China

"About the only thing that hasn't gone wrong [in China] is that they haven't been rocked yet by the ESA"

- Pacific Rim

The People's Republic of China is a rising power and ally of the United States in the early 21st century.

Second Civil War
The runaway success of Deng Xiaoping's reforms had resulted in a corrupt government and a corrupt form of robber baron capitalism in China. In response in 1992, an ex-high school teacher (Hua Yuchi) preached a return to hard core Maoism and an agrarian policy. Soon 2 million joined his movement, most of them peasants. The Maoist Loyalist Cabal (MLC) moved against the government, starting the Second Civil War.

By 1995, the MLC had conquered Guangzhou. The People's Liberation Army found themselves fighting a war on three fronts. In the west, they faced a great Tibetan uprising. In the northwest, Muslim extremists whom were funded by the Soviet Union and it's megacorp SovOil. In the south, the Maoist Loyalist Cabal (who were allied with the Khmer Rouge of Cambodia).

Wheat crops were wiped out worldwide in 2002, which resulted in famine in northern China leading to a flood of refugees into southern China. By 2005, the MLC practically controlled all of southern China. In 2008, Taiwan took advantage of a distracted China to declare independence with the support and protection of Japan and its megacorp Arasaka. Meanwhile a corporate war began in the South China Sea between SovOil and Petrochem, and since China was in disarray they were unable to intervene and protect their interests in the South China Sea.

In 2008, China under the leadership of General Jiang Xiaxi signed the China-U.S. Mutual Aid Pact, after which Militech formed a joint-venture with CITIC and the United States supplied China with arms and equipment. Several years later in 2013, a cyber strike team assassinated Hua Yuchi. The PLA in rapid succession liberated city after city, and province after province. By 2014, the PLA had reclaimed all of southern China except for the province of Hunan, the stronghold of the MLC. The uprisings in Tibet and Xinjiang had also been crushed. There are still cells of the MLC hidden, having gone underground.

Post Fourth Corporate War
By 2045, the Chinese government has been exhausted by the fierce battles in the Mongolian Plateau and South China Sea for access to those regions' strategic resources. China also hasn't fully recovered from the loss of Hong Kong, the victims of biological terrorism. The city is now surrounded by a 100-ft wall, built by China to contain the plague and it has become a stronghold of Alt Cunningham the AI.

Government
Heading the government of China is the General Secretary/Premier. Though two different positions it can be held by the same person, which currently is the case. He leads the Committee of Communist Party Politburo (CCPP), which has 25 members. It overseas the Central Committee, the State Council, and several Communist groups.

The Central Committee is in charge of deciding foreign policy, making the laws, and establishing investigative committees. The CCPP will accept or reject whatever the Central Committee recommends. It has 210 members whom are provincial party leaders and/or young cadre members.

The State Council has 4 Vice Premiers, 10 Councilors, and the Ministers of the 45 Ministries. It develops the internal quotas, controls the finances of the state, and runs the daily machinery of governing.

Within the institutions of China (the Army, Universities, Hospitals, and Industry), the CCP has created a parallel hierarchy. It monitors and acts as a check on the regular hierarchy within those institutions.

Law and Order
China is still a Communist police state. It just has a more relaxed business sense than the strict Maoists. As a dictatorship, political dissidents end democracy seekers are still put in psych wards and work camps for "counter-revolutionary activities". TO make sure that everyone follows the infinite rules, kens- and permits ?re required for everything--from opening a shop to buying a TV to traveling abroad. And even though you pass all the tests, you still may not get it More backdoor guanxi is nee& ed to cut the Orwellian red tape.

Even though the MLC is dead in the water, China is still under semi-martial law. Capital punishment is used for everything from murder to theft.Public Security often acts like judge and jury,especially if the offenders are only refugees. Real people might make it to the courts before they ate hung or beheaded, but cadres can usually walk off with a Party reprimand for anything short of murder (and sometimes even then). Public executions are the norm, with the bodies displayed afterwards as a warning to others. Those who aren't executed may be put in prisons, work camps, or prison factories to make goods for export. Like the Chinese say, "Make one thing serve two purposes." The most popular place for prisons is in the Three Furnaces" area in Xijian, where the extreme heat keeps the inmates sedated. All Chinese prisons are high security.

Weapon laws are also very strict. For civilians, nothing more than a 10 round capacity handgun and minimal (SP 10) body armor is allowed, and just cause must be shown; i.e., you're a cadre. Most cadres and some corps are allowed pistols. Peasants, Merchants, and others must by theirs illegally.

Money Yuan (YY)
China also tries to control its currency. China uses the Yuan and mainly uses paper money. The officail exchange rate is 1 Eb = 4 YY. The actual rate is about 12 yuan for a Eurodollar. All Chinese companies must pay their people in yuan. Most businesses in China deal only in yuan script only in the big cities, in the international banks and Gwailo hotels have CTDs and can change Eb, American Dollars, or yen. Two hours into me countryside and the locals may not even recognize a yen note. Shanghai bank Sumitomo, and American Express-World have offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Chengdu. China would like to establish a cred system, but the logistics of cred chipping over a billion peasants is nightmarish, and most people make too little to bother. The only ones who have cred chops now are the cadres and corps, and some rich Army and merchants.

Military
The People's Liberation Army has 10.5 million men and women under arms. Which is a force more than x5 as large as the combined assets of the Neo-Soviet regular armed forces and corporate forces. Unlike the European Community, the United States, and Japan it continues to practice industrial scale warfare (as do the Neo-Soviets to a lesser degree).

The Army's equipment is 2 generations behind that of Militech and only slightly inferior to the equipment of the U.S. Army. It prefers using long-range artillery to soften up the opposition before sending in the troops. PLA soldiers are effective on various types of terrain and far better than American soldiers at hand-to-hand combat.

The Navy has numerous ships, but most of them are surface ships. It's equipment is on par with that of the U.S. Navy. Due to their rivalry with Japan, the need to deal with Taiwan, and kick SovOil out of the South China Sea, the Chinese are starting to build more submarines.

The Air Force has mostly older aircraft and they don't have many of them. What they do have is a vast arsenal of missiles, including nuclear armed ones. China has cruise missiles with a range of 2,000 km and Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile capable of covering most of the Soviet Union.

When it comes to the Elite Forces of China, it is where the Chinese shine. Their elite troops have Militech equipment and are specially trained. They are selected at a young age, from either elementary or middle school. Chinese elite troops are the equal of the U.S. Special Forces.

CITIC
The China International Trust & Investment Corporation (CITIC) was set up by the PLA in the late 1980s. For all attempts and purposes it is China's megacorporation, a state-owned megacorp and the only one in China. It's divisions make most of the goods for internal use in China.

They have a joint venture with Militech, the American military-industrial megacorp, called CCMMC which arms and equips the PLA. Militech provides the People's Liberation Army with tech support and bulk discounts. China in turn gives Militech plenty of testing space, a low overhead, and cheap labor. Though the equipment that the PLA receives is not as good as that carrying the Militech label, it's far cheaper.

Society
China has a pyramidal society consisting of the cadres, military/corporate, artisan/merchant, peasant, and refugee classes;


 * Cadres: Party members and government workers. They are card-carrying members of the party, who get special privileges, control the bureaucratic ministries, and the political machine. Perks include credsticks, good food, cars, free education, and spacious housing.


 * Military: Receive a free education and military housing. They also get food and good medical treatment.


 * Corporates: They get company vehicles and housing. It is they who deal with the foreigners and run the joint-venture businesses.


 * Merchants / Artisans: Run the stores and food shops. They make the rugs, baskets, statues, and so on. Some of the farmers, the successful ones, are in this class. Members are allowed to keep some profits and live somewhat independently. If they make enough money, they are able to pay for their kids' education.


 * Peasants: Make up the great majority of the population and work in the state-owned factories. They are organized into work units and live packed in rooms in the factory complexes. Peasants receive minimal state health care, minimal schooling for their children, and low quality food. Minorities in tribal lands are included in this group.


 * Refugees: Belong both to this class and to any of the aforementioned classes. Their privileges and opportunities are based on what other class they are part of.

China Zhung Guo
The history of the Martial Arts in China is probably the longest in the world. Certainly its civilization is the oldest Because of the vast size of China, it may have numerically more styles than Japan. But many Arts rise and fall without leaving any physical traces.

There is no obvious evidence of when Martial Arts devel- j oped in China. Maybe even from prehistory, hitting styles like Boxing and Karate, or grappling styles like Sumo were being used. This is like Sumo and Koppo, but much earlier.

Evidence points out that mast modem Arts are connected to the Shaolin Temples. Shaolin Kung Fu was developed after exposure of the Buddhist priests to the Indian Arts, like Kalari, etc. This is the root of the modern Choi Li Fut. Choi Li Fut is found mainly south of the Yangtze river, and so is a "Southern Style." Chinese Southern styles focus on physical power, quickness. and rapid combinations.

Tai Chi Chum Pole of the Whole Nature) is also related to Shaolin Kung Fu. Tai Chi belongs to the 'Northern Styles", end stresses personal power, balance of energy, and the smooth flow from stillness to action, and vice versa.

Animal Kung Fu was developed around the 12th or 13th centuries, the origins are not clear. It has many sub-styles, using the actions of animals as a model. Some sub-styles are Southern, and some are Northern. The distinction between Southern and Northern is for convenience's sake, These are only the beginning point; the Styles have been spread and changed throughout the world. The two streams unify at the Master level. Beginners tend to focus on the stressed techniques of each style, but Masters use both Southern power and Northern balance for incredible effects.

Beijing - 34 million
Beijing, China’s sprawling capital, has history stretching back 3 millennia. Yet it’s known as much for modern architecture as its ancient sites such as the grand Forbidden City complex, the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Nearby, the massive Tiananmen Square pedestrian plaza is the site of Mao Zedong’s mausoleum and the National Museum of China, displaying a vast collection of cultural relics. In the year of 2045 air pollution in Beijing was dominated by coal-combustion and motor vehicles.

Tianjin - 20 million
Tianjin is a major port city in northeastern China. Following the 1858 Treaties of Tianjin, several Western nations established concessions in Tianjin. The European-style houses, municipal buildings and churches in Wudadao (Five Great Avenues) are legacies of that period. Standing in contrast are the city’s many modern skyscrapers, including the iconic 415m-tall Tianjin Radio and Television Tower.

Shanghai - 37 million
Shanghai, on China’s central coast, is the country's biggest city and a global financial hub. Its heart is the Bund, a famed waterfront promenade lined with colonial-era buildings. Across the Huangpu River rises the Pudong district’s futuristic skyline, including 632m Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, with distinctive pink spheres. Sprawling Yu Garden has traditional pavilions, towers and ponds. Shanghai is the most successful city in China, and bares a resemblance to Osaka and Kobe. The military does it's best to keep out the negative influence of the rest of the country, with that comes clean air, expensive skyscrapers, and punks from all over. Kang Tao is also based in Shanghai.

Domestic Environment
Though the countryside looks like something out of ancient China or a Third World nation, the cities are modern with the Net, cars, and public transportation. Like the cities in the West or Japan, you find skylines made up of skyscrapers. There is a privileged class, rich people, a middle class, and the poor. Technologically, the government and corporations have access to technology roughly comparable to what most of the developed world uses.

In China, only the cadres (and some of the corporates) are allowed to wear minimal body armor and to own a pistol (up to 10 rounds). Licenses are needed for cyberware, and only the military and the rich have cyberware. Most foreigners do their business in China via joint-ventures. The partner of choice for most of them is China's megacorp, CITIC. While in the cities there are a good number of foreigners, they are extremely rare in the countryside and are therefore fascinating to peasants.

China has a huge thriving black market where you can get guns, satellite dishes, sex, imported food, cyberware, and Japanese braindance. The centuries-old Triads are active throughout China, running criminal enterprises that are involved in the black market, smuggling, and vice. Within China there are also gangs, some of which evolve into Triads. Fortunately due to the restrictions on cyberware, these gangs are nowhere near as dangerous as the gangs in the United States or Europe due to them being far less lethal and less psychotic.

Due to the continuing existence of MLC cells, the nation is under semi-martial law. Capital punishment can be the penalty for crimes as minor as theft, except for the cadres who have much more leeway. If one is not executed, you are sent to work camps, prison factories, or a regular prison. Democracy activists and political dissidents are sent to either psych wards or work camps.

The Chinese Black Market
Almost everyone uses the black market from time to time. There you can get almost everything from imported food, to guns, Cyberware, satellite dish, sex and Japanese braindance. There is, of course, a thriving illegal money trade. Fixers buy foreign currency or Token chips, and sell them to other Chinese. The buyers use the cash to buy foreign goods from companies that won't accept the yuan, or for imported/smuggled goods.

The rates aren't as good as at the 'banks, but if its 11 p.m., and all you have is a 400 Eb and the merchant only takes yuan script, the Black market money changers become real convenient There are also quite a few Face Banks set up in the Hong Kong and Shanghai net nodes, and are Triad affiliated. The techs and hackers in HK also do chopping, but Bangkok is better for that Another hot item is black market language chips. In mainland China, the only legal language chips are Mandarin Chinese, English, and Japanese. However, there are illegally produced chips for most of the minority languages such as Lijiang, Turk, and Tibetan. It is rumored that some of these chips have lethal programs written in them and are released by the government.

Transportation
Most of the transportation is by train. yes, by electric or (more usually) diesel or coal! Although in Beijing, Shanghai. and Hong Kong you can see normal people with small cars or motorcycles, in mast cities, buses, pedicabs and bicycles are still the norm. Big ME and AVs are resewed for cadre members, or military usage.

Timeline
The timeline of China in the world of Cyberpunk.

1940

 * 1945
 * The United Nations Charter establishing the United Nations (UN) was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center by fifty nations including China.
 * Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: As many as eighty thousand Japanese, largely civilians, were killed in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima by a United States aircraft.
 * Surrender of Japan: Japanese forces in China formally surrendered to Chiang Kai-shek.
 * Surrender of Japan: China regains control of Taiwan from Japan and was proclaimed as Retrocession Day. Chen Yi of the Kuomintang was appointed Chief Executive.
 * Campaign to Suppress Bandits in Northeast China: The Communist People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched a campaign against bandits and KMT guerillas in northeast China.
 * 1946
 * Chinese Civil War: The NRA invaded PLA-held territory en masse.
 * 1947
 * The Constitution of the Republic of China came into force, dissolving the Nationalist government and renaming the NRA the Republic of China (ROC) Armed Forces.
 * 1949
 * Chiang resigned the presidency of the Republic of China due to military failures and under pressure from his vice president Li Zongren, who succeeded him as acting president.
 * Chinese Civil War: The PLA conquered the ROC capital Nanjing. The ROC moved its capital to Guangzhou.
 * Mao declared the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

1990

 * 1992
 * MLC is formed in Human Province by Hua Yuchi.
 * 1995
 * The MLC conquers Guangzhou Special Economic Zone, working its way towards Hong Kong.
 * 1997
 * Hong Kong officially reverts from Britain to China. There are no celebrations, as China is in the middle of a civil war.
 * Middle East Meltdown sends Muslim tribesmen over the border from irradiated areas into Western China.
 * 1999
 * Hong Kong riots. MLC agitators take to the streets in battles with Triads and Corporate security firms. Many corps pull out of Hong Kong. Martial Law is declared.

2000

 * 2002
 * Food Crash wipes out wheat crops worldwide. The North of China becomes deserted as everyone flees to the embattled South.
 * Renewed vigor in the Civil War, as both the PLA and the MLC make money selling rice, seafood, and artificial foods at inflated prices.
 * The PLA forms a Bio-research center to try and neutralize the plague.
 * 2004
 * Golden Triangle drug plantations nearly wiped out by DEA virus attack.
 * 2005
 * MLC effectively controls all of Southern China.
 * Second Korean War ends when Hanguk wins, depriving China of one of its markets.
 * 2007
 * MLC enters Hong Kong in force and start the programs.
 * Mongolia and Northern China food riots break out among those who were forced by the government to stay.
 * 2008
 * The Second Corporate War takes place in the South China Sea. China, formerly the major claimant to the Spratlys, is too tied up in the MLC war to do anything.
 * Taiwan officially declares permanent independence from the mainland, hires Arasaka to retrain their military. Again China is still too involved in internal problems.
 * General Jiang Xaxi is elected to the head of the Chinese Communist Party, and signs the 2008 China-US Mutul Aid Pact.
 * Militech buys into a joint-venture with CITIC.

2010

 * 2010
 * Corps and Triads in Hong Kong-Victoria make an alliance against their common foe, the MLC, which has complete control of the former colony up to Kowloon Bay.
 * 2013
 * Hua Yuchi assassinated by Cyber squad.
 * Brief dispute between Arasaka and Triad boss Big Len, before invasion of Kowloon.
 * 2014
 * The PLA retakes Canton, and its well on the way to victory over the MLC.
 * 2016
 * Sino-Euro-American Treaty is signed, allowing visitors in the various countries to drive on their license for up to six months. Hong Kong was excepted because of a need to keep numbers of cars down by the Triad-backed dealerships.
 * 2019
 * South China Golden Triangle drug lords start producing opium and heroin again from virus-resistant plants.

Prehistory
Archaeological evidence suggests that early hominids inhabited China between 2.24 million and 250,000 years ago. The hominid fossils of Peking Man, a Homo erectus who used fire, were discovered in a cave at Zhoukoudian near Beijing; they have been dated to between 680,000 and 780,000 years ago. The fossilized teeth of Homo sapiens (dated to 125,000–80,000 years ago) have been discovered in Fuyan Cave in Dao County, Hunan. Chinese proto-writing existed in Jiahu around 7000 bce, Damaidi around 6000 bce, Dadiwan from 5800–5400 bce, and Banpo dating from the 5th millennium bce. Some scholars have suggested that the Jiahu symbols (7th millennium bce) constituted the earliest Chinese writing system.

Earliest Dynastic Rule
According to Chinese tradition, the first dynasty was the Xia, which emerged around 2100 bce. Xia dynasty marked the beginning of China's political system based on hereditary monarchies, or dynasties, which lasted for a millennia.The dynasty was considered mythical by historians until scientific excavations found early Bronze Age sites at Erlitou, Henan in 1959. It remains unclear whether these sites are the remains of the Xia dynasty or of another culture from the same period.The succeeding Shang dynasty is the earliest to be confirmed by contemporary records. The Shang ruled the plain of the Yellow River in eastern China from the 17th to the 11th century bce. Their oracle bone script (from c. 1500 bce) represents the oldest form of Chinese writing yet found, and is a direct ancestor of modern Chinese characters.

The Shang was conquered by the Zhou, who ruled between the 11th and 5th centuries bce, though centralized authority was slowly eroded by feudal warlords. Some principalities eventually emerged from the weakened Zhou, no longer fully obeyed the Zhou king and continually waged war with each other in the 300-year Spring and Autumn period. By the time of the Warring States period of the 5th–3rd centuries bce, there were only seven powerful states left.

Imperial China
The Warring States period ended in 221 bce after the state of Qin conquered the other six kingdoms, reunited China and established the dominant order of autocracy. King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty. He enacted Qin's legalist reforms throughout China, notably the forced standardization of Chinese characters, measurements, road widths (i.e., cart axles' length), and currency. His dynasty also conquered the Yue tribes in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Vietnam. The Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after the First Emperor's death, as his harsh authoritarian policies led to widespread rebellion.

Following a widespread civil war during which the imperial library at Xianyang was burned, the Han dynasty emerged to rule China between 206 bce and ce 220, creating a cultural identity among its populace still remembered in the ethnonym of the Han Chinese. The Han expanded the empire's territory considerably, with military campaigns reaching Central Asia, Mongolia, South Korea, and Yunnan, and the recovery of Guangdong and northern Vietnam from Nanyue. Han involvement in Central Asia and Sogdia helped establish the land route of the Silk Road, replacing the earlier path over the Himalayas to India. Han China gradually became the largest economy of the ancient world. Despite the Han's initial decentralization and the official abandonment of the Qin philosophy of Legalism in favor of Confucianism, Qin's legalist institutions and policies continued to be employed by the Han government and its successors.

After the end of the Han dynasty, a period of strife known as Three Kingdoms followed, whose central figures were later immortalized in one of the Four Classics of Chinese literature. At its end, Wei was swiftly overthrown by the Jin dynasty. The Jin fell to civil war upon the ascension of a developmentally-disabled emperor; the Five Barbarians then invaded and ruled northern China as the Sixteen States. The Xianbei unified them as the Northern Wei, whose Emperor Xiaowen reversed his predecessors' apartheid policies and enforced a drastic sinification on his subjects, largely integrating them into Chinese culture. In the south, the general Liu Yu secured the abdication of the Jin in favor of the Liu Song. The various successors of these states became known as the Northern and Southern dynasties, with the two areas finally reunited by the Sui in 581. The Sui restored the Han to power through China, reformed its agriculture, economy and imperial examination system, constructed the Grand Canal, and patronized Buddhism. However, they fell quickly when their conscription for public works and a failed war in northern Korea provoked widespread unrest.

Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese economy, technology, and culture entered a golden age. The Tang Empire returned control of the Western Regions and the Silk Road, brought traders to as far as Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa, and made the capital Chang'an a cosmopolitan urban center. However, it was devastated and weakened by the An Shi Rebellion in the 8th century. In 907, the Tang disintegrated completely when the local military governors became ungovernable. The Song dynasty ended the separatist situation in 960, leading to a balance of power between the Song and Khitan Liao. The Song was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent standing navy which was supported by the developed shipbuilding industry along with the sea trade.

Between the 10th and 11th centuries, the population of China doubled in size to around 100 million people, mostly because of the expansion of rice cultivation in central and southern China, and the production of abundant food surpluses. The Song dynasty also saw a revival of Confucianism, in response to the growth of Buddhism during the Tang, and a flourishing of philosophy and the arts, as landscape art and porcelain were brought to new levels of maturity and complexity. However, the military weakness of the Song army was observed by the Jurchen Jin dynasty. In 1127, Emperor Huizong of Song and the capital Bianjing were captured during the Jin–Song Wars. The remnants of the Song retreated to southern China.

The 13th century brought the Mongol conquest of China. In 1271, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty; the Yuan conquered the last remnant of the Song dynasty in 1279. Before the Mongol invasion, the population of Song China was 120 million citizens; this was reduced to 60 million by the time of the census in 1300. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan in 1368 and founded the Ming dynasty as the Hongwu Emperor. Under the Ming dynasty, China enjoyed another golden age, developing one of the strongest navies in the world and a rich and prosperous economy amid a flourishing of art and culture. It was during this period that admiral Zheng He led the Ming treasure voyages throughout the Indian Ocean, reaching as far as East Africa.

n the early years of the Ming dynasty, China's capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. With the budding of capitalism, philosophers such as Wang Yangming further critiqued and expanded Neo-Confucianism with concepts of individualism and equality of four occupations. The scholar-official stratum became a supporting force of industry and commerce in the tax boycott movements, which, together with the famines and defense against Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) and Manchu invasions led to an exhausted treasury.

In 1644, Beijing was captured by a coalition of peasant rebel forces led by Li Zicheng. The Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide when the city fell. The Manchu Qing dynasty, then allied with Ming dynasty general Wu Sangui, overthrew Li's short-lived Shun dynasty and subsequently seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of the Qing dynasty.

Late Imperial China
The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 until 1912, was the last imperial dynasty of China. Its conquest of the Ming (1618–1683) cost 25 million lives and the economy of China shrank drastically. After the Southern Ming ended, the further conquest of the Dzungar Khanate added Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang to the empire. The centralized autocracy was strengthened to crack down on anti-Qing sentiment with the policy of valuing agriculture and restraining commerce, the Haijin ("sea ban"), and ideological control as represented by the literary inquisition, causing social and technological stagnation. In the mid-19th century, the dynasty experienced Western imperialism in the Opium Wars with Britain and France. China was forced to pay compensation, open treaty ports, allow extraterritoriality for foreign nationals, and cede Hong Kong to the British under the 1842 Treaty of Nanking, the first of the Unequal Treaties. The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) resulted in Qing China's loss of influence in the Korean Peninsula, as well as the cession of Taiwan to Japan.

The Qing dynasty also began experiencing internal unrest in which tens of millions of people died, especially in the White Lotus Rebellion, the failed Taiping Rebellion that ravaged southern China in the 1850s and 1860s and the Dungan Revolt (1862–77) in the northwest. The initial success of the Self-Strengthening Movement of the 1860s was frustrated by a series of military defeats in the 1880s and 1890s.

In the 19th century, the great Chinese diaspora began. Losses due to emigration were added to by conflicts and catastrophes such as the Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–79, in which between 9 and 13 million people died. The Guangxu Emperor drafted a reform plan in 1898 to establish a modern constitutional monarchy, but these plans were thwarted by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The ill-fated anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901 further weakened the dynasty. Although Cixi sponsored a program of reforms, the Xinhai Revolution of 1911–12 brought an end to the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China.