China in the age of unequal treaties

This chapter examines the history of capitulations and unequal treaties in Sino-Western relations during the imperial era. Following the Qing Dynasty’s defeat in the First Opium War and the subsequent signing of the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, a narrative of inevitable decline emerged within Chinese historiography, viewing the acceptance of over five hundred such treaties until the 1900s as a period of national humiliation and catastrophe. This conventional portrayal often obscures a critical assessment of the treaty system, as conceptualized by John King Fairbank. By adopting a less nationalistic and more nuanced perspective, this chapter investigates the legal and administrative dimensions of the treaties, questioning the extent to which they enabled the Qing to deter foreign aggression and preserve sovereignty in East Asia, challenging the prevailing narrative of unmitigated degradation.