This article traces China’s revolutionary tide. Disillusioned with the Qing, Sun Yat‑sen founded the Revive China Society and later unified groups into the Tongmenghui in 1905, aiming to establish a republic. His cause gained global fame after the London kidnapping. Radical writers fueled public anger, laying the groundwork to end dynastic rule.
This article recounts the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. Cixi backed the anti‑foreign Boxers and declared war on the Eight‑Nation Alliance. Beijing fell; Cixi fled and ordered Consort Zhen’s death. The Boxer Protocol imposed a huge indemnity, fatally weakening the Qing and fueling revolutionary calls to end dynastic rule.
This article follows the tragic Guangxu Emperor. After China’s crushing defeat in the 1894 First Sino‑Japanese War, he launched the Hundred Days’ Reform to modernize the country. But his bold reforms threatened Empress Dowager Cixi, who held real power. The short‑lived reform revealed the fierce conflict between reform and conservatism in late Qing China.
This article covers China’s early modernization drive. After suppressing the Taiping Rebellion, Prince Gong and officials like Li Hongzhang launched the Self‑Strengthening Movement to adopt Western industry and military technology. It built arsenals, shipyards, and new schools. Meanwhile, court politics continued: the Tongzhi Emperor died young, and Cixi installed the puppet Guangxu Emperor to…
This article traces Empress Dowager Cixi’s rise. During the Second Opium War, Anglo‑French forces burned the Old Summer Palace. After Emperor Xianfeng died, Cixi allied with Prince Gong in the 1861 Xinyou Coup to overthrow the eight regents. She then began her nearly 50‑year rule behind the curtain, dominating the late Qing Dynasty.
This article tells the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Hong Xiuquan, inspired by Christian ideas, launched a massive peasant rebellion against the Qing in 1851. His forces captured Nanjing as their capital. However, a brutal power struggle – the Tianjing Incident – split the movement, leading to its collapse. It became…
This article recounts the Opium War era. Daoguang Emperor sent Lin Zexu to ban opium; Lin destroyed over 20,000 chests at Humen. Britain launched a war, defeated the Qing, and imposed the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing – China’s first unequal treaty, ceding Hong Kong and opening ports, starting a century of national humiliation.
This article introduces early Chinese Enlightenment thinkers. After the Ming’s fall, Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu and Wang Fuzhi criticized autocracy and advocated limiting imperial power. Later, Dai Zhen opposed rigid ethics, while Gong Zizhen called for reform and talent to save the declining Qing. Their ideas foreshadowed modern progressive thought.
This article recounts the 1813 Forbidden Gate Incident. Members of the Tianli Sect attacked the Forbidden City with help from eunuchs. Prince Mianning (later Daoguang Emperor) defended the palace bravely. The shocked Jiaqing Emperor issued a self‑reproach edict. The crisis weakened his health and foreshadowed the Qing’s decline.