The Qing government was notoriously corrupt because of its incompetence, and the Qing Dynasty continued to be invaded, kicking off the late Qing Dynasty from the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1840. Since then, the ruling power and national strength of the Qing Dynasty have become worse and worse, and at the same time, the Western powers have invaded step by step and deepened, and the Qing government has been forced to sign one unequal treaty after another, which has put the lives of the ordinary people at that time in a deep and fierce situation.
But what is surprising is that in such an oppressed environment, they did not resist. There is absolutely no national spirit of "the world rises and falls, and the pirate is responsible". On the contrary, when they were watching the fire from the other side, why did the people choose to be indifferent during the critical period of the rise and fall of the nation invaded by foreigners? In China many years later, Mr. Lu Xun used a sentence to pinpoint the reasons.
In the First Opium War, the British army attacked the shore, according to common sense, no matter what period of time, the people will take up the weapons in their hands to resist foreign enemies in the face of such a situation, but the people of the Qing Dynasty, their actions are simply incredible. Instead of rising up against the invasion of foreign forces, they enthusiastically marketed their vegetables and fruits to them, and led the way for them, not at all seeing which people were the enemies of the invasion of their country. And in the midst of a fierce battle between the British army and the Qing Dynasty's water army, these people are like watching a dragon boat race, and they only behave like a spectator of a performance, an outsider.
The reaction of the people in the Second Opium War was even more astonishing, when the British army attacked Guangzhou and defeated the shore along the river, the people on both sides of the strait did not react, did not have any resistance, any dissatisfaction, but stood on the shore and watched quietly, as if welcoming the victorious return of their own country's soldiers. Moreover, in the subsequent war, the people still watched the performance as if they were watching the performance, and when the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty were shelled into the water, they also had no pity, but only issued a sigh one after another.
When the Later Anglo-French coalition invaded Beijing, the people still did not resist, nor did they prevent them from entering Beijing, but instead showed them the way. When the Anglo-French army invaded the Yuanmingyuan, the people saw that the emperor had fled and was unguarded, so they also joined the battle to snatch the treasure.
In the face of the invasion of foreigners, the people's indifference to resistance and various behaviors are jaw-dropping, why is this? Lu Xun's sentence "The whole country is sick, and the people are numb" pointedly pointed out the reason. The Qing Dynasty was a dynasty, but its corrupt and dark rule made the people unhappy, so the people could not have any national righteousness and patriotism. In the face of foreign attacks, they feel that the enemy is helping them out. The Qing government's brutal means of rule were the root cause of the insensitivity of the people in the face of enemy invasion.