Century of Humiliation 04

International forces imposed a fine of 60 $ billion on China in 40 years, but China did not even have 10 percent of it. The German emperor ordered his army to teach the Chinese a lesson that they would remember even after a thousand years. Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the greatest leader of the revolution, got the news of his success from the next day's newspaper. Why was the last emperor of the Dragon Throne crying? The liberal democrats had launched a successful revolution in China, but within six weeks everything was out of their hands. European powers obtained official permission to sell opium from China to China at gunpoint. The past century is a stigma for China, which it calls today the Century of Humiliation. How did China get out of the abyss of humiliation? Can we learn anything from the ordeal of China? This is the story we have to tell you. How are you, friends? I, Faisal Warraich. Boxers had beaten Chinese Christian pastors and foreign citizens, but as soon as the forces of eight countries came to fight, they ran away. Among the forces that came to help the foreigners in the legation quarters in Beijing were 20,000 soldiers from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, America, Japan, Austria, Hungary and Italy. The German soldiers were the angriest in this alliance. Then the German Emperor was Kaiser Wilhelm II. While sending the forces to China, he said not to hesitate to arrest any Chinese and not to spare anyone. To teach them such a lesson that for the next thousand years the Chinese will remember not to look at a German with an evil eye. So this was the mode in which these soldiers came to China. Then they had better weapons and in tactics, they were also far ahead of the Chinese. They forced the Boxers to flee within hours, evicted the foreigners trapped in the Legation Quarters, and captured Beijing. Boxers who were caught were tied to wooden planks, paraded through the streets and beheaded. Not only in Beijing, but also in other cities, the heads of boxers were cut off and placed on the pillars of crosses and bridges. Parts of the Summer Palace that had been repaired by Chinese experts were once again destroyed by Westerners. Mass murders and rapes of women were so common that Western reporters were embarrassed to write about their own forces. However, they continued to report such reports about the Japanese and Russians. Because they did not want that in their so-called civilised societies see such horrible faces of their own people at the breakfast tables. But they were committing atrocities like all the savages. Friends, Empress Cixi, who had also imprisoned the emperor, fled from Beijing, which was the worst defeat of the Manchu dynasty, established 2500 years ago, for the Qing emperor. The Chinese people, in general, had now become completely disillusioned with the Manchus. Peasant revolts were taking place all over China and there was talk of expelling the Manchus from Beijing. Under these circumstances, Empress Cixi, for the sake of saving her government, signed another treaty with foreign powers on humiliating terms. This is known in history as the "Boxer's Protocol". Accordingly, China had to pay an indemnity of 450 million silver taels, which means that it had to pay a fine that is $60 billion in today's terms. This money was to be paid in instalments over the next 40 years , and since the Qing court did not have this money, it had to borrow it from eight foreign powers. Then in subsequent years this principal penalty was also to be paid with interest. Friends, the irony was that as the days passed, foreign powers refused to give loans to China. That is, China had to pay a penalty of $60 billion by imposing more taxes on its people. China continued to pay installments of this humiliating agreement until 1930, then the global situation changed and many countries waived the indemnity. But by then China had paid much more than the actual indemnity. Well, after this humiliating first condition, the next condition was that foreign forces would now be permanently present in Beijing to protect its citizens. That is, the Forbidden City was no longer forbidden even for foreigners. Then the fortress in Tianjing, which was the main military post on the way to Beijing, was pulled down. Then, China was banned from importing weapons from abroad. Then China was also put through the shame of having the Emperor not only apologize for the murder of the German ambassador , but send an apologetic diplomatic mission to officially visit all these countries and apologise separately. whose foreign offices were located in the legation quarters, and were killed. After all these terms were signed, the Manchu dynasty regained control of Beijing. But now, what value was left with this government? The Chinese were ascribing every natural disaster to it. Unfortunately, the calamities continued to occur with heavy losses. As torrential rains and floods occurred in 1906, the Hoi River overflowed and destroyed both crops. The following year, in 1907, China suffered its worst famine. In that one year, up to 25 million Chinese died of famine. The Chinese considered their bad fortune to be the sin of the Manchus, the Qing emperor, that the holy spirits had become angry with us because of them. In the following year, 1908, Empress Cixi became very ill. She was well over 72 years, and didn't think she would survive. But even then if was more concerning for her than her own life that no one should change her obsolete conventions after her death. That is, the imprisoned Emperor Guangshu is freed and starts Western-style reforms again. So, before some time before her death, she appointed Emperor Guangshu's nephew "Poyi" as emperor, and completed the necessary arrangements with his loyalists. She died on November 15, 1908. You may think about the imprisoned Chinese Emperor "Guanshu after the new emperor was appointed. So friends, the captive Emperor Guangshu was poisoned to death the day before Empress Cixi's death. Although his death was shown to be natural, everyone in the kingdom believed that the 35-year-old emperor was murdered. It was known that a powerful Manchu general of the North Yuan Shikai poisoned Emperor Guangshu in collusion with Empress Cixi. Because the Empress was sick and about to die, but this general supported the Empress the most in thwarting the 100 Days Reform. General Yaun Shi Kai believed that after the death of the empress, Emperor Guangshuo would surely come out of prison, and among the first on whom his axe will fall, he would certainly be there. So, to save their own life and to continue Empress Cixi's policies, they both planned to poison the emperor. Let me tell you guys, in the beginning it was just a historical guess, but in 2003, China set up a history commission to write the history of the Manchu Dynasty. The commission also comprised scientists and archaeologists. A sub-commission was set up specifically to investigate the cause of Emperor Guangshu's death. This sub-commission, from the body of Emperor Guangshu and from the bodies of other royal members buried around his death, some samples of their hair, bones and stomach. Some fragments of the coffins were also obtained and all were chemically examined. For five years, research was done from every angle. This proved that the amount of arsenic in the emperor's hair was 2000 times more than that of a normal person. Thus other lengthy details were also revealed which proved that the emperor was poisoned. Exactly 100 years after Emperor Guangshu's death, in 2008, the suspicions of the people of that time were proved to be correct. The next year after the death of Emperor Guangshu, in September 1908, when the coronation of Emperor Puyi was taking place, he was crying badly when he was heading for the Court. The royal court was calling him "Lord of the Ten Thousand Years" but he was a frightened two year and ten month old child and instead of understanding this majesty, he was shouting. His regent, Empress Longyu, who was a favourite of the former Empress Cixi, was unsuccessfully trying to silence him. The two-year-old, dressed in heavy robes, cried throughout his coronation ceremony while the court officials were loudly completing all the accoutrements, and placed the child on the Dragon Throne, and came back. The baby emperor was so frightened by the time this coronation was completed that that after that, he was never brought to the court. However, it was now the Regent Empress who was taking care of things in his place. And now the issues were that rebellions were gaining momentum all over China. There were attacks against the Manchu army and the police. Most of the uprisings were unorganised, but there was also a well-organised resistance movement. It was led by a Western-qualified leader, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Dr. Sun studied in the American island of Hawaii and British-controlled Hong Kong and during this time he also converted to Christianity. On three principles, nationalism, democracy, he started the Kuomintang movement to end the Qing Dynasty for the sake of public welfare. He had millions of followers in China who were convinced that China's continued decline was due to incomplete reforms and the failed Qing dynasty of the Manchu monarchy. Let me remind friends that established over the 2500 years the Qing Empire had been ruled by the Manchu Dynasty of the North, whose population in China was one percent, and still it is. Because more than 90 percent of China's population belongs to the "Hin density". Since the Manchus were from the northern Manchurian region of China, it was called the Manchu Dynasty. So, according to Dr. Sun Yat-sen, by nationalism, where he meant that Democratic China will not leave its historical identity, which meant that the Manchu Dynasty. It does not represent Chinese nationalism, it is not a representative government of China, so it should be abolished in principle. Now the rest of the Chinese were also joining him. Dr. Sun Yat-sen's popularity was increasing. Due to his Western views, support for democracy and his long stay in the West, he was also supported by the Western Powers and morally helped him. Dr. Sun Yat-sen's supporters were constantly attacking the Manchu security forces. From 1906 to 1911, in five years, they staged ten rebellions against the Manchu dynasty and all tens were failed. So he had to leave China and go to Europe and America. Manchu spies followed him there, too. Once he had in London, a narrow escape at the hands of Chinese intelligence agencies. The Manchu dynasty, due to constant defeats and agreements on shameful terms, was certainly weakened, but no one could remove it. Because a large section of the army had not yet changed allegiance. But you know that history does not make any promises except one promise, and that promise is to surprise. A surprise also arose against the Manchus, which soon took birth. Curious Fellows, today where the magnificent Chinese city of Wuhan is, actually had three towns, of which "Hankou" was the largest, and it was here that Dr. Sun Yat-sen's colleagues were collecting arms against the Manchu army. They hid the weapons in a Russian warehouse to avoid the reach of the Manchu army. But on October 9, 1911, a bomb exploded in the hands of a rebel during the preparation. The entire warehouse was blown up. The royal army found out and it started to act and raid. In these raids, the royal army found the entire list of rebels, weapons and cash. The most surprising thing was the names of about 200 government soldiers and officers, they came to know as clandestinely helping the rebels. The rebels also came to know about the disclosure of this secret. So instead of waiting for the royal army to capture them, they attacked the garrison. A part of the army was already with them in the garrison, and within a few hours, the rebels captured the garrison. At the same time, they also made a surprise attack on the governor's office, and the governor ran away. The city was occupied by the rebels. On October 10, Sun Yat-sen's associates captured Hubei province and declared independence from the Qing dynasty. October 10 is Taiwan's National Day today and is celebrated as Double Tenth Day. Now, since the year 1911 was the "Shanghai" year according to the Chinese traditional calendar, this revolution is called the "Shanghai Revolution" in China. This revolution came at a time when neither the rebels had any proper preparations nor their leaders were present in the country. Rather, the greatest leader, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, was raising funds 11,000 km away in the city of Denver, Colorado, USA. He learned about the success of the Shanghai revolution through a local newspaper in Denver, and got stunned and gazed at the newspaper for a long time. He wanted to get back to China as soon as possible and lead the revolution, but for it, he needed a safe way to land on the coast. So with the news of the October 10th Shanghai Revolution, there was a domino effect in China. By the end of the next month, three-fourths of China had rebelled against the Manchu dynasty. Hunan Province on October 22, Shanxi Province on the same day and Jiangxi Province on October 23 also declared independence. On November 3, Shanghai's most important city, the International Port, where a large number of foreigners lived, also came under the complete control of the rebels. This was where Dr. Sun Yat-sen could land. Dr. Sahib, through the ship from San Francisco, moved to China via the Pacific Ocean. In the last days of December, Dr. Sun Yat-sen landed on the shores of Shanghai and arrived among his followers in Nanjing. It was at this time that Nanjing was also captured by the rebels. On January 1, 1912, the rebels hoisted their temporary five-colour flag over Nanjing. This flag was a symbol of unity among the five major nations living in China. Among these five colors, red was for the majority Han Chinese, yellow for the Manchus of the North, blue for the Mongol Chinese, white for the Muslim Chinese, and black for the people of the Tibet region. This was the temporary flag of China, which was obviously replaced later. On the same day, January 1, China was declared the Republic of China, declaring the end of the monarchy and complete independence. Dr. Sun Yat-sen became the first Provisional President of the Republic of China. But there was now in Beijing the six-year-old emperor and his body of guards, and with them, part of a powerful army, were also present in the capital city. This Imperial Army was commanded by the Manchu General, Yaun Shikai. The same Yaun Shikai who was accused of poisoning Emperor Guangshu. He was a very greedy and power hungry general. It was playing a double game, on the one hand it was convincing the Manchu royal court that if they put him in charge of all affairs, he would save the royal family from the rebels. On the other hand, he was also negotiating with the rebels that if he was given the post of president in the new Republican government , he would sign an agreement with the Manchus to end the imperial system. In this push and pull, rebels surrounded the Imperial Palace in Beijing in February 1912, and demanded that the Manchu court surrender to the Republic of China. That is, the monarchy should be abolished officially. Even then, the powerful Chinese military commander General Yuan Shikai was the only powerful link between the rebels and the imperial family. In other words, only this wall of power stood between the Manchus and the Republic. Which could either be dropped through bloodshed or persuaded under a deal. So Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who had seen bloodshed in China for decades and millions of Chinese dying in civil war, agreed to a peaceful solution. Under the pressure of outside protesters and on the collapse of civil order, and the promise of protection by General Yuan Shikai, on February 12, 1912, Regent Empress Long Yu signed the end of the 268-year-old Manchu Empire. The Dragon Throne became empty forever after 2,000 years. The young six-year-old emperor "Puyi" and his guardians were allowed to live in their palaces for life, and the emperor was given an annual pension of 40 million silver taels. Thus the control of Beijing came under the control of the Republic of China administration peacefully. But according to the agreement, instead of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who was the president for only six weeks, General Yaun Shikai became the president of the Republic of China. The first thing he did was to replace Nanjing, the capital of the new Republic of China, with Beijing, the symbol of Imperial China and initiated governance from those palaces. Secondly, he made Dr. Sun Yat-sen the Minister of Railways to humiliate and completely sideline him. Dr. Sun Yat-sen had left the seat of President to avoid the problem, the same came before him in the form of another dictator in power. Two administrative governments had emerged in China. One in Nanjing, which wanted to run the country in a republican manner, for which many sacrifices were given, and the other in the palaces of Beijing, which wanted to continue the dictatorship and imperial traditions. Dr. Sun Yat-sen began preparing his people for another struggle. He started gathering rebels in South China and gave them a message. Move on, that destination has not yet come. China was once again in chaos. The reformers had also failed and now the democratic revolutionaries had also fallen face down on the first rung. China was headed for another civil war. While this drama was unfolding on the stage of history, in the capital of Hunan province, Zhengzhou, an 18-year-old boy, Mao Zedong, was watching the revolution, the counter-revolution, This young man was also a part of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's rebel militia that took up arms and fought against the Manchu army. Although never a stage came for this fighting, but the teenager Mao did stand with the rebels with a rifle for some time. He had also seen the hordes of rebels who were killing foreigners and boasted about it, and he had also seen the soldiers beheading the rebels. Then he saw the heads of rebels and Chinese courtiers hanging on the crosses and bridges. In the perspective of rural life, Mao was the son of rich parents as his father, Mao Yicheng, owned three acres of land in Shaoshan. He also did a good money lending business. That is why Mao's early education was in very good schools, where he received Confucianism and classical Chinese education, he had also received a modern Western-style education. After that, in the universities, he studied the ideas of Karl Marx and also looked cloesely the Russian Revolution of 1917. This young man was going to be the future of China. And against him, another 24-year-old young man, Chiang Kai-shek, returned to China after completing his military education in Japan. It was also with Dr. Sun Yat-sen's organization and had some role in defeating the Manchu Dynasty. But soon these two junior characters were going to become big and main characters. How these two became central figures and Mao finally managed to pull China out of a century of humiliation. We will discuss this in the next and last video of this series. Must watch it. Friends, China's Century of Humiliation is the era that is being taught to every single Chinese student today. We can also learn from this history as to how we can move forward. That's why we've compiled the entire story into a playlist that you can check out here. Here is the full story of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire and here is the story from the rise to the fall of Muslim Spain