Qing dynasty

The Qing dynasty (/tʃɪŋ/ CHING), officially the Great Qing, also known as the Qing Empire or Qing China, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. It existed from 1636/1644 to 1912. It was the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history. The Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. For other uses of the word "Qing," see Qing (disambiguation). Do not confuse it with the Qin dynasty, the first dynasty of imperial China.

At the height of its power, the empire stretched from the Sea of Japan in the east to the Pamir Mountains in the west, and from the Mongolian Plateau in the north to the South China Sea in the south. The Qing controlled more territory than any other dynasty in Chinese history. In 1790, it was the fourth-largest empire in world history up to that point. It was also the most populous state of its time, with over 426 million citizens in 1907. The multi-ethnic Qing dynasty assembled the territorial base for modern China.

The dynasty grew out of the Later Jin dynasty, founded in 1616 and proclaimed in Shenyang in 1636. Nurhaci, leader of the Jianzhou Jurchens and the House of Aisin Gioro, united Jurchen clans, who were later known as Manchus. He set up the Eight Banners military system, and his son Hong Taiji was declared Emperor of the Great Qing in 1636. When Ming control fell apart, peasant rebels captured Beijing for a short time as the Shun dynasty. The Ming general Wu Sangui opened the Shanhai Pass to the Qing army, which defeated the rebels and took the capital in 1644. Full conquest was not complete until 1683, which marked the start of the High Qing era. The Kangxi Emperor helped strengthen Qing rule during this time.

The dynasty reached its peak under the Qianlong Emperor, who led the Ten Great Campaigns of conquest. After his death, the dynasty faced revolts, economic problems, official corruption, and foreign pressure. Following China's defeat in the Opium Wars, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States forced the Qing government to sign unequal treaties. This period became known as the century of humiliation. The Taiping Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt in western China led to the deaths of over 20 million people from famine, disease, and war.

The dynasty tried to change in several ways. Defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War led to the loss of suzerainty over Korea and the cession of Taiwan to the Empire of Japan. Later, the government began unprecedented fiscal and administrative reforms, but the Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911 led to the Xinhai Revolution. The abdication of the Xuantong Emperor on 12 February 1912 brought the dynasty to an end.

Names

Main article: Names of the Qing dynasty

See also: Names of China

Hong Taiji proclaimed the Great Qing dynasty in 1636. People have different ideas about what the Chinese character Qīng (清, meaning 'clear' or 'pure') was meant to show. One idea is that it contrasted with the Ming. The Ming character Míng (明, 'bright') is linked to fire in the Chinese zodiacal system, while Qīng is linked to water, which may show the Qing winning as water defeats fire. The name may also have had Buddhist meanings of wisdom and enlightenment, and a possible link to the bodhisattva Manjusri. Early European writers used the word "Tartar" for many peoples of Northern Eurasia. In the 1600s, Catholic missionaries used "Tartar" only for the Manchus, and "Tartary" for the lands they ruled, including Manchuria and nearby parts of Inner Asia that the Qing ruled before the Ming–Qing transition.

After conquering China proper, the Manchus called their state "China." The emperors used "China" for the lands of the Qing state, including areas that are now Northeast China, Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Tibet. They described China as a state with many peoples, and they rejected the idea that only Han areas were truly part of China. Official documents, including Chinese versions of treaties and world maps, used "China" and "Qing" to mean the same state. When the Qing conquered Dzungaria in 1759, they announced that the new land had become part of "China." The government also taught that the "outer" peoples, such as Mongolians and Tibetans, and the "inner" Han Chinese were joined together as "one family" under the Qing state.

Main article: History of the Qing dynasty

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of the Qing dynasty.

Further information: Manchuria under Ming rule, Jurchen unification, and Timeline of the Jurchens § 17th century

See also: Transition from Ming to Qing

The Qing dynasty was not founded by Han Chinese, who made up most of the population. It was founded by Manchus, a farming people descended from the Jurchens, who lived in the area that is now the Chinese provinces of Jilin and Heilongjiang. The early Manchu state was started by Nurhaci. His son Hong Taiji renamed the state "Great Qing" in 1636 and became emperor. After Hong Taiji died in 1643, his young son became the Shunzhi Emperor at the age of five. In 1644, rebels captured Beijing. The Manchus then allied with the Ming general Wu Sangui and defeated the rebel leader Li Zicheng. The Manchus took Beijing that June, but it took another seventeen years to conquer the rest of China. The Kangxi Emperor reigned for 61 years, the longest of any emperor in Chinese history, and his reign began the High Qing era. The reigns of the Yongzheng Emperor and the Qianlong Emperor marked the height of Qing power.

Later, the dynasty faced many problems. European countries wanted more trade, and disputes over the opium trade led to the First Opium War and the Second Opium War. The Taiping Rebellion was a major uprising that caused millions of deaths. In 1900, the Boxers attacked foreigners and Chinese Christians, and a group of foreign armies, the Eight-Nation Alliance, entered China. The Qing government tried to reform, but these efforts were not enough. In 1911, the Wuchang Uprising started a series of revolts. The Republic of China was founded in 1912 with Sun Yat-sen as its leader. On 12 February 1912, the child emperor Puyi gave up the throne, ending more than 2,000 years of imperial rule in China.

Government

Main article: Government of the Qing dynasty

See also: List of diplomatic missions of the Qing dynasty

Main article: Military of the Qing dynasty

Main article: Administrative divisions of the Qing dynasty

Further information: Administration of territory in dynastic China § Qing dynasty (1644–1912)

The early Qing emperors kept many of the Ming government offices and shared power between Han Chinese and Manchu officials, with some jobs going to Mongols. Officials were chosen through the imperial examination system, which ended in 1905. The emperor was the absolute ruler, and six Boards (ministries) ran the government, with jobs split between Manchu nobles and Han officials who had passed the highest state examinations. The Grand Secretariat, once important under the Ming, became an imperial chancery. Routine work happened in the Outer Court of the Forbidden City, while the important decisions were made in the Inner Court, where the Grand Council grew from the 1720s under the Yongzheng Emperor and acted like a privy council to the emperor. Each post had both a Manchu and a Han Chinese official, so the Han did the work while the Manchu watched for loyalty. The Imperial Household Department, which was unique to the Qing, managed the imperial family and the inner palace, largely replacing eunuchs. It also handled relations with Tibet and Mongolia, trade in goods such as jade, ginseng, salt, and furs, Relations with the Salt Superintendents and salt merchants, and textile factories and books. Its staff were booi, or "bondservants." Although the Qing started as an absolute monarchy, by the early 20th century it moved toward a constitutional monarchy, setting up an Advisory Council and holding a parliamentary election to prepare for a constitutional government. The Qing was founded by conquest and kept by armed force. Its early military centred on the Eight Banners, formed in 1615 by Jurchen leader Nurhaci, and his son Hong Taiji renamed the Jurchens "Manchus" and added more banners before the conquest of China proper began in 1644. Surrendered Chinese troops joined the Green Standard Army. The army weakened during long peace, but the Qing still defeated the Dzungar Mongols in 1759 and completed the conquest of Xinjiang, though its armies were largely ineffective by the late 18th century, as seen in the Ten Great Campaigns, the White Lotus Rebellion, and the Taiping Rebellion. In that uprising, Han Chinese governors-general, led first by Zeng Guofan, raised regional armies. In 1860, British and French forces in the Second Opium War captured Beijing and sacked the Summer Palace. The Self-Strengthening Movement built shipyards, including the Jiangnan Arsenal and Foochow Arsenal, and bought modern guns and battleships. The Beiyang Fleet was virtually destroyed in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895. A New Army was created, but the Eight Nation Alliance still invaded China to put down the Boxer Uprising in 1900. A revolt by a New Army corps in 1911 led to the fall of the dynasty.

At its largest, in the 18th century, the Qing ruled China proper (eighteen provinces) as well as Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, Outer Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, about 13,000,000 km² (5,000,000 sq mi). Later the number of provinces rose to 22 as Manchuria and Xinjiang were divided or made provinces. Taiwan, once part of Fujian, became its own province in the 19th century but was ceded to Japan after 1895. The provinces followed Ming units, with Huguang split into Hubei and Hunan. Each province had a governor, a provincial military commander, and civil, military, and censorate lines of control. Below the provinces were prefectures, subprefectures, and counties run by a county magistrate. The viceroy was the highest provincial rank, and the Viceroy of Zhili, responsible for the area around Beijing, was considered the most powerful of the eight. By the mid-18th century, outer regions were also under control, with Imperial commissioners sent to Mongolia and Tibet and overseen by the Lifan Yuan. Qinghai was ruled directly by the court. Xinjiang was split by the Tian Shan into Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin, and the Jahangir Khoja invasion in the 1820s led to Han settlement being allowed in the Tarim Basin. Manchuria was ruled by generals until it was divided into provinces, and parts of the region were lost to the Russian Empire. An Inner Willow Palisade once separated Manchuria from China proper. The emperor ruled as Mongol khan, patron of Tibetan Buddhism, and protector of Muslims. Policy changed in 1884 when Xinjiang became a province, after Yakub Beg invaded during the Great Game and the Dungan revolt, and ruled Kashgaria. The Kumul Khanate kept its status as a vassal. In the early 20th century, Britain sent an expedition force to Tibet, and the 1906 Anglo-Chinese Convention followed. The Qing also set up the Viceroy of the Three Northeast Provinces to oversee the three provinces of Manchuria.

Society

The population grew from about 150 million in 1700 to 450 million by 1850. New crops from the Americas, such as maize and sweet potatoes, helped reduce hunger, and smallpox was brought under control through more inoculations. Campaigns against infanticide also reduced infant deaths. Many Han Chinese moved to Yunnan and Guizhou in the 1700s, and to Taiwan. Manchuria was closed to Han settlement by the Willow Palisade, but by 1780 Han Chinese made up 80% of its population. Most people were "good" commoners, while "mean" people, such as slaves, entertainers, and some low-level government workers, had lower status and were not allowed to take the imperial examination. The gentry, who had passed civil service examinations, enjoyed special privileges and managed local affairs.

Main article: Qing literati

Main article: Royal and noble ranks of the Qing dynasty

The basic unit of society was patrilineal kinship, and families compiled genealogies to keep local society stable. The emperor was responsible for "all under heaven" and took responsibility for all religions. As the "Son of Heaven", he was also the head priest of the State Cult. The Manchu imperial family was especially drawn to Gelug Buddhism, and the Fifth Dalai Lama looked to the Qing court for support. Shamanism was the most common religion among the Manchus. In Chinese folk religion, families focused on shen, or spirits, and beliefs from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism were often mixed together. In 1724 the Yongzheng Emperor banned Christianity. During the Boxer Uprising in 1900, village youths attacked Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries, and the foreign powers that followed imposed an indemnity.

Further information: Religion in China § Qing dynasty

Economy

Main article: Economy of the Qing dynasty

By the end of the 1600s, China's economy had recovered from the wars that brought down the Ming dynasty. Over the next century, markets grew, trade between regions increased, and the population rose from about 150 million in the late Ming period to 300 million by the end of the 1700s. Long peace and new crops from the Americas, such as peanuts, sweet potatoes and maize, helped this growth. Many farmers began growing crops to sell rather than only for their own use. The government lowered taxes compared with the late Ming, replaced the corvée system with a head tax used to hire workers, and made the Grand Canal run more efficiently. Qing rulers were wary of rich merchants and limited their trading licenses. These limits are critiqued by some scholars as a cause of the Great Divergence, when the West overtook China economically.

Silver became the standard money for large trades, and much of it came from mines in the New World after the Spanish conquered the Philippines in the 1570s. China exported tea, silk and manufactured goods, creating a large, favorable trade balance with the West. Trade with Western merchants was limited to Canton, where a group of thirteen firms known as the Canton Cohong had exclusive rights until the Opium War ended this system in 1842. Tea was the most important export. Guild halls, known as huiguan, gave travelling merchants places to stay and do business. The central government's income grew only slightly during the 1700s and early 1800s. Taxes called likin were added after the Opium Wars, but only 20% of this money was sent by the provinces to the board of revenue in Beijing.

Science and technology

Main article: History of science and technology in China

Chinese scholars, court academies, and local officials continued the strengths of the late Ming dynasty in astronomy, mathematics, and geography, as well as in ceramics, metallurgy, water transport, and printing. Qing officials and scholars eagerly explored the science and technology brought by Jesuit missionaries, which goes against some Western stereotypes. Manchu leaders used Jesuits to make cannon and gunpowder for the conquest of China, and the court supported their work in astronomy. These efforts aimed to improve inherited science, not replace it. Scientific knowledge grew, but the way it was organised and tested did not change. Scholars shared their findings and saw themselves as men of science, but they were still literati rather than a separate professional group.

The Opium Wars showed the power of steam engines and military technology that had only recently been used in the West. During the Self-Strengthening Movement of the 1860s and 1870s, officials in several coastal provinces built an industrial base for military technology. Bringing railroads into China raised political questions more than technical ones. A British company built a 19 km (12 mi) line between Shanghai and Woosung in 1876, obtaining the land under false pretenses, and it was soon torn up. Court officials feared local opinion and worried that railways would help invaders, harm farmland, and disturb feng shui. To keep railway development in Chinese hands, the Qing government borrowed 34 billion taels of silver from foreign lenders between 1894 and 1911. By 1900, only 470 km (292 mi) were in operation, but 8,400 km (5,200 mi) of railway was eventually completed.

Arts and culture

See also: Chinese art § Late imperial China (1368–1912), Chinese literature § Classical fiction and drama, Classical Chinese poetry § History and development, and Qing poetry

Under the Qing, older art forms flourished and new ideas appeared in many areas. High literacy, a strong publishing industry, busy cities, and the Confucian focus on self-improvement all supported a lively creative culture. By the end of the 1800s, artists and scholars had begun to deal with the culture of the West and Japan, and Liang Qichao and Wang Guowei opened new paths later followed by the New Culture Movement. The Qing emperors enjoyed poetry and often painting, and they supported Confucian culture. The Kangxi Emperor sponsored the Peiwen Yunfu and the Kangxi Dictionary, and the Qianlong Emperor sponsored the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries. Court painters made new versions of Zhang Zeduan's Along the River During the Qingming Festival. Imperial support also encouraged ceramics, Chinese export porcelain, and Peking glassware, and European interest in chinoiserie grew along with trade and Orientalism.

Fine arts

The most impressive works were made by scholars and city elites. Calligraphy and painting were central to them, and they saw the four arts as part of their identity. Painters from the early years of the dynasty included the Four Wangs, Bada Shanren, and Shitao. In the 1800s, the Shanghai School appeared.

Traditional learning flourished, especially among Ming loyalists such as Dai Zhen and Gu Yanwu. Scholars in evidential learning examined texts with careful doubt, while Lin Zexu and Wei Yuan developed practical statecraft. Poetry remained a mark of the cultivated gentleman, and women wrote in larger numbers. Novels also flourished: Pu Songling wrote Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Shen Fu wrote Six Chapters of a Floating Life, and Cao Xueqin's Dream of the Red Chamber reached a high point. In cuisine, Yuan Mei applied aesthetic standards to cooking and tea, and the Manchu–Han Imperial Feast began at court. New foods such as sweet potatoes from the Philippines, white potatoes from Peru, corn on the cob, and peanuts entered Qing cooking.

Early Qing writers also explored romantic bonds between men in some works, such as Bian er chai, which remained popular. Later, the Great Qing Legal Code outlawed certain intimate acts between men in 1740, and works like Bian er chai were repeatedly banned.

Historiography

See also: Legacy of the Qing dynasty

Traditional Chinese historiography used the Confucian idea of the dynastic cycle to organise China's past into ruling houses that rose and then collapsed. The Qing dynasty was the final chapter of China's 2000-year history as an empire. John King Fairbank of Harvard University, who is largely credited with founding modern Chinese history in the United States, divided the last half millennium around 1842. Everything before was "traditional China", and after the Western "shock" of the First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking, "modern China" was born. A similar division is also used in China today.

The New Qing History is a revisionist school of thought that appeared in the mid-1990s and focuses on the Manchu character of the dynasty. Earlier historians had stressed how conquerors were absorbed into Han Chinese culture through sinicisation. In the 1980s and early 1990s, American scholars learned the Manchu language and studied archives held for a long time in Taipei and Beijing. They concluded that Manchu rulers 'manipulated' their subjects by building a sense of Manchu identity, often using Central Asian models of rule as well as Confucian ones. William T. Rowe of Johns Hopkins University wrote that the name "China" was understood during the Ming dynasty to mean the Han Chinese political world. The Qing later used "China" for their wider empire, and by the 19th century Han Chinese writers treated China as a multinational state with extended borders.