-multiple regimes
Qing Emperors of All China
1796-1820: Jiaqing Emperor
1820-1850: Daoguang Emperor
-no First Opium War
-as w/o Latin American wars of independence, silver trade is not interrupted
-and so East India trade of opium never gets same steam so early
-but nevertheless, British Isles grows influential in trade and stormwalled in getting Latin American silver
-and so grows it
-following occupation of Manila, British Isles grabs Manila, turns it into an entrepot for the opium trade
-faced with China's Wars > Sino-Portuguese War (1849-52)
1850-1858: Xianfeng Emperor
1858: Rebels storm Beijing
-1851 Yellow River floods cause social chaos
-Sino-Portuguese War continues
-sees peace, unabashed Portuguese victory
-escalation of British opium trade causes opium to be destroyed, British Wars > Opium Expedition (1853-4) breaks out in 1853
-comes to an end with British honor "satisfied"
-situation gets worse when in 1854 White Lotus style rebels revering Eternal Mother rise up in southern China with mass support
-they link up with Nian rebels
-White Lotus rebels capture Nanjing, guy throned emperor
-rebels increase in power and influence and take Beijing
-forcing Qing to make a base in Manchuria and Mongolia
Bai Emperors of China
1858-1888: Mingzhi Emperor
Reigned from 1854-1858 as "Bright King of the Great Han with the Mandate of Heaven"
-rebellion at first led by a man who declares himself the Maitreya Buddha sent by the Eternal Mother to redeem the Chinese nation
-as per White Lotus teaching and within a White Lotus lodge
-with the future Mingzhi Emperor, a much younger man, being declared arbitrarily the descendant of the Ming under him as his second in command
-and a number of rebel leaders who are claimed to be "kings"
-rebellion does very well and it captures Nanjing very soon after it begins
-and links up with a series of other rebellions
-charge northward succeeds and takes Beijing after a lot of very bloody battles
-but charges towards Manchuria and Mongolia fail and still need to mop up resistance in west
-the declared Maitreya Buddha is a pretty old man and soon "secludes himself"
-and dies of old age at age of 68 in 1861, revered by the Bai dynasty despite rumors he was killed
-formally crowns himself emperor in ruins of Forbidden City, Beijing
-ritual is somewhat Confucian
-to some showing the Bai dynasty's desire to come to terms with the Confucian character of Chinese empire
-but to others showing simply a continuity from the Ming
-but contains many evocations of the Eternal Mother and celebrates the Maitreya Buddha
-before making his way back to his capital of Nanjing
-where he restores the Ming Palace as a new Forbidden City
-rumors that Hui in Northwestern China supporting Bai dynasty
-rumors that Qing plotting to massacre Hui to stop a rebellion
-results in Hui rising up to preempt it in Shaanxi and Gansu
-Bai regiments coming in, fighting in complicated conflict
-in Kashgaria, similar rumors cause larger rebellion
-Kokand filibuster turns in, creates kingdom in Kashgaria
-Bai able to finally take over Northwestern China by 1865, but lost Kashgaria
-Panthay Rebellion in Yunnan, creates an autonomous sultanate
-nominally suzerain to Bai Emperor but largely independent
-sees migration of Hui from Northwestern China to Islamic land
-Dalai Lama sees chaos open up, decides to break away
-invades and takes a lot of Tibetan land with him
-Formosa still run by Qing governor, French come in and help protect it
-French effectively make it puppet over time (Formosan Republic)
-and Qing remnant ends up under Russian influence
-emperor decides against overturning foreign influence (at least for now)
-but makes plans to do so
-instead engages in state-building process called the Mingzhi Revolution
-engages in military reforms, builds new shipyards
-railroads, telegraphs, roads constructed nationwide
-extensive industrial development
-rail to
-Nanjing to Fuzhou to Chongqing
-Nanjing to Ningpo
-to Chengdu
-appoints a series of new governors across the nation
-rebuilds the yellow river territories after the 1851-1855 chaos
-attempts to purge away Manchu influence
-cuts off queues, ends foot binding
-and massively purges Manchu clothes, or clothes he deems Manchu, in favor of European fashion
-moderates religious bizarreness, however worship of the Eternal Mother has become the effective state religion
-and he spreads worship of her further
-when during Franco-Portuguese War France tries to take over Macau, China sweeps in
-skirmishes with Qing remnant, not done very well but does gain some land
-and does establish pretty large military on border
-and so continues modernization
-faced with rising democratic movement, establishes a Council of Elders with a Council of Representatives in 1881
-with high census req for second house
1888-1901: Dazheng Emperor [overthrown]
-pretty useless guy
-failed attempt to stop him from becoming emperor, but attempt is stopped
-claims he swapped out name from the Forbidden City successor box
-in response, he purges civil service and cabinet and puts yes men in charge
-among them Lee Cheng-chang, who he makes a Marshal
-and suppresses rebelling regiments quite harshly
-steamrolls democratic movement and suppresses it
-after Japanese troops invade Korea (Heads of Japan > 1860-1911 Yoshinobu (House of Tokugawa)), Marshal Lee Cheng-chang invades Qing Manchuria w/o orders, which immediately causes Russo-Chinese War (1893-9)
-giant, bloody war which culminates in Marshal Lee conquering Vladivostok
-as well as very high reparations from Russia
-when Marshal Lee returns home, it is clear that he is far more popular than the emperor
-emperor tries to sink Marshal Lee with clearly trumped-up charges
-Marshall Lee, who has extreme popularity, responds by sending troops into major cities, taking over the Forbidden City and successfully does the coup quickly
Supreme Presidents of the United Provinces of China
1901-1926: Lee Cheng-chang (Tsuyu-Tungi-Tang) †
1901: acclaimed President
1902: ran unopposed
1911: ran unopposed
1920: ran unopposed
-see also Lee Cheng-chang
-it's clear Lee is far smarter than anyone thought
-having aligned forces of the army across the nation into and around capitals
-enforced his authority nationwide through sending troops loyal to him around it
-and also having ensured governors would have no choice but to align with him or get overthrown
-he has large following and army is loyal to him rather than emperor
-founds Tsuyu-Tungi-Tang (Liberty and Union Party) around him, often called the Unionists
-pinyin party name: Ziyou Tongyi Dang
-makes sure to force intellectuals to join or leave in exile
-establishes a fairly weak unicameral National Assembly
-which consists of 1012 members elected from ten-person districts
-and voters additionally elect one person from their district to serve on a standing committee which does debates
-TTT wins all seats in managed elections, except for a few offered to pliable opposition
-enacts large-scale land reform
-including the much-vaunted land value tax
-arranges a series of deals with various imperial fiefs, the bigger ones
-especially the Yunnan Sultanate
-establishes an elite enshrined in Ideology > Sociocracy
-which is all about bringing science into government as part of making a grand meritocracy
-fits well with Chinese traditional political thought, as a Westernization of it
-with a series of think-tanks and universities established to train an elite to govern the nation
-sociocracy is byword of the day
-governs over a period of rapid industrial development
-remodels industrial colleges to a rapid degree
-also gives ample support to a number of industrialists as part of rapid modernization
-in corporatist economics
-suppresses strikes ruthlessly, and establishes "patriotic labor associations" to prevent their spread further
-and engages in a truly gigantic period of railroad construction
-with railroads under dual ownership by both government and industrialists
-with Young Russian Revolution (1902-8) China sends full aid to Central Asian rebels
-and successfully turns Kashgaria and Kulja, now independent states, into clients
-in 1913, feudatory of Kingdom of Dali (aka Yunnan Sultanate) has a succession dispute which turns into violence
-both sides appeal to central government
-Lee sends in troops to march on Dali in "police action" and forces both sides to allow him to resolve the dispute
-and in the end resolved by making a random cousin the prefect of the reduced province of Dali
-when faced with Recessions > Panic of 1911 Lee decides to pump more money into economy
-with issues of debt having not been that big of a deal in China due to him having effectively administered the debt previously
-results in further degree of material prosperity and helps Lee's dictatorship keep going
-and increases Lee's fame further
1926-1929: Kang Chun (TTT)
-vice presidency is a sort of floterial position
-assigned by president to a cabinet member
-in this case it's assigned to an absolute empty suit who succeeds Lee
-because he didn't want it to be a rival who could beat him
-and this empty suit ends up being entirely outmaneuvered by rivals
1929-1938: Song Bingjun (TTT)
1929 def.
-fairly ambitious and charismatic Interior Minister
-successfully attains influence over rivals
-in contrast to the uncharismatic Treasury Minister
-and is initially very popular
-crushes attempted rebellions
-sees an increasingly geriatric government as he doesn't include new young people into it
-which pisses away his popularity as public increasingly frustrated at government
-and helps to create a revolutionary opposition
1938-1939: (TTT)
1938 def.
-an obvious puppet candidate
-ultimately assassinated
1939-1941: (TTT)
1941-1942: (TTT)
-Chinese government defeated hard in emerging rebellions
-because army has been allowed to rot and decay
-with startling rebel victory in Battle of Huizhou, TTT interests decide to come to terms
-and ensuing Treaty of Canton sees dissolution of government and establishment of new one pending new elections
1942-1942: (TTT)
1942-1951: Zhou Chuan
1942 def: (TTT)
-successfully overthrows the Chinese government and forces it to hold new elections
-which he wins in a landslide
-issues certain reforms of the constitution
-establishes election of Council of One Hundred and Eight to increase public control of institutions
-faced in 1943 with a quite serious coup attempt from TTT elements
-brutal violence in Nanjing before it's crushed
-in its wake engages in mass firing of institutional elements
-with end of his term leaves office in a great display of republican virtue
-and retires to his farm until his death in 2008
Sultans of Dali
-known abroad as the Sultanate of Yunnan
1856-1893: Du Wenxiu
-aka Sultan Suleiman
-establishes a Hui-led but multiethnic administration
-unifying sharia with Confucianism
-bans on pork and establishes sharia courts but otherwise not imposing on Han
-attempts to impose Arabic language as language of administration abandoned but it maintains some status
-swears his loyalty to the Bai dynasty
-and in return given broad-ranging autonomy verging on total independence
-sees a pretty large migration of Hui from northwest after tumultuous Qing-Bai fights there
-which dramatically increases Yunnan's Muslim minority
-fights a major war with the Burmese
-ends with conquest of Kachin and Shan areas
-and is demonstrative of its desire to form an empire for itself
-builds railroads from Dali to Bhamo and into the Shan states
-difficult process but successfully connects these conquered areas with the metropole
1893-1913: Du Yunzhong
-aka Sultan Hassan
-when comes the rise of Heads of China > 1901-1926 Lee Cheng-chang (Tsuyu-Tungi-Tang) † to power, swears loyalty
-because he fears Chinese military regiments who swore loyalty to Lee will kill him
-and also because a lot of people on the street love Marshal Lee and keep pictures of him
-in return, Dali continues as a feudatory with semi-autonomy assured under the constitution
-he maintains some belief in rebellion
-but these just remain plans and are scuttled swiftly
1913: Sultanate of Dali dissolved; Du Fengyang succeeds as Governor of Yunnan
-following Du Yunzhong's death there's a succession crisis
-turns to street mobs killing one another
-Lee declares his intention to "temporarily" take control of Yunnan to resolve it and impose order
-ensuing resolution is declaration of a random cousin as prefect of Dali, now reduced to ordinary province of China
-and not so long afterward that constitution is expunged of special autonomy for Yunnan