Century-of-Change-China-exhibit-catalog-1911-to-2011

The Empire and Its Discontents
At the beginning of the twentieth century, China was still reeling from the Taiping Rebellion, the Opium Wars, and
the first Sino-Japanese War of 1894–95. That war resulted in China’s losing Korea, Taiwan, the Pescadores, and the
Liaodong region of southern Manchuria. Additional losses for China included an indemnity payment of 200 million
taels and the forced opening of treaty ports.
In 1900, the antiforeigner Boxer Rebellion was led by the Yi He Quan (Righteous Harmonious Fists), on orders
from the empress dowager Cixi, the de facto ruler, to “protect the country and destroy the foreigners.” Twenty
thousand troops from an eight-nation alliance (Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States) defeated the resistance. In September 1901, the Qing court signed the Boxer
Protocol. Again, China was forced to foot the bill—450 million taels, almost double the government’s annual
income—and the eight nations would wrest even more concessions from China.
The gentry, landlords, and merchants in the provinces fought back, demanding local control of the new railways that
were funded by foreign companies. They succeeded, and in 1905, as part of the Railway Rights Recovery Movement,
the authority to manage the Sichuan-Hankou and Guangdong-Hankou railway lines was granted to the people of
Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan, and Guangdong Provinces.
Anxious about increasing provincial autonomy, the government countered by nationalizing China’s main railways,
igniting fury among the provincials, who resented the recentralization of the Qing court’s power, the loss of their
private investments, and the intrusion of foreign economic influence in China. The animus against the government
became violent and massive antigovernment riots spread rapidly throughout the southern provinces. Qing troops
clashed with demonstrators and public order broke down.
China was also plagued by natural disasters that ruined harvests and caused widespread famine. Massive social
strife, economic stagnation, military defeats, and expanded foreign concessions brought on national despair. When
the empress dowager died in 1908 and the emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi, a two-year old, ascended the throne, the Qing
Dynasty was on the verge of collapse.
滿清傾覆前的局勢
二十世紀初,中國仍未走出上一世紀的太平天國之亂、兩次鴉片戰爭、以及1894-1895年間中日甲午戰爭戰敗的
巨大陰影。甲午戰敗,中國失去了朝鮮半島、割讓了台灣、澎湖群島以及遼東半島。此外,中國在這些戰敗賠款
中損失了二億兩白銀,並且被迫開放各通商口岸。
1900年,義和團發起排外運動,在慈禧太后鼓勵下,義和團展開「扶清滅洋」的仇外運動,最後引發奧匈帝國、
法國、德國、意大利、日本、俄國、英國、美國等為數兩萬名的八國聯軍攻入北京城。1901年9月,清廷簽署辛
丑和約。中國再次被迫賠款四億五千萬兩白銀——這筆款項幾乎相當於清政府年收入的兩倍——而上述八個國家
也獲得更多在華特權。
與此同時,中國境內各省的士紳、地主與商人階級,面對外國在華勢力的擴張,奮力反擊,要求清廷收回外國公
司在華運營的新鐵路。1905年,「保路運動」取得部分勝利,川漢鐵路和粵漢鐵路的管理權交由湖南、湖北、四
川和廣東各省當局掌管。為避免助長各省自治傾向,清廷也開始採取鐵路國有化措施。
清政府此一措施,卻讓各省私人投資大量流失,也讓中國遭受外國經濟勢力的侵蝕,各省地方當局同時也反對清
廷再度中央集權。這種反政府的敵意,逐漸演變成為大規模暴亂,特別是在華南各省之間,快速蔓延。
清政府派軍隊鎮壓示威者,然而公共秩序也逐漸失控。此外,中國亦飽受天災與農產欠收之苦,飢荒氾濫。大量
的社會糾紛、經濟蕭條、軍事失利與外國在華特權擴展,讓整個中華民族陷於困境。 1908年,當光緒皇帝與慈禧
太后先後駕崩、兩歲的愛新覺羅·溥儀繼承皇位時,清王朝實已瀕臨崩潰邊緣。
10 Hoover Institution
A Century of Change: China 1911–2011
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