China

China
Chinese Republic
華夏民國 Wah-hah Man-kwok (Cantonese) Hwahsia Minkwo (Mandarin)
Established	1857 (Partition) 1931 (republic) 1936 (reunification)
Capital	Kwangchow
Government Type	Constitutional republic
Languages	Cantonese Mandarin Banlam Others
Currency	Wahbai (華幣; WHB)

China, officially the Republic of China (Chinese: 華夏民國), is a country in East Asia. The country has been dominated by the Han Chinese people for millennia. Modern China's origins stem from the Canton-based state that split off from the Qing empire in the 1850s. Constitutional reform led to the establishment of a Chinese republic in 1931 and the reunification of China in 1936.

History

Ming-Qing Transition

The Ming-Qing transition was one of the deadliest periods in Chinese history that witnessed the fall of the Ming dynasty and the rise of the Qing empire that supplanted it. It caused massive changes in Chinese society, politics, and economics.

Stabilization of the Qing periphery

King Sangdjong ascended to the Corean throne in 1649. The Southerner Party and the royal court resolved to make peace with the new Qing dynasty and abandon connections to the old Ming regime.

In 1650, a Zheng junk unintentionally sinks a Corean ship heading to Tauland. This provoked King Sangdjong to send marine troops to assist Qing-Dutch forces in the Minzhe region against pirates and Ming loyalists. During the Battle of Cizao, Corean soldiers defeated the Zheng army alongside the Manchus.

Two years later in the Battle of Jiangdong Bridge, Koxinga and his army was defeated at a critical juncture. He was sent to exile in Hirado with his mother, who was evacuated to Japan two years after the Qing conquest of Kiang-nan. During the battle, Zhu Yihai betrayed Koxinga and defected to the Qing side. Zheng Cai fled to the Ryukyu kingdom with a contingent of pirates in an effort to gain materials for the next attack, especially focusing on the sulfur trade.

The Zheng family eventually failed to create a Ming loyalist base in southeastern China. Later, many members of the family and their allies participated in the southern Japanese Ōmura Rebellion in 1656.

Fate of the House of Zhu

The Zhu family, the former royal house of the Ming dynasty, dispersed around China after the Qing's conquest of southern China. The Yongli Emperor established an emergency government in 1641 in response to the Qing conquests.

At the same time, numerous Jesuit missionaries converted much of the Ming court to Roman Catholicism. This included Empress Dowager Helena Wang, Empress Anne Wang, Empress Maria Ma, and Eunuch Achilleus Pang. In 1648, Crown Prince Cihyun was born and baptized with the Latin name Constantine. The Empress Dowager sent a letter to the Vatican in 1650 requesting assistance to repel the Qing, which was ignored. In 1656, Empress Anne - hearing of the Ōmura Rebellion - sent a plea to the Japanese Catholic rebels to help evacuate the imperial family and their entourage.

In 1662, the Emperor and the majority of the imperial family were killed by Wu Sang-kuei in Yunnan, with the survivors being brought to Peking. However, Empress Maria and the Crown Prince were rescued by a contingent of pirates and loyalists before the massacre. They were brought to Macao via Namning where they lived until 1665, and then resided in Manila for two months before returning to the Chinese mainland. The surviving family changed their last names to Ma (馬) and Wong (王) to escape suspicion and survived as commoners for the next century.

After Koxinga's defeat in 1652, the Prince Ningzing - the only other possible Ming successor - attempted to commit suicide near Tongshan Island. He was saved by an unnamed soldier. He altogether disappeared from historical records, apart from brief mention of his presence in Fort Zeelandia not long after.

In 1725, the position of Marquis of Extended Grace was established, with a complacent descendant of the Zhu family from a minor branch taking up the position. The title was purely ceremonial, with its holders being treated as regular Chinese citizens.

Relations with the Dutch

The Dutch established a base on Tauland in the 1620s, stabilizing their rule in the 1660s. Although not universally welcomed, they fostered a good but informal relationship with the Ming on the mainland. With the Qing conquest of southern China, the Dutch of Formosa cut their ties with the Ming and established a strong relationship with the Qing and Corea. By the 18th century, the Dutch almost monopolized European trade in southern China.

Qing dynasty

Main article: Great_Qing § Western_Qing_dynasty_(1636-1857)

Dawn and Dusk period (1857-1936)

This period's name was inspired by the 17th-century book Waiting for the Dawn by politician and philosopher Huang Tsung-hsi. In this era, China proper was split into two parts during the Canton War - the Eastern Qing dynasty and the Kingdom of Canton.

Canton War (1850-1857)

Main article: Canton War

Wahhah Republic (1931-1936)

1931 Sanmei Coup

Multiple parties formed and participated in the Parliament, formed in the late 1920s as an appeasement measure. The dominant party was the National Reformation Party (華夏改革會, lit. Wahhah Reformation Party) which aimed to dismantle the monarchy. In 1927, the NRP-dominated Parliament commenced the National Reform Movement. In 1931, the NRP-dominated parliament overthrew monarchy and established a republic. They renamed the country the Chinese Republic (華夏民國) and sought to unify with the Great Qing with military force, ending the state of division in China since 1857.

See also

• Qing dynasty