The Qing and Tokugawa Systems’ Strength and Weakness and the Effect of Opium War

The Qing Dynasty in China and Tokugawa Bakufu in Japan were both contemporary with each other and experienced rise and fall. The common factor for the strength of both the Qing Dynasty and Tokugawa Bakufu was the stability for the economic flourishment and the establishment for an effective governmental system. The common factor for their weakness was the economic decline.

The Qing Dynasty in China established a stable environment by a well-functioning government system stipulated economic prosperity and growth of population. The Qing Dynasty expanded the boundaries of the China. Beside economic and governance, the stability within the country created an environment for the cultural advancements. The Qing Dynasty faced economic decline when the overwhelming military expenditures shrink the economic resources and the corruption debilitating the economy and the effectiveness of the government. The ineffectiveness and the corruption led the public to question the ruling elite.

Tokugawa Bakufu in Japan created a peaceful environment for the economic growth. The commerce of agricultural goods invigorated the economic life, and the agricultural advancement increased the quality and quantity of crops. The economic growth and the agricultural advancement led the growth of population. The economic prosperity affect the cultural life, advancement in literature and art were made. The financial crises in the late days aggravated by major famines, and the economic situation deteriorated. The Tokugawa Bakufu system faced  displeasure and   uprisings.

The Chinese and Western civilizations were both “self-confident and proud” of their own systems. (Schirokauer & Clark p.124) The Chinese culture, military, government, and economic system dominated the region and had great influence on the other countries within the region in  the pace of history, and the belief of superiority nurtured in the genetic codes of the Chinese society. This belief of superiority could be seen in the first interaction with the western powers.

The Opium War and the treaties that followed the war revealed the incompetency of the great central kingdom over the barbarians. The Chinese rulers for the first time questioned their superiority and realized their backwardness. The Opium War showed that the Chinese system was outdated. They realized that they lagged behind their western counterparts; the China was in the medieval era while the western world was in the late modern era. The Opium War showed that the Chinese system was outdated. The military capacity and the weapons of western powers were far beyond the Chinese competency. The treaties granted trade advantages, ports, legal jurisdiction sovereignty of British courts over British subjects in China, and accession of foreign gunboats.( Schirokauer & Clark p.128-29) The relationship between the China and Western changed to unequal terms after the Opium War. The Opium War started a series of events in Chinese history unprecedented in terms of perception of historical memory of the Chinese people.

The Opium War was catastrophic for the Chinese people because it opened a century of humiliation that never had been faced in their history. Before the Opium War their belief of superiority over the others was at its peak. The foreign invasions and lost wars in the century of humiliation affected the Chinese view of the world and made deep impact on the historical memory of the Chinese people. Before the Opium War the Western powers could only trade in one port and under the hard restrictions of the Chinese government. The Opium War showed that the Chinese system was outdated and backwards comparing with the Western powers. The Opium War made the Chinese realized that the barbarians are more capable and efficient. After the Opium War China was forced to open up new ports, to pay indemnities, to face the foreign influence in the mainland by a series of treaties.(Wang p.49) The Opium War was beginning for the humiliation century. The Second Opium War, the Sino-Japanese War, the invasion of eight countries, the Japanese invasion and the Anti-Japanese War were the other events in the records of humiliation century. (Wang p.48) The lost wars and invasions kicked off by the Opium War made China a “semi-colonial” country. (Wang p.48)

The reason behind the great impact and the appreciation of the humiliation century as humiliating is the belief of the Chinese superiority. The belief of superiority and the China’s limited knowledge about the western world and its accomplishments impede them to gauge them comparing with west. The humiliating events came over and over in a society that has been politically and culturally superior in the region. The same foreign invasion and lost wars did not have so deep effect on some other societies in the world that faced the same fate with the China, because the others did not have belief of superiority. The decline of the superiority, the lost wars, foreign invasions, being subject to rival powers and being colonized by the so-called barbarians would had deeply affected any country that have a superior view upon others. The social perception of superiority of Chinese people has worsened the situation that China faced.