As a result of the 1st Opium War, China basically turns into 'Opium Land.' Addiction didn't discriminate between officials, soldiers, or commoners, producing countless addicts across the Qing Empire. By 1850, the opium epidemic spiraled out of control, and the Qing Dynasty essentially entered a state of national dissolution.
Having lost the 1st Opium War, the Taiping Rebellion breaks out, dealing a final death blow to the dynasty. This pseudo-religious cult founded by Hong Xiuquan provided great comfort to the hopeless masses and took control of the entire region south of the Yangtze River.
The Taiping Rebellion was eventually suppressed by private armies (the Xiang and Huai Armies) raised by Han Chinese generals. These men would later become the main players in the era of the great warlords in modern Chinese history.
Britain was looking for ways to seize more interests by taking advantage of the chaos in Qing. By around 1860, the only regions in the world that hadn't been colonized were the three Far Eastern countries: China, Korea, and Japan.
Britain wanted colonization beyond just trade, and they needed a pretext to pick a fight. That was the 'Arrow Incident.'
The Arrow Incident was a product of propaganda. In reality, the British flag was never desecrated and no British citizens were arrested, but Britain used this as an excuse to trigger the 2nd Opium War.
Napoleon III’s France also joined the war, basically acting as Britain's sidekick.
In 1856, Britain devastated Guangzhou. In 1858, Ye Mingchen, the Viceroy of Liangguang, was captured and starved to death in India. The allied forces moved north and signed the Treaty of Tianjin.
During the ratification process of the Treaty of Tianjin, a British warship violated the treaty and headed toward Beijing but was repelled. In response, the Anglo-French allies decided to send a massive expeditionary force to capture Beijing.
In the Battle of Palikao, the Qing Eight Banners cavalry was absolutely shredded by European square formations. The Xianfeng Emperor abandoned Beijing and fled to Rehe. Beijing fell for the first time in history.
The Anglo-French allies looted and burned the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan), the Emperor's summer residence. Afterward, the Convention of Beijing was signed through Russian mediation, and Russia acquired the Primorsky Krai (Outer Manchuria).
This war signaled the end of the Sinocentric world order, and China was relegated to a semi-colonial state by Western powers. Opium continued to poison Chinese society for the next 100 years.
Seeing China's downfall, Japan felt the fear and began to emulate the West through the Meiji Restoration. Meanwhile, Joseon (Korea) ended up tightening its isolationist policy even further due to information control and the dominance of in-law politics (Sedo politics).
"History buffs are geeking out over the massive tech gap between the West and the Qing Dynasty, while some Koreans are busy blaming their 19th-century ancestors for missing the 'modernization' bus and starting a disastrous historical snowball."
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