The Chinese Adoption of Christianity
The Chinese adopted a distinctive form of Christianity under the leadership of Hong Xiuquan (1814–1864) during the period (1850–1864) when they rejected Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism in favor of the religion. This led to the abolishment of private property, a radical redistribution of land, gender equality, and an end to foot binding, prostitution, and opium smoking. Due to a failure to properly unite, the development plans for making China into an industrial nation—complete with railroads, universal health insurance, newspapers, and extensive public education—were abandoned in 1864.
The British Influence on China's Silver Trade
The British battled to influence the silver trade between Europe and China in their advantage from 1839 to 1850. They gave the Chinese drugs, which led to their drug addiction. This weakened the Chinese government as there was corruption in the government due to weak officials through bribery and smuggling causing a series of unequal treaties when the British defeated the Chinese.
The British Defeat of China and the Treaty of Nanjing
The British defeated the Chinese brought about by the Treaty of Nanjing (1842); Hong Kong was leased by the British, opening 5 new ports for Europeans. The Chinese were forced to pay the expenses of the Opium war and British received "most favored nation" status in China; extraterritoriality to British.
Reviving Traditional China with Western Borrowings
Sought to revive a traditional China, Chinese carefully borrowed from the West by changing their examination system, restitution of dikes and irrigation; steel and textile industrial centers were also established, coal mines were expanded, telegraph system was initiated and foreign language schools were established.
