Century of Humiliation 02

A 42-year-old unsuccessful Chinese man had a dream that Jesus had made him his younger brother. If a psychopath doesn't look crazy, how many sages can he make crazy? There was a time when seven million people worshipped him. Seven foreign powers surrounded Beijing with naval warships and the emperor fled. The Europeans looted and blew up, "Yuan Mingyuan", the preserver of 7000 years of Chinese history. Why? A patriotic Chinese offered to buy a rat and a rabbit for $40 million but later flatly declined. Why? Modern China rebuilt everything but a part of the palace was deliberately left in ruins. European powers obtained official permission to sell opium from China to China at gunpoint. The past century is a black spot for the Chinese which they call today a Century of Humiliation. How did China come out from the abyss of humiliation? Does it hold any lesson for us? This is the story, we have to tell you. How are you, friends! I, Faisal Waraich. A 23-year-old Chinese Hong Xiuquan Quan appeared thrice in the civil service exams and failed. He took the exam for the fourth time in 1837. But this time something was different. He failed and also became insane. Hong Xiuquan had a nervous breakdown and everything went haywire in his mind. A large part of the Chinese civil service comprised Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhist ideologies. It also included subjects on governance policies and calligraphy. Hong Xiuquan remembered all this well. But a new philosophy also got muddled in his mind along with other philosophies. A large part of his life had been spent in Guangdong, near the Chinese capital of Canton, and this was the province where English ships with landed opium and the missionaries. Western nations were also exporting Christian ideas to China. So Hong Xiuquan had heard a lot about Christianity from European Protestant pastors in Guangdong. He had also read a short book written in the local Mandarin language by a converted Chinese priest. The book dealt with Christian theology and philosophy from a Protestant angle. For these reasons, Hong Xiuquan had a half-baked knowledge of Christianity. Then it happened that the nervous breakdown created a mixture of Christianity, Confucianism, Chinese traditions,... governance and the shame of his failure in his mind that he began to have strange dreams. It happened during the day and night. When he would have a psychotic attack, he would think that an old woman was telling him that you have been chosen by God to lead the people. Sometimes even during the day he would lost in dreams and see an older man telling him to save his homeland from Satan, a demon. Mind you, Hong, who was having all these sick thoughts, had countless other deprivations. He was born in a very poor family and for him, the only way out of this poverty was to clear the civil service exam to change his life by becoming a part of the government. Thus, the door of power, honour and wealth in China could be opened for his family. But when he repeatedly failed in his efforts, he came to see the emperor, the Qing dynasty and the entire Chinese system as his enemy. You keep this background in mind, you can imagine how he should interpret his dreams. He interpreted that the older person I was seeing in my dream was Jesus and was advising me as an elder brother. From here he began to call and consider himself the younger brother of Jesus. Then, since his own personal suffering was related to the Qing dynasty, he concluded that the demons the elder brother was trying to save China from were the Qing emperor and his loyal courtiers. Although the fact was that at that time China was being looted by the British, French, Americans and Germans. But Hong Xiuquan considered the demons his own people but things did not end there. This psychopath made the world mad. Remember, if a psychic person does not appear to be crazy, many wise people become crazy in his attraction. So Hong Xiuquan convinced himself through the dreams during his psychic fits that he was indeed the younger brother of Jesus Christ. In 1843, he made this misunderstanding public. He started telling people to follow me because Jesus Christ leads me directly. And he tells me the difference between truth and falsehood. You understand me. Now he was not really a Bible scholar. So he mixed Chinese traditions with Christianity for his Chinese followers. Then, mixing his experiences and ideas with them, he adopted a new Sino-Christian Church. He also started preaching it. He was actually staging a rebellion against the emperor which was aided hugely by China's internal unrest. That is, at the time Hong was running this movement, the situation in China had become very bad due to lack of rains and increased agricultural taxes. Small rebellions broke out in many provinces without any central leadership. The Chinese had also grown tired of the emperor's 200-year rule. These angry people in a large number joined the new Sino-Christian religion of Hong Xiuquan. He was especially welcomed in the neighboring province of Guangxi. Here he immediately formed an armed fighters' gang and started robbing the rich. He called it equal distribution and after this plunder he considered it a duty to distribute the wealth among his poor fellows. The unsuccessful, the poor, the oppressed, opium-eaters, the ambitious and the rejected with all their deprivations fell to his sweat dreams. His soldiers killed large landowners, looted their warehouses and burned official records. All this would bring sudden wealth to his poor fellows. So the unemployed Chinese youth think this is a revolution. In just five years, these insurgencies spread and spread over an area of ​​six million square kilometres. This makes an area so large that two Englands of today can fit in it and is larger than the geography of present-day France or Spain. At the peak of this movement, its followers numbered around 70 million. The army alone of this rebel group also consisted of more than 1.2 million fighters. With so many followers and power, he then took the next step. In 1851, Hong Xiuquan declared himself the "Heavenly Emperor". He made Nanjing his capital in central China, 1,000 kilometres away and named his empire the "Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping". Taiping means "eternal peace" in the local language. This rebellion is also called "Taiping Rebellion" by the same name. A major reason for his success was that Hong Xiuquan abolished private ownership of land in large areas of his control. That is, long before Mao's revolution, the Chinese had experienced how the land of the big landowners could be taken away and distributed among the poor. Then Hong began to give equal rights to men and women for the first time in his empire. He had recruited more than a thousand women into the army. There were many other measures taken by him which increased his power and weakened the power of the Chinese emperor in comparison. The Qing army carried out military operations to crush the Taiping Rebellion several times, but each time they were defeated. Rather, now the reverse train had also started. The rebels had launched attacks to capture the capital, Beijing. Even in 1854, the Taiping Army rebel army had reached the Battle of Tianjung, only 100 miles from Beijing. It meant that instead of ending the Taipan Rebellion, the very existence Qing Dynast had become a flickering lamp. You knew in the previous episode that the Chinese government was also badly affected by the Western powers. You have seen how she defeated the Qing army in the "Opium Wars" and took control of their ports and exports. Under pressure, the Chinese emperor had also signed peace treaties with the Western powers that were completely against Chinese interests. Despite the fact that the Chinese emperor bowed to the Western powers, the Western military forces were not ready to help the emperor to crush the Taiping Rebellion. One of the reasons was that an element of Christianity was in the so-called Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping. The Western powers felt a mild sense of belonging with it. Then Hong Xiuquan also cleverly announced that he would give Europeans more trading rights in his empire than the Qing emperor. Keeping in view all these circumstances, you can easily understand that the emperor was being badly crushed on both sides. By 1860, the Chinese government was so badly besieged that Beijing had the Taiping Rebel Army on one side and British, American, German, French, and Chinese forces on the other. The British Army was leading the European forces and this time their demands were more insulting. They went far beyond the First Opium War agreement to demand trading rights. Among the rights they were demanding, three were the most important. One is to give them official permission to export opium to China, the other is to allow Christian preachers to build churches and churches in China. And thirdly, wherever the commercial ships of the Western Powers are anchored in Beijing, their warships should also be allowed to come. The United Western Powers surrounded Beijing in 1869 with these common terms. Their demand was to listen to us or else we will destroy Beijing brick by brick. The Anglo-French forces aggressively led this campaign against the weak Qing army. This situation led Emperor Xianfeng to flee Beijing to Qingdao for life. While his son Prince Gong remained in Beijing for dialogue with the British. The British and French forces sent some of their diplomats, businessmen, military commanders and a journalist to negotiate. The journalist who was sent was Thomas William Bowlby of the right-wing British newspaper The Times. This delegation of foreigners visited Beijing several times, but its members flatly refused to obey the traditions of the imperial court. They were neither willing to bow down in the court, nor did they care for the decorum practised in the royal court for centuries. Then these people used to roam around the city like spies. Remember at that time a rebellion against the Qing emperor was in full swing in central China. So the Chinese authorities viewed every move of the members of the Western delegation with suspicion. They doubted the Europeans deceiving them or clandestinely helping the rebels. That under the cloak of dialogue, they would come here to spy for the Taiping rebels. This was not the case as a mistake was also made by the Chinese. Chinese guards at one point arrested some soldiers of the Anglo-French delegation on suspicion of espionage. To extract alleged secrets from them, they were subjected to the same torture as enemy spies were subjected to in China. But here was a little problem. That is, not all those arrested were soldiers. Among them was Thomas William of The Times. The 42-year-old journalist could not withstand the interrogation and was soon killed. Anglo-French forces and European media used this tragic incident to threaten the Chinese with the worst possible outcome. Then they planned to hurt China in such a way that its wound has not been healed till date. It was another bittersweet occasion of the Chinese Century of The humiliation that is felt even today. There was a grand Old Summer Palace "Yuanmingyuan" near Beijing, a centre of Chinese culture, history and the Ming and Qing dynasties. 200 palaces, gardens, ancient libraries and museums were built in this one place amidst several colourful lakes. This was so spacious to accommodate 35 grounds, including, pavilions and shopping, of the size of today's Gaddafi or Mumbai Cricket Stadium. It had several parts. In one section, centuries-old history of China, statues, pictures and relics were preserved. It contained many antiquities related to Confucius and Buddha. The oldest known manuscripts of his teachings were. They were books and letters whose script had also disappeared by now. Millions of them were centuries-old books and papers whose writings had yet to be deciphered. There was also a separate garden of rare species of trees and plants from remote areas of China and around the world. A garden in which a special environment was created for each rare tree and plant. And to maintain this special environment there were special employees hired from all over the world. There were natural and artificial waterfalls, including a special Chinese limestone, which looks like a sponge, decorated in various natural forms. Some other palaces were made entirely of wood with designs and calligraphy on every inch. Even the ceilings were elaborately decorated and some rooms were so beautiful that the viewer could not get time to remove his sight from them. The oldest Buddha statues were also kept here. There were musical instruments made of precious stones. The jade flute was the most famous item among them. There was also a western mansion that was a model of Roman and Greek architecture. It had tall marble pillars and Greek style buildings. In this western mansion were kept all the gifts and antiquities, the European representatives brought to the Chinese emperor. In the midst of all this, there was one more very special thing. It was a central park with a huge fountain that was actually an ancient water clock. Around him were large bronze statues of the 12 animals according to the Chinese zodiac signs. Their lower parts were human and their heads were animal. Every two hours a fountain of water would come out of the animal's mouth and fall into the pool. Thus, the time could be known at any moment in the 24 hours of a day. For ages, this ship-sized water clock has amazed watchers. Because for one, it used to tell the time perfectly. Each sculpture was a masterpiece of Chinese and Western art in its own right. This was China's pride "Yuanmingyuan" Old Summer Palace. The British High Commissioner to China, the 8th Earl of Elgin, James Bruce, ordered that the Yuanmingyuan be first looted and then blown up. The Anglo-French army with 40 warships, 143 transport ships and 18,000 troops attacked Beijing. These forces marched straight to "Yuanmingyuan" and plundered it for three days. 18,000 English and French men stole valuable artefacts from the Yuanmingyuan and loaded them onto merchant ships. They looted whatever they could, and after that, they blew up the buildings of Yuanmingyuan with gunpowder. Gunpowder and cannons dismantled the palaces and rare limestone artefacts that had taken ages to build. If they could even steal the walls, palaces and rocks of Yuanmingyuan they would have definitely taken them to England on ships. But obviously, it was not enough for them to take the palace. The British Commissioner James Bruce Elgin, who committed this biggest theft in history, his father Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin,... had also committed a similar theft from the Ottoman Empire a few years earlier. He stole even the marble from the Parthenon, the iconic building in Athens that you've probably seen. A total of around 100 were valuable sculptures and pieces that he fraudulently lifted and took to Britain to create a private museum. At the time, Thomas Elgin was the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. Remember, in 1801, Athens was part of the Ottoman Empire. Well, you must appreciate James Bruce for keeping the traditions of the Elgin family alive. Rather, by making the biggest theft in history, he also left a difficult and big challenge for future generations. Well, this disaster and the Anglo-French attacks on Beijing once again forced the Chinese emperor to give up. This was the second opium war which again China lost. China had to pay a heavy price for this defeat. Many ports and islands were ceded to the Europeans and they were allowed to build large headquarters in important cities, including Beijing. And above all, the British now had royal permission to sell opium within China. The "Century of Humiliation" was in full swing in China. By the way, let me tell you that today China has meticulously rebuilt the "Yuanmingyuan" Old Summer Palace. However, a part of its destruction has been kept as a monument to keep the sign of barbarism of the European nations alive and the future generations should not forget the lesson of the "Century of Humiliation". The part they have left destroyed is the Western Garden, which was built in the European style to accommodate Europeans. The Old Summer Palace "Yuanmingyuan" has been rebuilt to its former glory. Copies of stolen artefacts have also been made. The historic 12-statue Warter Clock, which all were taken away by the Europeans, seven of which have been recovered. These are bull, tiger, monkey, pig, horse, rat and rabbit. Which have been returned to China in almost original condition. Most of them have been bought by rich Chinese people and returned to their country. Some families and auction houses which held their custody, have returned them to China seeing its growing power and influence. An interesting incident occurred in 2009 when two statues of a mouse and a rabbit stolen from "Yuanmingyuan" were put up for auction in Paris. When a Chinese businessman, Cai Mingchao, saw bidding for Chinese antiques as a humiliation of his nation he went to the auction and offered a bid of $40 million against the last bid of $ 17 million. The auction of $40 million was finalized. But when it came time to transfer the money, Cai Mingchao began to disparage the auction house in the media. He said what kind of auction house are you that sells stolen goods? I have saved the wealth of my country. It was my patriotism. This matter was so played up in the international media that the auction house failed to legally act against the Chinese businessman. So, the auction house sent both statues to China for free, as gifts. These are two of the seven statues that have been returned to China so far. The rest of the five, however, still do not know where they went. Among these missing statues are a dragon, a dog, a goat, a goat and a rooster. These are Missing, but China has made replicas of them as well. The purpose of this historical story is to highlight the time when China was being robbed by external forces and the Taiping Rebellion hollowed it internally. The Chinese empire, which had been established for thousands of years, was shaking, shaking, and tottering. In such a situation, the royal court took an unwanted but necessary step. When an agreement was reached with the Europeans on humiliating terms, the Chinese imperial court asked for the British help against the Taiping Rebellion. Interestingly, a crack has also come up in Hong Xiuquan's "Heavenly Kingdom" by that time. How it happened? It so happened that some of the military commanders and important leaders of Hong viewing the superstar success of Jesus Younger Brother, also began giving themselves some sacred titles. Some became the favourite of God, others the favourite friends of Jesus Christ and some called themselves the best companions of Jesus. When Hong gained so much power and fame by calling himself the younger brother of Jesus Christ, why hampered the rest from trying this simple formula? Because of this, Hong's hold on some areas was weakened to some extent. But even so, his forces were much more powerful, organized and loyal than the others. Millions of followers and devotees were still ready to die at a signal. In the meantime, seeing his grip weakening, he issued an order that made even the British his enemies. There was a moral consensus in China that opium should not be used. Hong could not go against this moral value. When the Qing emperor officially permitted the British to sell opium in China after his defeat in the Opium War, Hong Xiuquan said the emperor was weak. Look how powerful I am. I see who sells opium in my area. Now this was strictly against the business interests of the British. At the same time, the British also learned that the Qing Emperor and the court had now become their puppets. They thought that now we could persuade the emperor to do anything, so their interests lay in keeping the Qing dynasty rather than ending it. So they decided to help the Qing Emperor in crushing the Taiping Rebellion. They started providing arms, training and supply facilities to the Chinese forces. In the areas where the British had a trade network including the sale of opium, they also began to send secret letters. But in reality, more than the British, a rich Chinese Zheng Guofan, played a very important role in crushing the Taiping Rebellion. Zheng Guofan was already highly respected in China and was called China's Philosopher General. He used his wealth to raise a private Chinese "Shang Army", with soldiers mostly from his own province of Hunan. It was a very organized and loyal army that could fight better than the emperor's army. The Shang army also enlisted the help of the British commander of Shanghai, Charles Gordon, in some places. But the final battle in Nanjing against the brave army of Hong Shang, the younger brother of self-proclaimed Jesus, was fought by the same Chinese Shang army under the leadership of Zheng Guofan. At that time the British were not with them. It was during the last days of the battle that the Taiping Army dug long tunnels deep under the city of Nanjing. This is where they would hide, come back from here and then attack. The Shang army found the other end of these tunnels, filled it with gunpowder and waited for an opportunity. When thousands of Hong warriors came to hide in the tunnel, the Shang army blew up the tunnel. Then the Shang army also threw incendiary chemicals where the tunnel opened towards the city. Thousands of people from Hong were burned and buried in the dust. It was June 1864, and the Taiping forces were losing the Battle of Nanjing at the hands of a philosophical general. The defeat was in sight. From a high place, spiritual leader Hong was also watching the scene of defeat. The Shang forces were about to arrest the 52-year-old leader when he took out the poison from his sleeve and swallowed it. The self-proclaimed brother of Jesus, who had been hungry and thirsty for days, died in a few moments. Now he died instantly, but his few hundred followers did not give up. They made Hong's 15-year-old son their leader and continued the fight. But these were very few people. All of them were quickly killed or captured. Hong's 15-year-old son was captured and brought to Beijing and executed. By July 1864, the Taiping Rebellion had been completely crushed. The entire history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom came to an end in just 14 years. The Taiping Civil War was a major milestone in the Chinese century of shame, a historic victory, but it was also a great tragedy. That is because, during this civil war, the blood of 30 million Chinese had been shed at the hands of the Chinese. So many deaths in such a short period was a mind-boggling accident. Then the biggest symbol of Chinese grandeur, the Old Summer Palace "Yuanmingyuan" was also destroyed by foreign forces in their arrogance. The ashes of this grief smouldered in the heart of every Chinese. Chinese rulers, intellectuals and young people were wondering what had happened to them? After this destruction, they thought with a cool mind to find another way out of this abyss of humiliation. We cannot advance in the world only by fighting and killing. There were talks about modern reforms in China. Many solutions to the problem were proposed. Chinese intellectuals even consulted the occupying Western powers, the British, the French, and even the Germans. A major effort was made by the Chinese court. The young Prince Gong, who had unsuccessfully talked to the British, led the reform efforts. He was accompanied by the philosopher General Zheng Guofan, who crushed the Taiping Rebellion, and some others. He also developed an agenda called the Yangguo Yongdong "Self-Strengthening Movement". This agenda saliently underlined learning weapon technology from outside powers keeping the education system in line with Chinese traditions. This movement was great and had some initial success but then had a basic flaw and resistance by a powerful man. This man thwarted the first reform movement against the Century of Humiliation, to put China on its feet. This powerful person was none other than the Chinese Empress, the Emperor's mother. But why was it so? After all, she was in a problem by saving China? Then why did she start spending millions of pounds on very useless projects during these reforms? Why did she further ruin the already ruined economy? We will talk about this in the next Vlog and also why the German Emperor Wilhelm II threatened the Chinese that "we will put you in a condition that your future generations will not dare to look the Germans eye to eye." The century of Chinese humiliation is a lesson for all poor and developing nations. This story tells how a nation can stand tall even after being battered by a dozen external powers, facing internal turmoil, and losing millions. This story is a hope that merits watching by anyone who appreciates humanity and loves history. We have collected this story into this playlist for you. By touching here, you can see what was the story of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and here is the history of Pakistan from the establishment of Pakistan to the Musharraf era.