China Western Influence

Western imperialism in China was very significant, costed the lives of millions of people, but also helped shape China into a much stronger country than it was before, being ruled by the Qing Dynasty. Imperialism is a country extending its power and influence through the use of military force. There were two wars between the imperialists and China, the first and second Opium wars. The result of these wars was the weakening of the Qing Dynasty and led to a time of rebuilding, which was a great struggle, for China. The Europeans wanted to trade with China because of the great opportunity that they saw in the market. China’s population, which was 430 million, was seen as a fast and easy way for the Europeans to make a lot of money. The

Before the arrival of western powers, China was very stable, agricultural, and ethnocentric. They had many factories that produced silk, cotton, and porcelain with their natural resources: salt, tin, silver, and iron mines. They had no interest of trade or interaction with foreigners. From the early eighteenth century, European and American Imperialism spread throughout China with a goal to extend their nation’s power. China was one of many territories that undertook the changes of New Imperialism. By 1912, the country was governed by outside nations: Great Britain (mostly), Russia, Germany, France, and Japan. Their influence on China resulted malignantly on the country’s economy, political ties, and lifestyle; in spite of the few

In another way, Daoism was based upon the teachings and writings of Laozi, whose views varied from the ideals of Confucianism. In summary, there has been a transformation in the Chinese culture due to founding contemporaries the philosophies workings of the three major social beliefs, Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. The three major social belief systems faced issues such as political order, humane treatment and how to unified society. Although there are distinct similarities and differences between the groups each established their own defined game plan or path in search of an optimistic future for china in order to solve or evict the many problems that plagued everyday

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, European and Western imperialism (British especially) gained foothold in China. The famous political comic entitled “En Chine -- Le gâteau des Rois et... des Empereurs” can be translated as "China -- the cake of kings and... of emperors." The title is a French pun on king cake and how the kings and emperors (and queen and other national figures) are splitting and hope to "consume" China. This 1898 cartoon shows a frantic Qing official watching Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, William II of Russia, the French Marianne, and a samurai of Japan dividing up a pie that reads “Chine” (China is French). This political cartoon is meant to be satirical as it presents primarily unattractive caricatures for the nations involved in the subject of the this famous image -- and that is the major historical event and process of Western imperialism in China in this time period.

Confucian and Daoist views were important for the shaping and development of mankind in the past. They were views that existed among the eastern Asian countries. They had both similarities and differences in the way they shaped out self-knowledge and self-cultivation. Also there was other outside forces that played a major role in their theories. Nature and art were said to have helped shape the human race as we know it.

There are many things in history that can mark the milestone differences between China and Western Europe. No one really knows when Chinese culture really began, however Chinese civilization began near the Yellow River (Huang He) becoming North China, and Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) indicating South China. The first Dynasty, the Xia (Hsia) Dynasty began in about 2070 or 2205 BCE. Historians have found proof of the wheel first being used in China during this time showing urban culture did exist. The Shang Dynasty followed introducing the first Chinese Government. A lot of the “basic” Chinese culture was introduced during the Zhou (Chou) Dynasty such as the “Mandate of Heaven.” China contains a lot of history throughout the years. There were battles between the states, many new emperors and leaders, as well as new technologies. All of which brought three great Chinese philosophies; Daoism, Confucianism, and Legalism. It wasn’t until about 581 CE that China was reunifies under the leader, Sui Wendi. Wendi linked North and South China together by the Grand Canal. It was during the Song Dynasty, in 960 CE, that China promoted better tools. The

China remains a current world super power that has been around for thousands of years. It was one of the first civilizations ever created and it has evolved into an enormous country. China is a large territory, but only 10% of the land can be farmed on. This continues to be a tremendous problem, especially with the large population that mostly lives in rural areas. In the past China was seen as a fragile nation that was still stuck in the past, although after the Four Humiliations this began to change. The Four Humiliations were a group of events that forced China to modernize due to the losses it faced. After the last of the four humiliations and the fall of the dynasty era during 1911, China began to catch up to the westernized world by modernizing their government, military, and education. The Chinese

1.) During the fifteenth century, China and Europe both began rebuilding their civilizations after the destruction that the plague brought. Both commenced to rebuild their population, economy, and to begin cultural growth. Although the two civilizations had their difference in the way that they began to rebuild, they also shared some similarities. As both showed signs of improvement, it is viewed that “Europe was […] more different from its own recent past than [the] Ming dynasty China was from its pre-Mongol glory” (428). Even though Europe went though the most change, China still showed a lot of improvement, especially considering that they were coming back from having a foreign ruler.

Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, arose many intellectual thinkers that brought such a profound impact in the fields of politics, religion, and philosophy. Even to this day, their influence can be seen on the many matters of China. Confucianism became the paramount school of thinking and later significant philosophies such as Daoism and Legalism gained immense recognition as well. Each party had their own proposals for creating an idealistic political society where the many problems they faced in their everyday lives could be eliminated. All three approaches were very distinct but at the same time, they contained similarities as well. In my reasoning, I find that Confucianism and Daoism

McNeil is also critical of Landes’ preoccupation in the happenings of Europe alone, while remaining dismissive of all economic and technological accomplishments of China after 1 000 A.D. While Landes dismisses the economic demise of China as a “weird pattern of isolated initiatives and Sisyphean discontinuities,” McNeil instead portrays the rapid innovations of the Sung era, and how they were damaged and disrupted by Mongol conquests and contained within the Ming dynasty, thereby showing that Europe did not surpass Europe in achievement due to their own pre-eminence.

Confucianism and Daoism are both chinese religions. They both incorporated religious practices with daily activities in a way that it pertained to philosophy as well as religion, making the secular sacred. Confucianism was grounded in ethics and virtuous socio-political conditions. Daoism, also known as Taoism, sought to establish the proper relation between humans and the cosmos through discernment of the Tao, or Way. Confucianists are more concerned with social relationships and Taoism is of a more broader nature and more mystically oriented and more philosophical. They both focused on relationships that humans had with each other as well as the relationships that humans had with nature. They were atheistic in a sense that they had no

History has shown us, that Daoism and Confucianism have many things in common as well as many differences, let me start with what is Daoism and Confucianism. Daoism is also known as Taoism, is a religious tradition originated from China in the 550 B.C.E, it was founded by Lao Tzu, a great philosopher and the author of the “Dao De Jing” .The “Dao De Jing” or “Tao Te Ching” is a Chinese text that contains 81 chapters explaining the “ways” of Chinese life, it is often used by the monks or persons that practice the Daoism. Daoism’s main focus is on nature, and not on the social world. Compassion, moderation and humility are also focuses

The expansion of Western imperialism struck many regions across the world, all of which progressed and responded differently. Two specific countries I’m going to compare are China and Egypt. China and Egypt both struggled with Western invasion and influences, resulting in semi-colonization. Semi colonized areas refer to areas that were able to maintain their authentic political leadership, however most of their moral, religious, and cultural diversity was abolished and replaced with new Western ideals (Edgerton-Tarpley lecture, “Experiencing Imperialism,” 10/23/2014). Although both of these countries were bombarded by Western imperialistic ideals, both countries responded

The religion of Confucianism begins, of course, with Confucius whose Chinese name was Kong Qui and who lived from 551 B.C. to 479 B.C. Surprisingly Confucius was merely a low level government worker. He did not exactly view himself as the founder of a school of thought. Regardless, Confucianism is the most influential belief system in Chinese culture. It provides the rules which govern the social behavior of the individual. The basic teachings of Confucius are grounded in the Five Constant Virtues: humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. Confucius went on to define five basic human relations and

Confucian ethics focused on groups, humans living in communities and in societies advancing human culture and civilization in harmony and balance with each other. Taoist(Daoist) ethics focused on individuals separate lives and personal moral advancement in harmony and balance with nature. Both Confucian and Daoists focus on cultivation of Wen and virtue of Te-power without force. Both also focus on a kind of humility. In Confucianism this is Chun Tzu; in Daosim it is humility to nature and natural order. Both honor the past, tradition, and ancestors, and both have a concern for the future. However, the