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The Spheres of Influence in East Asia saw European and other Asian countries establish key ports throughout China that were controlled by other nations. These foreign countries inserted themselves into the local communities and governments to control and/or influence how and who ran things. They did so with little or no regard to the Chinese people and what they wanted. They used their financial power and resources to control these key areas. Eventually the Chinese people stood up and rebelled against many of these to take controlled over their own lands, government, and ways of life.

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The Yuan Dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, who was the leader of a vast Mongol Empire that ruled over most of northern China. It was China's first foreign-led dynasty. During this time Chinese culture flourished because the Mongolian rulers encouraged the arts, technology, and transportation. Kublai Khan was able to reunite China by adopting Chinese customs and practices.  Kublai was Genghis Khan's grandson.

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Genghis Khan is considered one of history's greatest conquerors after he built a large Mongolian army that took control across Asia and far west to the Caspian Sea. His rule established the largest land empire in history. He came to power at an early age and was able to unite the Mongolian tribes that fought and defeated China's Jin Dynasty. He had many sons, but it was his son Tolui who fathered Kublai Khan, who them created the Yuan Dynasty.

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The Boxer Rebellion was a uprising by the Chinese people against the foreign powers and people that wanted to control China during the 1800's and early 1900's. A secret society called the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists led the rebellion against the Westerners and Japanese influence, but they also attacked Chinese Christians. The rebellion ended with the signing of the Boxer Protocol on September 7, 1901. Even though it was considered a failed attempt, it is considered an event that stir up national pride within China itself.

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The extraterritorial jurisdiction was the agreement between a country and foreigners who wanted to trade and live within the hosting nation. For centuries China had allowed both individuals or countries to trade and live throughout China, allowing those to follow their own culture and ways of living in return for tributes and so on. Later on Westerners were able to force China to acknowledge and follow the extraterritorial rights only by threatening them or using force. China signed treaties with England, United States, Russia, and France. However, there were many conflicts among these nations and how to handle incidents among individuals, trade practices, ownership of lands and properties, and so on.

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The Taiping Rebellion was a failed uprising led by Hong Xiuquan, who proclaimed to be Jesus' brother who was sent to convert Chinese people into his version of Christianity. It was also inspired by nationalism and political changes to overthrow the ruling Qing Dynasty. It happened between 1850 and 1862, and it is believed that more than 20 million people died, mostly civilians. The rebellion led to a radical change in social and economic structure in China.

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Taiping Rebellion, radical political and religious upheaval that was probably the most important event in China in the 19th century. It lasted for some 14 years (1850-64), ravaged 17 provinces, took an estimated 20 million lives, and irrevocably altered the Qing dynasty (1644-1911/12).

The rebellion began under the leadership of Hong Xiuquan (1814-64), a disappointed civil service examination candidate who, influenced by Christian teachings, had a series of visions and believed himself to be the son of God, the younger brother of Jesus Christ, sent to reform China. A friend of Hong's, Feng Yunshan, utilized Hong's ideas to organize a new religious group, the God Worshippers' Society ( Bai Shangdi Hui), which he formed among the impoverished peasants of Guangxi province. In 1847 Hong joined Feng and the God Worshippers, and three years later he led them in rebellion. On January 1, 1851, he proclaimed his new dynasty, the Taiping Tianguo ("Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace"), and assumed the title of Tianwang, or "Heavenly King."

Their credo-to share property in common-attracted many famine-stricken peasants, workers, and miners, as did their propaganda against the foreign Manchu rulers of China. Taiping ranks swelled, and they increased from a ragged band of several thousand to more than one million totally disciplined and fanatically zealous soldiers, organized into separate men's and women's divisions. Sweeping north through the fertile valley of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang), they reached the great eastern city of Nanjing. After capturing the city on March 10, 1853, the Taipings halted. They renamed the city Tianjing ("Heavenly Capital") and dispatched a northern expedition to capture the Qing capital at Beijing. That failed, but another expedition into the upper Yangtze valley scored many victories.

Meanwhile, Yang Xiuqing, the Taiping minister of state, attempted to usurp much of the Tianwang's power, and, as a result, Yang and thousands of his followers were slain. Wei Changhui, the general who had killed Yang, then began to grow haughty, and Hong had him murdered as well. Another Taiping general, Shi Dakai, began to fear for his life, and he abandoned Hong, taking with him many of the Taiping followers.

In 1860 an attempt by the Taipings to regain their strength by taking Shanghai was stopped by the Western-trained "Ever-Victorious Army" commanded by the American adventurer Frederick Townsend Ward and later by the British officer Charles George ("Chinese") Gordon. The gentry, who usually rallied to support a successful rebellion, had been alienated by the radical anti-Confucianism of the Taipings, and they organized under the leadership of Zeng Guofan, a Chinese official of the Qing government. By 1862 Zeng had managed to surround Nanjing, and the city fell in July 1864. Hong, ailing and refusing all requests to flee the city, had committed suicide in June, though before that he had installed his 15-year-old son as the Tianwang. Those events effectively marked the end of the rebellion, although sporadic Taiping resistance continued in other parts of the country until 1868.

Taiping Christianity placed little emphasis on New Testament ideas of kindness, forgiveness, and redemption. Rather, it emphasized the wrathful Old Testament God who demanded worship and obedience. Prostitution, foot-binding, and slavery were prohibited, as well as opium smoking, adultery, gambling, and use of tobacco and alcohol. Organization of the army was elaborate, with strict rules governing soldiers in camp and on the march. For those who followed these rules, an ultimate reward was promised. Zeng Guofan was astonished when, after the capture of Nanjing, almost 100,000 of the Taiping followers preferred death to capture.

Under the Taipings, the Chinese language was simplified, and equality between men and women was decreed. All property was to be held in common, and equal distribution of the land according to a primitive form of communism was planned. Some Western-educated Taiping leaders even proposed the development of industry and the building of a Taiping democracy. The Qing dynasty was so weakened by the rebellion that it never again was able to establish an effective hold over the country. Both the Chinese communists and the Chinese Nationalists trace their origin to the Taipings.

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Taiping Rebellion | Causes, Effects, & Facts

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Taiping Rebellion, political and religious upheaval in China that was probably the most important event in China in the 19th century. It lasted from 1850 to 1864 and took an estimated 20 million lives. Read here to learn more about the Taiping Rebellion.

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The Opium Wars were two armed conflicts between China and Western countries. The first one was between China and Great Britain, and the second one between China against Great Britain and France. The first war was the result of the chinese people fighting against Britain's opium trade practices because they made a lot of people addicted to the drug causing social and economic issues. The second one was primarily by the greed of Great Britain and France to win additional commercial privileges in China and gain more territorial concessions.

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The Open Door Policy idea came about discussions between Britain and the United States on how they could position themselves in a more "equal" opportunity for their economic interests in China. There were other European powers with significant physical and commercial presences all throughout China, and they were very protective of the spheres of influence and trading privileges. Secretary of State John Hay wrote a series of notes proposing the Open Door policy that would give all foreign nations equal access and rights to China. It was a way for America and the UK to level the playing field with the other nations in order to exploit and take advantage of China's vast resources.

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Open Door Policy and Boxer Rebellion Explained