Fall of the Last Dynasty Trivia Quiz

Answer: the Thirteen Factories

The Thirteen Factories was the area in Guangzhou/Canton established by then current emperor, Kangxi. Thirteen was the number of sub-areas to service foreign trade (these were mostly split up between different Western nations though other entities such as the East India Company also had their own areas), and 'factories' meant trading posts. Before the Industrial Revolution, many trading posts were referred to as factories whose only function was to act as a "base" where organized trade would be facilitated. Of course, the Chinese still had ultimate control of Thirteen Factories instead of Europeans.

This would later change later on as the gap between the East and the West swung to the West.

Answer: a religious group that was angered by high taxes and foreign rule

The White Lotus Society was a Buddhist secret society that can trace its roots back to the Yuan Dynasty. It can be said that the White Lotus Rebellion was the turning point of Qing China's development, throwing it into a series of disastrous events and further decline. Early into the war, the White Lotus Society had managed to pull off impressive victories against the Chinese Army.

This was due to the actions of the corrupt official, Heshen. Heshen stole large amounts of public funds and raised taxes sharply, culminating in the White Lotus Rebellion that would lead to the deaths of many people and contributing to the beginning of a long decline.

Answer: Lin Zexu

Lin Zexu is remembered for his stalwart opposition against the illegal British opium smuggling into China. His efforts led to the arrests of hundreds of opium smugglers and the confiscation of millions of pounds of opium. He organized the destruction of much of the British opium in China by having it washed away by the ocean tides. Yet he also made several diplomatic attempts to end the opium trade, such as attempting to negotiate with companies to exchange the opium with tea and even sending a letter to Queen Victoria to try to persuade her to end the opium trade.

However, this led to the First Opium War (1839-1842) and the Treaty of Nanjing, humiliating the Chinese by forcing them to give many concessions to the British such as money, the opening of ports, Hong Kong, etc. Lin Zexu was exiled to Xinjiang, a mountainous/hilly region of China, covered mostly in desert, where he would spend much of the last years of his life.

Answer: Hong Xiuquan

Hong Xiuquan is an interesting historical figure. It is possible that he may have had a mental collapse due to continuous failures of the civil service exams. He was exposed to Christianity after hearing a priest preaching in Guangzhou prior to the last civil service examination he took (and failed). Though he had been given translated texts of the Bible by the Chinese Protestant missionary, Liang Fa, months later he claimed that he had visions of God telling him to purify China of its "demonic" religious practices and as a result, began to destroy old Chinese religious objects and to preach his beliefs to the people.

His early converts included many who had also failed the civil service examinations. They later rose to high positions in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom . Yet this group eventually conflicted with the Qing Dynasty which attempted to dissolve the religious group due to its quick accumulation of power and influence, due to a growing resentment of the Qing government.

This led to a long, bloody war in which millions of Chinese, mostly civilians, perished and also left Qing China very weak. Hong Xiuquan later captured the major city of Nanjing and destroyed many cultural buildings and artifacts such as the Porcelain Tower.

He based the capital of the kingdom there and continued to wage his offense northwards. He was however, stopped at the Battle of Shanghai. This battle had caught the attention of Europeans and led to foreign assistance being given to China against the rebels - a major turning point in the war. The Taiping Rebels were pushed back by superior arms and tactics. Hong soon died in 1864 along with his rebellion.

Answer: Britain and France

Both Britain and France fought China in the Second Opium War. While Britain was the first nation to go to war with China in the Second Opium War, France also declared war later on. Britain's 'casus belli' was that Qing officials had boarded a ship called the Arrow and detained its crew on suspicion of smuggling.

The British claimed the ship belonged to them and therefore wasn't under Chinese jurisdiction and demanded the crew to be released, butt the Chinese denied Britain's claims. France's 'casus belli' revolved around the execution of Auguste Chapdelaine, a French missionary.

The war ended with the Treaty of Tientsin, legalizing opium, opening more ports to foreign trade, placing legations within the capital city of Beijing, compensation for damage, and other concessions.

Answer: the Self-Strengthening Movement

The Self-Strengthening Movement was a series of reforms taking place in a period of a little more than 30 years. These reforms involved equipping the Chinese Army and Navy with Western weapons, the construction of Western factories, and hiring foreigners to assist in Chinese modernization.

While these reforms had been supported by Prince Gong of China and several other pragmatic officials, they were only a small majority of the ruling party. Most of the aristocrats were Sinocentric and conservative in thinking and still adhered strongly to Confucian beliefs and the idea that the Chinese were still superior to the Western "barbarians". One notable conservative was the Empress Dowager Cixi, arguably one of history's most influential females, whose influence had limited the success of these reforms.

She had also taken money from the budget in order to build or rebuild palaces, and China's military and long term economy declined.

Answer: Fuzhou

It was during the Battle of Fuzhou, a battle taking place around Mawei Harbor (Mawei being a small port town under the city of Fuzhou's administration) that these events took place. Nine of China's most advanced ships were quickly destroyed within half an hour, with other ships participating in the battle receiving heavy damage.

After the battle the French led by Admiral Amédée Courbet decided it was necessary to destroy the Foochow Arsenal (Foochow being what the modern city of Fuzhou used to be referred to). Ironically the naval shipyard had been built by Frenchmen.

This facility was also not just involved in ship-making but also had a naval academy that taught naval engineering, navigation, naval tactics, and other sea oriented topics. The destruction of this facility crippled China's naval power and more importantly, naval production, for years to come.

Answer: to establish an independent Korean state from China

The Japanese had wanted to take Korea out of China's influence. This is because Japan believed that China was too weak to withstand any possible attack from a Western power to seize Korea which would present a threat to Japan's borders. The Korean Peninsula also offered key iron and coal deposits that would help fuel Japan's growing industries. During the First Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese easily defeated the Chinese Army and Navy, causing heavy casualties for the Chinese at very little cost in Japanese casualties.

The Chinese losses included the destruction of the Beiyang Fleet, a fleet of China's most advanced ships and heavy losses to the Beiyang Army, China's most advanced land force in terms of equipment and training.

Answer: the Boxer Protocol

The Boxer Protocol was the treaty imposed on China after the rebellion. The Chinese government had to pay 450 million taels to the nations the Boxers had targeted as remuneration. Payments continued even after the establishment of the Republic of China. Further terms of the treaty included: a total shutdown of arms manufacturing and imports for at least two years, the Beijing Legation Quarter was now an area outside Chinese jurisdiction, the Chinese Emperor had to give official apologies to several nations and allow foreign soldiers to occupy lands where foreigners had been targeted ...

Answer: the Xinhai Revolution

The Xinhai Revolution was the end of the Qing Empire. As the Tongmenghui, led by Dr. Sun Yat Sen was comprised of socialists, democrats, nationalists, and others, the revolution couldn't be branded with a name that associated it with a single political faction.

Despite what would happen in years to come, both left-wingers and right-wingers had united to overthrow the monarchy in what was actually a much less bloody conflict than many previous rebellions and attempted revolutions. This war ended with the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor (also known as Puyi) and the establishment of the Republic of China.

However, this peace did not last as General Yuan Shikai later tried to retake the country and establish a new Chinese monarchy under his rule.