The Unequal Treaty Between Russia and China

The Treaty of Aigun 1858 

Aigun- After six days of negotiations, China had finally decided to sign a treaty with Russia.  On May 28, 1858, Nikolay Muravyov, the Russian representative, and Yishan, the Qing representative, both signed the Treaty of Aigun.  The Treaty of Aigun gave the Russian empire more land than from the first treaty, the Treaty of Nerchinsk, between the Russia and China in the year 1689.  The land between the Stanovoy Mounatins and the Amur River was given to the Russian empire. Resulting the modern border of Far East Russia and Northern China.  China lost more than 200,000 square miles of its land to the Russian empire.

Russia had craved for the power in the Pacific.  To accomplish this goal, they settled near the Amur River and developed a strong military post.  China had never noticed the Russian settlement in the region because the Chinese government did not do a good job governing over that part region.  The Russians took advantage of this.

By the late 19th century, the Russian military near the Amur River was strong enough to start a war with the Qing empire.  The Qing had underestimated the Russian military and failed to make them leave. China was dealing with the Taiping Rebellion and started to weaken. Nikolay Muravyov, the Russian general, knew that the Qing Dynasty did not want to handle anymore conflicts or warfare.  He saw that this was a great opportunity to threatened China to sign the treaty. The Qing had no choice but to come to an agreement with the Russian empire.  If they denied the treaty, the Russian military will attack the empire.  After all the conflicts and warfare China had gone through, they cannot afford to lose anymore.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Aigun, the Russian empire gained the left bank of the Amur River. Both Chinese and Russian ships were allowed to travel through the Amur River, the Sungari River, and the Ussuri River. Addition to that, the people who lived near those areas were allowed to trade goods with each other.
To be honest, Emperor Xianfeng(1850-1861), the emperor of the Qing Dynasty at the time, had never approved of this treaty. Emperor Xianfeng thought the Treaty of Aigun was just "temporary" treaty between China and Russia. He believed the Qing empire will eventually get their land back later in the year.

My Opinion on The Treaty of Aigun

China signed the Treaty of Aigun with the Russian empire, giving them more than 200,000 square miles of land.  The Russian ships were allowed to travel through the Amur River, the Sungari River, and the Ussuri River. Russia wanted the power in the Pacific and developed a strong military post near the Amur River. They later threatened China to sign the Treaty of Aigun with war to accomplish their goal.  China agreed to sign the treaty!

If China had not sent a representative to sign the treaty, the Qing Dynasty would not have made it this far.  China would have collapsed.  The Russian military was strong and stable.  With the Taiping Rebellion warring China, the Qing empire was weakening.  The Qing military cannot handle the rebellions and to risk going to war with the Russian empire at the same time.  They had no way of winning.  A war with Russia would injured China and the people of Qing.  The Qing Dynasty had to make a choice.  If the Qing denied the treaty, they risk of losing their whole empire.  The Russia would do everything to get the land near the Amur River.  It was a step in succeeding for the power in the Pacific.

Even though the Russians threatened China with warfare, China can still gain somethings from the Russian empire. The Chinese ships was allowed to travel through the Amur River, the Sungari River, and the Ussari River. The people who lived around these rivers were allowed to trade with each other.  Instead of only allowing trades between those who lived near the rivers, the whole empire of China and Russia could trade with each other.  A special trading port could be set up.  Both China and Russia could benefit from the trading goods with each other. China could learn about the Russian cultures and traditions, and Russia could learn about the Chinese cultures and traditions.

Russian empire gained the land they wanted just by threatening the Qing.  They might use this threat again to gain more land from China.  Most people would agreed that China was giving Russia an advantage.  The Russia would craved for more land.  If China had not given the part of its land to Russia, worse things would have happened.  Accepting the treaty was the right choice.  China lost only one part of its land rather than losing their whole empire.  The Treaty of Aigun gave the Russian empire a part of China's land and a few privileges.  The treaty never hurt the people of China.

MAP of The Qing Dynasty

This is a map of the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911).  The area in yellow is the territory Russia received from the Treaty of Aigun in the year 1858.  The area in orange is the territory Russia received from the Treaty of Peking in the year 1860.  The dash lines show the current boundaries of China and Mongolia.  Most maps of China derived from the Qing period.  Beijing was the Capital of the Qing dynasty and also the current Capital of today's China.  Under the rule of Qing, its population was growing fast.  The Qing empire was larger than the Tang empire.  The Qing took control of Taiwan, Tibet, Manchuria, Mongolia, and Xinjiang.  The Chinese culture was spread farther than any of the past dynasties during the ruling of the Qing.  China had about 300 million people by the end of the 18th century and by the 19th century, China's population went beyond 400 million people.  The Qing struggled with its population growth and not having enough land to farm.  The government was not prepared for the effects.  It was hard for farmers to grow crops because of the floods and other natural disasters.  The people of the Qing lived in poverty.  The Qing government was smaller than its population and therefore, was not able to take care of the porblems.  Compare to the Qing empire, today's China's population is now much bigger with more than 1.3 billion people as of the year 2011 and a total land area of about 3.7 million square miles.  The Qing dynasty was ruled by a monarchy-type government, but today's China's government is rule by a Communist party.  In these recent years, China today is politically stable.

The Interview with Hong Taiji

Conversations with Hong Taiji:

Interviewer:  Hong Taiji, how come you changed the name of your people from Jurchen to Manchu?

Hong Taiji:  I cannot answer the question with the exact answer.  Manchu was a term with no exact meaning.  The word Manchu was taken from a Buddhist term for "great good fortune." I thought that renaming my people from Jurchen to Manchu will bring good fortune to the Qing empire.

Interviewer:  Why did you renamed your dynasty from Jin to Qing?

Hong Taiji:  I was scared of the conflicts between the brothers and half brothers of the Manchu Royal household, especially with me and my half brother, Dorgon.  Jin has the meaning of "metal" or "fire."  I thought that this name would bring conflicts upon me and Dorgon, leading to the warfare I never wanted.  I renamed the Jin dynasty to the Qing dynasty because Qing has the meaning of "pure" or "clear."  The new name of the dynasty would not bring conflicts or wars between me and Dorgon, or any brothers of the Manchu Royal household.

Interviewer:  How did you wanted your dynasty to be govern?

Hong Taiji:  I wanted the Qing dynasty to govern with not only the ruling of the Manchus, but to work together with the Chinese to create a great empire.  I wanted the Qing dynasty to have Chinese officials and Manchu officials working alongside each other.  The Chinese can be a great help to the Qing empire because they know about China more than we do.  By favoring the Chinese, I can gain their trust.  I did not want the Chinese to rebel against the Qing empire and my ideas.

Interviewer:  What made you came up with the Banner system?  Tell me more about it.

Hong Taiji:  Actually, my father, Nurhaci, the leader of Jurchen, was the one who came up with the Banner system.  The Banner system was a kind of military organization that was used to conquer and control China.  My father developed the Banner system by organizing his soldiers into four companies of 300 men each in the  year 1601.  Each companies has different colors, yellow, red, white, and blue.  Four more banners with the same colors were added in the year 1615, with red borders and red banner with white border.  As the Jurchen conquests increased, the size of the companies grew up to 7,500 men divided into five units, then divided again into five companies.  The banner organization took care of the taxation, conscription, and registration of the population.  The banner men lived their usual life, but in times of war, each banner were to give a certain number of men to fight.  When we began to conquer Chinese and Mongolia neighbors, eight Mongols banners and eight Chinese banners were added to the system.  With 24 banner units, they all fought alongside each other, and conquered China, establishing the Great Qing Dynasty(1644-1911).

Interviewer:  Did you came up with any ideas of what your legacy will be?

Hong Taiji:  I hoped for the Qing dynasty to be the largest empire in China and greater than the past dynasties.  I hoped for my descendant to accomplish and continue on building the dynasty after me.  I hoped to be seen as one of the best emperors because of my great talent, of my outstanding warring skills, and of my effective ruling.

Inventions of the Qing

Science and Technology

During the Qing period, only archaeologist used the Silk Road to travel to and from China.  Foreigners traded with or without the Qing's authority around China.

The Qing Dynasty adopted the Manchu hair style and dress.  They forced all Chinese men to shave their foreheads and braid their hair in the back.  All Chinese men were to wear high collar and tight jackets that fastened at the right shoulder.  The Qing Dynasty was not known for technological inventions, but they promoted much of the trade in Europe.  The west impacted China for the first time during the Qing period.  There was too much trade pressures, which led to the Opium War. China lost the Opium War to Great Britain and signed the Treaty of Nanjing. Resulting trade ports to be open to the foreigners. The Jesuits, who resided in Beijing, introduced watches and astronomical instruments from Europe to the Chinese upper classes.  The Jesuits were very much interested in the Chinese medicine and how advance the Chinese medicine was.  European arts influenced the Chinese paintings and the Chinese musicians.  Missionaries from Europe inspired the Chinese about science.  The west liked the Chinese ideas of attaching iron chains to their bridges, the Chinese push carts, magnetism, and etc.  The Chinese knew about paper-making and expanded of how to produce printed materials to the west.  During the Qing period, China was technologically more developed than the west.

Confucian

Examination System

During the Qing period, civil service exam was continued and developed.  This examination system played a role in education, government, and in the society.  Civil service exam was based on Confucian classics.  Lessons on Confucian classics were opened to all boys.  Even farm boys were allowed to go to school and study Confucian texts.  They can take the exams to find better jobs.  If the boys passed the exams, their family statuses will be rise higher.  Not all boys compete in the civil service exam.  Only the boys from wealthy families, or have wealthy sponsors could continue to study Confucian texts and enter to do the exams. Some people spent as much as twenty years studying the Confucian classics to enter the exam.  The lowest position in the Chinese hierarchy a person could make was to hold the county seat.  If the a person who held the county seat passed another exam, they can take the second exam.  If the person passed the second exam, they could be a one of the leaders of their villages or be the teachers at their villages.  If the person passed third exam, they could hold the highest power in the local area.  If the person passed the fourth exam, which is the highest level, they could be members of the Chinese bureaucracy.  The civil service exam was very important in China.  The poorest boys could receive the same education like other wealthy boys.  With this education, if the boys did not pass the exam, they can still find jobs in the city other than being farmers. The civil service exam helped shape the government during the Qing Dynasty.

The Decline and the Collapse

The Collapse of the Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the strongest out of all the past dynasties and was also the last dynasty in China.  It started to fell apart in the 18th century.  There was overpopulation growth, bad harvests, rebellions, wars, and natural disasters, Sun Yet-Sen coming to power, and foreign influence.

Great Britain wanted tea from China, but China did not need any goods from them.  Great Britain owed China so much that they had to do something to get out of their debt.  They decided on selling silver, but China did not care about that.  Great Britain came up with the idea of selling opium, a type of Indian drug.  The Chinese became so addicted that the Emperor Tao-Kuang of Qing made Opium illegal in China.  Great Britain did not like the idea of stopping opium trade in China, which led to the Opium War.  Great Britain won the war, forcing China to sign the Treaty of Nanjing.  From this treaty, more trade ports were opened to the west, foreign cultures and ideas were spread all over China.  This was the beginning of Western influence.

While China struggled with bad economy, the life of the villagers and the poor people of Qing became more difficult.  The villagers and the poor were not happy with their living standard, resulting the Taiping Rebellion led by a Christian leader, Hong Xiuquan.  With the help from the Western powers, China was able to restore Nanjing.  During the Taiping Rebellion, more than 20 million people, men, women, and children were killed.
The Qing spent way too much money on their military and living a fancy life.  This made the economy worse.  Then came the overpopulation growth.  When China’s population increased enormously, there was not enough food to feed every.  Natural disasters like flood ruined the farm land, and farmers cannot plant any crops.  As a result, most people became bandits, stealing food and everything, or formed rebellions against the Qing.
Sun Yat-Sen wanted to make China better and dreamed of making China into a Republic.  By the late 19th century, Sun Yat-Sen formed a group that opposed the Qing Dynasty.  He was later forced to leave china or else his head would be cut off.  When Sun Yat-Sen came back, he formed a Revolutionary in the early 20th century.  He created the Three People’s Principles, Nationalism, free from imperialism rule, Democracy, to run by the power of the people, and People’s livelihood, benefiting to the welfare of everyone rather than benefiting only the upper classes.  When Empress Dowager Ci Xi died, everything was turning good for Sun Yat-Sun.  The three-year-old Emperor Pu Yi was in charge and Sun Yet-Sen took advances of this.  A document was signed for giving up the throne in Emperor Pu Yi’s name.  Sun Yat-Sen became the president of the Republican, but not for long.  He was only the president for about four years and was replaced by Yuan Shikai.  The people of china did not like all of Sun Yat-Sen’s ideas.  Sun Yat-Sen later died of cancer in March 12, 1925.
The collaspe of the Qing Dynasty was caused by both internal problems and external problems.