Britain's Imperial Retreat from China, 1900-1931 (Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia)

Britain s relationship with China in the nineteenth and early twentieth century is often viewed in terms of gunboat diplomacy, unequal treaties, and the unrelenting pursuit of Britain s own commercial interests. This book, however, based on extensive original research, demonstrates that in Britain after the First World War a combination of liberal, Labour party, pacifist, missionary and some business opinion began to argue for imperial retreat from China, and that this movement gathered sufficient momentum for a sympathetic attitude to Chinese demands becoming official Foreign Office policy in 1926. The book considers the various strands of this movement, relates developments in Britain to the changing situation in China, especially the rise of nationalism and the Guomindang, and argues that, contrary to what many people think, the reassertion of China s national rights was begun successfully in this period rather than after the Communist takeover in 1949." Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 Introduction 8 The structure of British informal empire in China 13 The historiography of British retreat 16 Methodology 19 Public opinion and policy 21 Measuring influence on policy 28 Chapter organisation 32 Notes 33 PART I: Laying the foundation for retreat, pre-1900 to 1925 38 1. British thought about China, pre-1900 40 ‘So well conceited of themselves’: early Jesuit and British accounts 41 ‘Fifty years of Europe’ vs. ‘a cycle of Cathay’: imperialism and China 43 Christianity, compassion and modernity: missionary views 48 The moral burden: Victorian travel writings 53 British policy, 1895–1900 55 Conclusion 61 Notes 62 2. ‘Dealing gently with the Chinese in their new mood’, 1900–1910 67 The Boxer Uprising, 1900 67 The Boxer Uprising and Chinese ‘awakening’ 70 Sir Robert Hart and Chinese ‘awakening’ 73 Official policy, 1901–1904 78 Chinese nationalism, 1905 80 G.E. Morrison’s opinions and influence 82 Official policy, 1905–1910 85 Conclusion 94 Notes 95 3. ‘Young China’ in Revolution and the First World War, 1911–1918 101 Assessments of the Revolution of 1911 101 British policy towards China, 1911–1918 108 Conclusion 117 Notes 118 4. Nationalist and communist challenges to British imperialism, 1919 to early 1925 121 The First World War and empire 122 The Paris Peace Conference 125 The creation of a new order in East Asia 129 Chinese issues, 1922–1924 132 The Bolshevik threat and the Yellow Peril 136 The Boxer Indemnity and Chinese educational exchange 140 Conclusion 146 Notes 146 PART II: Britain’s retreat from China, 1925–1931 152 5. ‘There is no hope in the traditional policy of bullying’: May 30th 1925 154 Unrest in China: May 30th and its aftermath 155 The view from Whitehall 156 Government advisers and lobbyists 158 Public responses 160 The government response 169 Conclusion 173 Notes 174 6. ‘We alone are trying to do the right thing by China’: the December Memorandum, 1926 179 The Hong Kong boycott and the business lobby 179 The Tariff Conference in Beijing 182 Finding consensus 185 Changing perceptions of the GMD 191 Challenging conciliation 194 The move towards a pro-GMD policy 196 The new China policy: creating the December memorandum 198 Conclusion 202 Notes 202 7. China as a ‘constant source of anxiety’: the sending of the Shanghai Defense Force, 1927 208 The Hankou Incident, the Shanghai Defence Force and the public response 208 The Chen-O’Malley Agreement 221 The Nanjing ‘outrages’ 224 Conclusion 227 Notes 228 8. Ending informal empire in China, 1928–1931 233 Towards consensus 233 The break with Russia 235 The consolidation of public opinion 236 ‘An almost united British opinion’ 239 Continuing retreat 241 Did the British retreat? 243 Conclusion 247 Notes 251 Index 255 "Britain's relationship with China in the nineteenth and early twentieth century is often viewed in terms of gunboat diplomacy, unequal treaties, and the unrelenting pursuit of Britain's own commercial interests. This book, however, based on extensive original research, demonstrates that in Britain, after the First World War, a combination of liberal, Labour party, pacifist, missionary and some business opinion began to argue for imperial retreat from China, and that this movement gathered sufficient momentum for a sympathetic attitude to Chinese demands becoming official Foreign Office policy in 1926. The book considers the various strands of this movement, relates developments in Britain to the changing situation in China, especially the rise of nationalism and the Guomindang, and argues that, contrary to what many people think, the reassertion of China's national rights was begun successfully in this period rather than after the Communist takeover in 1949"...Provided by publisher