Introduction | Ming and Qing | 19th Century | 20th Century

Introduction
• Introduction to China's Modern History [Reading]
An introduction to modern Chinese history for teachers and students. Includes the following:
• brief introductory reading highlighting four major themes for teaching about modern Chinese history
• main reading: "China in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries" providing an overview of the many significant changes in Chinese society, polity, and economy
• annotated timeline of modern Chinese history from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) to China's civil war (1946-49)

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Ming and Qing dynasties
• Macartney and the Emperor [Reading]
Qing restrictions on Western trade increasingly frustrated Europeans, especially the British. In 1792 the Great Britain sent a diplomat, a Lord Macartney, to present its demands to the emperor. This unit describes that encounter and includes the following:
~ introductory note to teachers with suggestions for teaching about Macartney's mission
~ student reading discussing European contact and trade with China prior to and on the eve of Macartney's mission to China
~ primary-source reading: "Two Edicts from the Emperor" (the Qianlong Emperor's response to the Macartney mission)
~ discussion questions and suggested activities

• The Opium War and Foreign Encroachment [Reading]
In the fifty years after Macartney's visit (see Teaching Unit "Macartney and the Emperor," above), Western powers pushed their demands further, leading to war and the gradual shift from tribute to treaty relations. This unit examines the events surrounding the Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking (Nanjing), which concluded the Opium War, and the increasing foreign encroachments upon China during the nineteenth century, and includes the following:
~ student reading discussing the trade imbalance between England and China, Britain's solution to this problem, and the growing foreign demands, encroachments, and resulting "unequal treaties"
~ primary-source reading: "The Treaty of Nanking, August 1842"
~ primary-source reading: Commissioner Lin Zexu's "Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria" (1839)
~ discussion questions and suggested activities

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19th Century
• China and the West: Imperialism, Opium, and Self-Strengthening (1800-1919) [Outline Reading]
Unit for teachers highlighting the key points for teaching about imperialism and the role of opium in the relationship between China and "the West."

• Internal Crises I: Demographic Disasters [Reading]
This unit explores the domestic crises that China faced in the nineteenth and early twentieth century and includes the following:
~ brief introduction followed by reading: "Crisis in Population and Ecology"
~ images and activity: wood block prints that graphically portray the extent of the crisis when mixed with ecological disasters; also a suggested activity on famine
~ primary-source reading: "Starvation" (a Chinese woman's account of the 1887-88 famine that afflicted North China ten years after the famine depicted in the above wood block prints)
~ discussion questions and suggested activities

• Internal Crises II: Rebellions [Reading]
This unit examines the significant popular revolts and rebellions that occurred in China during the 19th century and includes the following:
~ a brief introduction: "Rebellions and Revolts"
~ primary-source reading: "The Taiping Plan for Reorganizing Chinese Society" (from the mid-century Taiping Rebellion; describes the land system with which the Taipings experimented)
~ primary-source reading: "Ode for Youth" (from the mid-century Taiping Rebellion; written for young people; states clearly the beliefs the Taipings promoted)
~ discussion questions and suggested activities

• From Reform to Revolution [Reading]
After China's defeat in the Opium War of 1842, thinkers tried to understand what made the West so strong and how China could best respond. This unit traces the debates about reform from the mid-nineteenth into the early twentieth century, as arguments for more radical reform, including revolution, increased. The unit includes the following:
~ a brief introduction, followed by the student reading "Western 'Usefulness' Versus Chinese 'Essence'"
~ two primary-source readings: Feng Guifen's "On the Adoption of Western Learning" and Yan Fu's "Learning from the West" (the introduction and the first reading provide the context for understanding the differing approaches to reform as argued by the two Chinese thinkers in these readings)
~ two more readings: "Liang Qichao — China's First Democrat" and "Sun Yatsen's 'Three People's Principles'" (discussing the life histories and the far-reaching ideas of two key intellectuals of this period)
~ discussion questions and suggested activities

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20th Century
• Introduction to China: 1945-present [Outline Reading]
Unit for teachers highlighting the key points for teaching about China in the 20th century.

• The May Fourth Movement [Reading]
The so-called "May 4th Movement" or "new culture" movement began in China around 1916, following the failure of the 1911 Revolution to establish a republican government, and continued through the 1920s. This unit includes the following:
~ a brief introduction
~ primary-source reading: "Our Final Awakening," by Chen Duxiu (1916) (the disdain for traditional Chinese culture felt by many Chinese intellectuals and the desire for radical reform as expressed in the May Fourth Movement is exemplified in this reading)
~ primary-source reading: "On The Need For a New Life Movement," by Chiang Kai-shek (in 1934, Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of China, heralded the New Life Movement which was to rally the Chinese people against the Communists and build up morale in a nation that was besieged with corruption, factionalism, and opium addiction)
~ primary-source reading: "Reform Our Study," by Mao Zedong (written in the 1930s, before the Communists took power; highlights Mao's efforts to borrow Western ideas while simultaneously reaffirming Chinese values)
~ discussion questions and suggested activities

• Farmers and the Chinese Revolution [Reading]
This unit looks at the plight of China's peasantry in the twentieth century and concludes with a reading by Mao Zedong on rural revolution. As Mao began to adapt Marxism to Chinese realities, his reliance on rural people to forge revolution would emerge as a distinct feature of the Chinese Revolution. The unit includes the following:
~ introduction discussing the situation of China's farmers and how Marxist ideas were applied to address China's particularities
~ primary-source reading: "Spring Silkworms," by Mao Dun (demonstrates a growing awareness on the part of a new breed of politically engaged and socially conscious urban writers in the 1920s and 1930s, of the plight of people in the countryside)
~ primary-source reading: "Report on the Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan," by Mao Zedong (1927) (expresses Mao's insistence on the importance of the rural problem)
~ discussion questions follow each primary-source reading

• Imperialism, War, and Revolution in East Asia: 1900-1945 [Outline Reading]
Unit for teachers highlighting the key points for teaching about imperialism, war, and revolution in early 20th-century East Asia.

• Introduction to China's Political System [Overview]
This unit provides an overview of the Chinese political system for teachers. It is taken from the U.S. Department of State's Background Notes: China. A chronology of China under Mao, 1949-76, is also included. For a discussion of the broader historical context and developments in 19th- and early-20th-century China refer to the [history, 1800-present] under View by Subject Area.

• Chinese Leaders [Reading]
This unit introduces students to three significant leaders of modern China: Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Zhou Enlai (1898-1976), and Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997). Includes several of Mao's most well-known and commonly read speeches. (For more on China in the Mao and post-Mao years, refer to the above Introduction to China's Political System.)

• Democratic Theory in China and Tiananmen Square [Reading]
This unit provides a brief introduction to the history of democratic theory in China and a discussion of the events prior to and on June 4, 1989 at Tiananmen Square. Discussion questions are included. Several readings and a brief chronology of events at Tiananmen are included. Primary-source readings include: The May 13th Hunger Strike Declaration and Interview at Tiananmen Square with Chai Ling.

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