High school history textbook for Texas public schools, 1266 pages in total. The study of Chinese history occupies an important part, not only the study of Legalists and Taoist thought, but also the study of Confucian culture, occupying a full 19 pages, and its narrative of China's modern history may help us understand some of the strange behaviors of the United States today.
The following is an excerpted translation of the American high school history textbook, not the author's point of view, do not spray!
In 1793, King George III of England lost his North American colony just a decade later. He was again rejected, this time from China.
In his reply to George III, the Qianlong Emperor categorically rejected the British request to establish trade relations with him.
"Our kingdom of heaven is rich in products, so there is no need to import the products of foreign barbarians." The Qianlong Emperor said in his letter that in fact, the Qianlong Emperor's sloppiness only continued the pattern of behavior in previous centuries. Prior to this, the Central Plains Dynasty severely restricted the activities of European missionaries and merchants.
But in 1912, more than a century later, the last empire on the land of China collapsed.
Yet the Qianlong Emperor realized that China had transformed from the center of the global economy into a weak player in a European-dominated world system in which Britain was the first major player.
For a Chinese who believes that China is the center of civilization around the world, it is a stunning reversal of fate.
China is actually a victim of its early successes.
Its strong economy and the introduction of food crops from the Americas have led to a significant increase in the population. From about 100 million in 1685 to about 430 million in 1853.
In Europe during the same period, a similar population surge occurred. Agricultural production was also unable to keep up, but the overseas expansion of the European empire found a great deal of resources and wealth, and contributed to the Industrial Revolution.
The internal expansion of Chinese civilization to the West and the South did not produce the wealth and resources that Europe had expanded overseas. As a result, the pressure on the land is increasing, and the large peasant population makes the per capita arable land area smaller and smaller. Unemployment, poverty, suffering and hunger are becoming more and more numerous.
Moreover, the centralized system of Chinese civilization has not kept pace with population growth. As a result, the State is increasingly unable to perform its functions effectively, such as taxation, flood control, social welfare and public safety.
Gradually, the central government lost the support of local gentry and officials. These officials are rampant and corrupt. An official report released in 1852 showed that "soldiers went out day and night to harass taxpayers and inflict corporal punishment on those who were in arrears in their taxes; some of them were beaten to the skin." ”
In addition, military pressure and economic infiltration in Europe in the first half of the nineteenth century. It disrupted the domestic trade of the Central Plains Dynasty, caused a large number of unemployment, and increased the tax burden of the peasants.
This led to more and more bandit groups wandering the countryside and, more dangerously, peasants rebelling.
This internal crisis peaked during the Taiping Rebellion, between 1850 and 1864. The uprising ignited much of China.
Unlike in the past, this time the peasants were in turmoil. Its leaders largely reject Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and their main ideology is a distinctly Christian tianism.
Its main character, Hong Xiuquan (1814-1864), who claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus, was sent to purify the demons of the world and establish a "great and peaceful kingdom of heaven."
Nor are these leaders content with restoring previously idealized societies; instead, they insist on truly revolutionary change. Called for the abolition of private property, the complete redistribution of land, an end to prostitution and opium use, and the organization of social organizations into gender-segregated military barracks.
Mr. Hong's cousin laid out plans to transform China into an industrial nation, including railroads, universal health insurance, newspapers and extensive public education.
The most revolutionary aspect of the Taiping Rebellion was its attitude towards women. This attitude, in a way. It is a reflection of the customs of the Hakka ethnic minorities that originated in southern China, where women are clearly not as restricted by Confucian orthodoxy.
During the uprising, Hakka women, who had never been bound, fought as soldiers in their regiments; in the Liberated Areas, Taiping Officials ordered other women not to wrap their feet.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's land reform program promised that men and women would share land equally.
Women were now allowed to take the imperial examinations and were appointed to supervisory positions. Although power is usually exercised only on women, not in men's positions. Marriage is also prescribed to be based on mutual attraction rather than family interests.
None of these reforms were sustained during the short period of time the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was in power, and the leadership of the movement showed considerable ambivalence on the issue of women's equality. Hong Xiuquan himself formed a large private harem and declared: "The duty of court women is to take care of their husbands; Heaven has arranged for them not to know about external affairs." ”
Nevertheless, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's attitude towards women also posed a great challenge to traditional Chinese society. This has fuelled hostility towards the movement in many Chinese, including many women.
As the number of followers grew rapidly, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom army swept through southern China in 1853 and established the capital at Nanjing.
During that time, the days of the Qing Dynasty seemed to be coming to an end. But divisions and indecisions within the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom leadership, combined with their inability to establish ties with several other rebellious groups, gave the Qing a chance to quickly unite and crush this radically different peasant movement in 1864.
Western military support for the pro-Qing forces was also one of the reasons for their victory. However, it was not the imperial army of the central government that defeated the rebels. Instead, it was local military leaders who mobilized their own armies and suppressed the rebels.
Although the Qing Dynasty was saved, it was also weakened, and the power of the gentry was strengthened. The Empire and its proponents of conservatism postponed the settlement of the peasant problem, the change of women, and the active efforts to modernize.
More seriously, this large-scale civil war has seriously disrupted and weakened China's economy. The number of deaths is estimated to range from 20 million to 30 million. As far as humanity is concerned, it was the most costly conflict of the nineteenth century, and it took China more than a decade to recover from the disaster.
Overall, China's internal crisis. In particular, the Taiping Rebellion also brought an extremely unfavorable environment to Europe.
Author: "What? Why don't you look at what you're bringing to China? ”。
Do you think Americans' accounts of our recent history are objective enough? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section to discuss!
Pay attention to the author, tomorrow we will continue to understand, how do American textbooks describe China's "Penghu Reform Law"?