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Arrow Incident
Conflict between Chinese authorities and British traders used to justify war.
Bakumatsu
“End of the bakufu” — final years of Tokugawa rule (1853–1868).
Canton System
Restricted foreign trade to one port under strict government supervision.
Chōnin
Urban merchant class in Tokugawa Japan who gained wealth but lacked political power.
Chōnin
Urban merchant-artisan class in Tokugawa Japan.
Civil Service Examination
Competitive system selecting government officials through Confucian learning.
Cohong
Guild of licensed merchants controlling all foreign trade in Canton (Guangzhou).
Commissioner Lin Zexu
Qing official who led anti-opium efforts; symbol of Chinese moral resistance.
Commodore Perry
U.S. naval officer whose arrival forced Japan to open to the West.
Daimyō
Regional lords who ruled local areas and commanded their own samurai armies.
Dynastic Decline
The gradual weakening of a ruling dynasty due to corruption and unrest.
Edo (Tokyo)
Tokugawa capital; political and cultural heart of Japan.
Eight Banners
Manchu military divisions that organized soldiers and families into hereditary units.
Ever Victorious Army
Western-trained Chinese force led by foreign officers like Charles Gordon.
Extraterritoriality
Foreign citizens exempt from local laws.
Free Trade
British ideology that markets should be open and unrestricted by governments.
Gunboat Diplomacy
Using the threat or presence of naval power to pressure another government into a trade or diplomatic agreement.
Gunboat Diplomacy
Use of military pressure to achieve diplomatic or trade concessions.
Han Chinese
The majority ethnic group in China, often resentful of Manchu domination.
Heshen
Infamous corrupt official during Qianlong’s reign.
Hong Xiuquan
Leader of the rebellion; claimed divine inspiration to overthrow the Qing.
Industrial Revolution
The transformation of European economies in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through mechanization and industrial production, partially financed by profits from slavery and colonial trade.
Jiaqing Emperor
Qianlong’s successor, who suppressed the rebellion and executed Heshen.
Kabuki
Popular theater form combining drama, dance, and music.