Qing Dynasty

The Qing dynasty 1644 – 1911 and the struggle against imperialism

the presentation:

Qing-Dynasty

Formation of the Qing-Dynasty

The Qing-Dynasty or also called Manchu-Dynasty was founded in 1616 by the Manchu and reigned from 1644 in the Empire of China. It displaced the Ming-Dynasty and ended in 1912 after the foundation of the Republic of China.

The Qing-Dynasty was the second dynasty in foreign rule after the Mongolian Yuan-Dynasty.

Under the reign of Nurhaci (1559-1626) and his eight son Huang Taiji (or also called Abahai, 1592-1643) the Jurchen achieved a great in gain in power.  Their military force consisted of the Manchurian ‘Eight Banners’ and was later enlarged by the ‘Green Standard Army’. The first palace of the empire was located in Shenyang.

In 1641 the Manchu started a great invasion in the China of the Ming-Dynasty. They conquered 88 cities and the peninsula Liaodong. In 1644 the Ming-Dynasty ended.

 

Qing-China until the First Opium War

In 1645 the Chinese clothing (Hanfu) and the hairstyle changed and the Chinese were forced to wear the braid of the people in the Mongolian desert, otherwise they would be convicted to death. Also the marriages between Chinese and Manchu were forbidden. The capital Beijing was divided into two parts, one for the Han-Chinese and one for the Manchu

The anger of the Han-population grew and there were several rebellions against the foreign rulers. The put down of the rebellions often ended in massacres with five-digit numbers.

The prohibition of intermarriage was ignored by the Manchu-Elite. Even the Qing-Emperors had Han-Chinese as their concubines.

With the death of Dorgon in 1651, the Chinese literates and clerks got more and more influence on the emperor. Han-Chinese became the official language again and the Manchu language was displaced.

Until 1685 the Manchu occupied land (especially in the north). They forced the farmers and the prisoners of war to work as their slaves.

The technology of the preindustrial ages was very advanced. Textile-industry, tea production, porcelain manufacture, paper and sugar production established a lot of records.

The Europeans imported a lot of the Chinese production, especially luxury products like china and tea. In 1720 Kangxi founded the protectorate Tibet.

 

The crisis around 1800

In the time of Qianlong (another emperor), Qing-China experienced a huge expansion of force. At that time many borderlines were drawn.

As a reaction to the thuggery of the European trade companies, the Qing-Dynasty started to regulate the overseatrade stricter in 1757. Until 1843 only the port of Guangzhou was permitted for the trade between China and Europe. But the fall of the dynasty was not denyable anymore. The European advantages in economy and armed forces were totally ignored.

The interior peace and the wealth of economy led to an enormous population growth. Between 1740 and 1850 the number of people increased from 143 millions to 430 millions.

Around 1800 another crisis took place. The state had not enough strength for reforms, it was only hold together by military forces.

 

Qing-China between Opium-Wars and Taiping

In the first half of the 19^th century the riots of the farmers found no end and also the ethnic minorities started to revolt. From 1826 until 1838 the smuggling and consume of opium increased enormously. This had an effect on economy. Silver flowed off China. The First Opium War started.

 

 

The First Opium War

From 1839 until 1842 China and Great Britain waged the First Opium War. Great Britain sent a fleet containing of 16 warships, 540 cannons and 4000 soldiers to China.

The result was that China was forced to allow the trade of opium and to open their market borders. The war ended with the contract of Nanjing.

 

After the war

In 1855 the Yellow River changed its flowing direction which caused a problem, because ships had troubles with delivering goods to certain ports. China’s economic process was slowed down by several riots. Many Chinese left the country.

The Second Opium War followed and the European influence on China increased more and more. China lost control over duties and tariffs. Many foreign companies took over important business branches.

Nevertheless China tried to get more modern although Europe had left it behind long ago. The industry was growing and not stoppable. But China didn’t have enough money and many foreign loans had to be taken out. Many Chinese had to starve and suffer from poverty.

 

The end of the dynasty

In 1900 the Qing-dynasty laid in ruins. Its fleet was destroyed in the war against Japan and the colonies Formosa, Korea and many more got lost. China was divided into several parts.

After emperor Pu Yi was forced to resign in 1911 the Republic of China was founded on 1 January, 1912.

 

Daily life

With the expansion of commerce, the quality of daily life changed. The people had little money to spend on entertainment. Normally they visited tea houses and gambled. They also listened to storytellers or watched open-air operatic performances. They learned legends about historical heroes and villains, and about religious gods.

Members of the elite used their surplus wealth to collect art, build up libraries, construct gardens, and participate in poetry societies. They financed and supervised the construction of city walls, orphanages, poorhouses, and fire fighting associations, and established food kitchens and medical clinics for the poor.

 

The role of women in society

Women in the past had accepted that they were subordinate to men. At the end of the 19^th century opportunities opened up for girls to attend schools and to study abroad. Once educated, they worked as school teachers, promoted women’s rights, wrote for journals, and fought for political causes.

 

Foot binding

Foot binding was a custom practiced on young girls and women for approximately one thousand years in China. It started in the 10^th century and ended in the 20^th century.

Foot binding was first present in the elite, and was initially a common practice only in the wealthiest parts of China, particularly the north. However, by the time of the late Qing Dynasty, foot binding had become popular among people of all social classes except among the poorest – who needed to be able-bodied to work the fields

In Chinese foot binding, young girls’ feet were wrapped in tight bandages so that they could not grow and develop normally; they would, instead, break and become highly deformed, not growing past 4-6 inches (10-15 cm). It ended when the Chinese found out that this custom make them cruel and barbaric in the eyes of the western people.