Qing dynasty

Great Qing
  • 大清 (Chinese)
  • ᡩᠠᡳ᠌ᠴᡳᠩ
    ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ
     (Manchu)
1644[1][2]–1912
Flag of Qing dynasty
Flag (1889–1912)
Anthem: 
Imperial seal:
大清帝國之璽
The Qing dynasty at its greatest extent in 1760, with modern borders shown. Claimed territory that was not under its control is shown in light green.
The Qing dynasty at its greatest extent in 1760, with modern borders shown. Claimed territory that was not under its control is shown in light green.
Capital
Largest cityBeijing
Official languages
Ethnic groups
Religion
Demonym(s)Chinese
GovernmentAbsolute monarchy[c]
Emperor 
• 1636–1643 (proclaimed in Shenyang)
Chongde Emperor
• 1644–1661 (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
Legislature
Historical eraLate modern
1636
1644–1662
1687–1758
1747–1792
1839–1842
1850–1864
1856–1860
1861–1895
1894–1895
1898
1900–1901
1901–1911
1911–1912
12 February 1912
Area
1700[6]8,800,000 km2 (3,400,000 sq mi)
1790[6]14,700,000 km2 (5,700,000 sq mi)
1860[6]13,400,000 km2 (5,200,000 sq mi)
1908[7]11,350,000 km2 (4,380,000 sq mi)
Currency
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Later Jin
Ming dynasty
Dzungar Khanate
Kingdom of Tungning
Republic of China
Bogd Khanate
Uryankhay Republic
Tibet
Qing dynasty
Chinese name
Chinese清朝
Dynastic name
Chinese
Mongolian name
Mongolian CyrillicДайчин Улс
Mongolian script
  • ᠳᠠᠢᠢᠴᠢᠩ
  • ᠤᠯᠤᠰ
Manchu name
Manchu script
  • ᡩᠠᡳ᠌ᠴᡳᠩ
  • ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ
AbkaiDaiqing gurun
MöllendorffDaicing gurun

The Qing dynasty (/ɪŋ/ ching), officially the Great Qing,[d] was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history.[e] The dynasty, proclaimed in Shenyang in 1636,[8] seized control of Beijing in 1644, which is considered the start of the dynasty's rule.[2][9][1][10][11][12][13] The dynasty lasted until 1912, when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multi-ethnic Qing dynasty assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With over 426 million citizens in 1907,[14] it was the most populous country in the world at the time.

Nurhaci, leader of the House of Aisin-Gioro and vassal of the Ming dynasty,[15][16] unified Jurchen clans (known later as Manchus) and founded the Later Jin dynasty in 1616, renouncing the Ming overlordship. His son Hong Taiji was declared Emperor of the Great Qing in 1636. As Ming control disintegrated, peasant rebels captured the Ming capital Beijing, but a Ming general opened the Shanhai Pass to the Qing army, which defeated the rebels, seized the capital, and took over the government in 1644 under the Shunzhi Emperor and his prince regent. Resistance from Ming rump regimes and the Revolt of the Three Feudatories delayed the complete conquest until 1683. As a Manchu emperor, the Kangxi Emperor (1661–1722) consolidated control, relished the role of a Confucian ruler, patronised Buddhism (including Tibetan Buddhism), encouraged scholarship, population and economic growth.[17][18] Han officials worked under or in parallel with Manchu officials. The dynasty also adapted the ideals of China's tributary system in asserting superiority over peripheral countries such as Korea and Vietnam, while extending control over Inner Asia including Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang.

The High Qing era was reached in the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735–1796). He led Ten Great Campaigns and personally supervised Confucian cultural projects. After his death, the dynasty faced internal revolts, economic disruption, official corruption, foreign intrusion, and the reluctance of Confucian elites to change their mindsets. With peace and prosperity, the population rose to 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, soon leading to fiscal crisis. Following China's defeat in the Opium Wars, Western colonial powers forced the Qing government to sign unequal treaties, granting them trading privileges, extraterritoriality and treaty ports under their control. The Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) and the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) in western China led to the deaths of over 20 million people, from famine, disease, and war. The Tongzhi Restoration in the 1860s brought vigorous reforms and the introduction of foreign military technology in the Self-Strengthening Movement. Defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 led to loss of suzerainty over Korea and cession of Taiwan to Japan. The ambitious Hundred Days' Reform in 1898 proposed fundamental change, but the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835–1908) turned it back in a coup.

In 1900 anti-foreign "Boxers" killed many Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries; in retaliation, the foreign powers invaded China and imposed a punitive indemnity. In response, the government initiated unprecedented fiscal and administrative reforms, including elections, a new legal code, and the abolition of the examination system. Sun Yat-sen and revolutionaries debated reform officials and constitutional monarchists such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao over how to transform the Manchu-ruled empire into a modernised Han state. After the deaths of the Guangxu Emperor and Cixi in 1908, Manchu conservatives at court blocked reforms and alienated reformers and local elites alike. 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. In 1917, it was briefly restored in an episode known as the Manchu Restoration, but this was neither recognized by the Beiyang government (1912–1928) of the Republic of China nor the international community.

  1. ^ a b Rowe (2009), pp. 292.
  2. ^ a b "Ritual Music in the Court and Rulership of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)" (p. 136): "[1636] was the start of the Qing dynasty, although historians usually date the Qing dynasty started in 1644 when the Manchus conquered Beijing and north China."
  3. ^ Söderblom Saarela (2021).
  4. ^ Norman (1988), pp. 133–134.
  5. ^ "Living in the Chinese Cosmos: Understanding Religion in Late Imperial China (1644–1911)", What is Popular Religion, Columbia University, archived from the original on 19 January 2015, retrieved 15 June 2021
  6. ^ a b c Taagepera, Rein (September 1997). "Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia" (PDF). International Studies Quarterly. 41 (3): 500. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00053. JSTOR 2600793. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  7. ^ 王堅強, 陳家華, 王永中 (2018). 歷史與時事學法指導. 寧波出版社. p. 8. ISBN 9787552632859.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Gamsa, Mark (2020). Manchuria – A Concise History. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 155. ISBN 978-1788317894.
  9. ^ "Qing (Manchu) dynasty (1644-1912)". Facts and Details. August 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Qing dynasty (1644–1911)". Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  11. ^ Hearn, Maxwell K. (October 2003). "The Qing Dynasty (1644–1911): Painting". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  12. ^ Po, Ronald C. (23 August 2018). Emperors of the Qing Dynasty, 1644–1912. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108424615. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)". 16 May 2011. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  14. ^ Marshall Broomhall (1907). The Chinese Empire: A General and Missionary Survey, Volumes 678-679. Morgan at Scott. pp. 2–3.
  15. ^ The Cambridge History of China: Volume 9, The Ch'ing Empire to 1800, Part 1, by Willard J. Peterson, p. 29
  16. ^ Rowe (2009), pp. 14–15.
  17. ^ "Kang Hsi Emperor". Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  18. ^ Deng, Kent (2015). China's Population Expansion and Its Causes during the Qing Period, 1644–1911 (PDF). p. 1. Retrieved 22 March 2024.


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