Qing Dynasty

The Qing dynasty, pronounced "ching" and sometimes known as the Manchu dynasty, was the last dynastic house to rule Imperial China. Despite the claims of CCP revisionists, the Qing were not Chinese, but rather from the neighbouring country of Manchuria, however they did rule China for a long time. The Qing dynasty succeeded the Ming in 1644, and was itself replaced by the Republic of China in 1912. The Qing dynasty, now more commonly known as the Aisin Gioro, continue to rule as "Emperor of Manchuria" today, albeit exiled to Japan after the Soveit invasion of Manchuria in 1945. (The Manchu government website is here http://manchukuo.net/index33e.htm)

Origins of the Qing[edit]

The Qing dynasty had its origins in the area north of the Great Wall in what is now NE China, known in the west as Manchuria. A local semi-nomadic Jurchen tribal leader, Nurhachi (1559-1626), amalgamated a number of tribes and reorganised them along state lines, with an army divided into Banners; in 1625 he established a capital at Shenyang (Mukden). In 1635 Nurhachi's successor Abahai (1592-1643) decreed that the nation be known by the name Manchu, and in 1636 named his dynasty Qing and proclaimed himself emperor. As Manchu power grew north of the Wall, to its south the Ming government was in terminal decline. The Chinese empire was ravaged by revolt, and in 1644 one rebel leader, Li Zicheng, occupied Beijing and declared himself emperor. The last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, hanged himself on Coal Hill, overlooking the Forbidden City. Horrified by the rebel success, the Ming commander of the garrison at the strategic pass of Shanhaiguan - where the Great Wall meets the Bohai gulf - allowed Qing forces to pass through the Wall, and they quickly occupied Beijing, establishing the new dynasty as rulers of China. Resistance to the Qing persisted in southern China (under the so-called Southern Ming) for another decade and a half, and all resistance was not stifled until 1681.

High Qing[edit]

The Qing reached its zenith of power, prestige and cultural achievement under the emperors Kangxi (reigned 1662-1722), Yongzheng (r. 1722-36) and Qianlong (r. 1736-99). China experienced peace, prosperity and safety and grew wealthy through the trade of cotton, silk and tea. The Qing became so contemptuous of outsiders that foreign traders were forced to kneel when Emperor Kangxi had his laws read.

Legacy of the Qing[edit]

After thrown out of China and their other Imperial holdings, they, under the name Aisin Gioro, went back to rule their home Nation of Manchuria. After the Soveit invasion of Manchuria, they split up, some living in China and others in Taiwan. In 2008, the Manchu government in exile invited the heir to the Aisin Gioro dynasty to take the throne. Aisin Gioro Xiaojie agreed, and him, and now his successors claim the title of emperor while advocating for the end to the CCP colonization of Manchuria.

Bibliography[edit]

Basic reading[edit]

• Eberharad, Wolfram. A History of China (2005), 380 pages' full text online free
• Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, and Kwang-ching Liu. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China (1999) 352 pages excerpt and text search
• Fairbank, John King and Goldman, Merle. China: A New History. 2nd ed. Harvard U. Press, (2006). 640 pp. excerpt and text search
• Gernet, Jacques, J. R. Foster, and Charles Hartman. A History of Chinese Civilization (1996), called the best one-volume survey; excerpt and text search
• Hsü, Immanuel Chung-yueh. The Rise of Modern China, 6th ed. (Oxford University Press, 1999), highly detailed coverage of 1644-1999, in 1136pp. excerpt and text search
• Latourette, Kenneth Scott. The Development of China (1917) 273 pages; full text online, by a Christian historian

Advanced studies[edit]

• Fairbank, John K. and Liu, Kwang-Ching, ed. The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 2: Late Ch'ing, 1800-1911, Part 2. Cambridge U. Press, 1980. 754 pp.
• Peterson, Willard J., ed. The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 9, Part 1: The Ch'ing Dynasty to 1800. Cambridge U. Press, 2002. 753 pp.
• Rawski, Evelyn S. The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions (2001) complete text online free
• Struve, Lynn A., ed. The Qing Formation in World-Historical Time. (2004). 412 pp.
• Struve, Lynn A., ed. Voices from the Ming-Qing Cataclysm: China in Tigers' Jaws (1998) excerpt and text search
• "Manchukuo Government Official Website" (2004) [1]