preface
When we talk about the Qing Dynasty, we inevitably think of the Qing Dynasty's closed-door policy, which led to the mainland lagging far behind the rest of the world in terms of scientific and technological development.
It was also from the beginning of the Opium War that the mainland was forced to blast open the closed country, signed many treaties with the empire that invaded the mainland territory, and cut the land to compensate the people for their livelihood.
In our impression, the mainland has always been a relatively weak side in the late Qing Dynasty, and when the eight-nation coalition army even attacked the then capital Beiping. But even in this case, the mainland was a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, rather than a completely colonial country like its neighbor India.
First, the development of Western colonial plunder
In fact, although the Qing Dynasty's science and technology and industry could not be compared with other Western countries because of the policy of closing the country at that time, in fact, the economic level of the Qing Dynasty was among the highest in the world.
According to research, during the Qianlong period, the mainland's gross national product was the largest in the world, and the Qing Dynasty attached great importance to the development of the domestic economy, coupled with appropriate fiscal policies, the financial situation of the Qing Dynasty at that time was very ideal.
When the Qing Dynasty was closed, earth-shaking changes were taking place on the other side of the world. The West successfully completed the transformation through the Industrial Revolution, coupled with the discovery of new shipping routes. Many countries are eager to explore outward, eager to complete their primitive accumulation of capital through colonial expansion.
The first stop of the Western colonial route is not China, but along the route to include most of the undeveloped areas or economically backward areas.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a large number of colonial powers came to Africa and began a brutal colonization movement. They plundered the lands and resources of the indigenous people and colonized the homeland on which they depended in a very tyrannical way.
They even treated the indigenous people as cheap labor, transported from Africa to the Americas by steamer, and bought and sold them as commodities. This is the world-famous slave trade.
In the process of transportation, many black slaves could not make it to the Americas because of their illness in harsh conditions, and they would also be ruthlessly thrown off the cargo ship by the colonists, leaving them to fend for themselves in the sea.
Second, the beginning of the semi-colonial and semi-feudal dynasty of the Qing dynasty
When the world was almost divided, they set their sights on the Qing Dynasty, and through Marco Polo's novels, they thought that the Qing Dynasty was almost full of gold, how rich and beautiful. However, because of the geographical distance and the fact that they rarely set foot on this land, many colonial countries dare not act at will.
During the period of isolation, the smooth silk and fine porcelain of the Qing Dynasty were exported to all countries in the world, and the gold and silver treasures of various countries also flowed to China, and this trade deficit also made Britain feel very unhappy.
So they decided to use opium as the first step to open the Qing market, and in 1840, the first Opium War began, and finally ended with the defeat of the Qing Dynasty, and the two sides signed the Treaty of Nanjing, which was the beginning of the mainland's modern humiliation history and also made the mainland begin to degenerate into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.
After the end of the First Opium War, Britain tasted the sweetness from the Qing Dynasty and learned that the actual strength of the Qing Dynasty was only that. Soon after, in 1860, the Anglo-French army invaded Beijing again, forced the Qing government to sign an unequal treaty, and set fire to the Old Summer Palace to control the entire city.
At this stage, the Qing government also signed the Treaty of Tianjin and the Treaty of Beijing, requiring the Qing Dynasty to open trade ports and surrender nearly 1.5 million square kilometers of territory in the northeast and northwest. Since then, the degree of semi-colonial and semi-feudal society on the mainland has gradually deepened.
Third, the reason why the West failed to completely divide the Qing dynasty
The Western powers did not choose the Qing Dynasty as the beginning of the colonial movement, and did not completely divide the Qing Dynasty, in fact, there are several reasons.
First of all, in the long history of the mainland for thousands of years, there were also very glorious times, when foreign envoys needed to pay tribute to the dynasty regularly, and the imperial court and some surrounding countries also formed sect-court relations, publicizing the national prestige of all countries in the heavenly empire. Therefore, when the West is colonial plunder, it is natural to pick soft persimmons first.
Before the start of the First Opium War, Britain had voted in the British Parliament, and finally decided to start the Opium War by a narrow margin of nine votes.
Therefore, it can be seen that Western countries will still be afraid of the strength of the Qing Dynasty before the Opium War, but after the Opium War, the Western powers found that the Qing Dynasty was not as strong as imagined, and they competed like wild dogs to bite the fat of the Qing Dynasty.
The second reason is because of the entanglement of interests between the great powers, at the beginning they invaded the Qing Dynasty with the same purpose, but after really stepping on the land of the Qing Dynasty, the conflict of interests between Western countries surfaced.
They all want their country to occupy more territory and get more money, but on the one hand, they don't want other countries to have too many resources. Each country has very big ambitions, so they also balance and hinder each other.
Just as Japan and Russia both eyed the northeast and northwest of the mainland, both countries hoped to occupy this vast territory, and the two countries fought a great war over the territory of the Qing Dynasty.
Although it ended with Japan's victory, both Japan and Russia paid a huge price for it, spending a lot of manpower and material resources, and did not have the strength to invest in other wars.
Then the last reason is naturally the rise of the mainland people to fight back, although the Qing government retreated again and again, being humiliated by the major powers. However, the Chinese people were highly motivated and bravely resisted the invasion of mainland territory by foreign powers.
After the First Opium War, the people of Sanyuanli in Guangzhou spontaneously rebelled in armed resistance, and they swore to march in with the flag. During the war, many patriots also sprang up on the mainland, such as the Taiping Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion.
They are not afraid or flinch in the face of blonde invaders with foreign guns and cannons, and even if they use wheel warfare, they must stick to the front line of the battlefield. This kind of fighting style of not fearing death also reflects the determination and will of the Chinese people to protect their homes and defend the country.
epilogue
Donating one's life to go to the country is difficult, and death is like a sudden return. How many heroes and good men put life and death aside, throwing their heads and spilling their blood only for the country and the people. It can be said that our peace and tranquility today cannot be separated from every soldier who has given a heroic sacrifice.
From this humiliating history, we can also know that backwardness will be beaten, and we must continue to work hard and learn to strengthen our national strength in order to stand proudly on the top of the East.