Revise paper-What Was The Impact Of The Qing Seclusion Policy

What Was The Impact Of The Qing Seclusion Policy Yinghao Zhu Saint Francis University

Throughout the majority of its rule, the Qing Empire was known to be both powerful and self-sufficient in terms of politics and economy, mostly due to the fact that they continued the legacy of the previous ruling dynasties and maintained strong trade relations with the Western world. However, it is during the reign of the Qing dynasty exactly that China came into formal contact with the European world for the first time (Patel, 2012). The economic transactions of China with the Europeans, which included silks, spices, and other goods that the Europeans coveted, helped to maintain Qing’s status as the most economically prosperous nation and gave the empire an upper hand in dealing with the foreign merchants and traders. However, as the Western world underwent a tremendous change in the 19th century, toward the later years of the rule of the Qing Empire, the isolationist trade policies of the dynasty undermined its position as the biggest economy and the desire to preserve the conservative royal system ultimately led to China’s decline in economic, political, and technological power as well as repeated humiliation in wars against the West.

The central idea of the “seclusion policy” was China’s confidence in its own economy and the belief that it was “the only civilization under heaven” (Qu, 2016), the attitude that it referred to as Sinocentrism. According to Patel (2012), the Qing Empire displayed no concern for the potential threat of the European powers and did not make an effort to be properly informed of the foreign affairs that did not have an immediate connection to the Qing Empire itself. The later decision to restrict all contact with the foreigners came with the fear of Chinese that the developing capitalist ideas of the Western world were going to undermine the royal and the feudal system of the Qing Empire. However, what China failed to predict was that the policy of seclusion would become an obstacle for China’s technological, political, and economic development in the conditions of the changing dynamics within the global economy and trade relations.

While the West and Europe, in particular, went through a powerful industrial revolution, China struggled to maintain the ancient order that stood little chance against the technological advancements of the West as well as its desire for resources. The Opium War between China and the West revealed the extent of China’s lack of technological progress, which made it an easy target for the steadily technologically and militarily developing British Empire. The Self-Strengthening movement failed as China continuously lost against foreign military attacks. The first Opium War and onwards, China suffered defeat against the British and the French, mainly due to the maritime military weakness (Po, 2013). As a result, the late Qing China is considered to have fallen victim to British imperialism because of its failure to ensure the strength of their navy in sea battles.

On the other hand, in modern times, the history of the collapse of the Qing Empire is being revisited and, according to Patel, the progress within the last ruling dynasty of China did occur. Both Patel and Po insist that the focus on China’s inability to accept the changing reality is selective and that there were much more serious reasons of Chinese navy’s fall in the Opium Wars and the ultimate decline of the late Qing’s power. As such, Patel (2012) argues that in the constricting circumstances of the traditional conservative political system of China, the Qing Empire did, in fact, adapt to the changing tide of the global relations, which is evidenced by the fact that it remained intact for as long as it did. Among the significant shifts in China’s consideration for foreign affairs was the establishment of Zongli Yamen, the formalized political department that was responsible for handling foreign affairs (Patel, 2012). Patel asserts that within the context of China’s conservatism and inward orientation, Zongli Yamen was the significant change that demonstrated the Qing’s ability to adapt to the changing dynamics of global relations. Additionally, the Qing demonstrated the ability to acknowledge and learn from past mistakes, when it entered a partnership with Britain and adopted a number of Western trade policies to solidify the trade relations with Korea, in contradiction to the traditional attitude of China toward Korea as a tributary nation.

To conclude, it is evident that Qing’s seclusion policy was the central reason that led to the ultimate demise of China’s royal system and its decline as a superior economy. The consequences for China were tremendous, both on a national and international arena. On the national level, China was forced to reconsider its political principles and foreign policies. More than that, its status, confidence, and pride as the nation that had prospered for thousands of years and was “the only civilization under heaven” were crushed, when it turned out that the Qing Empire was weak and defenseless against the rising power of the West. At the same time, it is possible to state that the far-reaching consequences of the Seclusion Policy were not entirely negative. Despite taking a tremendous blow and being reduced in power, China got the opportunity to assess its real position on the global arena and become more open to change and progress, without which the country would not have been able to keep up with the other countries in the modern times.

References

Patel, R. (2012). A Review of Dissertations: The revisionist debate of foreign policy in late Qing China. Emory Endeavors In World History, 4. Retrieved from http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume4/Patel.pdf

Po, C. (2013). Conceptualizing the Blue Frontier: The Great Qing and the Maritime World in the Long Eighteenth Century (Ph.D.). Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg.

Qu, J. (2016). Self-Strengthening Movement of Late Qing China: an Intermediate Reform Doomed to Failure. Asian Culture And History, 8(2), 148. doi: 10.5539/ach.v8n2p148