Long live the Qing!

The sleeping Giant awakes 1793-1841

In 1793, the British emissary Lord Macartney arrives in Beijing, presenting Britain's newest technological achievements. Macartney himself should achieve a trading agreement with China- and he convinced the Chinese. Unlike OTL's emperor Qianlong, the Son of Heaven agreed, but also demanded the British to support China with the most modern technologies, for the emperor was not yet corrupted by Heshan and lacked imperial arrogance. The trade relations between Britain and China improved (though China was rather interested in technology than commerce ), and Chinese scholars should travel abroad and study the ways of the West, despite the protests of the old Confucian gentry. On the other hand, the spreading of Christianity was prohibited. By the 6th year of Jiajing (Qianlong's successor), most of these scholars returned- indeed, their mission was a success. The Chinese still regarded the British as an inferior, barbaric race but their technological advance was held in high esteem, yet Western political thought was confronted with mistrust by Confucian scholars and officials. Army and navy were thoroughly reformed and (given that corruption would have been not that widespread) the administration's efficiency increased. Further delegations were sent to the West, especially after the Napoleonic Wars. Now other countries than Britain were interested in the Chinese market, and the technological transfer went on. By the late 1820s the Chinese government exploited Manchuria's hills, rich in iron ore and coal. A railroad network was introduced, and the army further modernised (due to China's exports, there were enough funds to do so), but the old division in Eight Banners and Green Standard Army remained. Ironclads, heavy artillery, etc. were now no longer imported but produced by China herself, while military experts from Britain, France and the German states were invited to improve the army's military strength. Imposing the reform of the Qing military system proved to be a strenuos struggle; finally a few Elite Troops, modeled after the Prussian army were established. They were directly under the command of the xin da jiang jun, a new military rank. The Western-style Chinese units thus formed a separate part of the Army; of course concurrence with the Eight Banners and the Green Standard Army were to be expected. Although China's economic policy was very tolerant (compared to OTL), the British income was still too low- too many shillings ended up in the Imperial coffers! China was still the world's most prosperous Empire and endowed with a considerable military power, but foreign traders and missionaries were still harshly treated- at least from the Westerners' view. Finally, the smuggling of opium, imofficially backed by British traders, formed a reason for Chinese intervention: in 1840, the new Governor of Guangzhou, Lin Zexu ordered the destruction of large opium amounts.

The Opium War: The first clash of civilizations

The British intelligence in China, successfully misinformed by military counter-agents, provided no to little information about Chinese military capacity, and the Chinese anti-Opium campaign and treatment of British nationals was a useful excuse to declare war on China. After initial victories, the huge Chinese fleet, composed of steam-propelled ironclads and heavy junks crushed the British expeditionary forces. Eager for revenge, the Chinese staff proposed a punitive expetion to British ndia and Malaya, and the Chinese forces conquered Malacca and Singapore by 1842. Aided by Tibetan and Burman auxiliaries, Kolkat and the Bengal lands were similarly overran in the same year. Meanwhile, the Dutch and Portuguese remained neutral, fearing the superior and modern Chinese army- The press in Europe was shocked about the so-called Yellow Peril, and Tsarist Russia offered help to Great Britain. However, a Chinese pre-emptive strike led the Chinese military destroyed all hopes for Russia to expand into Manchuria. Instead, Russia had to cede vast territories in the Second Treaty of Nertchinsk (1844), in which Russia also had to assure no further expansion into Turkestan. However, the Daoguang emperor ordered to halt the punitive expedition, as he claimed that the "Western barbarians are already punished. They have learned now what it means to contradict the will of the Heaven's Son and the superiority of All that is benath the Heavens. They will certainly send Us tributes now and there is no need to pursue them anymore." An assessment, that bore in fact a grain of truth. The treaty of Guangzhou (1846, when Britain finally accepted its defeat) was an international afffair of tremendous importance. For the first time, British ambassadors were ready to kowtow before the Chinese emperor. The Lord Palmerston, who attended the treaty in lieu of Queen Victoria was shocked as he was required to do the same. After initial protest, he consented. British merchants were stripped of all privileges they had when trading with China. Instead, the export of luxury goods like porcelain and tea was transferred into the hands of merchants from less hostile Western Powers and the native gonghang (or cohong). Furthermore, Britain had to deliver several Opium smugglers who were executed on the spot in China. The final, and most humiliating concession Britain had to make, however, was to abandon its colonies in South East Asia, while the territory of British India was greatly reduced. She had to confirm the "independence" of Burma, Bhutan and Nepal, while the Chinese created a cordon sanitaire of independent Indian principalities. The demand for annual tribute and an annual delegation was dropped, as European educated diplomatic advisors pointed out that "they are still too benighted to accept the conventions of our culture". It is said that the emperor was enraged by this.

1848 and its consequences

China's stunning victory in the Opium War was a lesson for Europe to recognize China as an equal. The new wave of nationalism however, was not beneficial to the monarchy, as a new class of Western-educated, reformist students and officials was growing in power. In fact, it was European tactics and technology, employed by more "modern" Han Chinese military functionaries, not Manchu nobles that won the war. Though still believing in the superiority of their Confucian culture, these young Chinese were convinced that they could use the Western methods to overthrow the loathed Manchu, who have displayed their weakness in leadership. A new dynasty was in the making. The Daoguang Emperor lost most of his support by the progressive officials, who already formed a very powerful clique. Meanwhile, the failed revolutions of 1848 left a strong impression for many diplomatic delegations. Despite the fact that these revolutions were all more or less brutally suppressed or even betrayed, many educated Chinese (who did not belong to the gentry) became supporters of European "democracy". To some, a violent revolution was the only way to replace the eroding Qing tyranny with Chinese self-rule. Then the aforementioned progressive officials -military and civilian- alike plotted against the Qing. The ensuing Civil War split the Middle Kingdom, since two parties were struggling for power: the more conservative but pragmatic gentry and bureaucratic nobility, and the modernist forces, adherents of a constitutional monarchy. The former, loyal to the Qing (but only for the sake of their own interests) rescued the dynasty from being overthrown in the North. Prosperous Southern China became a modern, "constitutional" but nonetheless authoeritarian monarchy, governed by a self-proclaimed heir of the Ming Imperial family.

See also

• 1911 List of Nations (Long live the Qing)
• List of Nations (Long live the Qing)
• Timeline (Long live the Qing)