal with these issues.  Some government leaders called for reforms patterned on Western ways.  Others, however, clung to traditional ways and accepted change very  reluctantly. 
Resistance to Change During the last half of the 19th century, one per son was in command at the Qing imperial palace. The Dowager Empress  Cixi (tsoo•shee) held the reins of power in China from 1862 until 1908  with only one brief gap. Although she was committed to traditional values,  the Dowager Empress did support certain reforms. In the 1860s, for example, she backed the self-strengthening  movement. This program aimed to update China’s  educational system, diplomatic service, and mili tary. Under this program, China set up factories to  manufacture steam-powered gunboats, rifles, and  ammunition. The self-strengthening movement  had mixed results, however. 
Other Nations Step In Other countries were well  aware of China’s continuing problems. Throughout  the late 19th century, many foreign nations took  advantage of the situation and attacked China.  Treaty negotiations after each conflict gave these  nations increasing control over China’s economy.  Many of Europe’s major powers and Japan gained a strong foothold in China. This foothold, or sphere of influence, was an  area in which the foreign nation controlled trade and investment.  The United States was a long-time trading partner with China. Ameri cans worried that other nations would soon divide China into formal  colonies and shut out American traders. To prevent this occurrence, in  1899 the United States declared the Open Door Policy. This proposed that  China’s “doors” be open to merchants of all nations. Britain and the other  European nations agreed. The policy thus protected both U.S. trading  rights in China and China’s freedom from colonization. But the country  was still at the mercy of foreign powers. 
An Upsurge in Chinese Nationalism Humiliated by their loss of power, many Chinese pressed for strong  reforms. Among those demanding change was China’s young emperor,  Guangxu (gwahng•shoo). In June 1898, Guangxu introduced measures to  modernize China. These measures called for reorganizing China’s educa tional system, strengthening the economy, modernizing the military, and  streamlining the government. 
Most Qing officials saw these innovations as threats to their power.  They reacted with alarm, calling the Dowager Empress back to the  imperial court. On her return, she acted with great speed. She placed  Guangxu under arrest and took control of the government. She then  reversed his reforms. Guangxu’s efforts brought about no change what soever. The Chinese people’s frustration with their situation continued  to grow. 
The Boxer Rebellion This widespread frustration finally erupted into  violence. Poor peasants and workers resented the special privileges granted  to foreigners. They also resented Chinese Christians, who had adopted a  foreign faith. To demonstrate their discontent, they formed a secret orga nization called the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists. They soon  came to be known as the Boxers. Their campaign against the Dowager  Empress’s rule and foreigner privilege was called the Boxer Rebellion. 
Transformations Around the Globe 949

A gang of Boxers attacks Chinese Christians. 
In the spring of 1900, the Boxers descended on Beijing. Shouting “Death  
to the foreign devils,” the Boxers surrounded the European section of the  
city. They kept it under siege for several months. The Dowager Empress  
expressed support for the Boxers but did not back her words with military  
aid. In August, a multinational force of 19,000 troops marched on Beijing  
and quickly defeated the Boxers. 
At this point, even the Qing court realized  that China needed to make profound changes to survive. In 1905, the  Dowager Empress sent a select group of Chinese officials on a world tour  to study the operation of different governments. The group traveled to  Japan, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and Italy. On  their return in the spring of 1906, the officials recommended that China  restructure its government. They based their suggestions on the constitu tional monarchy of Japan. The empress accepted this recommendation and  began making reforms. Although she convened a national assembly within  a year, change was slow. In 1908, the court announced that it would estab lish a full constitutional government by 1917. 
However, the turmoil in China did not end with these progressive steps.  China experienced unrest for the next four decades as it continued to face  internal and external threats. China’s neighbor Japan also faced pressure  from the West during this time. But it responded to this influence in a  much different way. "