As time went by, the negative effects of the Heavenly Dynasty’s socio-economic policies became increasingly obvious. Many urban residents, particularly those who lived in Nanjing, were unhappy with the abolition of private property and those who remained loyal to Qing used this to their advantage. In the spring of 1854, those unhappy with the new regime attempted to secretly coordinate with the Qing army of the Southern Barracks, to the great astonishment of the leadership of the Taiping Army. Despite this, the Taiping-style public treasury did not cease operation until it could no longer survive. As regards the public treasury itself, it worked in the early stages of the rebellion, when the Taiping Army obtained a huge amount of money and grain in Nanjing. But, in the long term, the public treasury was unable to meet the needs of more than one million residents and soldiers. Take the free distribution of food, for example. When capturing Nanjing in March, 1853, all residents regardless of age and sex receive free and equal allotments of rice. Four months later, the distribution had to be based on a more accurate calculation. At the beginning of 1854, Nanjing’s grain reserves could only meet the public need for another four months and, by summer, only rice porridge was available for residents. Finally, in the fall, Nanjing, or the Heavenly Capital, ran out of grain. As a consequence, many had to go out of the city to look for food and some fled altogether.
The Taiping Army’s food supply mostly depended on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. The primary goal of the western expedition was precisely the collection of grain. The program of abolishing the traditional tax caused great inconvenience to both the Heavenly Dynasty and the peasants. By 1854, the number of residents loyal to the Taiping Army decreased significantly. In some cases, the army was forced to coercively collect grain. This exacerbated the tensions between the Taiping authorities and the local residents. Even the Taiping Army’s sympathizers objected to the army’s behavior to the people. To maintain basic governance, every government in a class society must try to limit social conflicts by establishing a certain order. In the case of the Heavenly Dynasty, the abolition of tax was not sustainable. The Taiping authorities finally decided to restore the traditional taxation system in the early summer of 1854. This dramatic policy change implied that the Taiping leadership recognized the legitimacy of private ownership as a means of production (land, for example). As a result, the Heavenly Dynasty’s economy improved and the people’s trust in the Taiping authorities was restored. In addition to the tax reform, Yang, who, again, was second only to Hong, declared that traditional marriage and family structures would be restored. Life returned to normal. It was at this time that the Taiping Army wiped out Qing’s Southern and Northern Barracks, posing a serious threat to Nanjing.
The Aggressive Anglo-French Expedition Against China
After China was left bruised and battered by the Taiping Rebellion, Britain and France began the Second Opium War (1856–1860). Although the imperialist powers had already gained many privileges after signing the Nanjing Treaty, their appetite for wealth and power still seemed unquenchable. Britain wanted to legalize the opium trade through war, in the hope that their economic interests in China could be protected, and they would stop at nothing.
As early as the 1850s, the British government headed by Lord Palmerston (1784–1865) was planning a war against China. On September 29, 1850, Palmerston wrote that his government would soon launch new strikes and would occupy strategic positions in the lower parts of the Yangtze River, sealing off the Grand Canal. He said, “They [the Chinese] care little for words and they must not only see the Stick but actually feel it on their Shoulders before they yield to that only argument which to them brings conviction the argumentum Baculinum.”10 The following September, Palmerston inquired about the best time to cut off Beijing’s grain supply by disrupting transportation on the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River.
The foreign powers made unreasonable demands to revise existing treaties, which led to war. Britain, the United States and others wanted to grab more privileges by amending the relevant treaties. As early as May, 1853, the British ambassador to China suggested that both sides revise the Nanjing Treaty. Britain demanded that all Chinese cities and ports must be opened to the British. At this time, the Taiping Army was advancing toward Tianjin, a city very close to the imperial capital. In these pressing circumstances, the revision of the treaties was laid aside. In July, the United States said that if Qing would revise the treaties, the foreign powers would in exchange cooperate to suppress the rebellion. The Qing government was suspicious about America’s motives and rejected their proposal. It should be pointed out that Britain’s demand for revising the Nanjing Treaty was totally unfounded, because this treaty was not commercial but political; the most-favored-nation clause could not be included in a revision of the signed treaty.
In 1854, Britain, France and the United States all demanded that the existing treaties be revised. The Qing government refused and instead opened up all of China, legalized the opium trade, increased tax exemptions, granted foreign diplomats permanent residence in Beijing and so on.
The United States, in 1855, appointed Peter Parker, a missionary, the Chargé D’affaires and required that he obtain permanent residence in Beijing and unlimited freedom for Americans to trade and travel throughout China. They said that in order to maximize their interests, the powers must drastically revise the existing treaties and get tough with China.11 He visited London and Paris, where the colonial diplomats reached an agreement. In August, as Parker was about to leave for Beijing and force the Chinese government to amend the treaties, his British counterpart asserted that without seeing the military might of the powers, China would not make significant concessions.12 Convinced by this, Parker gave up the trip. When the Sino-American Wangxia Treaty expired in 1856, Britain, France and the United States attempted to get Qing to revise the treaties in accordance with their demands. The Qing government again refused, making war, once again, inevitable.
The Crimean War ended in March, 1856. Russia lost to France and Britain. Britain then decided to send its warships to China. The adversaries of the Crimean battlefield now became comrades in the partition of China.
The Arrow was a commercial ship registered in Hong Kong. In October, 1856, the Guangdong navy searched this ship and arrested several pirates. The British consul in Guangzhou, at the British ambassador’s request, then alleged that the ship was owned by Britain and that the Chinese sailors had insulted the British national flag. He demanded an apology and the immediate release of those who had been arrested. The governor of Guangdong first wrote a letter to the British, angered at their statements. He later decided to send those arrested to the British consulate. The British army in late August began bombarding the city of Guangzhou; and, by the next spring, the Palmerston government began to frantically clamor for war against China. The opposition in Parliament questioned Palmerston and set a motion of non-confidence against him. An angered Palmerston asked for a new election. Parliament was reshuffled and finally enacted a bill of war. The British army commanded by James Bruce, Earl of Elgin, was sent to China. At the same time, the Palmerston government invited its French counterpart to join this aggressive expedition. France accepted Britain’s invitation in exchange for approval to expand into Vietnam and for support for an imprescriptible, privileged French Catholicism in China. Some French troops led by the Baron Gros joined the British.
The British and French began to arrive in Hong Kong in October, 1857. One month later, they were joined by the Americans and Russians. By the end of 1857, more than 5,600 British and French soldiers were stationed at the estuary of the Pearl River. Soon the British and the French joined forces and stormed into Guangzhou where they captured the governor. Later, this governor was sent to Calcutta, India, where he died in prison. The invaders set up a puppet regime