Qing dynasty
Qing Dynasty 清朝 | |
|---|---|
| 1636–1912 | |
.svg) Flag
 Imperial Seal
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| Anthem: 鞏金甌 Gǒng Jīn'ōu "Cup of Solid Gold" (1911–1912) | |
 The Qing dynasty at its greatest extent in 1760 superimposed on a modern world map. Territory under its control shown in dark green; territory claimed but not under its control shown in light green. | |
| Capital | Mukden (1636–1644) Beijing (1644–1912) |
| Official languages | Manchu, Mandarin Chinese |
| Religion | Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese folk religion |
| Demonym(s) | Chinese |
| Government | Absolute monarchy[a] |
| Emperor | |
• 1636–1643 (founder) | Chongde Emperor |
• 1643–1661 (first in Beijing) | Shunzhi Emperor |
• 1908–1912 (last) | Xuantong Emperor |
| Regent | |
• 1643–1650 | Dorgon, Prince Rui |
• 1908–1911 | Zaifeng, Prince Chun |
| Prime Minister | |
• 1911 | Yikuang, Prince Qing |
• 1911–1912 | Yuan Shikai |
| Area | |
• Total | 13.400000 km2 (5.173769 sq mi) |
| Today part of | People's Republic of China, Mongolia |
The Qing Dynasty or the Qing Empire (Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: Qīng cháo) was a dynasty of rulers of China from 1644 to 1912. The dynasty was founded by the Manchus and so its other name is the Manchu dynasty. The surname of the Qing emperors was Aisin Gioro. It became the Republic of China in 1912 after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution.
Rise of the Manchu state
[change | change source]In 1580, Nurhaci became the Jian Zhou general of the Ming dynasty. He unified the Manchu tribe and organised the Eight Banners. In 1616, Nurhaci declared himself Khan (King) and founded the Jin dynasty in Liao Ling. In 1626, Nurhaci led armies to attack Ning Yuan. Unluckily, Nurhaci was wounded by Yuan Chonghuan's Portuguese cannon and he died 2 days later. Huang Taiji, the son of Nurhaci, then succeeded to the throne and became the Khan of the Manchu tribe. In 1643, Huang Taiji was dead, caused by apoplexy. Shunzhi Emperor inherited Huang Taiji's throne. Prince Dorgon became the regent. In 1644, the Manchu armies conquered the north of China. The capital was changed to Beijing. The Ming dynasty was overthrown, though fighting continued until 1683.
History
[change | change source]Strong early rulers (1644–1796)
[change | change source]The first Qing emperors were very capable.The Kangxi Emperor ruled for 61 years (1661–1722) — longer than any other Chinese emperor. He put down a big rebellion by powerful warlords. He pushed back Russian soldiers in the north and signed a peace agreement with Russia. He also defeated the Mongols in Central Asia. He was curious about Western science and welcomed many foreign scholars to his court.
The Yongzheng Emperor (1722–1735) was strict but very hard-working. He fought corruption and fixed the tax system.
The Qianlong Emperor (1735–1796) ruled during the best years of the Qing. The empire grew to its biggest size ever — including Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia. He loved art and books, and ordered the collection of thousands of old Chinese texts. But during his reign, corruption also grew worse.
In 1793, Britain sent a team to China to ask for more trade. The Qianlong Emperor said no. He believed China had everything it needed and did not want foreign goods.
Problems begin (1796–1839)
[change | change source]After the Qianlong Emperor, things started going wrong. Peasant rebellions broke out across the country. The Qing army was slow and weak after years without real fighting. It took many years and a lot of money to put down these uprisings. Foreign trade was also a growing problem. British merchants started bringing large amounts of opium — a dangerous drug — into China from India. By the 1830s, millions of Chinese people were addicted. Money was leaving the country, and the government was worried.
The Opium Wars (1839–1860)
[change | change source]In 1839, a Qing official named Lin Zexu destroyed more than 20,000 boxes of British opium in the city of Guangzhou. Britain was angry and sent warships. TheFirst Opium War (1839–1842) was a big defeat for China. British ships were much more powerful. China had to give Hong Kong to Britain and open several ports to foreign trade. A Second Opium War (1856–1860) with Britain and France was even worse. Foreign soldiers marched to Beijing and burned the Summer Palace. China had to agree to more unfair treaties. Chinese historians call this period the start of the "Century of Humiliation" — a long time when China was weak and foreign countries took advantage of it.
Big rebellions inside China (1850–1873)
[change | change source]At the same time, China faced huge rebellions from its own people. The Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) was one of the deadliest wars in all of history. A man named Hong Xiuquan believed he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ. He gathered millions of followers and captured much of southern China. Around 20 to 30 million people died before the rebellion was finally stopped.Other large rebellions also broke out in northern and northwestern China, killing millions more.
Restoration
[change | change source]A. The self-strengthening movement (1861 - 1895)
[change | change source]
The self-strengthening movement (Chinese: 洋務運動 or 自強運動; 1861 - 1895) was a reform organised during the late Qing. With the defeat in the Opium Wars and the outbreak of Taiping Rebellion, the emperor and the imperial officials realised that it was necessary to improve the country's state with a series of reforms. Therefore, the Self-Strengthening Movement was started.
The movement could be divided into three phases: the first phase (1861 - 1872), the second phase (1872 - 1885) and the third phase (1885 - 1895). The major leaders are Yixin, Prince Gong (Chinese: 恭親王), Wenxiang (Chinese: 文祥), Zeng Guofan (Chinese: 曾國藩), Li Hongzhang (Chinese: 李鴻章), Zuo Zongtang (Chinese: 左宗棠), Shen Baozhen (Chinese: 沈葆禎) and Zhang Zhidong (Chinese: 張之洞). However, owing to the conservatives opposition and the problems of modernization, it failed finally.
Reforms were:
- National defence
- Arsenals were built in Shanghai and Xiamen.
- Shipyards were built in Fuzhou and Tianjin.
- The Beiyang Fleet was organized by Li Hongzhang.
- Industry and trade
- Modern banks were built.
- Many industries were built in the South of China.
- Diplomatic modernization
- The Zongli Yamen, a foreign office of the Qing dynasty, was set up in 1861.
- In 1868, the Qing government sent its first official diplomatic mission aboard.
B. The hundred days' reform (1898)
[change | change source]
With the failure of the Self-Strengthening Movenment, the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War and the scramble for concessions, many Chinese leaders realised that reforms were urgently needed. Thus, the Hundred Day's Reform (Chinese: 戊戌變法; 11 June 1898 - 21 September 1898) was started in 1898. The leaders of the reform were Guangxu Emperor, Kang Youwei (Chinese: 康有為) and Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啟超). Eventually, it ended in a coup d'état led by Empress Dowager Cixi.
The main reforms were:
- Political reforms
- Useless government posts were to be abolished.
The Boxers uprising
[change | change source]In 1900, a group called the Boxers rose up. They hated foreigners and believed magic made them safe from bullets. They attacked foreign people and Chinese Christians, and surrounded the foreign embassies in Beijing. Cixi made a terrible decision: she declared war on all foreign countries at once. Eight countries — including Britain, France, Germany, Japan, and the USA — sent armies to China. They quickly defeated the Qing forces and entered Beijing. Cixi ran away in disguise. China was made to pay an enormous amount of money as punishment.
The end of the dynasty (1901–1912)
[change | change source]After all these disasters, even Cixi agreed China needed real change. The Qing started building modern schools, a new army, and promised to create a constitution. But for many people, these changes came too late. A revolutionary movement was growing. Young Chinese wanted to end the monarchy and build a modern republic. The leader of this movement was Sun Yat-sen.
In 1908, both Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor died within one day of each other. The new emperor, Puyi, was only two years old.
On October 10, 1911, soldiers in the city of Wuchang rose up against the Qing. The revolt spread fast.
On February 12, 1912, the six-year-old Emperor Puyi stepped down. The Qing dynasty was over. More than two thousand years of imperial rule in China ended that day. China became a republic.
Qing government and society
[change | change source]Politics
[change | change source]The Manchus changed their ways to be more like the Chinese in order to rule them better. The Manchus started wearing Chinese clothes and writing in Chinese. They began to enjoy Chinese food and art. One of the Manchu emperors, Qianlong Emperor, began to worry about how much like the Chinese the Manchus were becoming and he tried to get Manchus to be more Manchu. Qianlong Emperor made Manchus ride horses and shoot bows and arrows so that they would remember where they came from. The Chinese people used different types of clothes like maccukau, konaha, schinin and sakahn.
Regional Development
[change | change source]- Guangdong
In the early Qing, Guangdong was a province. There were 79 counties. In 1911, it was checked that there were 5,041,780 households, approximately 28,001,564 people. The famous mountains in Guangdong were Lingchau, Huangling and Luofu. Dongjiang, Beijiang and Xijiang were the most important rivers in Guangdong. Guangzhou, Zhaoqing, Xiamen and Fujian were the major Guangdong cities.
Further reading
[change | change source]- History of Ming, compiled under Zhang Tingyu in 1739.
- Draft History of Qing, compiled under Zhao Erxun in 1927.
Notes
[change | change source]- ↑ Briefly a constitutional monarchy following the onset of the Xinhai Revolution in 1911.
Other websites
[change | change source]Emperors of the Qing Dynasty | ||
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