At the Crossroads of Empire:

Vietnam, India, China

Volume E

Copyright © 2017 W. W. Norton & Company

Colonial Influence 1850-1900
Vietnam
• Chinese rule
• Tây So’n peasant uprising
• Gia Long, French Indochina
• Imperial Japan,
World War II
India
1857 Revolt

• Hindu and Muslim leaders

• repressive measures
• British-born administrators
• English language
• Indian National Congress (1885)
• swaraj
China
• population growth
• peasant rebellion
• British opium trade
• Hong Xiuquan promised a
“Heavenly Kingdom of Great
Peace”
• Qing Dynasty
• international imperialism
The Boxer Rebellion
Nguyên Du (1765–1820)
“Heaven appoints each human to a
place./If doomed to roll in dust, we’ll roll
in dust;/we’ll sit on high when destined
for high seats./Does Heaven ever favor
anyone,/ bestowing both rare talent and
good luck?/ …Our karma we must carry
as our lot—” (lines 3242–49).
Ghalib (1797–1869)

• Born into a minor noble family

• Lost seven children, all before they were the age
of 15 months
• Started writing in Urdu but switched to Persian in
1822
• Failed to secure a patron or pension
• ghazal
Liu E (1857–1909)

• Son of government official

• Wild, rebellious youth
• Became more disciplined through religion while remaining
outspoken
• Wrote several novels, including The Travels of Lao Can (1904)
• Falsely accused of treason and exiled
Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922)
“Childhood is, indeed, the heyday of a Hindu
woman’s life. Free to go in and out where she
pleases, never bothered by caste or other
social restrictions, never worried by lesson-
learning, sewing, mending or knitting, loved,
petted and spoiled by parents, brothers and
sisters, uncles and aunts, she is little different
from a young colt whose days are spent in
complete liberty. Then lo, all at once the ban
of marriage is pronounced and the yoke put on
her neck forever!” (p. 512)
Parts of South, Southeast & East Asia
Test Your Knowledge
Which of the following had, for most of ancient history, been
the superpower in East Asia?

a. the Mughal Empire

b. Europe
c. India
d. China
Test Your Knowledge
Which empire took control of India by the middle of the
nineteenth century, displacing the long-ruling Mughal Empire?

a. the British
b. the Dutch
c. the French
d. the Chinese
Test Your Knowledge
The Vietnamese writer Nguyên Du is a good example of a
writer who ________ .

a. disavowed imperial traditions completely

b. embraced imperial traditions completely
c. embraced local traditions completely
d. embraced both local and imperial traditions
Test Your Knowledge
British presence in India was initially motivated primarily by
which of the following?

a. commerce
b. religion
c. politics
d. exploration
Test Your Knowledge
The British began smuggling which of the following into China
from India?

a. coal
b. rice
c. tea
d. opium
This concludes the Lecture PowerPoint presentation for

The Norton Anthology

of World Literature

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