China reached a turning point during the 19th century, facing mounting pressures of reformation while suffering from internal rebellions, famines, plagues, and foreign invasions. During this century, Chinese art, culture, and technology have evolved. The British museum has one of the most well-preserved collections that helps to bring history back to life. The exhibition “China’s hidden century” explores the lives of individuals from the perspectives of an empress, a dancer, a soldier, an artist, a housewife, a merchant and a diplomat.
Fig. 1: A painting showing the bustling port of Canton during the early 19th century. Canton was the only port in China open to foreign trade. You can see foreign merchant vessels mingling and trading with Chinese merchants. The art doesn’t show the dark sides of growing international trade as there has been an increase in opium smuggling. Inspector Lin’s attempts to curb the opium trade culminated in the Opium War, in which the Qing military’s weaknesses were exposed and China was forced to open its trading port and sign concessions with foreign powers.
After a series of defeats, the Chinese military began to reorganise itself. The Qing Dynasty conducted a series of self-strengthening movements by importing firearms, cannons, and battleships from Britain and Germany. New Armies were established to quell rebellions (the Taiping and the Nian rebellions) such as the Xiang and the Huai Armies [Fig. 2]. Their most notable victory is when General Zuo’s Army successfully suppressed a Russian-supported revolt in the Xinjiang region during the 1870s.
Fig. 2: A replica of a Qing soldier’s outfit and equipment.
A growing international trade has seen new accessories in the households of wealthy Chinese families such as the gorgeous fan [Fig. 3]. The fan uses a combination of Chinese and European style art and narrates a series of stories. Behind the fan, you can see different styles of crustaceans paintings experimented by the Chinese artists as they adapted their painting styles.
Fig. 3
Fig. 4: A series of images providing a brief summary of the Emperors and Empresses during the twilight years of the Qing Dynasty.
While China experienced growing trade, most of its population lived in rural areas and relied on subsistence farming. Even in arduous conditions, ingenuity endured as we witnessed some creative designs of raincoats [Fig. 5]. From the raincoat, we can see the wealth gap in the Chinese society and gain a further understanding into why the Qing Dynasty failed to modernize itself. Economists observe the behaviour as the Middle income trap caused by China’s failure to have a growing middle class population. When the GDP per capita remains stagnant, the economic development slows down due to a lack of incentives to industrialise and improve the efficiencies of production.
Fig. 5: A replica of a nineteenth century raincoat, made with straws and grass.
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