Nineteenth Century China and Japan’s Reactions to the West
China entered the nineteenth century still convinced of its superiority over barbarian Western countries possessing a belief in its own greatness. The Chinese referred to their land as the Middle Kingdom, around which the rest of the world revolved. For centuries China's claim to superiority was probably valid. It had achieved much in the fields of science and the arts. In Confucianism, it believed it had solved the problem of government. Militarily it dominated all its neighbours, such as Korea and Indochina, who were forced to pay an annual tribute as 'vassal states'. However, by the nineteenth century, the economic and military superiority of the West over China had become apparent. As the Industrial Revolution proceeded, particularly in Britain, western European powers sought raw materials and markets in China. When Western nations appeared in the Far East, China viewed them with disdain and mistrust: disdain because Westerners were merely uncivilised barbarians, mistrust because they brought with them new ideas and new methods that might undermine Manchu rule. The West wanted what China had to offer but China did not want what the West had to offer. The West's solution to this proved to be the cause of the first Anglo-Chi
Some topics in this essay:
Commodore Perry, China Japanese, Reform Weakness, Korea Western, Charter Oath, Mitsuhito Meiji, Taiping Rebellion, China West, Chinese Chinese, Manchuria Japan, nineteenth century, western powers, civil war, boxer rebellion, 100 days reform, line thinking, shogun's hold, china resisted, west china, power emperor, territorial concessions,
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Approximate Word count = 1796
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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