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#105 The Torching of the Yuanmingyuan

1/12/2018

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Picture
Background:
  • Vast collection of parks and structures known as the Yuanmingyuan or Summer Palace was built beginning in 1707 by the Kangxi emperor.
  • The Western palace structures (Xiyang lou 西洋楼) built in the eighteenth century with help of Jesuits Giuseppe Castiglione and Michel Benoist.
  • The overall complex was the main place of residence for Manchus unaccustomed to the formalistic and confining Forbidden City.
  • Second Opium War began in 1856 when Britain and France each took advantage of pretexts:
    • British were outraged over ship (The Arrow) boarded to investigate smuggling.
    • French similarly angered over a French missionary in southwestern Guangxi province.
  • The 1858 Tianjin Treaty reached to end hostilities (it was even more humiliating than the Nanjing Treaty), but hostilities resumed after court conservatives sought to limit Anglo-French access past the Dagu forts in Tianjin.
  • The renewed fighting ended finally after the flight of the humiliated Xianfeng emperor from the capital and the torching and looting of the Yuanmingyuan in October 1860.

Questions for discussion:
  • Why was it looted and destroyed? What motives do you think drove Anglo-French actions?
  • Would you consider this legitimate wartime conduct on the part of British and French forces?
  • What meaning do you think looted artifacts had/have for Europeans? Chinese? How might have this meaning changed over time?
  • What is the responsibility of those who possess formerly looted objects?
  • How has the physical site of the Yuanmingyuan transformed in the years since its destruction in 1860?
  • As a historian, if you were to advise the Chinese government on its future, what would you suggest? What would be your goals?

Homework: Assignment #106

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  • Courses
    • Archived Courses >
      • Chinese History >
        • Ancient/Early Modern: Living China's History >
          • Living China's History (fall 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • Course Project
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
          • Living China's History (fall 2018) >
            • In-Class >
              • The Death of Woman Wang
            • Assignments
        • Modern: China's Fall and Rise >
          • China's Rise and Fall (spring 2019) >
            • Course Info
            • In Class
            • Assignments + Units
          • China's Fall and Rise (spring 2018) >
            • Course Information
            • In-Class
            • Assignments
        • Contemporary: Thinking about a Changing China >
          • Thinking about a Changing China (spring 2017) >
            • Course Information
            • In Class
            • Assignments
      • Global Thinking (grade 9 seminar) >
        • HS150 Course Information
        • HS150 In-Class
        • HS150 Assignments
      • Japanese History >
        • Japan's Empire and its Legacies (fall 2016) >
          • Course Information
          • Daily Review
          • Schedule >
            • JE Unit 1
            • JE Unit 2
            • JE Unit 3
            • JE Unit 4
            • JE Unit 5
            • JE Unit 6
          • Research >
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            • Research Schedule >
              • Checkpoint #2: Annotated Bibliography
              • Checkpoint #3: Outline
              • Checkpoint #4: Supplemental Pages
      • U.S. History >
        • Humanities History (2017-18) >
          • Course Information
          • In-Class
          • Assignments
        • Humanities History (2016-17) >
          • Course Information
          • In Class
          • Assignments >
            • U1: The American Revolution & the Constitution
            • U2: Defining the Nation
            • U3: 19th Century Social & Cultural Transformations >
              • Cemetery Project
            • U4: A House Divided
            • U5: Industry & Empire
            • U6: Progressive Promise & Disillusion
            • U7: Global Conflicts
            • U8: Civil Rights & Human Rights
      • More Course Descriptions
  • Skills
    • Reading >
      • Active Reading
      • Advanced Reading Strategies (Upper Mids and Seniors)
      • Outlining for Reading
      • Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
      • Analyzing Primary Sources with SOAPSTone
      • Analyzing Visual Primary Sources
      • Selecting & Evaluating Secondary Sources
    • Thinking >
      • What is History?
      • Historical Thinking Chart (PDF)
      • Breaking Down History with the SPICE Factors
    • Discussing >
      • Engaging in Class Discussion
      • Evaluating Discussion
    • Researching >
      • Identifying Research Topics & Questions
      • Note Cards
    • Writing >
      • Zero Draft
      • Thesis Statements
      • Forming Counterarguments
      • Formatting Chicago-Style Papers
      • Ford Library Guide to Chicago-style Citations (PDF)
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