#100 Introducing China’s Fall and Rise

I was asked once to explain all of modern Chinese history—in an hour or less. I’d like to give you the updated version to start out class and maybe enlist your help along the way.

Why China matters

I’ll start by suggesting some reasons we should care about China today:

1. China’s economy is big and getting bigger. According to one estimate, it is expected to surpass that of the United States by 2021. The United States has held the #1 position since its economy surpassed the British Empire, a parallel that makes some observers anxious.
2. China is beginning to flex its diplomatic and military muscles.
   1. It is translating its economic strength into international partnerships. The inaugural 2017 Belt and Road Forum might have been comically advertised at the outset as “BARF,” but when investments were announced in the range of US$4-8 trillion, you were more likely to hear gasps than laughs.
   2. Meanwhile the U.S. military strategy in East Asia has changed dramatically in the last decade, with the U.S. backing off strategically important areas like Taiwan and the South China Sea and relying increasingly on China for a solution to the North Korean nuclear standoff.
3. China is a rising cultural force, with Chinese language skills increasingly sought in both developed and developing countries (the very first Chinese-funded high-school level language program abroad is right upstairs).

History through turning points

​Most of the rest of my talk would remain the same today. It centered on the diagram above:

• It featured two lines. One that sloped downward from 1793 to about 1900 and then started tracing back upward toward the present day. I called it “history through turning points.”
• Each point or date was attached to a personal story.
  • The first example—like the BARF example, above—would have been funny if its consequences were not so serious. It featured the Qianlong emperor, sitting understandably proud atop the apogee of Qing imperial power. He hosted George Macartney, the Irish-born earl who, a decade earlier was said to have been the first to note that Britain was starting to amass “a vast Empire, on which the sun never sets.” Neither men bent to the other’s will: this was literally true for Lord Macartney, who refused to perform the ceremonial ketou expected of imperial visitors and it was figuratively true for the Qianlong emperor who refused to grant greater market access to British traders.​

​The Reception, a caricature of the reception that Lord Macartney received from the Qianlong Emperor by James Gillray. Wikimedia.

Discussion on China's rise, public history, and you

​These are all the kinds of key details we will get into in the course. But this is the part you can help me with. Work with a partner to discuss the following three questions:

1. What do you think we should know about the historical context of China’s rise? Be as specific as you can be, though also feel free to include broad categories as well.
2. Where might we look if we want to see this history on display for a popular audience?
3. What are you hoping to gain from this course?

Course policies

Review together the first part of the syllabus followed by a few minutes to read over the remainder and ask clarifying questions.

Homework: Assignment #101.