history

• Many Chinese were unhappy with foreign influence and control
• They hated the Western religion the West had brought missionaries to convert the Chinese from their traditional religious beliefs
• Confucian & Buddhism had been practiced for 1000 years, but were replaced by Catholic churches
• They feared Western technology - railways disturbed dragons; telegraph wires were potential
• In 1898, Emperor Guangwu tried to modernise the government and end criticisms of the Qing dynasty by ending its policy of making concessions to foreigners
• He established the "Hundred Days Reform", attempting to modernise China
• The reform was strongly opposed by Empress Dowager Cixi
• Cixi took control of the government and ended the reform
• Cixi encouraged attacks on foreigners to avoid criticism of Imperial rule
• In the 1890s, the Boxers began attacking Chinese Christians and foreigners
• The Boxers believed the concessions given to foreigners made their lives even harder
• The Boxer Uprising began in Shandong before spreading North East
• Churches and Christians were burned; foreigners and Chinese Christians listed
• The uprising spread to Beijing, where the German embassy was killed
• 3000 Westerners retreated into the British legation
• The British legation was surrounded by the Boxers for 55 days
• Cixi supported the Boxers, and declared war on foreigners but were unable to defeat the legation's defense
• Westerners and an international force which broke the siege
• Many Boxers were executed by international force
• Cixi disguised as a peasant and fled
• The 1911 Revolution showed people that you could overthrow the Qing dynasty
• The Qing dynasty was forced to accept the presence of foreigners
• The Self-Strengthening & reforms were attempts by the Qing dynasty to save itself
• The reforms included the abolition of foot binding