The modern history under the rule of the Qing government is the most humiliating period of our country's history, during which we have cut up land and paid indemnity without dignity. One of the oldest civilizations has actually become a semi-colonial and semi-feudal country, and if it is weak, it will really become a colony and be completely divided by the great powers.
We all know that the current land area of our country is 9.6 million square kilometers, but it was much larger than that during the Qing Dynasty. During the Kangxi Dynasty, the Great Qing Dynasty was the world's largest empire with the largest territory, the largest population, the richest economy, the most prosperous culture, and the strongest national strength. At that time, the total area of the Qing Dynasty was 13 million square kilometers. So where did the land go? Of course it was ceded to someone else.
We all know that the strength of the Qing government at the end of the Qing Dynasty was very weak, and it was the kind that had no ability to fight back after repeated defeats. Therefore, as soon as the battle is lost, it will negotiate with the great powers and give them land or silver. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing government fought too many defeats, so the compensation for land cutting was also too much to do.
In 1842, China and Britain signed the Treaty of Nanking, giving Hong Kong to the British. In 1858, the Qing government was defeated by Russia and signed the Sino-Russian Treaty of Yaohun, giving Russia all the territory north of the Heilongjiang River. In 1860, China and Britain signed the Treaty of Beijing, and Kowloon on the other side of Hong Kong became a British concession. The Treaty of Beijing also provided for China to cede territory east of the Ussuri River.
Britain and Russia bullied the Qing government by force in an attempt to make the Qing government pay reparations, which was simply too insidious, and it could be said that it was endless at a time. In addition to Britain and Russia, even Germany, France, Portugal and Japan joined in, bullying us and pitting us for money and land.
In 1874, China recognized the Ryukyu Kingdom as Japanese territory in the Sino-Japanese Treaty. In 1885 China recognized Annan's separation from China as a vassal state of France. In 1886, Burma was classified as Britain. The Treaty of Maguan of 1895 not only gave up its suzerainty over Korea, but also ceded the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands.
But it is okay to say that the Government is weak, but it is not okay to say that the Government is stupid. There are some places where there is no way, we can only cut the land to the great powers, but where we can not let go, we are also resolute not to let go. Especially on the Hong Kong issue, the reason why Hong Kong can be taken back is because the Qing government has left an eye.
In 1889, the British forced Hong Kong to be leased and the Qing government signed a 100-year lease treaty, but the Qing government never agreed, and only allowed him to lease land for 99 years. Why do you have to cut this year? It turned out that there were very important reasons related to the final ownership of Hong Kong.
The British had thought that the Qing government would happily agree to lease land for a hundred years, because Hong Kong was not much bigger, and it was simply too small compared to the land ceded by Russia. The British wanted to clear the government, because there was an international rule that if a place was leased to another country for 100, his ownership would change. The British thought that China did not know this, but unfortunately after the Foreign Affairs Movement, we were no longer the original us.
The Qing government was tough on the Hong Kong issue, saying that 99 years is 99 years, and will never compromise. Britain had no choice but to obediently sign. This was true not only for Britain, but also for Germany in 1898. When we signed the Jiao'ao Concession Treaty, we also signed Jiaozhou Bay for 99 years when we ceded jiaozhou bay to Germany.
Therefore, there is no way for the Qing government to be weak, and under such circumstances, no government can compete with the great powers. All we can do is protect our country to the best of our ability. Although the Qing government was repeatedly defeated, it never fell without a fight. When signing the treaty, we also did our best to negotiate and protect the rights and interests of our country. After all, no one really wants to give away the country.