The Chinese Exclusion Act was a piece od American History that has been overlooked and forgotten. Most people are aware of the Japanese interment camps that happened in World War Two, but most arent familiar of the struggles that occurred with Chinese immigrants coming to America. Chinese influence on the new world goes back further than that and its interesting how the Chiense were able to adapt new way to fit into the new world.
The Chinese aimed to restore itself by implementing reforms to help spark growth in the country’s power. The Qing empire made it through the nineteenth century without solid imperial control, but around 1912 changes needed to be made. New officials strove to improve the economy by creating new institutions and military agriculture bases. “They called this restoration (zhongxing).” The restoration aimed to modernize parts of the government and restore core Confucian values. Because of the problems that occurred in the 1950s, the Chinese realized in the government’s rebuilding, they needed to implement an office of foreign affairs that dealt with outside interaction. So “The Office for the Management of the Business of All Foreign Countries (Zongli Yamen) was established to negotiate with foreigners.” The integration of knowing that there is a world outside of China was a big step in Chinese advancement, with “special schools opened in Beijing, where students would learn English and French.” With all these advancements internally, Chinese officials also wanted to observe European government systems, with trips being made to focus on this. The Chinese tried to remodel its entire outlook on its society to modernize it to the whole world instead of China.
With all the mixing of cultures and beliefs, it was inevitable to have some backlash. “The opening of treaty ports left China in an interesting position where traditional Eastern and Western values coexisted and intermingled.” All the mixing between different cultures “clashed with traditional thinking,” which made tensions grow in China. The Chinese saw the backward ways of some older traditions that were in place in the government, which led to Chinese people looking for a change. The movement of all these ideas also leads to nationalism, with the boxer rebellion taking place and other events like that. The boxer rebellion was just an example of a non-Western movement in China, with murders taking place to send a message. The western interference made CHina struggle, but through growth and set back, the Chinese were able to adjust and modernize their country to a world standard.
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