se of Imperial China. So I will look at the impact of outside influence on China and how China reacted to the pressure. Finally, I will look at the impact of the Boxer Uprising. China’s first major change in policy with regard to the west was set with the Portuguese. The Portuguese first attempted to trade with China, there was an awful precedent that the rest of the West would follow. The Portuguese used force to get what they wanted with regard to trade, port access, and settlement. The Portuguese were considered like bandits, but the Chinese allowed for them to trade and eventually settle. The Chinese viewed themselves as superior and these foreigners as less than civilized. This was integral part of Chinese thinking and was a major factor in the reasoning in the way China dealt with the West. According to Wakeman, the Chinese viewed themselves as superior to all other societies, he states, “The Chinese did not stereotype all barbarians in a single undifferentiated category. They were acutely of the differences between Mongols khans....and Dutch merchants. But all barbarians were placed beneath the Chinese in an ideal world order of which their empire was the Central Kingdom” (pg. 111). This Chinese “world order” has an extreme consequence later when western powers flooded into China. This view of superiority sets the tone for the relationship between China and the West. As England moved in to the Trade picture, represented by the East India Company, it would eventually bring opium. Opium was illegal in China and England regardless, imported it to balance trade. Opium became toxic to the economy of China, to its addicts, and to the framework of Chinese agrarian society (Wakeman pg. 127-128). This drug bled the silver out of China and destroyed the value of copper and the ability of peasants to pay their rent. The illegal importation of opium and the war over it, illustrated the extent the west was going to act over profit, China’s perception of the west as barbarians, I feel clouded their perception and affected their decision over what to do about some critical decisions. Granted, opium was a serious problem, but even the most simplest of life forms, barbarians, can cause major problems. After China losing the Opium Wars, they marked the entrance of western imperialism into China with Treaty of Nanking. If China perceived the West as a real threat and not as a barbarian, why concede? The Treaty of Nanking was one of many known as ”unequal treaties” (W

Some topics in this essay:
China Boxer’s, Boxer Uprising, China England, Western Japanese, Treaty Tiensen, Treaty Nanking, Portuguese Portuguese, Boxers Boxer’s, Western China, Boxer Movement, boxer uprising, boxer movement, treaty nanking, wakeman pg, western imperialism, chinese government, origins boxer, western powers, late nineteenth century, common enemy, impact boxer, viewed themselves superior, chinese viewed themselves, origins boxer movement, wakeman pg 139,