The Influence of the West

Throughout the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese enjoyed large amounts of trade with multiple Western countries.  During this trade, the Chinese were opened up to many new pieces of technology that they had been previously unaware of.  The West introduced items such as watches and astrology instruments during trade.

Porcelain from the Qing Dynasty

One important event for the Chinese was the rise in popularity of porcelain.  While the Qing might not have invented porcelain, they certainly put it to good use.  Qing artists developed new colors to be used on the porcelain.  As the market for Chinese porcelain in Europe grew, the Chinese exported more and more of the good porcelain to a great many countries in the West.  This greatly influenced the overall wealth of China as a whole, and the period from the middle of the 16^th century to the middle of the 17^th century was a prosperous one.

Opium Poppy

Unfortunately for China, this prosperity would not last.  While the Chinese were enjoying their economic upturn, Europe was enduring a drop in their economy.  As this trend continued, the Westerners knew that they would need a good they could obtain cheaply to trade with the Chinese for porcelain and other goods.  This good turned out to be opium. The European boats could pick up the opium in India on their way to China and then trade it in China for the products they desired.  Soon, a great many Chinese citizens were addicting to opium.  This quickly evened out the trade balance between the Chinese and the West, and even gave Europe an advantage.  Finally, opium trade was banned.  It wasn’t long before the Chinese and the Europeans weren’t trading as much as before, especially with a major good off the table.

Soon the Opium Wars began, officially ending the economic growth in China.  In the end it was China itself that caused the collapse of the Qing.  As the world around them was rapidly advancing in technology and agriculture, China stayed mired in tradition, not opening the doors to new opportunities and growth.  This stubbornness, among other factors caused the Qing dynasty to go spiraling down the drain, leaving but a few soapy bubbles of organization, peace, and government.