https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z en-us 2017-12-06 17:47:50 UTC 2017-12-10 23:12:37 UTC hello@padlet.com camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/213827359 The tributary system was an ancient system of trade where the Chinese would require some sort of gift of gratitude to be made to China in order for trade to commence. This system made it so China could stay isolated, show their "superiority" to other countries, and gain more resources from the gifts they would receive. However, when the Europeans first interacted with the Chinese, they did not abide the system and forced China to make trade easier and more open. After getting rid of the system, the British began the trade of opium. Once this began, China began its journey to weakness...]]> 2017-12-06 17:48:58 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/213827359 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214251562 The British began to trade opium for Chinese tea. Once many people became addicted to it, they would pay a lot for shipments to keep coming in. Eventually, the Chinese government made the use of opium illegal, but the British kept bringing it in, and the addicts kept buying it. In 1839, Chinese warships went out to try and stop a British ship bringing in opium, but the Chinese were defeated with ease due to outdated weapons and fighting methods. This made it so the British had much more control and because they had proven their power, the British could then start taking more control of China through the Treaty of Nanjing...]]> 2017-12-07 18:06:04 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214251562 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214251833 The Treaty of Nanjing was an agreement that the British forced on China which demanded China pay for the losses of the British during the war, give the British Hong-Kong, open five ports for foreign trade, to allow British citizens in China to live under their western laws, to let British citizens in China be tried in their own court systems, and to associate with more western countries. This was a disadvantage to China because they were now being directly controlled by the British and as a country was forced to be involved with things they did not like (i.e. trade with other countries, give up land, allow benefits for British citizens, etc.). The Treaty of Nanjing was a critical part of China's downfall because the British had officially begun taking land and power.]]> 2017-12-07 18:06:36 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214251833 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214252776 On top of external issues, China had many issues coming from the inside. Irrigation systems were not functioning along with canals which led to intense flooding in the Huang He valley. To go with it, a population boom damaged the lives of peasants, and with a combination of overpopulation and a corrupt government, life was rough. All of these internal issues weakened China, making it easier for external sources to take control. These events also contributed to the misery of the peasants which led to the Taiping Rebellion... ]]> 2017-12-07 18:08:23 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214252776 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214253028 Due to all of the terrible conditions the peasants endured, in 1850-1864 one of the most violent peasant revolts in history occurred, known as the Taiping Rebellion. It was led by a man named Hong Xiuquan, who believed in giving land to those who needed it, community-owned buildings, equality for women, and most of all, the end to the Qing dynasty. All of these ideas were considered ridiculous and extreme, and fighting broke out. There were between 20-30 million casualties and in order to keep the rebels under control, the Chinese government sought the help of the British and other western countries. They were able to defeat the rebels, but because they used the aid of other countries, it made China even more susceptible to the West and made the bond between them stronger.

]]> 2017-12-07 18:08:50 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214253028 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214254559 It was clear that China was weak, so Western countries all flocked in to carve out the chunk of land they wanted on the coast of China. The British, French, Germans, and Russians all took land, however, the US kept its distance, fearing that the Europeans would not allow them a place. At this point, China had been almost completely defeated with its land divided and adopted by different countries, and it was before the Japanese got involved...]]> 2017-12-07 18:11:53 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214254559 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214254855 China's neighbor, Japan was progressing as a country extremely rapidly and joined the western countries searching to imperialize other countries. In 1894, Japan tried to move in on China and China lost horribly. Japan ended up taking the island of Taiwan, and when the two countries met to declare peace, it was obvious why China had lost the battle. The Chinese were still wearing their traditional robes, while the Japanese were in modern, European suits. This shows that the Chinese were still living in the past, which prevented them from being successful in a modern world. Overall, China's continuation of ancient times is what made them weak because they were no match for the advanced, modern, and effective technology of other countries.  ]]> 2017-12-07 18:12:32 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214254855 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214255226 After getting defeated many times, China finally realized it was time to modernize. The emperor at the time, Guang Xu, created the "one hundred days of reform", where new laws assisted progression in China. However, this did not last long. Conservatives who continued to believe in the past ways assembled to stop the reformers and imprison the emperor. This was a factor to China's weakness because it divided the native people, making them less focused on getting back their land and the same problem of being too old-fashioned was never resolved.]]> 2017-12-07 18:13:10 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214255226 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214255583 Ci Xi was a powerful empress who was a major part of the conservative group who strived to keep China from progressing. She was an extreme follower of Confucious and surrounded herself other followers to help her an ultimate conservative rule. The Dowager Empress contributed to the downfall of China because she was such a follower of the old ways, and did not support any type of new ideas. People like her ruling were one of the big reasons that China was so behind compared to the other countries.]]> 2017-12-07 18:13:51 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214255583 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214256195 After being defeated, taken advantage of, and dealing with customs they hated, the native people of China were tired of being under the rule of foreign countries. They formed a secret society called the Righteous Harmonious Fists, which was basically a boxing group (hence the "Boxer" rebellion). After training, these boxers attacked the foreigners in the land but were incredibly unsuccessful. The Japanese and western powers worked together to destroy the boxers and help the people the boxers threatened. This was bad for China because yet again, they were defeated by the invading nations due to their unmodern ways of fighting and living. The boxer rebellion was just another battle China lost, demonstrating its weakness.]]> 2017-12-07 18:15:05 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214256195 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214256744 After the fail of the boxer rebellion, Chinese people were hungry for more power and control over their country. China had become a constitutional monarchy, but when the throne fell to the power of a toddler, the land fell into deeper discord. A Chinese spokesman with a good education named, Sun Yixian stepped in to become president and he made China a republic. This upset many people and the country was constantly fighting for 37 years. This was a factor of China's fall because it shows whenever any changes for a more modern society came, people would get mad and start fighting. Whatever happened, China was too far in a hole of their self-inflicted problems to ever have a chance of gaining their power back.]]> 2017-12-07 18:16:06 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214256744 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214865225 2017-12-10 22:48:54 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214865225 camuti_oli1 https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214865247 As one can see, event after event, the Chinese went from a powerful proud nation to a weak and defeated one.]]> 2017-12-10 22:49:11 UTC https://padlet.com/camuti_oli1/22yb15elkq6z/wish/214865247