Why did China flourish and then fall behind the West?
Did China isolated for the first time?
How did the industrial revolution changed outside world?
Is Chinese government related to this event?
China had been flourishing for centuries and had always been a leading trading state and a significant power in Asia. But it China stagnated after the reign of Qiang Long for centuries and have only begun to rise in 1978. China stagnated and fell behind the west because of its isolation policy and absolute power system. China’s isolation policy in the Ming Dynasty ended the voyages of Zeng He and the potential for Chinese colonization. As a result, China did not have direct foreign influence and power over foreign land and its source of profit. Moreover, it was the wrong time for China to impose its isolation because it was after such policy when the West begun to rise by the Industrial revolution, which made the west powerful. Furthermore, China’s political system of absolute power of the emperor resulted in the decline of the Qing dynasty. In fact, Chinese power have always declined after a dynasty, because of weak emperors. But China weakened at the wrong time, in which the West was rising quickly in technology, economy, and maintained its foreign influence through colonization and imperialism. The following paragraphs will explore upon China’s isolation policy, China’s absolute power system of emperors, and the wrong time during which both occurred.
The policy of isolation was implemented in China during the Ming Dynasty and strengthened again under Qiang Long of Qing Dynasty. There were two effects of China’s isolation: First, it prevented China from colonizing foreign land. Second, China did not learn from the Western advancement. The voyages of Zeng He was contemporary with Columbus’s discovery of America. After the discovery of America, the western states continued to explore and eventually colonized and conquered America. On the other hand, Zeng He’s voyages ended because China begin the policy of isolation, which was opposite to the European states’ policy of imperialism, which tried to expand a state’s influence. As a result, Chinese exploration and voyages ended, while European states continued to gain wealth from the American colonies. A state’s power is the amount of influence or control it has over other states, in terms of economy, military, political, or cultural. Although European states’ colonies did not drastically led to the divergence, it foreshadows how the policy of isolation can affect the world.
During Qiang Long’s reign, the policy of isolation was again emphasized. But this time, the policy of isolation is much more detrimental to China. During the age of explorations, European power did not last because eventually, each of the colonies gained independence. But unlike policy of isolation during the age of explorations, Qiang Long’s policy of isolation coincided with the beginning of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution brought about urbanization, where people from rural area moved to urban area, because of the demand for labour in factories with the newly invented machines, which help made manufacturing products such as clothes much more efficient (schoolworkhelper.net, 2015, P1, 2, 3, 4). As a result, European produce grew. It was during this period of the industrial revolution when emperor Qiang Long reimposed the policy of isolation on China, causing China do miss out from the industrial revolution that had spread from England to other European states and the United States. As a result, European states, notably England and Germany, and the United States surpassed China’s power.
Emperor Qiang Long imposed the policy of isolation because of China’s economical, culture advancement and power of the time. China’s Qing Dynasty reached a golden age during the reign of emperor Kang Xi and Qiang Long, who were capable, shrewd emperors. It is inevitable for a dynasty to decline, despite its past prosperity. In the system of absolute power, encountering an incapable emperor is inevitable. After the reign of Kang Xi and Qiang Long, the policy of isolation continued, but the succeeding emperors were weak and incapable. Hence, China did not continue to prosper, but rather, begin to decline. All past Chinese dynasties had a beginning and an end, in which the dynasty grew weak and rebellion became prevalent. Just like all dynasties, the Qing dynasty stagnated and decline. It was during this dynastic decline when the Industrial revolution took place and China was surpassed by European states.
After the fall of Qing Dynasty, China was embedded in a civil war and the communist government’s reign. It was because the weakness of the Chinese government that lead China to fall behind the west. China’s weak emperors who are not skilled at ruling China did not keep China powerful by having bad government policies. For example, China did not care about trading with Britain, and wasn’t interested in importing British products except opium. (China Education Center Ltd., 2015, P3 and P4) Opium wasn’t banned effectively from China by the emperor, and as a result, its malignant effect penetrated all levels of the Chinese society. As a result, the system of a dynasty lead to the gradual weakening of the Qing government at the end of the dynasty, which contributed to China’s lost of power to the West.
Another example where the government’s system caused China to fall behind the west is the communist government. Trade was heavily restricted, and that free trade did not exist until the end of 1970s. As a result, ever since the communist government took over in 1949, China’s economy did not improve because of the lack of trade. During the same period, the United States and other Western States’ economy burgeoned and power grew. Furthermore, communist economical system lags China’s economy behind. Only when China undergone economic reforms that opened China to foreign trade and open market the in late 1970s (CSIS.org, 2015, P1 and P2) did its economy begin to grow. China’s urbanization was catalyzed, but still relatively low, showing how far China is from regaining its foothold. China’s rate for population in urban area is about 50% (wikipedia.org, 2015, P1), which was the United State’s erstwhile urbanization rate in the 1920s(wikipedia.org, 2015, P1). China’s government system played a big role that caused it to fall behind the West, as shown in the examples of a dynastic government and communist government.
China has had many dynasties in its history, but never had it fall behind so drastically from the West. It was spontaneous events of the implementation of isolation, weakening of the Qing government and mayhem, and the industrial revolution that caused the great divergence. China had stagnated multiple times before the fall of a dynasty. China did not grew weak because of Ming Dynasty’s policy of isolation. But China fell behind the West because of the Qing government’s policy of isolation and weak policy during the Industrial revolution, where great changes were made with the United States and Western Europe. China’s isolation policy during the Qing dynasty during the industrial revolution prevented China from following the trend like how the United States followed Britain’s. China’s weak government only made it more prone for the West to further weaken it, as demonstrated by the Opium Wars. In conclusion, China stagnated and fell greatly behind the West because of the mix of events: Policy of isolation, Qing Dynasty and communist government’s weakness, and the Wests’ industrial revolution. Today, after 30 years of open marked and foreign trade, China has caught up with the West as the second largest economy in the world.
References/Bibliography
KOJIMA, Reeitsu. 'URBANIZATION IN CHINA'. The Developing Economies 33.2 (1995): 151-154. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
N/a, N/a. 'China Economic Reform Timeline | Center For Strategic And International Studies'. Csis.org. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
N/a, N/a. 'Economic Changes During Industrial Revolution | Online Homework Help | Schoolworkhelper'. Schoolworkhelper.net. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
N/a, N/a. 'History Of Qing Dynasty - China Education Center'. Chinaeducenter.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
N/a, N/a. 'Urbanization In The United States'. Wikipedia. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Did China isolated for the first time?
How did the industrial revolution changed outside world?
Is Chinese government related to this event?
China had been flourishing for centuries and had always been a leading trading state and a significant power in Asia. But it China stagnated after the reign of Qiang Long for centuries and have only begun to rise in 1978. China stagnated and fell behind the west because of its isolation policy and absolute power system. China’s isolation policy in the Ming Dynasty ended the voyages of Zeng He and the potential for Chinese colonization. As a result, China did not have direct foreign influence and power over foreign land and its source of profit. Moreover, it was the wrong time for China to impose its isolation because it was after such policy when the West begun to rise by the Industrial revolution, which made the west powerful. Furthermore, China’s political system of absolute power of the emperor resulted in the decline of the Qing dynasty. In fact, Chinese power have always declined after a dynasty, because of weak emperors. But China weakened at the wrong time, in which the West was rising quickly in technology, economy, and maintained its foreign influence through colonization and imperialism. The following paragraphs will explore upon China’s isolation policy, China’s absolute power system of emperors, and the wrong time during which both occurred.
The policy of isolation was implemented in China during the Ming Dynasty and strengthened again under Qiang Long of Qing Dynasty. There were two effects of China’s isolation: First, it prevented China from colonizing foreign land. Second, China did not learn from the Western advancement. The voyages of Zeng He was contemporary with Columbus’s discovery of America. After the discovery of America, the western states continued to explore and eventually colonized and conquered America. On the other hand, Zeng He’s voyages ended because China begin the policy of isolation, which was opposite to the European states’ policy of imperialism, which tried to expand a state’s influence. As a result, Chinese exploration and voyages ended, while European states continued to gain wealth from the American colonies. A state’s power is the amount of influence or control it has over other states, in terms of economy, military, political, or cultural. Although European states’ colonies did not drastically led to the divergence, it foreshadows how the policy of isolation can affect the world.
During Qiang Long’s reign, the policy of isolation was again emphasized. But this time, the policy of isolation is much more detrimental to China. During the age of explorations, European power did not last because eventually, each of the colonies gained independence. But unlike policy of isolation during the age of explorations, Qiang Long’s policy of isolation coincided with the beginning of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution brought about urbanization, where people from rural area moved to urban area, because of the demand for labour in factories with the newly invented machines, which help made manufacturing products such as clothes much more efficient (schoolworkhelper.net, 2015, P1, 2, 3, 4). As a result, European produce grew. It was during this period of the industrial revolution when emperor Qiang Long reimposed the policy of isolation on China, causing China do miss out from the industrial revolution that had spread from England to other European states and the United States. As a result, European states, notably England and Germany, and the United States surpassed China’s power.
Emperor Qiang Long imposed the policy of isolation because of China’s economical, culture advancement and power of the time. China’s Qing Dynasty reached a golden age during the reign of emperor Kang Xi and Qiang Long, who were capable, shrewd emperors. It is inevitable for a dynasty to decline, despite its past prosperity. In the system of absolute power, encountering an incapable emperor is inevitable. After the reign of Kang Xi and Qiang Long, the policy of isolation continued, but the succeeding emperors were weak and incapable. Hence, China did not continue to prosper, but rather, begin to decline. All past Chinese dynasties had a beginning and an end, in which the dynasty grew weak and rebellion became prevalent. Just like all dynasties, the Qing dynasty stagnated and decline. It was during this dynastic decline when the Industrial revolution took place and China was surpassed by European states.
After the fall of Qing Dynasty, China was embedded in a civil war and the communist government’s reign. It was because the weakness of the Chinese government that lead China to fall behind the west. China’s weak emperors who are not skilled at ruling China did not keep China powerful by having bad government policies. For example, China did not care about trading with Britain, and wasn’t interested in importing British products except opium. (China Education Center Ltd., 2015, P3 and P4) Opium wasn’t banned effectively from China by the emperor, and as a result, its malignant effect penetrated all levels of the Chinese society. As a result, the system of a dynasty lead to the gradual weakening of the Qing government at the end of the dynasty, which contributed to China’s lost of power to the West.
Another example where the government’s system caused China to fall behind the west is the communist government. Trade was heavily restricted, and that free trade did not exist until the end of 1970s. As a result, ever since the communist government took over in 1949, China’s economy did not improve because of the lack of trade. During the same period, the United States and other Western States’ economy burgeoned and power grew. Furthermore, communist economical system lags China’s economy behind. Only when China undergone economic reforms that opened China to foreign trade and open market the in late 1970s (CSIS.org, 2015, P1 and P2) did its economy begin to grow. China’s urbanization was catalyzed, but still relatively low, showing how far China is from regaining its foothold. China’s rate for population in urban area is about 50% (wikipedia.org, 2015, P1), which was the United State’s erstwhile urbanization rate in the 1920s(wikipedia.org, 2015, P1). China’s government system played a big role that caused it to fall behind the West, as shown in the examples of a dynastic government and communist government.
China has had many dynasties in its history, but never had it fall behind so drastically from the West. It was spontaneous events of the implementation of isolation, weakening of the Qing government and mayhem, and the industrial revolution that caused the great divergence. China had stagnated multiple times before the fall of a dynasty. China did not grew weak because of Ming Dynasty’s policy of isolation. But China fell behind the West because of the Qing government’s policy of isolation and weak policy during the Industrial revolution, where great changes were made with the United States and Western Europe. China’s isolation policy during the Qing dynasty during the industrial revolution prevented China from following the trend like how the United States followed Britain’s. China’s weak government only made it more prone for the West to further weaken it, as demonstrated by the Opium Wars. In conclusion, China stagnated and fell greatly behind the West because of the mix of events: Policy of isolation, Qing Dynasty and communist government’s weakness, and the Wests’ industrial revolution. Today, after 30 years of open marked and foreign trade, China has caught up with the West as the second largest economy in the world.
References/Bibliography
KOJIMA, Reeitsu. 'URBANIZATION IN CHINA'. The Developing Economies 33.2 (1995): 151-154. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
N/a, N/a. 'China Economic Reform Timeline | Center For Strategic And International Studies'. Csis.org. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
N/a, N/a. 'Economic Changes During Industrial Revolution | Online Homework Help | Schoolworkhelper'. Schoolworkhelper.net. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
N/a, N/a. 'History Of Qing Dynasty - China Education Center'. Chinaeducenter.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
N/a, N/a. 'Urbanization In The United States'. Wikipedia. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.