Megan Yang
History-Dr. K When Hong Xiuquan converted to Christianity in 1843 and began preaching from village to village in southern China, little did he know that he had started a religious movement that, by 1850, would have more than thirty-thousand members.1 These members, who called themselves the “Society of God Worshippers,” consisted primarily of poor and disenfranchised Chinese peasants who suffered greatly from the oppression of the Manchu dynasty.2 It was their discontent with the Manchu, paired with a desire for better treatment through a new ruling class, that turned their originally religious movement into a political one. Led by Hong Xiuquan, who declared that the Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty had wrongfully usurped
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To them, the defeat was a sign that perhaps the Manchus were not as strong as they seemed. If the Westerners could defeat them, perhaps they, the peasants, stood a chance in overthrowing the ruling class they so deeply disliked. There were multiple reasons for the discontent, and even hatred, the southern Chinese felt towards the Manchu dynasty. The population of southern China had been alienated and oppressed since the Manchus had taken up the throne in the 17th century. Ruling China as if they were the masters of a conquered territory, the Manchus oppressed and exploited the Chinese people, especially the peasants, who had high taxes imposed upon them, while the wealthy and corrupt state officials got away with tax evasions.9 Moreover, the growth of the population in a period of economic recession and depreciation of the copper currency, in addition to unexpected droughts that occurred along the lower Yellow River valley due to the abandonment of irrigation systems, lead to starvation, misery, and exacerbated poverty that resulted in widespread anti-Manchu sentiment.10 This sentiment
Instability between religious groups was also a common issue and yet another effect of the spread of Buddhism in China, and led to the consistent repression or defense of one’s religion (Doc’s 2, 3). Though Buddhism left a large effect and influence on multiple characteristics of society, it’s most noticeable in social and political classes
It was a failure for the Qing in the long term for it aroused Western
“It is often said that, aside from the impact of Marxism on twentieth-century China, the only other time when the Chinese looked beyond their own borders for intellectual sustenance was during the period when Buddhism was absorbed from India” (LaFleur 23). Why did this religion appeal to the Chinese when they disregarded so many other external influences? After all, being tied to the rest of the world by the Silk Road meant they were constantly inundated with novel concepts from far and wide. The answer must lie in how Buddhism interacted with the other faiths already established in the country, namely Confucianism and Daoism (sometimes spelled Taoism). While at first glance it may appear that Confucian China would be the last place
At this point in history, the Chinese only wanted fellow Chinese to be ruler of their country. In result of the Manchus not being Chinese, rebellions took place habitually for decades. Nonetheless, this was soon to change. Kangxi was the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty,
Manchus were the one that took control of China after the Yuan (which was the Mongols) and established themselves as the Qing Dynasty. It is also this dynasty that the modern Chinese started. Around the 18th century, the Qing was at its height. However, by the start of the 19th century until the early 20th century, the Qing Dynasty started going downhill with domestic political and foreign policy problems. Within the nation, there were continuation and changes to the traditional Confucian system; Furthermore, there were rebellions due to foreign competitions that lead to the end of the Qing Dynasty.
The Chinese communist party had a great influence on the peasants, this sparked a sense of nationalism between the two classes this is shown in documents 1 and 2. Mao Zedong stated in document 1 that “peasants will rise like a mighty storm” and that “they will smash all chains that bind them and rush forward along the road to liberation”. Here Zedong’s tone is intimidating and determined. Zedong shows confidence in the peasants and their abilities
Originally, Liang’s “parents were deeply involved in all the excitement of working to transform China into a great Socialist country” (4). Over a serious of unfortunate events, though, he became the child of a “Rightist’s cap” mother and a “Reactionary Capitalist stinking intellectuals” father (9, 51). Impacted by the shattering of his family and horrific bloodshed created by fighting, Liang Heng began to question the Cultural Revolution. He claimed that his “family had scarified so much… but it had given [them] nothing in return” (148). Liang Heng presents his shift in ideology to demonstrate that most Chinese were no longer in support of a Communist nation. His “troubles were common enough and anyone could see there was a discrepancy between the glorious words of the newspapers and [their] painful reality (232). Even Liang Heng’s father, after many years of devotion, found that he could no longer defend the Party’s policies after he experienced the ill-treatment of the peasants in the country
Between circa 1925 and circa 1950, the relations between the Chinese peasants and the Chinese Communist Party became out of hand due to the peasant rebellions/uprising groups present, the tension between Japan and the communist party, and most notable the mass reform during this time period.
Before Emperor Wu of Han decided “oust others doctrines, the overwhelming Confucianism”[ Baisha Yi,易白沙 Kongzi pingyi shang 孔子评议上[Kritische Beurteilung von Kongzi, Teil 1], Qingnian zazhi 青年杂志,1916a, 571-576], which means use Confucianism as the only religion in China, Taoism was one of the most popular religions in China. In the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, Taoism was the most important religion and philosophy, and it influenced political theory. What is Taoism? How had Taoism changed politics and activities of people who lived in Han dynasty? This essay seeks to answer these questions by examining the background and few important points of Wu-wei, one of the most famous Taoist thoughts.
Pu, Muzhou. In Search of Personal Welfare: A View of Ancient Chinese Religion. Albany: State
I agree to a larger extent that the Qing Government was primarily responsible for causing the Taiping Rebellion. However, other underlying factors leading to the Taiping insurrection cannot be ignored. This essay will discuss how corruption in the Qing bureaucracy, the incompetent leadership, the closed mentality of the Qing Government, shortage of land and impact of an alien Manchu regime highlighted the Qing Government as the main cause of the rebellion. The essay would also include the other causes of the rebellion, such as the opium war and natural disasters.
One might wonder what life was like in China 300 years ago? Or even think about the aspects of life just 100 years ago? Others ponder the history of China, and how the country came to be. The Manchus, and their invasion of China played an enormous role in all of these thoughts. The Manchu invasion of China during the 17th century, was an extremely significant event in Chinese history, that left important impacts on China. It also helped to influence culture for years to come.
practices. I must stress that this was not a formal or universal change in religion but a
China has been in a state of revolution and reform since the Sino-Japanese war of 1895. As a result of Japan’s victory over Russia in 1905, China’s constitutional reform movement gathered momentum. This forced the Manchu government by public opinion to make gestures of preparation for a constitutional government, an act to which reformers in exile responded enthusiastically by establishing a Political Participation Society (Cheng-wen-she) (1, pg.84).
The greatest political change in the period actually seemed to have occurred in reaction to the Wuhan Uprising. Much to China’s disgust, the Manchus acquired a monetary loan from the West in order to nationalise the railways, and