Empire of China
Empire of China | |
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 Flag
 Imperial Seal
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Anthem: 鞏金甌 Gǒng Jīn'ōu "Cup of Solid Gold" | |
 Location of the Empire of China
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| Capital | Nanjing |
| Official languages | Standard Chinese |
| Religion | Shendao, Buddhism, Christianity |
| Demonym(s) | Chinese |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Emperor | Zhu Jian |
• Prime Minister | Zhao Li |
| Legislature | Imperial Diet |
| House of Peers | |
| House of Representatives | |
| Establishment | |
• Guiyou Restoration | 6 June 1873 |
• Promulgation of the Constitution | 21 March 1891 |
• Abdication of Guangxu | 14 May 1896 |
• Sino-Russian War | 4 July 1896 |
• Treaty of Wuding | 28 December 1897 |
| Area | |
• Total | 5,780,000[a] km2 (2,230,000 sq mi) |
| Currency | Chinese yuan |
| Time zone | UTC+6 to +9 |
| DST is not observed | |
The Empire of China (Chinese: 中華帝國, Zhōnghuá Dìguó), also known simply as China, is a country in East Asia. Its capital and largest city is Nanjing. It administers the inner territories (neidi), which is divided into 26 provinces and two prefectures, and the outer territories (waidi), consisting of Heilongjiang, Beihai, and Nanyang. China is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, led by the emperor, the head of state, and the head of government, the prime minister. Its legislature, the Imperial Diet, consists of an upper house, the House of Peers, and a lower house, the House of Representatives.
The Empire of China was established in 1873 following the Guiyou Restoration, which restored Han control over much of China proper. Large-scale swift reforms, with the intention of modernizing and industrializing the country, commenced. Under Li Wenqi, power was wrestled away from the aristocracy and consolidated into the Cabinet, and various government organs, such as the Imperial Diet, were established to limit the power of the Imperial Court. In 1894, China entered the Qing–Japan War, annexing Beijing and the Liaodong Peninsula. Soon after, China swiftly annexed the rest of China proper and much of Manchuria. Subsequently, under the leadership of Song Zhaobo, China launched numerous military campaigns against its neighbors, greatly expanding the empire. After Zhao Li succeeded Song Zhaobo as prime minister, the government refocused on internal development, boosting the economy.
China is the most populous country in the world. It boasts a fast-growing economy and is one of the largest in the world. It is an industrialized nation with an advanced economy. It has one of the world’s largest militaries, and is a major power in Asia. It is the founding member of the East Asian Alliance.
History
Background
At the turn of the 19th century, China, ruled by the Qing dynasty, had become involved in foreign relations with Europe. In 1794, the White Lotus Rebellion broke out, weakening the country. At the same time, Britain, interested in Chinese goods, had started trading with China via Canton, the only port open to the West. As China had little demand for European goods, Europe paid in silver. To prevent large quantities of silver from flowing into China, Britain looked to opium, a drug that was growing in large quantities in India, as an alternative. Large amounts of opium poured into the country, causing much of the Chinese population to become addicted to the drug. To preserve the trade in silver and restrict the trade of opium, the Daoguang Emperor ordered an end to the opium trade. This resulted in the First Opium War, which culminated with a humiliating Chinese defeat, due to their lack of superior Western technologies. China was ordered to pay hefty concessions to Britain, and was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing, the first of the "unequal treaties".
Qing defeat in the First Opium War provoked numerous rebellions across the country, and fostered anti-Manchu sentiment. These included the Taiping Rebellion, which killed nearly one-tenth of the Chinese population, the Miao Rebellion, the Panthay Rebellion, and the Dungan Revolt. These uprisings destroyed much of the country, and the Qing government's income was drained. In 1856, on suspicion of piracy, the Qing government seized the Arrow, a British-registered vessel in Hong Kong. This triggered the Second Opium War, which ended once again with a humiliating Chinese defeat, forcing China to sign the Treaty of Tientsin, another one of the unequal treaties.
The Qing government was made weak and had fallen largely to the hands of European nations, and public discontent increased. The Qing attempted to modernize their country, beginning the Self-Strengthening Movement and the Tongzhi Restoration. However, these attempts proved futile, and European powers continued to have significant influence in China, while its border territories were slowly being ceded to Western nations.
Dissatisfied with the Qing government and influenced by Western ideas, a group of intellectuals, led by Qi Xiang, secretly formed in Guangzhou in 1864. Growing Chinese nationalism and dissatisfaction with the Qing government, combined with anti-Manchu and anti-Western sentiment, greatly helped the intellectuals' cause. After the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the intellectuals grew increasingly dissatisfied with the Qing government, and wished to emulate Japan's efforts to modernize their country. They joined hands with various other anti-Qing groups, including those who were monarchists and seeked to put the Marquis of Extended Grace on the throne, and established the Xinzhonghui. Led by Wang Yiquan, the Xinzhonghui secretly organized a rebel force, the Xinzhongjun. Some European countries, such as Britain and France, offered to sell weapons to the rebels. In 1873, a branch of the rebel army left for Nanjing.
Guiyou War
On April 14, 1873, a band of rebels surrounded the Guangdong governor's yamen in Guangzhou, leading to an armed military confrontation known as the Guangzhou Uprising. Rebel forces successfully captured the governor's yamen, and their leader, Yang Guangfu, took over the yamen, declaring Guangdong independent. Meanwhile, on April 15, rebel forces led by Wang Yiquan captured the city of Nanjing. The Marquis's family, oblivious to the uprisings, was promptly arrested by the Qing government in Beijing. When news of this reached Wang Yiquan, he promptly installed Zhu Jian, one of the Marquis's relatives in Nanjing, as emperor, and the Empire of China was declared.
On July 27, Li Henian, the Viceroy of Min-Zhe, declared loyalty to the rebels and formally seceded from the Qing. With his support, the rebels were able to take over Suzhou, and Zhang Shusheng, the Governor of Jiangsu, and Li Zongxi, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, submitted to the rebels. With their support, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan provinces were swiftly captured. Wu Tang, Viceroy of Sichuan, declared loyalty to the new Empire and seceded from the Qing dynasty. He ordered his troops to march into Yunnan, but were defeated by Qing troops. On 14 October, Xinzhongjun forces advanced into Yunnan, and Yunnan finally fell to the rebels. Shandong fell to the rebels in the pivotal Battle of Jinan, and the Treaty of Baoding was signed on 18 March, 1874, which formally ended the Guiyou War.
Yongguang era (1873–present)
On 19 October, 1873, Zhu Jian, the Yongguang Emperor, was enthroned at the Liangjiang Viceroy's Office in Nanjing. Wang Yiquan was installed as the first prime minister in 1874, and Xinzhonghui members quickly filled important government posts. Under the principles of the Xinzhonghui, China entered a time period of rapid modernization.
In 1875, China sent a diplomatic mission to Europe in the hopes of aiding modernization. The new government did not try to renegotiate the "unequal treaties", out of fears that it would be unsuccessful and would damage relations with European countries. With influence from Japan, China spent large amounts of resources to speed up modernization, putting the government in a great deal of debt. To reduce unnecessary spending, government construction projects were halted.
Because of the mass destruction of settlements and depopulation from prior rebellions and increased urbanization, there was a large need to rapidly build many new buildings. New buildings were also heavily influenced by ancient styles. As a result, new buildings were largely made of wood.
Meanwhile, much like Japan, the Chinese government hired foreign advisors to modernize the country, and government systems were based on Germany. However, China also sent many of their own observers to Europe. The Zhang Zongjian Mission was sent to bring knowledge about European technologies. The government was westernized, and a constitution was promulgated in 1893. However, nationalists criticized many westernization efforts, and thinkers of the era were greatly influenced by the ideas of fugu zhuyi, and cultural changes were largely efforts to restore the past. Anti-Manchu policies, such as the banning of the queue and Manchu clothing, as well as mass deportations of Manchus, were instated across the country.
Government and politics
China is a unitary state and semi-constitutional monarchy, and the country is governed based on the Constitution. Originally an absolute monarchy, with the promulgation of the Chinese Constitution, establishing a democratically elected legislature, the Emperor's powers were greatly reduced. However, the Imperial House's influence in the legislature still survives in the House of Peers, the upper house of the Imperial Diet, the legislature.
China's government is divided into three branches. Executive power is held by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The Prime Minister is elected by the Imperial Diet and approved by the Emperor. The Emperor is also able to dismiss the Prime Minister and dissolve parliament at any time. The Imperial Diet is the bicameral legislature of China, consisting of the House of Representatives and the House of Peers. The House of Representatives contributes 610 seats, elected single non-transferable vote. The House of Peers consists of certain members of the nobility and some other appointed members. The current ruling party is the Constitutional Democratic Party, with Zhao Li serving as the Prime Minister.
Following the Guiyou Restoration, a need to modernize China's legal system became apparent. In 1899, a civil code was promulgated, based on the Japanese civil code, historical Chinese codes, and various European codes. Following Japan's example, China rapidly codified multiple legal codes. China's supreme legal document is the Constitution, adopted in 1891 and largely based on the Japanese constitution. The Constitutional Court is in charge of constitutional review, and constitutes one of the three courts of last resort, along with the Supreme Court and the Supreme Administrative Court.
Notes
- ↑ Including waidi
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This page uses material from the Wikipedia page China, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). |
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This page uses material from the Wikipedia page Empire of China (1915–1916), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (view authors). |