The Qing Dynasty 1644-1900

CNN explanation: Manchu armies moving south from their homeland conquered China to establish the Qing, or "pure" dynasty. For about 150 years, the Qing presided over a relatively prosperous time. But pressure by Western nations for trade with China brought about the Opium Wars in the mid-1800s -- the first of a series of humiliations for the Qing.

The latter half of the 19th century also saw a series of uprisings, especially the devastating Taiping Rebellion, which claimed millions of lives. Japanese forces defeated China during a brief war in 1894-95. The anti-Western Boxer Rebellion of 1900 was crushed by Western troops -- leading to further weakening of the Qing. The dynasty finally collapsed in 1911 -- after which a Chinese Republic was briefly established.

Manchus and Imperialism: The Qing Dynasty 1644-1900

Jurchen origins beyond the Wall

Nurchaci's Banner system (8 Manchu, 8 Mongol, and 8 Chinese)

Mongolian alphabet used to write Manchu and translate the Ming legal code and other Chinese classics.

Manchu hairstyle. (Mr. Lu says that even today, the Chinese use a phrase similar to the English "kicking the bucket," "to cut off the pigtail".

Conquering the south: the massacre at Yangzhou

Modern Chinese borders including the "protectorate" of Tibet

*Kangxi (1662-1722) Used the banner system in administering the government as well. Tolerated diversity including Christianity.

Jesuits -- Portuguese educated missionaries whom Kangxi patronized in exchange for Western scientific information. Jesuits appointed to direct the Imperial board of Astronomy. Mateo Ricci reconciled Confucianism with Christianity. The Pope wanted more control, so Kangxi kicked them all out.

see Jonathan Spence's Portrait of an Emperor 

Yongzheng, forbid hereditary positions and was effective until he promoted Heshen, a corrupt advisor.

Qianlong, grandson of Kangxi, further patronized the European arts and architecture but believed generally that 'We possess all things.'

Territorial expansion through superior military technology: Taiwan (1683); the West (Xinjiang province, 1800s), and Tibet (1720). Tibet is given semi-autonomy but less than its previous tributary status.

*Lord George Macartney (1793) attempts to establish formal (non-tributary) relations but fails because he is not willing to *Kowtow.

*British Opium War (1840-1842) Preceding this incident, the Chinese official *Lin Zexu tried to stop the sale and use of opium in the South to no avail. His appeal to Queen Victoria that the British had a double moral standard also fell on deaf ears. The British move to Hong Kong during the purge to oust British opium traders. By the end of the British insurgence, the Treaty of Nanjing was completed at gunpoint guaranteeing a low tariff on British goods, secession of Hong Kong, and direct relations between England and the Ming government, and *extraterritoriality for British subjects in China.

How do these obvious breaches in morality influence the adoption or lack of adoption of European technology and economics during the Ming?

Culture and Society

Conservative reaction to the liberalism and corruption of the late Ming period.

Population increase outpaces social services capacity.

*Dream of Red Mansions, by Cao Xueqin (1715-64). What does it say about the continuing obsessions of the gentry and want-to-be gentry?

European Relations: 16th century (Spanish and Portuguese), 17th century (Dutch), 18th (England). English government monopolies like the British East Indian Company traded with the Chinese government-sponsored Co-hong, the official merchant guild in Guangzhou (Canton). Canton became the limit of European trading in 1759. Most time spent in the Portuguese city of Macao.

General shift from European idealization of China to condescension.

Internal Dissent

White Lotus; Eight Trigrams; *Hong Xiuquan's Taiping (Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace) Rebellion -- note the syncretism with Christianity.

Why couldn't the Taiping leadership in Nanjing gain support from any major group?

Zeng Guofan and his gentry and peasantry followers take ten years to kill off the Taiping followers.