The social hierarchy also affected trade as merchants were frowned upon, and the Chinese government imposed restrictions on them and their families (some sons of merchants were not allowed to sit the imperial examination). Due to poor trade, china was unable to advance technologically, and this made the west's invasion of china easier. The social hierarchy was closely tied in with Confusion beliefs, and demonstrated how Confucianism may have also weakened the Chinese. .
The Mandate of Heaven also slowed progress in china, and caused them to be weak in the nineteenth century. The mandate of heaven is the right to rule and govern china given by the gods to an emperor. The emperor can keep this mandate, by ensuring that natural disasters are prevented and that there are no abnormal happenings. This system meant that there was a central government, meaning if the emperor made a decision the rest of China had to follow, with minimal opposition. The mandate of heaven could also be seen as a cause of the Taiping Rebellion, as the emperor insisted on maintaining the traditional ways of China, whereas the Taiping wanted change.
The Self-Strengthening movement in China occurred roughly between 1850-1890, and was initiated after a string of humiliations and defeats at the hands of the Westerners and rebels within China. The movement was initiated to obtain Western science, technology and sometimes even language, so that they could be seen as equals to the west's power. This movement can be seen somewhat, as an admission by the Chinese, that they were inferior to the Westerners in terms of technology and industry. However the result of the movement was yet another failure in China's history, as the movement collapsed around the mid-1890. The major downfall of the movement was the failure to re-invest profits, rather all profits went to the emperor (this being part of Chinese tradition). The failure can also be blamed somewhat on their traditional society, as Confucian laws restricted the Self Strengthening.