Feudal and Colonial Society (1840 - 1919)

During the early nineteenth century reign of Emperor Xian Feng, the Qing dynasty declined rapidly. The British Empire started importing opium into to China to take part in this very lucrative trade. The Chinese government resisted by banning the consumption of opium. This led to the First Opium War which ended with the famous Treaty of Nanking signature. Thereafter, the USA, France, Russia and Japan signed several unequal treaties with the Qing government. China thus became a feudal and colonial country.

During the reign of Tong Zhi and Xu Guang, Cixi, the mother of Tong Zhi (Zai Chun) became the Dowager Empress as they were both too young to govern when they stepped onto the throne, respectively 6 and 4 years old. It has often been said that Cixi ruled "behind the curtain" since in reality she controlled Chinese policy.

At the end of the Qing dynasty, corruption and governmental sclerosis directly caused the collapse of the old giant. Several rebellion rose up such as the Taiping rebellion and the Jun Nian rebellion. At the same time, governors such as Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang tried to stear the dynasty out of this situation. Despite their efforts to implement reform, they could not prevent Japan's victory over China. Intellectuals also became aware of the state of emergency. They pushed the emperor to establish a constitutional monarchy. This reform lasted only 103 days. During this period, patriotism reached its paroxysm and countless unsung heroes sacrificed themselves in the fight against colonization; the country was shaken.

In 1911, the Sun Zhongshan's Xin Hai revolution put an end to more than 2000 years of feudal society. The last emperor Pu Yi was forced to abdicate and China entered a new era.