course material

1. Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement Question Discussion
Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement Question DiscussionORDER HERE FOR
ORIGINAL, PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPERS ON Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth
Movement Question DiscussionWrite an analytical essay (12-point font and 4 to 6 double-
spaced pages) responding to one of the following questions.You must cite at least three
sources. Referencing style should conform to the Chicago Manual of Style 17th
Edition.Discuss the politics of China’s nation-formation through the lens of culture.Compare
the Xinhai Revolution to the May Fourth Movement and discuss which is more historically
significant.Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement Question
Discussionattachment_1attachment_2attachment_3attachment_4attachment_5Unformatted
Attachment PreviewLate Qing Crisis HIS 191E: Lecture 4 Prof. Howard Chiang Pop Quiz 1.
Which emperor received the Macartney Embassy? 2. Identify 3-5 treaty ports that were
opened as the result of the Treaty of Nanking (1842). 3. Who was the leader of the Taiping
Rebellion? 4. Name two new territories that the Qing empire acquired in the second half of
the 18th century. Empress Dowager Cixi Zongli Yamen The Changing Context • • • • • 1861:
Zongli Yamen 1864: international law 1873: foreign audience no kowtow 1876: diplomatic
missions Universal empire (天下) to nation-state (國 家) • Western perception – Mutiny of
1857 in India -> British policy in China changed to moderation (gradual decline) Decline of
British Domination Sino-French War (1884-85)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxthYsv6I7I Sino-French War (1884-85) Chinese
soldiers photographed during the war The Ryukyus (han 藩/domain 1872-79) Ito Hirobumi
Li Hongzhang Tributary Retraction Losing Vietnam: Sino-French War (1884-1885) –
realists (Li Hongzhang) vs. pro-war faction – afterward: final phase of the “self-
strengthening movement” (1885-1895) Losing Korea (Origins): Li-Ito Convention (1884) –
after Japan annexed Okinawa in 1879 – Each country promised to notify the other if it was
planning to send forces in the future Losing Taiwan: First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895) –
July 23, 1894, Japanese captured Seoul Sino-Japanese War (1894-95) Treaty of Shimonoseki
• April 17, 1895: China recognizes independence of Korea • China cedes to Japan Taiwan
and the Liaodong Peninsula – Triple Intervention (Russia, Germany, and France) • 200-300
million taels indemnity • China is to grant Japan (replacing Britain) the most-favored-nation
treatment “Carving up the Chinese Mellon” Russian Interest: Russia monopolized special
status in Beijing until the Treaty of Tianjin in 1860 – insisted that the Qing ceded a million
square km of lands east and north of the Amur River to Russia (Maritime Province) Chinese
Eastern Railway: cuts through Manchuria from Chita Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) Xinhai

2. Revolution and the May Fourth Movement Question DiscussionA: Western Branch B:
Eastern Branch C: Southern Branch; renamed as South Manchuria Railway and controlled
by Japan after the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) Soviet Union handed the CER over to PRC
in 1952. A B C “Carving up the Chinese Mellon” Germany: 99 yrs Qingdao & Jiaozhou Port
(Mar 1898) Russia: 25 yrs Port Arthur & Dalian (Mar 1898) Russia: South Manchuria
Railway Britain: 25 yrs Port of Weihai (Mar 1898) Britain: 99 yrs New Territories of Hong
Kong (June 1898) France: 99 yrs Guangzhou Bay (Apr 1898) Partitioning of China – Queen
Victoria – William II (Germany) – Nicholas II (Russia) – French Marianne – Meiji Emperor
1890s • Growing acceptance of Western knowledge and values • Socio-economic
transformations came with treaty settlements – increasing social mobilization eroding
traditional attitudes • Reformist writings – the Western ideal of political participation – the
need for change in the central political institutions of China & prize the West as the source
not only of instrumental/secondary but also of essential and central values Kang Youwei
The Book of Great Unity – philosophical canon was a forgery – culturalism to nationalism
Liang Qichao – ‘grouping’ – democracy – newspapers – modern intelligentsia Guangxu
Emperor Hundred Days Reform: June 11-Sept 21, 1898 – exam system – school system –
agriculture & commerce – postal system – military & police system Empress Dowager Cixi
Yuan Shikai Beheaded bodies on the ground in Caishikou Execution Grounds 1905, the Qing
dynasty execution grounds where the six gentlemen (of Hundred Days Reform) were
beheaded. The Boxer Catastrophe Context: late 19th-c. resentment at foreign presence –
gentry & local officials concerned with the rivalry of Christian missionaries – China’s
economic downtown – the availability of foreign goods, the establishment of Western
businesses and railways, and the circulation of foreign currency – heavy taxes levied
Context: domestic natural disasters – Yellow River flooded 400 villages in Shandong –
severe draught in north China – popular superstitions blamed foreign presence Yellow
River Flooding in Aug 1898 The Boxer Movement – – – – a social explosion that emerged
from a culture of poverty in north China name taken from the martial arts “Boxing”
constituents: young farmers, laborers, unemployed drifters, and other socially marginalized
individuals 3 main targets: foreigners, Chinese Christian converts, & others involved in
foreign economic enterprises 1899-1900 spread to Zhili, Henan, Shanxi, and Inner Mongolia
and Manchuria lacked central leadership (unlike Taiping rebellion) The Empress Dowager
Cixi supported the Boxers!! Eight-Nation Force Eight-Nation Force Battle of Tianjin The
Boxer Protocol (Sept. 1901) Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement Question
Discussion– Execution and punishment of officials who had participated in the war –
Suspended the civil service examinations for 5 years in 45 cities – Demanded over 2 dozen
forts to be demolished – Expanded legation headquarters – 2-year prohibition on China’s
importation of arms and ammunition and even the means to manufacture them – Most
disastrous: 450 million taels indemnity (the Qing government’s annual revenue is 88-89
million taels) The Founding of China’s Republic HIS 191E: Lecture 5 Prof. Howard Chiang
Social & Political Reform: 1900-1910 Education: – Hanlin academicians studied Western
learning – October 1901 – national school system at each territorial level of government
administration: county, prefecture, province, and capital – Run alongside traditional
examinations – Abandoned eight-legged essay – 1905: – end of civil service exam system

3. (August 1905) – Russo-Japanese War – Russia defeat – Sun Yat-sen’s Revolutionary Alliance
(Tongmenghui) – December: Ministry of Education – revolutionized the education system –
curriculum and social impact Social & Political Reform: 1900-1910 Military: – Army of the
Green Standard was disbanded – 1901 traditional military exam system abolished –
Baoding Military Academy founded by Yuan Shikai after the Boxer uprising -> Northern
(Beiyang) Army Government: – abolished Yunnan, Hupei, and Guangdong governors –
Foreign Ministry (1901); Ministry of Trade (1903), and Ministries of Police and Education
(1905) – Constitutionalism based on Japanese model – mission to England, France,
Germany, US, & Japan Social & Political Reform: 1900-1910 Government: –
Constitutionalism – critics demanded that the government move faster – August 1908:
government announced 1916 for the promulgation of the constitution & 1917 parliament –
‘Principles of Constitutionalism’: – ‘(1) The emperor of the Great Qing dynasty shall reign
over and govern the great Qing empire with his majesty’s unbroken line of succession for
ages eternal. (2) The emperor shall be sacred and inviolable’ – Qing emperor more powerful
than Jap emperor – 1910: constitution in 1912 and parliament in 1913 Empress Dowager
Cixi – died Nov 15 1908 Anti-Manchu Revolutionary Movement – Nationalism – boycott of
American goods in May 1905 – Tatsu maru incident of 1908 – Reformists (Kang Youwei,
Liang Qichao, etc.) vs. Revolutionaries (Sun Yat-sen) – radical action – 1894 Revive China
Society – 1905 Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance), transformed into the
Nationalist Party by 1912 – 1895-1911: 11 revolts total (final one in 1911) – Sun: 1. raising
money in overseas Chinese communities; 2. Three Principles of the People (sanming zhuyi):
nationalism, democracy, and socialism Sun Yat-sen – Sanming zhuyi Sun Yat-sen and
Tongmenghui Singapore Chapter, April 1906 5 Color (1912-1928) Modern (since 1928)
1911 Revolution (Wuchang Mutiny) – Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement
Question DiscussionWuchang on Yangzi River – 1 of the 3 cities (Hankou & Hanyang)
making up modern Wuhan city in Hubei – Literary Association (Wenxueshe, 文學社) – Great
River News newspaper – Society for Mutual Progress (Gongjinhui, 共進會) – Sep 1911: New
Army at Wuchang – Oct 9 bombing in Russian concessions of Hankou – Oct 10:
revolutionaries of 8th Division attacked their officers – Yuan Shikai turned down Qing until
Nov. 1 – Dec: revolutionaries offered Yuan presidency if he could bring about abdication of
the Qing emperor Oct. 11, 1911 After the successful Wuchang Uprising Shanghai celebrates
the founding of the Republic on Jan. 1, 1912 Modern (since 1928) 5 Color (1912-1928)
Naval Jack (since 1924) Sun Yat-sen, February 25, 1912 The Nationalist Party
(Guomingdang/GMD or Kuomingtang/KMT) Yuan Shikai, March 10, 1912 Second
Provisional President of ROC Song Jiaoren (killed in Mar 1913) Second Revolution – Yuan
Shikai’s Dictatorship – ‘Great Loan’ – June 1913 – dismissed provincial governors who had
supported GMD – ‘Second Revolution’ – Anhu, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Hunan immediately
declared war on Yuan – ended by September 1 -> Sun fled to Japan and adopted the modern
flag (official national flag 1928) – August 1915: Yuan declared himself as emperor –
National Protection Army – June 6 1916: Yuan died Yuan Shikai as Hongxian (洪憲)
Emperor Major warlord coalitions, 1925 Warlords and Social Dislocation HIS 191E: Lecture
6 Prof. Howard Chiang Nanjing Road during Xinhai Revolution Historiography of 1911 –
ROC: – revolutionaries’ revolution – revolution as a heroic “prologue” – PRC: – bourgeoisie’s

4. revolution – revolution as a “phase” in Marxist terms – Western historians and social
scientists – urban gentry’s revolution – revolution as “conservative social change” –
devolution of central power to local elites – part of an ongoing collapse of an old system
Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai’s Role – Ruled as a military dictator – support from leading army
officers – always appeared in uniform – Shifting nature of power in modern China: – from
imperial-bureaucratic forms to more militarized forms of rule – Liang Qichao – appointed to
Minister of Justice and a financial adviser Liang Qichao Warlords: 1916-1928 – Warlord
(junfa, 軍閥): one who commanded a personal army, controlled or sought to control
territory, and acted more or less independently – ‘regional militarist’ maybe more neutral –
Warlord era (1916-28): a period when the country was divided among regional military
cliques whose leaders had evolved from the generals who were trained in the New Army by
Yuan – 1917: last attempt to restore the monarchy by Zhang Xun (張勳) – Puyi then
expelled in 1924 – Puyi lived in the Japanese concession in Tianjin until 1932, when he was
installed by the Japanese as ruler of Manchukuo (officially crowned as emperor in 1934)
Zhang Xun Warlords: 1916-1928 – North: – Anhui Hegemony (1916-1920): Duan Qirui 段祺
瑞 – Zhili Hegemony (1920-1924): Feng Guozhang 馮國璋 – Fengtian Hegemony (1924-
1928): Zhang Zuolin 張作霖 – South: – Constitutional Protection (1917-1922): Sun in exile –
Reorganization (1923-1925): Sun returned to power – Northern Expedition (1926-1928):
Chiang Kai-shek – Southern provinces – Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan, Guangxi, and
Guangdong (including Hainan) – Note: Western nations supplied ammunition and guns to
warlords Major Warlord Coalitions Warlords: 1916-1928 – Collected taxes – regional
government – Gambling, prostitution, and opium – Was “warlordism” a system? – perhaps
not preferred by imperial powers – yet, Powers accommodated warlords – Japan dominated
Manchuria; England in Yangzi – If any one warlord appeared to be achieving national
authority, the others would gang up on him and prevent that from happening – reformers?
Yan Xishan Wu Peifu Warlords: 1916-1928 – Limits of warlordism: – no national
legitimacy? – failed to convince urban elites that they could resist imperialism – The term
“warlord” can have different meanings depending on who you’re referring to – some like
Feng Yuxiang aimed for the top – others have more regional goals – Xinhai Revolution and
the May Fourth Movement Question Discussioncontinued to be supported by Western
imperialists Social Conditions in the Countryside – Warlords might monopolize coercive
power, but they could not claim legitimacy and barely tried to monopolize political
discourse – In the cities, a public sphere of nonofficial consensual activities grew –
education, publishing, and professional and business organizations – culminated in the May
Fourth movement – Warlordism increased pressure on Chinese society, especially in the
countryside. Social Conditions in the Countryside – “Nested Hierarchy”: Group of villages →
a central market → townspeople → higher-level towns and cities – this is how the Chinese
countryside was tied to international markets – Basic mode of Qing agriculture: households
farming small plots of land, scattered about the village (5 acres in the north and 3 acres in
the south) – north: dry grains – barley, wheat, millet, sorghum – south: wet rice (grown in
flooded paddies) – 20th century: cotton, peanuts, tobacco, silk cocoons, and opium Social
Conditions in the Countryside – A peasant household: – husband & wife, children, brother or
sister, parent – daughters were “married out” – infanticide (esp. female infanticide) was

5. widespread in bad times – all other sons divided father’s land – By the 1930s: – 42% of
farmland was rented – 32% of peasant households owned no land – rents ranged from 50 to
70% of the main harvest – population pressure – tenancy rates Poor Chinese peasants from
the 1920s: only imperfectly incorporated into the state State and Rural Society – What did
the revolution mean to rural society? – Paradox of the Republican period: as the state
weakened, state intrusion on the village increased (increasing local taxes whenever
possible) – State crushed village autonomy without protecting villagers form predators –
Rural unrest contributed to the lack of stability across the Qing, Yuan’s, and the Nationalist
regimes – In late imperial time: the line of legitimacy from Beijing to the rural literate
landlord was known to exist; but in the Republican period, the line from the revolutionary
militarists barely reached beyond provincial capitals State and Rural Society – Banditry – a
traditional part of the social ecology (as in most agrarian societies) – number and size
increased dramatically in the early Republic – many warlords started as a bandit chief –
kidnapping, thievery, etc. – Violence between neighbour villages – disputes over water or
woodlots – riots and uprisings – Rural protests: economic or popular resentment? Local
magistrate in late 19th century (position retained in the Republican period) – many
appointed by militarists in control during the warlord era Yamen at Qingdao in early 20th
century The Road to Revolution 1918: China’s Allies (Red) The May Fourth Movement HIS
191E: Lecture 7 Prof. Howard Chiang New Culture Movement – Intellectuals turned against
Yuan Shikai after 1915 – Revolutionaries joined Liang Qichao – renunciation of politics –
Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement Question DiscussionChinese culture – a
symptom of deeper morbidity – esp. Confucianism, which survived the fall of the dynasty
and was being transmitted in every family – Late 1910s: political change should wait for
cultural change – ‘culture’ (wenhua, 文化) meant ‘transformation by civilized patterns’ in
classical – May Fourth = New Culture + Politics – New Culture Movement: the rejection of
traditional culture and attempts to define a new cultural base and direction Chen Duxiu –
China needed Mr. Science & Mr. Democracy New Youth New Youth (1915) Chen Duxiu (陳獨
秀), ‘Call to Youth’: “The Chinese compliment others by saying, ‘He acts like an old man
while still young’. Englishmen and Americans encourage one another by saying, ‘Keep
young while growing old’. Such is one respect in which the different ways of thought of the
East and West are manifested. Youth is like early spring, like the rising sun, like trees and
grass in bud, like a newly sharpened blade. It is the most valuable period of life. The
function of youth in society is the same as that of a fresh and vital cell in a human body. In
the processes of metabolism, the old and rotten are increasingly eliminated to be replaced
by the fresh and living.” Language and Education – Language reform: from classical to
vernacular (baihua, 白 話) Chinese – one of its strongest proponents was Hu Shih (胡適): ‘A
dead language can never produce a living literature; if a living literature is to be produced,
there must be a living tool….We must first of all elevate this [vernacular] tool….Only with a
new tool can we talk about such other aspects as new ideas and new spirit.’ – 1921: Ministry
of Education endorsed vernacular form – Beijing University (Beida, 北京大學) – 1898
Imperial University; 1912 National U of Beijing – 1916: Cai Yuanpei (蔡元培) appointed
president – Tertiary institutions in BJ: 10 in 1909 to 40 in 1922 Hu Shih Peking University
students arrested after May 4th Cai Yuanpei (President of Beida) Qian Xuantong Gu

6. Hongming https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtYphSwPW7Y (2:45-5:05) Japan and the
Shandong Issue Routes of the Japanese Troops in 1914 Japan and the Shandong Issue
Chinese acceptance of the TwentyOne Demands Signed by Yuan Shikai Japan and the
Shandong Issue Tsinghua Students Burning Japanese Goods Japan and the Shandong Issue –
1914: Japan took Qingdao from Germany – 1915: Japan presented Yuan ‘Twenty-One
Demands’ – Yuan accepted on May 7 – National Humiliation Day – spring – wave of anti-
Japanese riots and protests – 1917 China gave up neutrality in WWI – China sent 100,000
workers to northern France – Chinese were entitled to participate in the 1919 Versailles
Conference – Chinese delegation shared Woodrow Wilson’s ‘selfdetermination’ principle –
the Chinese wanted to recover Shandong – But Japan, after 1914, signed secret treaties with
Russia, Britain, France, Italy, and the United States Japan and the Shandong Issue –
Outsiders continued to decide China’s future with no consultation with Chinese leaders –
1918 – Chinese leaders on their own volition signed a secret treaty with the Japanese – In
exchange for a 20 million yen loan, the Beijing government gave Japan rights in Shandong:
to build two railroads, to station troops there, and to train and oversee Chinese train guards
– May Fourth Incident vs. Movement vs. Era – incident: student demonstration in Beijing on
May 4, 1919, in protest against the Versailles Treaty – movement: strikes and boycotts that
followed – era: revitalization of public sphere in early 1920s Gate of Heavenly Peace
(Tiananmen), 1919 Cao Rulin May Fourth Movement: 1919-21 – May 4, 1919: Beijing’s Gate
of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen, 天安門) – Students marched on to the house of Cao Rulin (
曹汝霖) – cabinet member, Qing official, aide to Yuan Shikai – students found Zhang
Zongxiang (章宗祥) instead – Martial Law was declared around the Legation Quarter – the
arrests of students also turned May Fourth into a spark – the arrested students attracted
support from a wide range of Beijing’s citizens, and protests spread to all major cities –
Student organizations – reached women, high school students, principles, other
professionals, & workers Burning of Japanese goods, Nanning, Guangxi, 1919 Japanese
Delegation at Paris Peace Conference in 1919 May Fourth Movement: 1919-21 – the
movement shifted to anti-Japanese actions – burning & boycotting Japanese goods – further
involvement of merchants & workers – government received diplomatic pressure from
Japan – by June, Shanghai replaced Beijing as the main focus of the May Fourth movement –
In France – the Versailles Treaty was thus concluded on June 28 without official Chinese
endorsement – 1922: dispute over Shandong was eventually mediated by the US at the
Washington Naval Confere …Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement Question
Discussion