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Flag of Qing Dynasty, 1862–1890
Qing Dynasty era brush container
Pine, Plum and Cranes, 1759 AD, by Shen Quan (1682—1760). Hanging scroll, ink and colour
on silk. The Palace Museum, Beijing.
The Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662–1722)
Pilgrim flask, porcelain with underglaze blue and iron-red decoration. Qing dynasty, Qianlong
period in the eighteenth century.
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the eighteenth century during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor.
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Xi Wang Mu ("Godmother of the West"), a Daoist deity, decor on a Qing dynasty
porcelain plate, famille-rose-style, Yongzheng
Emperor period, 1725 AD.
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Columbia Encyclopedia:
Ch'ing
(chĭng) or Manchu (măn'chū', măn'chū') , the last of the Imperial dynasties of China.
Background
The Ch'ing dynasty was established by the Manchus, who invaded China and captured Beijing in 1644, and lasted until 1911. The term Ch'ing means “pure,” and it was used to add legitimacy to an alien rule. The Manchus adopted many aspects of Chinese culture, won widespread Chinese collaboration, and ruled China in some ways while preserving special privileges for themselves. Although many Chinese officials were employed in central and local governments, the Manchus held half of the high offices to assure control over administration.
The Early Ch'ing
Emperor K'ang-Hsi (reigned 1661–1722) consolidated the Manchu regime by suppressing rebellions (1673–81) and defeating the Mongols and Tibetans. In 1689 the Ch'ing signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk with Russia, demarcating the northern extent of the Manchurian boundary at the Argun River. When Jesuit missionaries appeared, K'ang-Hsi issued (1692) an edict of toleration and employed some of them as astronomers and artists in the palace. But the Roman Catholic Church's decision not to allow the Chinese converts to worship Confucius and their ancestors led to the expulsion of the missionaries in the early 18th cent.
Under Emperor Ch'ien-lung (reigned 1735–96), China attained its greatest territorial expansion: Outer Mongolia, Tibet, Nepal, and Turkistan were included in the empire. The economy and commerce greatly expanded. Handicraft industries, such as porcelain manufacture, prospered. Painting, especially the “literati painting” (wen-jen-hua), by which artists tried to express personal feelings, flourished. The Beijing Opera was patronized by Manchu aristocrats. The Manchus, however, maintained an autocratic cultural policy of suppressing subversive writings. Many Chinese authors were jailed, exiled, or killed for criticizing the regime or commenting on current affairs. Study of the ancient classics thrived, and numerous works were compiled and cataloged.
The early Ch'ing's foreign trade policy was affected by considerations of national security. As China's economic growth attracted the attention of European maritime powers, the dynasty tried to limit contacts between foreigners and potential rebels. An imperial edict in 1759 allowed maritime trade only at the port of Guangzhou.
Western Imperialism and Internal Pressures
By the 19th cent. British merchants, who had actively traded in S China, pressured their government to make repeated attempts (1793, 1816, 1834) to open China's market by establishing official trade relations with the Ch'ing government. All these attempts failed. But Britain's victory in the first of the Opium Wars (1839–42) forced China to sign the Treaty of Nanjing (1842), the first of the unequal treaties that China signed with Western countries. By these treaties China was forced to open coastal and later internal ports to foreign trade and residence, cede Hong Kong to Great Britain, and establish extraterritoriality for Western nations.
The Manchu regime, already weakened by Western encroachments, was further enfeebled by internal rebellions. The Taiping Rebellion (1851–64) nearly brought the dynasty to an end. However, the Manchu regime suppressed the major rebellions and embarked on a policy of diplomatic, technological, and military modernization led by Tseng Kuo-fan (1811–72) and Li Hung-chang (1823–1901). These statesmen played important roles in the T'ung Chih restoration (1862–74), during which the dynasty attempted to restore the traditional order by reasserting Confucian social values and importing modern weaponry from the West.
China yielded to Western demands for permanent diplomatic representation in Beijing (1860) and continued to suffer territorial encroachments. Russia occupied Ili, Japan incorporated the Ryukyu islands, France made Annam a protectorate, and Great Britain completed its annexation of Burma (Myanmar). The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95) deprived China of its suzerainty over Korea and Taiwan, and the war was followed by the partition of mainland China into “spheres of influence.” The general agreement was that Great Britain should predominate in the Chang (Yangtze) valley, France in the extreme south, and Russia in Manchuria. After the Russo-Japanese War (1904–5), Japan took over Russia's sphere.
Efforts to strengthen the dynasty against foreign imperialism were undertaken by Kang Yowei (1858–1927) with the support of the emperor Kuang-hsu. These efforts, however, were frustrated by the dowager empress Tz'u Hsi, who aborted the reform movement in a coup. She supported the Boxer Uprising, however, in a vain attempt to dislodge the foreign powers (1898–1900).
Collapse of the Dynasty
Following foreign suppression of the Boxer Uprising, Tz'u Hsi changed course and allowed some moderate educational and administrative reforms. However, the dynasty acted slowly upon the demands of intellectuals, social leaders, and progressive provincial governors for a national assembly and a change to constitutional monarchy.
From abroad Sun Yat-sen helped to foster and lead a movement for the revolutionary overthrow of the Manchus and establishment of a republic. A coalition, which included moderate leaders in S China, revolutionary students who had returned from the West, and military officers, finally overthrew the dynasty in the Revolution of 1911. Following the collapse of the Ch'ing, China abandoned its 2,000-year tradition of monarchic rule in favor of a republican form of government.
Bibliography
See S. Y. Teng and J. K. Fairbank, China's Response to the West (1954); F. Wakeman, Jr., The Fall of Imperial China (1975) and The Great Enterprise: The Manchu Reconstruction of Imperial Order in Seventeenth-Century China (2 vol. 1985); I. C. Y. Hsü, The Rise of Modern China (1990); J. D. Spence, The Search for Modern China (1990).
A Chinese dynasty (1644–1912) during which increasing Western influence and trade led to the Opium War (1839–1842) with Britain and the Boxer Rebellion (1898–1900). The dynasty, China's last, was overthrown by nationalist revolutionaries.
Wikipedia:
Qing Dynasty
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The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: Qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: Ch'ing ch'ao;
Manchu: 
daicing gurun; Mongolian: Манж Чин Улс), also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China from 1644 to 1911. The dynasty was founded
by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro in what is today
northeast China (Manchuria). Starting in 1644 it
expanded into China proper and its surrounding territories, establishing the Empire of
the Great Qing (simplified Chinese: 大清国;
traditional Chinese: 大清國; pinyin: dàqīngguó). The Qing Dynasty was the last Imperial dynasty of China. Declared as the Later Jin Dynasty in 1616, it changed its
name to "Qing", meaning "clear" or "pellucid", in 1636 and captured Beijing in 1644. By 1646 it
had come into power over most of present-day China, although complete pacification of China would not be accomplished until
1683.
During its reign, the Qing Dynasty was highly integrated with Chinese culture. However, its military power weakened during the 1800s, and faced with international pressure, massive rebellions and defeats in wars, the Qing Dynasty declined after the mid-19th century. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution, when Empress Dowager Longyu abdicated on behalf of the last emperor, Puyi, on February 12, 1912.
Formation of the Manchu State
The Dynasty was founded not by the Han Chinese who form the majority of the Chinese population, but the Manchus, who are today an ethnic minority within China. The Manchus are decended from Jurchens (Zh: 女真), a Tungusic people who lived around the region now comprising the Russian province of Primorsky Krai and the Chinese province of Heilongjiang. What was to become the Manchu state was founded by Nurhaci, the chieftain of a minor Jurchen tribe in Jianzhou (Zh: 建州), in the early seventeenth century. Originally a vassal of Ming Dynasty, Nurhaci in 1582 embarked on an inter-tribal feud that escalated into a campaign to unify the Jianzhou Jurchen tribes. By 1616 he had sufficiently consolidated Jianzhou region to proclaim himself Khan of 'Great Jin' in reference to the previous Jurchen dynasty. Historians refer to this pre-Qing entity as 'Later Jin' to distinguish it from the first Jin Dynasty. Two years later Nurhachi openly renounced the sovereignty of Ming's overlordship in order to complete the unification of those Jurchen tribes still allied to Ming Dynasty. After a series of successful battles he relocated his capital from Hetu Ala to successively bigger captured Ming cities in the province of Liaodong (Zh: 辽东), first Liaoyang (Zh: 辽阳; Ma: dergi hecen) in 1621 and again in 1625 to Shenyang (Zh: 沈阳; later renamed Shengjing; Zh: 盛京; Ma: Mukden).
Relocating his court from Jianzhou to Liaodong provided Nurhaci a bigger power base in terms of human and material resources; geographically it also brought him in close contact with the Mongol domains on the plains of Mongolia. Although by this time the once united Mongol nation under Genghis Khan had long fragmented into individual and at times hostile tribes, these disunited tribes still presented a serious security threat to Ming's borders. Nurhaci's policy towards the Mongols was to seek their friendship and cooperation, thus securing the Jurchen's western front from a potential enemy. Furthermore, the Mongols proved a useful ally in the war lending the Jurchens their traditional expertise as cavalry archers. To cement this new alliance Nurhaci initiated a policy of inter-marriages between Jurchen and those Mongolian nobility compliant to Jurchen leadership, while those who resisted were met with military action. This is a typical example of Nurhachi's many initiatives that eventually became official Qing government policy, as such Nurhachi is widely credited by historians as well as his descendents - successive Qing emperors as the founder of the Dynasty. Some of Nurhaci's other important contributions include ordering the creation of a written Manchu language based on Mongolian script, and the creation of the civil and military administrative system that eventually evolved into the Manchu Banners the defining element of Manchu identity, thus laying foundation for transforming the loosely knitted Jurchen tribes into a nation.
Nurhaci's unbroken series of military successes came to an end in January 1626 when he was dealt his first major military defeat by general Yuan Chonghuan while laying siege to the Ming city of Ningyuan. (Please read Battle of Ningyuan). He died a few months later[1] and was succeeded by his eighth son Hung Taiji who emerged after a short political struggle amongst other potential contenders as the new Khan. Although an experienced general and the commander of two Banners at the time of his succession, Hung Taiji's reign did not start well on the military front. The Jurchens suffered yet another defeat in 1627 at the hands of Yuan Chonghuan. As was in the previous year this defeat was the result of the superior firepower of Ming forces' newly acquired Portuguese sourced cannons. To redress the technological and numerical disparity Hung Taiji in 1634 created his own artillery corps (Zh: 重军, Ma: ujen chooha) from amongst his existing Han troops who casted their own cannons from European design with the help of captured Chinese artisans. In 1635 the Manchu's Mongolian allies were fully incorporated into a separate Banner hierarchy under direct Manchu command. Hong Taiji then defeated in 1637 the army of King Injo of Korea with the aftermath being that (i) Korea becomes a tributary state of the Manchus and (ii) Korea will serve in the upcoming war against Ming China. Together with the Korean troops and troops formed from the various tribes conquered in Manchuria, the Manchus led by Hung Taiji were able to resoundingly defeat Ming forces in a series of battles from 1640 to 1642 for the territories of Songshan (Zh: 松山)) and Jingzhou (Zh: 锦州)). This final victory resulted in the surrender of many of Ming Dynasty's most battle hardened troops and the complete permanent withdrawal of remaining Ming forces from lands north of the Great Wall.
On the civil front, Hung Taiji, on the advice of surrendered Ming officials, set up a rudimentary bureaucratic system based on the Ming model of government. Hung Taiji's bureaucracy was staffed with an unprecedented number of Han Chinese, many of them newly surrendered Ming officials. However Jurchen continued dominance in government was ensured by an ethnic quota for top bureaucratic appointments. Hung Taiji's reign also saw a fundamental change of policy towards his Han Chinese subjects. Whereas under Nurhaci all captured Han Chinese were seen as a potential fifth column for the Ming Dynasty and treated as chattel - including those who eventually held important government posts, Hung Taiji in contrast incorporated them into the Jurchen "nation" as full if not first class citizens who too were obligated to provide military service. This change of policy not only increased Hung Taiji's powerbase and reduced his military dependence on those Banners not under his personal control, it also greatly encouraged other Han Chinese subjects of Ming Dynasty to surrender and accept Jurchen rule when they were defeated militarily. Through these and other measures Hung Taiji was able to centralize power unto the office of the Khan which in the long run prevented the Jurchen federation from fragmenting after his death.
One of the most defining events of Hung Taiji's reign was the official adoption of the
name "Manchu" (Zh: 满族) for all Jurchen people in November 1635. And when the imperial seal of the Yuan
emperors was presented to Hung Taiji by the son of Ligden Khan, the last grand-Khan of the
Mongols, Hung Taiji in 1636 renamed the state from "Later
Jin" to "Great Qing" and elevated his position from Khan to Emperor, suggesting imperial ambitions beyond unifying Manchu territories. Some
sources suggested that the name "Qing" was chosen in reaction to that of the Ming Dynasty
(明) which consists of the Chinese characters for sun (日) and moon (月), which are
associated with the fire element. The character Qing (清) is composed of the water (水) radical and the character for blue-green
(青), which are both associated with the water element. Other suggested that the name change went a long way to rehabilitate the
Manchu state in the eyes of the Ming era Han Chinese who
being heavily infleunced by a Neo-Confucian education system had regarded the former Jurchen
Claiming the Mandate of Heaven
Hung Taiji died suddenly in September 1643 without a designated heir. Because
Jurchen had traditionally "elected" their leader through a council of nobles, the Qing state
did not have in place a clear succession system until the reign of
After easily taking Beijing in April, 1644, Li Zicheng led a coalition of rebel forces numbering 200,000[2] to confront Wu Sangui, the general commanding Ming's garrison at Shanhai Guan (Zh:山海關). Shanhai Guan is a pivotal pass of the Great Wall of China located fifty miles northeast of Beijing and for years its defenses were what kept the Manchus from directly raiding the Ming capital. Wu caught between a rebel army twice his size and a foreign enemy he had fought for years, decided to cast his lot with the Manchus which he was familiar with and made an alliance with Dorgon to fight the rebels. Some sources suggested that Wu Sangui's actions were influenced by news of mistreatment of his family and his concubine Chen Yuanyuan at the hands of the rebels when the Ming capital fell. Regardless of the actual reason(s) for his decision[3], this awkward and some would say cynical alliance between Wu Sangui and his former sworn enemy was ironically made in the name of avenging the death of Ming Emperor Chongzhen. Together, the two former enemies met and defeated Li Zicheng's rebel forces in battle on May 27, 1644. After routing Li's forces the Manchu captured Beijing on June 6 where Emperor Shunzhi was installed as the "Son of Heaven" on October 30. The Manchus who had positioned themselves as political heir to the Ming Emperor by defeating Li Zicheng, completed the symbolic act of transition by holding a former funeral for Emperor Chongzhen. However the process of conquest took another seventeen years of battling Ming loyalists, pretenders and rebels. The last Ming pretender, Prince Gui, sought refuge with the King of Burma a vassal of the Ming Dynasty but was turned over to a Qing expeditionary army commanded by Wu Sangui who had him brought back to Yunnan province and executed in early 1662.
The first seven years of Shunzhi’s reign was dominated by the regent prince Dorgon who because of his own political insecurity within the Manchu power structure followed Hung Taiji’s example of centralizing power unto himself in the name of the Emperor at the expense of other contenting Manchu princes many whom eventually were demoted or imprisoned under one pretext or another. Although the period of his regency was relatively short, Dorgon cast a long shadow over the Qing Dynasty. Firstly the Manchus were able to enter "China Proper" only because of Dorgon’s timely decision to act on Wu Sangui’s appeal for military assistance. After capturing Beijing instead of sacking the city as the rebels had done before them, Dorgon insisted over other Manchu princes on making it Qing’s capital and largely reappointed Ming officials back to their posts. Setting the Qing capital in Beijing may seem a straight forward move with hindsight, but it was then an act of innovation because historically no major Chinese dynasty had ever "inherited" its immediate predecessor’s capital. Keeping the Ming capital and bureaucracy intact helped quickly stabilize the country and greatly sped up Manchu's process of conquest. However not all of Dorgon’s policies were equally popular nor easily implemented. One of his most controversial decisions was his 1646 imperial edict ordering all Han Chinese men to follow Manchu custom of dressing including shaving the front of their heads and combing the remaining hair into a queue. To the Manchus this policy might both be a symbolic act of submission and in practical terms an aid in identification of friend from foe, however for the Han Chinese it totally went against their traditional Confucian values[4]. Unsurprisingly it was deeply unpopular and together with other policies unfavourable towards the Han Chinese might account for the increasingly steep resistance met by Qing forces after 1646.
Dorgon died suddenly while on a hunting expedition in 1651[5] marking the official start of Emperor
Shunzhi’s personal rule. However because the Emperor was only twelve years old at that
time, most decisions were made on his behalf by his mother, the Empress Dowager
Xiao-Zhuang who turned out to be a skilled political operator. Although
Dorgon’s “support” was paramount to Shunzhi’s ascend and
rule in the early years of the Emperor’s reign, Dorgon had
through the years centralised so much power unto his office as imperial regent to become a direct threat to the throne, so much
so that upon his death Dorgon was extraordinarily bestowed the posthumous title of
Emperor Yi (Zh: 義皇帝), the only instance in Qing
history of a Manchu "prince of the blood" (Zh: 亲王) was so honoured. However two months into Shunzhi’s
personal rule Dorgon was not only striped of his titles, but his corpse was disinterred and
mutilated[6] to atone for multiple "crimes" - one of which
was persecuting to death Shunzhi’s agnate
eldest brother Hooge. More importantly Dorgon’s
symbolic fall from grace also signalled a political purge of his family and associates in court
thus reverting power back to the person of the Emperor. However from a promising start,
Shunzhi’s reign was cut short by his early death in 1661 at the age of twenty-four from
smallpox[7]. He was
succeeded by his third son
Kangxi and consolidation
At sixty one years,
The Manchus found controlling the "Mandate of Heaven" a daunting task. The vastness of China's territory meant that there were only enough banner troops to garrison key cities forming the backbone of a defence network that relied heavily on surrendered Ming soldiers. In addition, three surrendered Ming generals were singled out for their contributions to the establishment of the Qing dynasty, ennobled as feudal princes (藩王), and given governorships over vast territories in Southern China. The chief of these was Wu Sangui (吳三桂), who was given the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, while generals Shang Kexi (尚可喜) and Geng Zhongming (耿仲明) were given the Guangdong and Fujian provinces, respectively.
As the years went by, the three feudal lords and their territories inevitably became increasingly autonomous. Finally, in 1673, Shang Kexi petitioned Kangxi Emperor, stating his desire to retire to his hometown in Liaodong (遼東) province and nominating his son as his successor. The young emperor granted his retirement, but denied the heredity of his fief. In reaction, the two other generals decided to petition for their own retirements to test Kangxi's resolve, thinking that he would not risk offending them. The move backfired as the young emperor called their bluff by accepting their requests and ordering all three fiefdoms to be reverted back to the crown.
Faced with the stripping of their powers, Wu Sangui felt he had no choice but to rise up in revolt. He was joined by Geng Zhongming and by Shang Kexi's son Shang Zhixin (尚之信). The ensuing rebellion lasted for eight years. At the peak of the rebels' fortunes, they managed to extend their control as far north as the Yangtze River (長江). Ultimately, though, the Qing government was able to put down the rebellion and exert control over all of southern China. The rebellion would be known in Chinese history as the Revolt of the Three Feudatories.
To consolidate the empire,
Kangxi Emperor also handled many Jesuit Missionaries that came to China hoping for mass conversions. Although they failed in their attempt, Kangxi peacefully kept the missionaries in Beijing.
The Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors
The reigns of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723–1735) and his son the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796) marked the height of Qing's power. During this period, the Qing Dynasty ruled over 13 million square kilometres of territory.
After the Kangxi Emperor's death in the winter of 1722, his fourth son Prince Yong (雍親王) succeeded him as the Yongzheng Emperor. Yongzheng remained a controversial character because of rumours about him usurping the throne, and in the late Kangxi years, he was involved in great political struggles with his brothers. Yongzheng was a hardworking administrator who ruled with an iron hand. His first big step towards a stronger regime came when he brought the State Examination System back to its original standards. In 1724, he cracked down on illegal exchange rates of coins, which was being manipulated by officials to fit their financial needs. Those who were found in violation of new laws on finances were removed from office, or in extreme cases, executed.
Yongzheng showed a great amount of trust in Han officials, and appointed many of his proteges to prestigious positions. Nian Gengyao was appointed to lead a military campaign in place of his brother Yinti in Qinghai. Nian's arrogant actions, however, led to his downfall in 1726. Yongzheng's reign saw consolidation of imperial power at its height in Chinese history. More territory was incorporated in the Northwest. A toughened stance was directed towards corrupt officials, and Yongzheng led the creation of a Grand Council, which grew to become the de facto Cabinet for the rest of the dynasty.
The Yongzheng Emperor died in 1735. This was followed by the succession of his son Prince Bao (寶親王) as the Qianlong Emperor. Qianlong was known as an able general. Succeeding the throne at the age of 24, Qianlong personally led the military in campaigns near Xinjiang and Mongolia. Revolts and uprisings in Sichuan and parts of southern China were successfully put down.
Around forty years into Qianlong's reign, the Qing government saw a return of rampant corruption. The official Heshen was arguably one of the most corrupt in the entire Qing Dynasty. He was eventually forced into committing suicide by Qianlong's son, the Jiaqing Emperor (r. 1796–1820).
Rebellion, unrest and external pressure
- See also: Taiping Rebellion, Dungan revolt, Panthay Rebellion, and Nien Rebellion
A common view of nineteenth century China is that it was an era in which Qing control weakened and prosperity diminished. Indeed, China suffered massive social strife, economic stagnation, and explosive population growth which placed an increasing strain on the food supply. Historians offer various explanations for these events, but the basic idea is that Qing power was, over the course of the century, faced with internal problems and natural disasters which were simply too much for the antiquated Chinese government, bureaucracy, and economy to deal with.
The Taiping Rebellion in the mid-nineteenth century was the first major instance of anti-Manchu sentiment threatening the stability of the Qing dynasty, a phenomenon that would only increase in the following years. However, the horrific number of casualties of this rebellion—as many as 30 million people—and the complete devastation of a huge area in the south of the country have to a large extent been overshadowed by another significant conflict. Although not nearly as bloody, the outside world and its ideas and technologies had a tremendous and ultimately revolutionary impact on an increasingly weak and uncertain Qing state. The Qing government would go on to face more revolts, this time by Muslims who would fight the Panthay Rebellion (1856-1873) and the Dungan revolt (1862-1877).
One of the major issues affecting nineteenth-century China was the question of how to deal with other countries. Prior to the nineteenth-century, the Chinese empire was the hegemonic power in Asia. Under its imperial theory, the Chinese emperor had the rights to rule "all under heaven". Depending on the period and dynasty, it either ruled territories directly or neighbors fell under its hierarchical tributary system. Historians often refer to the underlying concept of Chinese empire as "an empire with no boundary." However, the eighteenth century saw the European empires gradually expand across the world, as European states developed stronger economies built on maritime trade. European colonies had been established in nearby India and on the islands that are now part of Indonesia, whilst the Russian Empire had annexed the areas north of China. In 1793, Great Britain attempted to forge an alliance with China, sending the Macartney Embassy to Hong Kong with gifts for the Emperor, including examples of the latest European technologies and art. When the British delegation received a letter from Peking explaining that China was unimpressed with European achievements, and that George III was welcome to pay homage to the Chinese court, the deeply offended British government aborted all further attempts to reconcile relations with the Qing regime.
When the Napoleonic Wars ended in 1815, world trade rapidly increased, and as China's vast population offered limitless markets for European goods, trade between Chinese and European merchants expanded during the early years of the nineteenth century. This increased trade, though, led to increasing hostility between European governments and the Qing regime.
In 1793, the Qianlong Emperor stated to the British Ambassador Lord Macartney that China had no use for European manufactured products.[8] Consequently, leading Chinese merchants only accepted bar silver as payment for their goods. The huge demand in Europe for Chinese goods such as