Chinese_History

Q1. Evaluate critically this statement by identifying the problems confronting China then. I agree this statement partly. There's no doubt that this period of imperialism aggression made a significant impact on China. Although it broke China's feudalism, it led China into a Semi colonial and semi feudal society. The aggression violated China's sovereignty, but promoted the development of China. Every coin has two sides. At this point, we should evaluate critically on different angle to see the influence on China after it was divided by imperialism. In my personally view, the aggression made a negative impact outweigh the positive impact. Firstly, in the aspect of economy, the imperialism not only demanded huge indemnities from China, but also use the privilege from the unequal treaties to expand the market in China and capital export. In this way, the capitalism was involved in China's market gradually. The main performances were controlling the trading ports of China, depriving China's tariff autonomy and unloading and exporting the commodity to China. The imperialism gradual controlled China's economic lifeline so that China lost the independence in the economy. On one hand, these made the costal cities of China become prosperously, but the rural economy bordered on the bankruptcy and caused modern China's poverty and backward. On the other hand, the imperialism aggression has broken China's originally self sufficient small peasant economy accidentally. This made part of Chinese realized the west capitalism development and introduced the western advanced technology and management. China was also compelled to industrialized and modernized. After the natural economy is broken, China's capitalism modern enterprise starts to develop and the modern economy starts to emerge. Secondly, in the aspect of military, China's technological progress level and the military power fall far behind the Western because of policy of closing the country to international intercourse. Furthermore, Qing government was corrupt and incompetent. The senior official colluded with foreigners for their personal benefits and fight with the enemy negatively. The unequal treaties that Qing government had signed with imperialism made China in debt. The common people live in burden. Moreover, the imperialism killed lots of Chinese, invaded China’s territory, divided them and turned into colonies administered. One good thing, they also overthrew the rule of feudal dynasty. From the angel of today, if China won in the Opium War, the feudalism would last longer which would make China’s situation get worse. In the aspect of politics, the imperialism gradual controlled China’s diplomacy. They operated China’s government and internal affairs, used the Chinese in power as the tame tool to rule China. Besides, they collaborated with Qing government to suppress people’s revolts. Qing government became the imperialism’s watchdog and proxy government. Just because of this, the new national democratic movement started. The modern democracy's idea started to play an important role into practice. In the aspect of ideology and culture, there were many western missionaries starting the thought aggression. Their goal was publicizing the colonialism enslavement thought and destroying Chinese's national pride and their self-confidence. The traditional Chinese culture was under the Western culture’s intense impact. The Chinese tradition society's moral system was attacked in broken pieces. But this still had advantages; they not only broke China’s backward culture, but also spread western modern thought into China. In a certain extent, the imperialism opened China’s culture modernizing and widened Chinese's thought and the field of vision. In conclusion, on the negative side, the capital massive inputs caused China's national capital suffered an enormous harm. The imperialism made China degenerate into the Semi colonial and semi feudal society eventually. Excepting the damage on the economy, the imperialism’s political control caused China’s political dependence. On the positive side, the imperialism aggression promoted Chinese nation's unity and strengthened the national cohesion. It stimulated Chinese nation's awakening. Furthermore, it also helped the development of China's capitalism. The birth of national enterprise promoted the new China's establishment. The important thing was not about too much foreign imperialism or too little, but how they affected China’s development. Although the aggression did a little help to China’s development, it blocked China’s society’s improvement and led China under imperialism’s rule for a long time. All in all, the aggression in 19th century made a negative impact outweigh the positive impact on China’s development. Q2. Why did China turn to Marxism as the solution to its problems in the 20th century' China gradual degenerated into the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society after the Opium War in 1840. Chinese people have fought for this for a long time. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement led by peasantry was defeated by Chinese and foreign reactionary forces eventually. Their efforts didn’t change the character of China’s semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The Landlord class's westernization movement also didn’t cause China to be prosperous and powerful. Finally, the advanced intellectual in China found a way to save China. China turned to Marxism in the 20th century. The Marxism was the right for China to get rid of the difficult position. In my view, China chose and accepted Marxism was the right decision during the China’s development history. At the end of 19th century and the beginning of 20th, Qing government became decayed day by day. At the meanwhile, the imperialism aggression got further deepens. With the growing of China’s national capitalism, the significant 1911 revolution started. Although Yuan shikai captured the revolutionary fruit, it brought an immeasurable liberation function to Chinese people on politics and thoughts. It led Chinese people to a bright way and gave a fatal shock to the feudal dictatorship system. The 1911 revolution ended the China’s two-thousand feudalism monarchy system and established the bourgeoisie Republic. It promoted the development of China’s history and caused the democracy republican idea to strike root in the hearts of Chinese people. This laid the foundation for Marxism’s dissemination and development in China in the future. The advanced intellectual realized that the revolutionary defeat's root lies in the lack of democracy republican consciousness in people’s mind. They must popularize the republican thought to realize the true republican regime. During the early period of the rule of Beiyang warlord, the new culture movement started. This was also a culture enlightenment movement which made an earth-shaking change to China. The new culture movement paved the way for the dissemination of new thoughts and new theories. In the later period, the dissemination of the socialism thought inspired the advanced intellectual to choose and accept the Marxism. They used Marxism as the thought weapon to save the country, transform society and advance the revolution. In 1917, the October revolution occurred in Russia. The advanced intellectual changed their vision from western to eastern; from bourgeois democracy to socialism. This made Chinese people feel the hope of national emancipation. Under the new period condition society and historic condition, may 4th Movement erupted in 1919 because of the diplomacy defeat at Paris Peace Conference. The socialism grew vigorously in China after the may 4th movement. To adapt society’s development and the revolution’s demand, Chinese began to study Marxism and used Marxism into practice. Thus, at the beginning of 20th century, China gradual got familiar with Marxism and disseminated it and chose to adapt it eventually.