How did China’s 2,000-year empire collapse?

China. A cradle of world civilisation. The land that invented printing, paper and gunpowder. And under successive dynasties, the centre of a vast empire that stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Himalayas… and from the eastern steppe to the tropical South China Sea.

The Chinese call it Zhōngguó - the Central State, or Middle Kingdom. And for more than two thousand years, its Emperors claimed a divine mandate to rule over Tianxia - “all under heaven”.

Since 1644, this great empire has been ruled by the Qing dynasty. They are ethnic Manchu from the north, though most of their subjects are Han Chinese.

By the 19th century, the empire spans 14.5 million square km, and receives tribute from many smaller neighbours. Around 450 million people live within these borders – one third of the world’s population. It is also estimated that China accounts for one third of the world’ wealth.

The imperial capital, Peking, and major hubs such as Nanking, and Canton, are among the greatest cities in the world.

It is a multi-ethnic empire, whose self-proclaimed aim is not economic or political expansion, but the maintenance of ‘harmony’… a worldview that derives from Confucius, the 6th century BC sage.

His teachings have governed society, in both public and private realms, for two thousand years. Fundamental values - such as reverence for parents and ancestors, loyalty, and benevolence - seek to create an orderly and harmonious society.

It is also one that is rigidly conservative. Young men from well-to-do families spend years studying the Confucian classics, in preparation for the imperial civil service exam. This is the only route to the higher levels of the Qing administration.

But – governed by scholarly bureaucrats, and an emperor who is both revered and feared - China is failing to keep up with a rapidly changing world. For the time being, foreign merchants are restricted to the southern port of Canton. Such splendid isolation will prove impossible to sustain.

1839 marks the beginning of China’s ‘Century of Humiliation’. For years, British merchants had been smuggling opium from India into China – a vastly lucrative trade. The consequences for China are an addiction epidemic.

But when Qing officials seize and destroy large quantities of the drug in Canton, the British react with force. Using superior naval technology, the British quickly overpower the antiquated Chinese fleet.

The Chinese are forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking - the first of what will later be called ‘the unequal treaties’. The treaty grants special rights to the British, opening five ports to British merchants, and ceding the territory of Hong Kong.

A second opium war soon extends similar advantages to France and the USA… The Russian Empire further exploits Chinese weakness, to seize territory in the northeast… While a horrifying civil war - the Taiping Rebellion - devastates south and central China for 14 years. The death toll is estimated at 40 million, making it one of the bloodiest conflicts in history.

While China suffers, her enemies grow stronger. In 1895, a newly modernized Japan, long seen as inferior to China, easily defeats the Qing navy, and wins territorial concessions of its own.

Westerners mock China as ‘the sick man of Asia’: a giant fallen prey to the imperialism of foreign powers, better adapted to life in the modern world.

But, by the turn of the twentieth century, there is a growing sense of outrage among the Chinese people… and a determination to fight back.

In 1899, a movement emerges in northern China, calling itself the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists. Its members become better known as the Boxers. They are outraged by the weakness of the Qing dynasty, the spread of Christianity, and China’s repeated humiliations. Their goal: to expel all foreigners from China, and end the shameful concessions made to them.

The Boxers begin by attacking western-funded railways, Christian missionaries, and Chinese converts. In June 1900, thousands of Boxers enter Peking and lay siege to the area in the city where foreigners live. They adopt the slogan “Uphold the Qing, Destroy foreigners!”

For the ruling Empress Dowager Cixi, the Boxers are a problem – but also an opportunity. Cixi decides to throw the weight of the Qing state behind the Boxers, and declares war on the foreign powers. It is a terrible miscalculation.

In response, a 20,000-strong Allied Expeditionary Force, combining troops from eight different nations, descends on Peking. Amidst numerous atrocities, the Boxers are crushed, and the city is looted by the allied armies.

The Qing court is forced to sign the Boxer Protocol. Under its terms, China must pay crippling indemnities over four decades… almost twice the government’s annual revenue.

This is China’s greatest humiliation yet. Under huge pressure to modernise the state, Cixi and the Qing Court finally undertake sweeping reforms: The archaic civil service exam is abolished, to be replaced by modern schools with a western curriculum. The first steps are taken to create a constitution, which will impose limits on the power of the emperor. The military is reorganised along Western lines, with improved officer training, equipment, and weaponry. Its most powerful contingent is the Beiyang Army, based in northern China, under general Yuan Shikai.

But many believe the Qing reforms do not go far enough, and that only wholesale revolution can save China. One such would-be revolutionary… is Sun Yat-sen.

From a humble Cantonese family, Sun was educated outside China, in Hawaii. He is very different from China’s old Confucian elite. A Christian convert, Sun speaks fluent English but struggles with classical Chinese. Following his involvement in several failed uprisings against the Qing, he lives in exile in Europe.

In 1905, Sun travels to Japan. In Tokyo, he founds the Tongmenghui, a revolutionary alliance whose goal is to overthrow Manchu rule, and replace the Qing monarchy with a democratic republic. He advocates the three principles of nationalism, democracy, and the people’s livelihood. To his supporters, Sun Yat-sen represents hope in a new future.

And that future seems to be drawing closer. In 1908, after a turbulent 47-year reign, Empress Dowager Cixi dies at the age of 72. The imperial throne of China falls to a two-year-old infant, Pu Yi. At a time of crisis and mounting opposition, the Qing dynasty has never been weaker.

9th October 1911. Hankow, Hubei Province. Members of a secret revolutionary society - with links to the Tungmenghui - are making bombs… when there’s an explosion. Their cover blown, the authorities arrest and later execute several of the group’s leaders. But it only pours fuel on the fire.

An uprising breaks out in the neighbouring city of Wuchang. Crucially, soldiers of Hubei Province’s New Army are persuaded to mutiny, and join the revolt. After 24 hours of fierce fighting, claiming hundreds of lives, Wuchang falls to the revolutionaries.

On 12th October, a new Military Government claims authority in the province. It publicly denounces the crimes of the Qing dynasty, and calls on other provinces to join it in overthrowing the monarchy.

The revolution spreads like wildfire - mostly in cities and towns, where there is deep-seated resentment against Qing rule. Within 6 weeks, 16 of China’s 26 provinces have seceded. In many areas, such as Shaanxi, the ruling Manchu are targeted, and massacred.

Panic grips the Qing court in Peking. General Yuan Shikai of the Beiyang Army is summoned to crush the revolutionaries. China is soon in a state of open civil war, between Yuan’s forces in the North, and the rebels in the South.

In the chaos of war and revolution, both Tibet and Outer Mongolia declare their independence from China.

On 1st January 1912, in Nanking, the rebels proclaim the establishment of the Republic of China. Sun Yat-sen, who has just returned to China from the USA, is sworn in as its provisional president. After years of exile, fundraising and plotting, Sun has finally secured political power.

His government immediately begins work on a new democratic constitution, and passes far-reaching reforms. Archaic practices are abolished, such as growing queues – the long hair that symbolises submission to the Manchu – as well as foot-binding, and kow-towing.

In the new multi-ethnic Chinese Republic, all will be equal. Its flag will have five colours, for ‘Five Races Under One Union’: Han, Manchu, Mongol, Muslim, and Tibetan.

But for now the Republic only occupies the southern half of China, and the success of the revolution remains far from certain. So to unite China and secure the future of the republic, Sun Yat-sen makes a shock offer to general Yuan Shikai: if he can persuade the Qing imperial family to abdicate, he can be President.

Yuan accepts, and informs the imperial family that only by giving up the throne can their lives and comfort be guaranteed. On 12th February 1912, six-year-old Emperor Pu Yi abdicates – though for now, he and his court continue to live in Peking’s palace complex, the Forbidden City.

More than 2,000 years of imperial rule in China are at an end. In its place, the only major republic in Asia.

Three days later, General Yuan Shikai becomes provisional president of the Republic of China. But almost immediately, the revolutionaries fall out with the new president, whose personal ambition is all too clear. Now in opposition, Sun Yat-sen and his allies establish the Kuomintang, or KMT, an evolution of the Tongmenghui.

Elections are held at the end of the year – the first nationwide democratic elections ever held in China, though only around 5% of the population are allowed to vote. The Kuomintang win convincingly – taking nearly half the seats in the new National Assembly.

Kuomintang leader Song Jiaoren, a close ally of Sun Yat-sen, is all but guaranteed to become the next prime minister. On 20th March 1913, as he is boarding a train in Shanghai, he is shot twice at close range. No conclusive evidence is ever found, but it’s widely believed the assassination was carried out on President Yuan’s orders.

China’s first democratic elections – will prove to be its last. The next year, rivalry between the Kuomintang and President Yuan’s government explodes once more into armed conflict. But Yuan’s Beiyang Army is too strong. The Kuomintang and its supporters are defeated – the party is outlawed - and Sun Yat-sen returns to exile in Japan.

Yuan Shikai has successfully grabbed power for himself. China is now in effect a military dictatorship. But the President is unable to solve any of the problems he’s inherited from the Qing Empire. He dies of natural causes just three years later. And China… slides back into chaos.

The 1911 revolution failed to establish a stable republic in China. But it does open the way for an avalanche of radical new ideas. Across China, young intellectuals are increasingly convinced that only a total break with China’s past can secure its future. Their ideas crystalize in the ‘New Culture Movement’.

Chen Duxiu is one of its most prominent leaders. From a wealthy family, Chen had been immersed in classical Chinese teaching from a young age, but later turned his back on Confucian thought. In 1915, he founded the magazine ‘New Youth’, which became home to the most important radical writers in China.

As a young professor at Peking University, Chen gathered like-minded intellectuals around him… such as Hu Shih, who calls for traditional Chinese characters to be replaced by Baihua, which better represents spoken Chinese.

Among their students - a young man from rural Hunan province, named Mao Zedong. Chen Duxiu and the New Culture Movement argue for a complete rejection of Confucianism. In its place, they want democracy, science, Chinese nationalism, and radical social change, including female emancipation and greater gender equality.

They will soon have their chance to take these ideas to the nation. In 1919, World War One’s victorious powers are meeting in Paris, to agree the post-war settlement. During the war, China had sided with the allies, and sent 140,000 men to serve as labourers on the Western Front. In recognition of this contribution, the Chinese expected to regain control of Germany’s territory in Shandong.

But now news arrives that this colony has instead been awarded to Japan. The response in China.. is outrage.

On 4th May, 3,000 angry students take to the streets of Peking. They gather at Tiananmen, the entrance gate to the Forbidden City. Inspired by the New Culture Movement, their placards – in Chinese, English and French – call for ‘Mr. Democracy’ and ‘Mr. Science’.

Protests spread across the country, uniting students and workers against the government and the Western powers who are seen to have betrayed China yet again. The protests achieve little in the short term.. but will come to be seen as a watershed in China’s march towards a modern, nationalist future.

Many protesters are now disillusioned with western liberal democracies. Some turn to Marxism, inspired by the success of the 1917 Revolution in Russia, which seems to offer a model for total national transformation.

Among these converts, the 25-year-old Mao Zedong. He writes: “I venture to make a singular assertion: one day, the reform of the Chinese people will be more profound than that of any other people, and the society of the Chinese people will be more radiant than any other people… Our golden age, our age of glory and splendour, lies before us!”

In July 1921, the founding congress of the Chinese Communist Party takes place in the French concession in Shanghai. There are just 13 members present, who meet in secret. Disrupted by French police, the group moves to a pleasure boat on South Lake. Mao Zedong is a founding member. The first General Secretary is Chen Duxiu. Despite their tiny numbers, they are determined to seize control of China’s revolution.

Following the death of the dictator Yuan Shikai, China had slid back into civil war. Generals compete to control the government in Peking… while the country is torn apart by rival warlords with their own private armies. Some are little more than organised criminals in uniform.

The most prominent groups are the Zhili clique, the Anhui clique, and the Fengtiang clique, each named after their provincial powerbase.

By 1921, Sun Yat-sen’s Kuomintang has established a military government of its own, in Canton. Both the Kuomintang and Communists realise they can only obtain power if they first defeat the warlords. Both believe they can use the other to reach their goal.

In 1923, with the Soviet Union’s backing, the Chinese Communist Party allies itself with the Kuomintang, in a pact known as the First United Front. Chinese Communists are urged to join the Kuomintang, which is itself transformed with the help of Soviet advisors, funds and arms.

Soviet advisers also help to set up a military academy on Whampoa Island. It will be run by Sun’s chief military adviser, a rising star named Chiang Kai-shek. His aim is to mould the Kuomintang army into a disciplined and effective fighting force.

But just months later… while visiting the north to negotiate with the warlords, Sun Yat-sen falls ill. On 12th March 1925, he dies from cancer in Peking, aged 58. His last words: ‘Peace… Struggle… Save China.’

Sun’s death leaves the Kuomintang in disarray, and China at a crossroads. The only certainty seems to be further civil war.

For Sun’s loyal lieutenant, however, the road ahead is clear. On hearing news of Sun Yat-sen’s death, Chiang Kai-shek tells his wife: ‘If I control the army, I will have the power to control the country… It is my road to leadership’.

In Peking, the Forbidden City lies empty. The last emperor, Pu Yi, had been evicted by a local warlord, and left to seek Japanese protection.

Whoever is to lead China now, will face enormous challenges: Fragile alliances… a fragmented country… And powerful neighbours, that seek to plunge China back into an age of humiliation.

Can’t wait for the next episode? Great news – we already made it. Episode 2 of The Rise of China covers the rise of Chiang Kai-shek, as his Kuomintang Army takes on the warlords.. and the Communists.. forcing Mao and others to undertake their legendary ‘Long March’. But once again, foreign predators wait in the wings, ready to exploit a divided China. And if you want to watch it right now, 5 weeks before it’s on YouTube, you can head over to prestige streaming service, Nebula.

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Vocabulary

No	Word	Part of speech	IPA	Explanation
1	cradle	NN	/ˈkreɪ.dəl/	A place where something important began or originated; here referring to China as a birthplace of world civilization.
2	gunpowder	NN	/ˈɡʌnˌpaʊ.dər/	An explosive mixture of substances used in guns and explosives, listed here as one of ancient China’s major inventions.
3	Himalayas	NNP	/ˌhɪm.əˈleɪ.əz/	A vast mountain system in Asia separating the Tibetan Plateau from the Indian subcontinent, marking the western boundary of the Qing empire.
4	Manchu	NNP	/ˈmæn.tʃuː/	An ethnic group originally from Northeast China who established and ruled the Qing dynasty.
5	Han	NNP	/hɑːn/	The majority ethnic group in China, distinguishing the general population from the ruling Manchu minority during the Qing dynasty.
6	hubs	NNS	/hʌbz/	Central or main places of activity and commerce; used here to describe important cities like Nanking and Canton.
7	Confucian	JJ	/kənˈfjuː.ʃən/	Relating to the philosopher Confucius or his teachings, which emphasized social order, hierarchy, and morality, and governed Chinese society for millennia.
8	bureaucrats	NNS	/ˈbjʊə.rə.kræts/	Officials involved in running a government department, specifically referring to the scholar-officials who administered the Qing empire.
9	smuggling	VBG	/ˈsmʌɡ.lɪŋ/	The act of moving goods illegally into or out of a country; here, referring to British merchants bringing opium into China against Qing laws.
10	opium	NN	/ˈəʊ.pi.əm/	A highly addictive narcotic drug made from poppy seeds, which British merchants traded to China, causing widespread addiction and conflict.
11	overpower	VBP	/ˌəʊ.vəˈpaʊ.ər/	To defeat or control someone using superior strength or force; describing how the British navy easily defeated the Chinese fleet.
12	unequal	JJ	/ʌnˈiː.kwəl/	Not fair or evenly balanced; refers to the treaties signed between China and foreign powers where China was forced to concede rights without gaining anything in return.
13	ceding	VBG	/ˈsiː.dɪŋ/	Giving up power or territory; specifically referring to China surrendering control of Hong Kong to the British under the Treaty of Nanking.
14	Taiping	NNP	/taɪˈpɪŋ/	Referring to the Taiping Rebellion, a massive and deadly civil war in southern and central China against the Qing dynasty.
15	prey	NN	/preɪ/	A victim or target of an attack; metaphorically describing China as a victim exploited by foreign imperial powers.
16	expel	VB	/ɪkˈspel/	To force someone to leave a place; the objective of the Boxer rebellion regarding foreign presence in China.
17	siege	NN	/siːdʒ/	A military operation in which enemy forces surround a town or building, cutting off essential supplies; describing the Boxers’ attack on the foreign legation quarter.
18	miscalculation	NN	/ˌmɪs.kæl.kjəˈleɪ.ʃən/	An error in judgment or planning; referring to Empress Dowager Cixi’s decision to support the Boxers against foreign powers.
19	atrocities	NNS	/əˈtrɒs.ə.tiz/	Extremely wicked or cruel acts, typically involving physical violence or injury, committed during the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion.
20	looted	VBN	/ˈluː.tɪd/	Stolen from a place, typically during a war or riot; describing the theft committed by foreign troops in Peking.
21	crippling	JJ	/ˈkrɪp.lɪŋ/	Causing severe damage or financial problems; used to describe the overwhelming burden of the indemnity payments China was forced to make.
22	archaic	JJ	/ɑːˈkeɪ.ɪk/	Very old or old-fashioned; referring to the ancient examination system or practices that were no longer suitable for a modernizing China.
23	weaponry	NN	/ˈwep.ən.ri/	Weapons regarded collectively; part of the military modernization efforts undertaken by the Qing court.
24	contingent	NN	/kənˈtɪn.dʒənt/	A group of people sharing a common feature, forming part of a larger group; here referring to the Beiyang Army as a specific division of the military.
25	Cantonese	JJ	/ˌkæn.təˈniːz/	Relating to Canton (Guangzhou) or its people; describing Sun Yat-sen’s family background.
26	uprisings	NNS	/ˈʌpˌraɪ.zɪŋz/	Acts of resistance or rebellion; referring to the multiple failed attempts by revolutionaries to overthrow the Qing government.
27	monarchy	NN	/ˈmɒn.ə.ki/	A form of government with a monarch (emperor) at the head; the system of rule the revolutionaries wanted to abolish.
28	livelihood	NN	/ˈlaɪv.li.hʊd/	The means of securing the necessities of life; one of Sun Yat-sen’s three principles (Min sheng), focusing on the economic well-being of the people.
29	sen	NNP	/sɛn/	Part of the proper name “Sun Yat-sen” (Sun Zhongshan), the founding father of the Republic of China.
30	uprising	NN	/ˈʌpˌraɪ.zɪŋ/	An act of resistance or rebellion; specifically referring to the Wuchang Uprising that triggered the 1911 Revolution.
31	mutiny	NN	/ˈmjuː.tɪ.ni/	An open rebellion against proper authorities, especially by soldiers against their officers; referring to the revolt of the New Army soldiers.
32	denounces	VBZ	/dɪˈnaʊn.sɪz/	Publicly declares to be wrong or evil; describing the new Military Government’s condemnation of the Qing dynasty’s crimes.
33	wildfire	NN	/ˈwaɪld.faɪər/	A large, destructive fire that spreads quickly; used metaphorically here to describe how fast the revolution spread across provinces.
34	summoned	VBN	/ˈsʌm.ənd/	Ordered to come or to take action; referring to the Qing court calling upon General Yuan Shikai to fight the rebels.
35	fundraising	NN	/ˈfʌndˌreɪ.zɪŋ/	The activity of collecting money for a specific purpose; referring to Sun Yat-sen gathering financial support for the revolution while abroad.
36	towing	NN	/ˈtaʊ.ɪŋ/	Used here as part of “kow-towing,” the act of kneeling and touching the ground with the forehead in worship or submission, which was abolished by the Republic.
37	Mongol	NNP	/ˈmɒŋ.ɡəl/	Relating to Mongolia or its people; one of the five major ethnic groups represented in the original “Five Races Under One Union” flag.
38	abdicate	VB	/ˈæb.dɪ.keɪt/	To renounce one’s throne or fail to fulfill a duty; referring to the proposal for the Emperor to give up his position.
39	abdicates	VBZ	/ˈæb.dɪ.keɪts/	Renounces the throne; the act of Emperor Pu Yi formally stepping down from power.
40	convincingly	RB	/kənˈvɪn.sɪŋ.li/	In a way that leaves no doubt; here meaning winning the election with a strong, undeniable margin.
41	assassination	NN	/əˌsæs.ɪˈneɪ.ʃən/	The action of murdering a prominent person for political reasons; referring to the killing of Song Jiaoren.
42	rivalry	NN	/ˈraɪ.vəl.ri/	Competition for the same objective or superiority; describing the political conflict between the Kuomintang and Yuan Shikai.
43	dictatorship	NN	/dɪkˈteɪ.tə.ʃɪp/	A form of government where one person (a dictator) holds absolute power; describing Yuan Shikai’s rule after dissolving the democratic institutions.
44	avalanche	NN	/ˈæv.əl.ɑːntʃ/	A mass of snow falling down a mountain; used metaphorically to describe the sudden and overwhelming influx of new radical ideas into China.
45	Confucianism	NNP	/kənˈfjuː.ʃən.ɪ.zəm/	A system of philosophical and ethical teachings founded by Confucius; the traditional ideology that the New Culture Movement wanted to reject.
46	emancipation	NN	/iˌmæn.sɪˈpeɪ.ʃən/	The fact or process of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions; here referring to the liberation and rights of women.
47	victorious	JJ	/vɪkˈtɔː.ri.əs/	Having won a victory; referring to the Allied nations that won World War One.
48	placards	NNS	/ˈplæk.ɑːdz/	Posters or signs for public display; used by student protesters to display their slogans during the May 4th movement.
49	radiant	JJ	/ˈreɪ.di.ənt/	Clearly emanating light or joy; used by Mao Zedong to describe a hopeful, brilliant future for Chinese society.
50	splendour	NN	/ˈsplen.dər/	Magnificent and splendid appearance; part of the phrase “glory and splendour” describing a vision of China’s future.
51	warlords	NNS	/ˈwɔː.lɔːdz/	Military commanders who have seized power, especially in one section of a country; referring to the regional generals controlling parts of China.
52	clique	NN	/kliːk/	A small, exclusive group of people; used here to describe the different factions of warlords (e.g., Zhili, Anhui).
53	evicted	VBN	/ɪˈvɪk.tɪd/	Forced to leave a property; referring to the last Emperor being expelled from the Forbidden City by a warlord.
54	warlord	NN	/ˈwɔː.lɔːd/	A military commander exercising civil power by force; referring to the specific general who expelled the Emperor.
55	Fragile	JJ	/ˈfrædʒ.aɪl/	Easily broken or damaged; describing the unstable political alliances during the warlord era.
56	plunge	VB	/plʌndʒ/	To push or thrust quickly; metaphorically meaning to force the country back into a state of chaos, suffering, or humiliation.
57	predators	NNS	/ˈpred.ə.təz/	Animals that prey on others; used metaphorically for foreign nations waiting to exploit China’s weakness.
58	censorship	NN	/ˈsen.sə.ʃɪp/	The suppression of speech or public communication; referring to the control of information by the modern Chinese government mentioned in the documentary promotion.
59	wo	MD	/wəʊ/	Representing the first part of the contraction “won’t” (will not); used in the phrase “you won’t be able to see it.”
60	subscribers	NNS	/səbˈskraɪ.bəz/	People who pay to receive a service; referring to the paying members of the streaming platform ‘Nebula’.
61	Nebula	NNP	/ˈneb.jə.lə/	The name of the streaming service sponsoring the video (also scientifically refers to a cloud of gas/dust in space).