The Hakkas versus the PuntisHakkas, who were treated as minorities and marginalized, immigrated to southern China where the Puntis were present. At first, the cohabitation of the two groups was sufficiently peaceful, but as the populations of Hakkas dramatically increased, so did the tension between the two groups as competition for farming became evident. Feuds arose and eventually bloody clashes of the clans arose. The Puntis greatly outnumbered the Hakkas, as tragic losses on both sides occurred with the Hakkas receiving the greater of the punishments. Internal conflicts like this helped fuel the Taiping movements from 1850 to 1964 (China's Age of Fragility.)
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The Nian Rebellion
Continual rebellions followed, one of which was the Nian Rebellion which arose due to economic instability. Following the disastrous flood of the Yellow River in 1851, the Qing government was unable to provide sufficient aid to the affected people because of the earlier war with Great Britain and the occurring Taiping Rebellion. The dissatisfied commoners were only punished more when the Yellow River flooded again in 1855 with the government once again unable to provide aid to the victims. This further fueled the flames of the Nian movement, and more commoners began seeing the Qing government as economically incompetent and weak (China's Age of Fragility.)
Economic Effects of ConflictsThe 19th century experienced many economic crises throughout, and while many of the rebellions and movements that were spurred from these crises attempted to improve the economic status, only backfire was experienced as deaths and suffering ensued. The Qing government, put in a precarious predicament, could not contend with multiple challenges attacking them concurrently. Difficulty with foreign relations among various nations, multiple natural disasters, and simultaneous rebellions were overwhelming for the Qing government, as any of those factors would often lead to economic challenges for any government. Dependence on foreign help to provide for the Qing armies occurred, and even with this dependence the armies were too stretched out to sufficient perform their duty against the various rebellions. Additionally, military funds became deficient due to reparations from wars such as the eventual Sino-Japanese War and the series of Opium Wars. These economic challenges were ultimately showcased during the Boxer movement at the turn of the 20th Century as the international forces humiliated China once again and forced them to agree to the Boxer Protocol, just another very disadvantageous signing placed upon a struggling China (Economy of China.)
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Effects on the Future Chinese Economy
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With the constant challenges that the Qing Dynasty faced during the 19th century, the people of China were much more open to a governmental change, even if that change was considered to be radical. The Qing Dynasty's difficulties eventually led to Sun Yat-sen’ call for a republican government as the KMT was established in 1912. However, the fall of the dynastic system lead to regional power rises which continued the national instability. Chiang Kai-shek was able to reunite most of China in 1928 through the Nationalist Party but eventual slipped through the economic cracks as World War II disturbed the long-lost stability. Commoners, discouraged by repeatedly failing governments, were attracted by the rise of the Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist Party, which established itself in 1949 over the Nationalist Party.
References:
Images
Anonymous. (1876). Opening Day Ceremony of the Woosung Road. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rail_transport_in_China#mediaviewer/File:OpeningDay.jpg. Image used under Public Domain.
Robert S. Donovan. (2011). Yan'an Elevated Road Huashan Road Jingan Park. Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yan%27an_Elevated_Road_Huashan_Road_Jingan_Park.jpeg. Image used under No Derivs.
"19th Century China" Title by Kurt Corsbie used under Public Domain.
Pryaltonian. (2008). Qing Dynasty 1820. Retrieved from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Qing_Dynasty_1820.png. Image used under ShareAlike.
Fobos92. (2014). Hakka distribution in mainland China and Taiwan by Fobos92. Retreived from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hakka_people#mediaviewer/File:Idioma_hakka.png. Image is used under ShareAlike.
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Qing China's Internal Crisis: Land Shortage, Famine, Rural Poverty. (2009, January 1). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1750_demographic.htm
Clashing with the foreign devils. (2011, February 19). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://www.economist.com/node/18175331
How 19th Century History Explains Present-Day China. (2013, September 6). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/09/how-19th-century-history-explains-present-day-china/279433/
Foreign imperialism in China. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/foreign-imperialism-in-china/
Economy of China. (2014, June 12). Retrieved December 2, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_China
China's Age of Fragility. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2014, from http://www.historytoday.com/robert-bickers/chinas-age-fragility