Chinese Imperialism

Chinese Imperialism

The Chinese empire's history of imperialism is a long and action-packed saga that dates back to 221 B.C. While it would be ignorant to imagine that a chronicle of such significance could be explored in its entirety within the confines of a work as brief as this one (especially when many historians have found that they had to devote several volumes of text to the subject), we can still summarize the imperialistic efforts of China over the ages, and understand how it has shaped the course of contemporary history, as well as China's current imperialistic objectives.

The Chinese imperial dynastic system of government was established in 221 B.C. (under the Ch'in Empire, the dynasty considered by historians to be the first to rule a unified China) and remained in tact until 1911 A.D., when it was overturned and eventually replaced by the Communist government that still exists in China to this day. While there are eight major forces of dynastic rule to have governed China between those two chronological points, two of those dynasties are (arguably) the most significant from an imperialist point of view: the Ch'in, and the Qing.

The Ch'in army conducted massive military campaigns to complete the unification of the empire and expand its territory. The Ch'in Empire, at its peak, stretched from the Mongolian plateau in the north to Vietnam in the south. [1] During the rule of this dynasty, the motives for imperialism were classical and fairly self evident: the goal was to gain as much land as possible to increase not only the geographical size of the Chinese Empire, but also the figurative magnitude of its power, influence, and pool of resources. An inscription quoted by Sima Qian (also known as "The Grant Historian") from a memorial that the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi commissioned in his own honor, clearly illustrates the imperialist tendencies of the dynasty.

The universe entire Is our Emperor's realm, Extending west to the Desert South to where the houses face north, East to the East Ocean, North to beyond Daxia; Wherever human life is found, All acknowledge his suzerainty. [2]

From this period until the last period of dynastic rule, the Chinese empire gained, lost, and recovered countless territories in its imperialist efforts, at one point even succumbing itself to another imperial force (under the Yuan dynasty, (1279-1368), when it became Mongol territory). Chinese power was eventually restored under the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but the last era of significant imperialistic expansion was under the brutally aggressive Qing Dynasty (1644-1911, also known as the Manchu Dynasty), when China succeeded in gaining even more territory in Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Taiwan. The Qing Dynasty crumpled in 1911 (ironically) due to both rising European imperialism in Asia and internal revolution. Its progress as an empire was sent markedly backwards, with loss of territories in Korea, Taiwan, Indochina, Macao, and Japan. This, however, does not necessarily mean that China failed in it's imperial conquests: it managed, even through this rocky period in its history, to maintain its grasp on Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia, which it still controls today.

At this point, of course, imperialist motives are spurred on by far more complex intentions then merely ruling the world. To look at the differences in natural resources between the three Chinese-ruled territories and China itself suggests a deeper incentive then pure egotistical domination; Inner Mongolia has more deposits of naturally-occurring niobium, zirconium and beryllium than any other province-level region in China [3]. There are also coal deposits. Xinjiang's economic