China’s early encounters with the West

Posted by Matt in April 7th, 2008

Many of the causes for Chinaâ€™s being a failed state in the early twentieth century had their roots in Chinaâ€™s disadvantageous relations with the West.

I am going to look at the history of Chinaâ€™s encounters with the West in reverse order, beginning with the more familiar storyline of China as a weak and battered power in the modern era and closing with a different model from the premodern era.

Many of the causes for Chinaâ€™s being a failed state in the early twentieth century had their roots in Chinaâ€™s disadvantageous relations with the West. The warlordism and foreign imperialism that marked this era were a direct outgrowth of the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911-12, which left a monstrous political vacuum. The fall of the Qing in turn was largely the result of an unremitting series of body blows directed at the prestige, sovereignty, military power, and economic well-being of the Chinese empire. This is the historical memory that dominates the national consciousness of contemporary China.

Map for Beijing, China

[Countries link to CIA Factbook. States link to Wikipedia.]

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