How To Write A Chapter Summary Of Ironies In Hong Kong

China has 5000 years of history which experienced wars, collapses, failures and successes. The Opium War in the year 1839 and 1856 marked the changing point of China’s trade policy with foreigners, especially with British in opium and tea. China changed from getting tributes to being forced to sign the Nanjing Treaty and Tianjing Treaty with British and French. Due to China’s over confidence and unwelcome attitude toward foreigners and opium, it caused the British to declare the Opium War to China which made Chinese suffer for many years, but at the same time it also forced China to open its doors to the foreigners.

In the 19th Century British planned to invade China for economic reasons. It had no motives to conquer the state rather entice it to accept a free trade. The country was rich in tea which was in high demand not only in Britain but all over the world. China also had porcelain and silk which the Britons envied. The intruders did not have enough silver to buy the commodities thus opted for a barter system. Consequently, a war between the two states occurred. It was fought between 1848 and 1852 with China becoming unsuccessful due advanced military competence of Britons. The signing of an agreement between them then followed, and British was additionally awarded extraterritorial rights by China. However, the imperialism in China was a positive thing to the natives because it introduced trade and much education in the region which opened up opportunities.

British trade with China during the Qing dynasty from 1750 - 1900 was economically harmful for the Chinese, and the Chinese Imperial government responses were political. A document showing a Chinese citizen’s view on the events and how they played out would have helped me to better understand how it affected the people of China’s

In the text, “Letter to Queen Victoria”, written by Lin Zexu in 1839, he implores the Queen of Great Britain, Queen Victoria, to stop her subjects from selling opium to the Chinese public. Zexu does so by exemplifying the past relationship of China and Britain, by moral persuasion, and by warnings and threats. However, Lin Zexu’s assumption of calling British subjects as Barbarian and compliant to Chinese rule ineffectively persuades.

Even with her previous experiences at Beijing University and at Big Joy Farm, Wong still held some belief that the Chinese system wasn’t as bad as it was sometimes made out to be. This event proved to her that it was. “The enormity of the massacre hit home…Although it had been years since I was a Maoist, I still had harbored some small hope for China. Now even that was gone” (259). As a reporter Wong was able to view the progression of the protests in leading up to the massacre, and in viewing it understood that the Chinese people were much more independent than they had previously demonstrated over the past 50 years. She had continuously seen the Chinese people following what they were told between learning in school or with physical labor, yet this protest was one of the first large scale displays of the unacceptance of the regime by the people, and the government did not know what to do with it. But because of this, Wong was able to recognize that the people were not reliant on this way of life that they had previously been bound to, but truly could lead for themselves and take control. The massacre awakened Wong both to the reality that the government was not acting to benefit the people, and that the people were more than capable of acting for

In the beginning of the 19th century the British began to trade opium, an illegal drug, for tea with China which caused, “...the first Opium War...which resulted in a Chinese defeat and the expansion of British trading privileges...”This discrepancy in the trading relationship between the Chinese and the British caused China’s to forfeit their trading territory to the British. The outcome of the Opium War was a setback for the Chinese. Places where the Chinese previously conducted business was no longer available. Economical wars were not uncommon: “During the mercantilist period…a military...would deter attacks by other countries and aid its own territorial expansion.” The focus of many governments became to protect their economy by constantly gaining more territory to increase business. The change of China’s trade routes could have negatively affected the economy. If the Chinese economy were to weaken it could affect the economies of other countries that China interacted with. The Columbian Exchange, a network of trade routes throughout the world, caused the environment to change as, “ ...Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and turnips...raveled west across the Atlantic, and New World crops...traveled east to Europe.” The exchanging of crops between the New World and the Old World, two different geographical areas,

Over the period of 1792 to 1990, England and China's relationship drastically changed because of the trading of opium. China didn’t want to trade opium, but it would mess up England's economy if they were no longer trading opium. China also started to feel the need to westernize, unlike before. China’s need for westernization released tension between the two powers, causing a change in their relationship. China and England's relationship was continous from trade. Even though it was unbalanced in the beginning, it was never cut off. During this time period, in other parts of the world, industrialization was starting to take place. England was one of the leading countries in this age of Industrialization. England used their advanced technology

San Francisco, as a multicultural city, undoubtedly included a large variety of groups of people from all around the world. In English 162 course, we’ve learned a lot about history and culture of the bay area. From the gold rush the outsiders came, to the diversity of the Fillmore, we can see that even people far from the other side of the earth came here for a better life. As for myself, I came from a Chinese culture country, which is surely different from the culture here in America. Besides “The Only Real Day” by Frank Chin really interests me of how the Chinese’s attitude toward this distinct culture, and how they struggled and coined their own lifestyle. Since San Francisco Chinatown is so famous and successful, it gives me an inspiration of comparing the architectures, culture and atmosphere with the Orient.

Chang strategically divided the book into three parts to show the progression of race, land, nationhood, and politics. The author then further divided the book into chapters that contribute to providing an answer to his initial research question.

In the historical reading When America First Met China by Eric Jay Dolin, one could say that the context of this historical reading goes into great depth when explaining the trade networks between China and the rest of the continent, particularly in the Americas right after the American Revolution ended in 1783, in comparison to many other sources that did not go into great depth.

The plans and narratives of the Kowloon Walled City have drastically changed through the years, as it has been an unrolled and unregulated enclave between the British and Chinese governments. It began as an officially planed Chinese military fort and afterwards witnessed three distinct stages of lawlessness, demolition and rebirth as an urban garden. It all officially began in the 16th century, when the Chinese built a defensive garrison town filled with soldiers, civil officers and their families (Carney, 2013). However, when Hong Kong was leased to the British in 1898, the Kowloon Walled City became a enclave in the colonized territory, where no laws of the official state applied and everything began expanding spontaneously. The first stage of the city’s unintentional self-organization began in the 1950’s. It is widely known as the time of three vices – gambling, prostitution and drug dealing. The official regulations of the British did work on Hong Kong and were reversely reflected in the Chinese enclave. As soon as something was forbidden in the city-state, people massively poured into the un-ruled territory and let the sins to flourish. This way the Kowloon Walled City became synonymous with violence, crime and disturbance. During this period, the city and people became one, the buildings were connected by piping systems and wires, the water poured through the holes and sunlight could barely reach the lower levels. Yet, in the early 1970’s the situation started changing

In the early eighteen hundreds, Britain and other European countries demanded more and more Chinese commodities, especially tea and silk. However, only the port in Canton was opened to foreign countries, and Chinese would not take any other form of payments besides silver. The desire to make China into a free market that foreigners have more access to and the increasing, though illegal, European opium import to China eventually created tension between the European countries, especially Britain, and the Chinese government (Allingham Par. 1-2). The two battles fought and won by European powers were known as the Opium Wars. China’s politics, economy, and intellects were both positively and negatively

The book focuses on Chinese expats in the United States during the 2nd World War (although Lisa See does not develop this side of war). She tells us about foreigners, racism: the view from the Lo fan (Americans.) but also those Chinese who do not adapt to the American life and are designated as retarded by their own children born on the American soil.

There were many problems with the system of trade in China; even before opium trading began. China, believing herself to be the most civilized and advanced country, did not feel the need to satisfy Britain, a “barbarian” country’s request for freer trade and were concerned the British wanted land. Britain however,

A Concise History Of Hong Kong was a prequel to one of the most fascinating places I have ever traveled to. Going through history class, and growing up, I had heard many stories of Hong Kong, China, Britain, and Japan, but I never realized how intertwined they truly were and how their stories were really told. John Carroll did a remarkable job setting the scene for what Hong Kong was, where they had been, and how they made it through all of it and came out with their own identity.