The social background of China in the 19th century

The 19th century was the Qing Dynasty.

Qianlong died in 1799, and Emperor Jiaqing was able to take charge. However, Emperor Jiaqing failed to solve the shortcomings, and the Qing Dynasty continued to decline. ?[48]?Emperor Daoguang also lost the enterprising spirit of the early monarchs, and his governing style became increasingly conservative and rigid. In the officialdom, it is common to form parties for personal gain, fight against each other, buy and sell official positions, and bribery. In the army, the equipment is outdated, drills are not diligent, camp affairs are lax, and discipline is broken. Financially, the national treasury is increasingly in deficit and unable to make ends meet. Class contradictions intensified and popular uprisings broke out.

Due to corruption in government, customs smuggling was serious and the opium trade was rampant. In 1839, Emperor Daoguang sent Lin Zexu to Guangzhou, the trade center, to announce a ban on smoking. In order to open up the Chinese market, Britain launched the Opium War in 1840. The Qing Dynasty was defeated and forced to sue for peace. In 1842, it was forced to sign an unequal treaty with the British invaders - the "Treaty of Nanjing", which started China's modern history.

Extended information:

Some major events that happened:

1. Hong Xiuquan rebelled in Jintian, Guangxi in 1851, and the Lianhe Tiandihui and the Sanhehui Northern Expedition. Two years later, Jiangning was captured and capitalized, and two western expeditions were launched. On May 8, 1853, Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang and others were ordered to lead more than 20,000 troops in the northern expedition.

Although the Northern Expeditionary Army once advanced to the vicinity of Tianjin, they were besieged by the Qing army because they went deep alone. Later, Zeng Guofan, Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang organized the Hunan Army and the Huai Army to resist the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After the Tianjing Incident, the Taiping Rebellion's national power declined, and some forces transferred to the Nian Army. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was finally besieged and perished in 1864 by the Changsheng Army and Changjie Army composed of the Hunan Army, the Huai Army, and foreigners.

2. Launch the Second Opium War. By 1860, the British and French forces successively forced the Qing government to sign the Treaty of Tianjin and the Treaty of Beijing. Russia took advantage of the situation and occupied more than 1.5 million square kilometers of northern China's territory from the 1850s to the 1880s. According to a series of unequal treaties, China lost a large amount of territory, sovereignty and wealth, and its semi-colonial and semi-feudal society became greatly deepened.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Qing Dynasty

Baidu Encyclopedia-Modern History of China