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Qing Dynasty
*** Shopping-Tip: Qing Dynasty
{{History_of_China}}
The '''Qing Dynasty''' (
Manchu language Manchu:
Image:daicing gurun.png 12px ''daicing gurun''; {{zh-cpw|c=清�|p=qīng cháo|w=ch'ing ch'ao}}), sometimes known as the '''Manchu Dynasty''', was a
dynasty founded by the
Manchu clan
Aisin Gioro, in what is today
Manchuria northeast China, expanded into
China proper and the surrounding territories of
Inner Asia, establishing the '''Empire of the Great Qing''' ({{zh-tp.html">Dynasties in Chinese history
imperial dynasty of China. Declared as the '''Later Jin Dynasty''' in
1616, it changed its name in
1636 to "Qing", and ruled all of China from
1644, until
1911. "Later Jin" is sometimes spelled "Later Jinn" to distinguish from another
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period Later Jin Dynasty (936-946).
Formation of the Manchu state
Image:China Qing Dynasty Flag 1862.png thumb|left|Flag of Qing dynasty, 1862-1890
The Qing Dynasty was not founded by the
Han Chinese, who form the majority of the Chinese population. A semi-nomadic people called the Manchus first rose to prominence in what is now northeastern China. The Manchu state was formed by
Nurhaci in the early 17th century. Originally a vassal under the Ming Dynasty, he declared himself Emperor of the Later Jin in 1609. In the same year, he expanded the state's economic and human resources as well as technology by enlisting the Han inhabitants of Manchuria. In 1625, Nurhaci established his capital at
Shenyang (also Shenjing;
Manchu Language Manchu: Mukden), but the following year he suffered his first major military defeat to the Ming general
Yuan Chonghuan. Nurhaci died the same year. One of his most important achievements was the creation of eight banner units responsible for the civil and military administration of all its troops and their families.
Nurhaci's successor
Huang Taiji continued to build on his father's foundations, incorporating the first Han banners into his army. Huang Taiji also adopted many Ming political institutions into his Manchu state, but also provided for Manchu domination of those institutions through a quota system. When
Lingdan Khan, the last grand-Khan of the Mongols, died on his way to
Tibet in 1634, his son Ejei
surrendered to the Manchus and gave the great seal of the
Yuan Dynasty Yuan Emperor to Huang Taiji. In 1636 Huang Taiji renamed the state Qing, meaning ''pure'', suggesting ambitions beyond Manchuria. In a series of military campaigns, he won the submission of
Inner Mongolia and
Korea before proceeding took control of the
Heilongjiang region, situated around the
Amur River.
Claiming the Mandate of Heaven
After years of civil unrest, the Ming capital
Beijing was sacked by a coalition of rebel forces led by
Li Zicheng. The
Ming Dynasty officially came to an end when the
Chongzhen Emperor of China, the last Ming emperor
suicide committed suicide by
hanging himself on a
tree on
Jingshan Park Coal Hill overlooking the
Forbidden City. After taking Beijing in April 1644, Li Zicheng led an
army of 60,000 strong to confront
Wu Sangui, the general commanding Ming's 100,000-strong
garrison guarding
Shanhaiguan (山海關). Shanhaiguan is the pivotal northeastern
mountain pass pass of the
Great Wall of China located fifty miles northeast of Beijing and for years its
defense (military) defenses were what kept the Manchus outside of the capital. Wu, caught between two enemies, decided to cast his lot with the Manchus and made an alliance with Prince Dorgon, regent to the then six-year old Emperor Shunzhi, son of Emperor Huang Taiji who had passed away the year before.
Together, the two armies defeated Li Zicheng's rebel forces in battle on
May 27,
1644. The process took another seventeen years of battling Ming
loyalists,
pretenders and rebels. The last Ming pretender,
Prince of Gui Prince Gui, sought refuge in Burma, now modern
Myanmar, but was turned over to a Qing expeditionary force headed by Wu Sangui who had him brought back to
Yunnan province and
execution executed in early 1662.
Kangxi and consolidation
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1722)">300px|The Kangxi Emperor (r. [[1662">thumb|300px|The Kangxi Emperor (r. [[1662 -
1722)
The
Kangxi Emperor (r.
1662 -
1722) assumed the throne at age seven. During the early years of his reign, he was largely aided by his grandmother, the
Grand Empress Dowager,
Empress Xiaozhuang Xiaozhuang.
The Manchus found controlling the "Mandate of Heaven" a daunting task. The vastness of China's territory meant that there were only enough banner troops to garrison key cities forming the backbone of a defence network that relied heavily on surrendered Ming soldiers.
In addition, three surrendered Ming generals were singled out for their contributions to the establishment of the Qing dynasty, ennobled as feudal princes (藩王), and given governorships over vast territories in Southern China. The chief of these was
Wu Sangui (�三桂), who was given the provinces of Yunnan, and
Guizhou, while generals
Shang Kexi (尚�喜) and
Geng Zhongming (耿仲明) were given
Guangdong and
Fujian provinces, respectively.
As the years went by, the three feudal lords and their territories inevitably became increasingly autonomous. Finally, in 1673, Shang Kexi petitioned Kangxi Emperor, stating his desire to retire to his home town in Liaodong (��) province and nominating his son as his successor. The young emperor granted his retirement but denied the heredity of his fief. In reaction, the two other generals decided to petition for their own retirements to test Kangxi's resolve, thinking that he wouldn't risk offending them. The move backfired as the young emperor called their bluff by accepting their requests and ordering all three fiefdoms to be reverted back to the crown.
Faced with the stripping of their powers, Wu Sangui felt he had no choice but to rise up in revolt. He was joined by Geng Zhongming and Shang Kexi's son Shang Zhixin (尚之信). The ensuing rebellion lasted for eight years. At the peak of the rebels' fortunes, they managed to extend their control as far north as the river Changjiang (長江). Ultimately, though, the Qing government was able to put down the rebellion and exert control over all of southern China. The rebellion would be known in Chinese history as the
Revolt of the Three Feudatories.
To consolidate the empire,
Kangxi Emperor of China Kangxi personally led China on a series of military campaigns against
Tibet, the
Dzungars, and later
Russia. He arranged the marriage of his daughter to the Khan
Gordhun to avoid a military conflict. Gordhun's military campaign against the Qing failed, further strengthening the Empire.
Taiwan was also taken by Qing forces in
1683 from
Zheng Jing's son,
Zheng Ke-Shuang; the former (his grandfather Koxinga) had conquered it from the
Netherlands Dutch. By the end of the
17th century, China was at its most powerful since the early
Ming Dynasty.
Kangxi also handled many
Society of Jesus Jesuit Missionaries that came to China hoping for mass conversions. Although they failed in their attempt, Kangxi still peacefully kept the missionaries in
Beijing.
The Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors
Image:LocationQingEmpire.png thumb|300px|Location of the Qing Empire at its height, year 1800.
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Washington, D.C.">right|300px|This [[jade">thumb|right|300px|This [[jade and metal pot was created in the Qing Dynasty of
China, during the Qianlong reign in the
18th century. It is housed in the
Smithsonian Institution in
Washington, D.C.
Yongzheng Emperor of China Yongzheng (r.
1723 -
1735) and his son
Qianlong Emperor of China Qianlong (r.
1735 -
1796) and their reigns were at the height of Qing power, ruling over 13 million square kilometres of territory.
After Kangxi's death in the winter of 1722, his fourth son Yinzhen succeeded as the
Yongzheng Emperor. Yongzheng remained a controversial character because of rumours about him usurping the throne, and for the late Kangxi years was involved in great political struggles with his brothers. Yongzheng was a hardworking administrator who ruled with an iron hand. His first big step towards a stronger regime came when he brought the
Imperial examination State Examination System back to its original standards. In 1724 he cracked down on illegal exchange rates of coins, which was being manipulated by officials to fit their financial needs. Those who were found in violation of new laws on finances were removed from office, or in extreme cases, executed.
Yongzheng showed a great amount of trust in
Han officials, and appointed many of his proteges to prestigious positions.
Nian Gengyao was appointed to lead a military campaign in place of his brother
Yinti in
Qinghai. Nian's arrogant actions, however, led to his downfall in 1726. Yongzheng's reign saw consolidation of imperial power at its height in Chinese history. More territory was incorporated in the Northwest. A toughened stance was directed towards corrupt officials, and Yongzheng led the creation of a General Command Centre (�機處), which grew to become the de facto Cabinet for the rest of the dynasty.
Yongzheng died in
1735. This was followed by the succession of his son Hongli as the
Qianlong Emperor of China Qianlong Emperor. Qianlong was known as an able general. Succeeding the throne at the age of 24, Qianlong personally led the military in campaigns near
Xinjiang and
Mongolia. Revolts and uprisings in
Sichuan and parts of southern China were successfully calmed.
Around forty years into Qianlong's reign, the Qing government saw a return of rampant corruption. The official
Heshen was arguably one of the most corrupt in the entire Qing Dynasty. He was eventually forced to commit suicide by Qianlong's son, the
Jiaqing Emperor (r.
1796 -
1820).
Rebellion, unrest and external pressure
Image:China Qing Dynasty Flag 1889.svg thumb|Flag of Qing dynasty, 1890-1912
A common view of
19th century China is that it was an era in which Qing control weakened and prosperity diminished. Indeed, China suffered massive social strife, economic stagnation, and explosive population growth which placed an increasing strain on the food supply. Historians offer various explanations for these events, but the basic idea is that Qing power was, over the course of the century, faced with internal problems and foreign pressure which were simply too much for the antiquated Chinese government, bureaucracy, and economy to deal with.
The
Taiping Rebellion in the mid-nineteenth century was the first major instance of anti-Manchu sentiment threatening the stability of the Qing dynasty, a phenomenon that would only increase in the following years. However, the horrific number of casualties of this rebellion - which was as many as 30 million people - and the complete devastation of a huge area in the south of the country have to a large extent been overshadowed by another significant conflict. Although not nearly as bloody, the outside world and its ideas and technologies had a tremendous and ultimately revolutionary impact on an increasingly weak and uncertain Qing state.
One of the major issues affecting nineteenth-century China was the question of how to deal with other countries. Prior to the nineteenth-century, the Chinese empire was the hegemonic power in Asia. Under its imperial theory, the Chinese emperor had the rights to rule "all under heaven." Depending on the period and dynasty, it either ruled territories directly or neighbors fell under its hierarchical tributary system. Historians often refer the underlying concept of Chinese empire as "an empire with no boundary." Thus, the European concept of foreign relations based on equality did not exist. However, the
eighteenth century saw the European empires gradually expand across the world, as European states developed stronger economies built on
maritime trade. On the other hand, the Chinese empire stagnated after centuries of being ahead of the world. By the end of the eighteenth century, European colonies had been established in nearby
India and
Indonesia, whilst the
Russian Empire had annexed the areas north of China. During the
Napoleonic Wars,
Great Britain attempted to forge an alliance with China, sending a fleet to
Hong Kong with gifts for the Emperor, including examples of the latest European technologies and art. When the British delegation received a letter from
Peking explaining that China was unimpressed with European achievements, and that
George III of the United Kingdom George III was welcome to pay homage to the Chinese court, the deeply offended British government aborted all further attempts to reconcile relations with the Qing regime.
When the Napoleonic Wars ended in
1815, world trade rapidly increased, and as China's vast population offered limitless markets for European goods, trade between Chinese and European merchants expanded during the early years of the nineteenth century. This increased trade, though, led to increasing hostility between European governments and the Qing regime.
In
1793, the Qing regime had officially stated that China had no use for European manufactured products. Subsequently, leading Chinese merchants only accepted bar
silver as payment for their goods. The huge demand in Europe for Chinese goods such as
silk,
tea, and
ceramics could only be met if European companies funnelled their limited supplies of silver into China. By the late 1830's, the governments of
Great Britain and
France were deeply concerned about their stockpiles of precious metals and sought alternate trading schemes with China - the foremost of which was addicting China with opium. When the Qing regime tried to ban the opium trade in 1838, Great Britain declared war on China.
The
First Opium War revealed the outdated state of the Chinese military. Although China's army overwhelmingly outnumbered the British, their technology and tactics were hopelessly inadequate for a war against the world's leading technological power. The Qing navy, composed entirely of wooden sailing
junk (ship) junks, was no match for the steam-powered
ironclad battleships of the
Royal Navy. British soldiers, using modern
rifles and
artillery, easily outmaneuvered and outgunned Qing forces in ground battles. The Qing surrender in
1842 marked a decisive, humiliating blow to China. The
Treaty of Nanking, which demanded
reparation payments, allowed unrestricted European access to Chinese ports, and ceded the island of
Hong Kong to Great Britain. It revealed many inadequacies in the Qing government and provoked widespread rebellions against the regime.
The Western powers, largely unsatisfied with the Treaty of Nanking, only gave grudging support to the Qing government during the
Taiping Rebellion Taiping and
Nian Rebellions. China's income fell sharply during the wars as vast areas of farmland were destroyed, millions of lives lost, and countless armies raised and equipped to fight the rebels. In
1854, Great Britain tried to re-negotiate the Treaty of Nanking, inserting clauses allowing British commercial access to Chinese rivers and the creation of a permanent British embassy at
Peking. This last clause outraged the Qing regime, who refused to sign, provoking another war with Britain. The
Second Opium War ended in another crushing Chinese defeat, whilst the
Treaty of Tianjin contained clauses deeply insulting to the Chinese, such as a demand that all official Chinese documents be written in
English Language English and a proviso granting British warships unlimited access to all navigable Chinese rivers.
The rule of Empress Dowager Cixi
Image:China imperialism cartoon.jpg United Kingdom.html" title="Meaning of thumbnail thumbnail|250px|In this political cartoon, China is being divided up by the [[United Kingdom,
Germany,
Russia,
France, and
Japan.html" title="Meaning of 250px|In this political cartoon, China is being divided up by the [[United Kingdom">thumbnail|250px|In this political cartoon, China is being divided up by the [[United Kingdom,
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Russia,
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Germany,
Russia,
France, and
Japan
Image:Qing china.jpg thumb|250px| Qing China in 1892
In the late
19th century, a new leader emerged. The
Empress Dowager Cixi,
concubine to the
Xianfeng Emperor (r.
1850-
1861), the mother of child emperor
Tongzhi Emperor of China Tongzhi, and Aunt of
Guangxu Emperor of China Guangxu successfully controlled the Qing government and was the
de facto leader of China for 47 years. She staged a
coup d'état to oust the regency led by
Sushun appointed by the late Emperor. She was known for her "behind the curtain" (垂簾�政) participation in politics.
By the 1860s, the Qing dynasty had put down the rebellions with the help of
militia organized by the gentry. The Qing government then proceeded to deal with problem of modernization, which it attempted with the
Self-Strengthening Movement. Several modernized armies were formed including the much renowned
Beiyang Army; however the fleets of "Beiyang" were annihilated in the
Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), which produced calls
for greater and more extensive reform. After the start of the
20th century, the Qing Dynasty was in a dilemma. It could proceed with reform and thereby alienate the conservative gentry or it could stall reform and thereby alienate the revolutionaries. The Qing Dynasty tried to follow a middle path, but proceeded to alienate everyone.
10 years into the reign of
Guangxu Emperor of China Guangxu (r.
1875 -
1908), western pressure was so big on China that she forcefully gave up all sorts of power. In
1898 Guangxu attempted the
Hundred Days' Reform (百日ç¶æ–°/戊戌變法), in which new laws were put in place and some old rules were abolished. Newer, more progressive-minded thinkers like
Kang Youwei were trusted and recognized conservative-minded people like
Li Hongzhang were removed from high positions. But the ideals were stifled by Cixi and Guangxu was jailed in his own palace. Cixi, concentrated on centralizing her own power base. At the occasion of her 60th Birthday she spent over 30 million
taels of silver for the decorations & events, funds that were originally to improve the weaponry of the
Beiyang Army Beiyang Navy.
In
1901, following the murder of the German Ambassador, the
Eight-Nation Alliance (八國��) entered China as a united military force for the second time. Cixi reacted by declaring war on all eight nations, only to lose
Beijing under their control within a short period of time. Along with the Guangxu Emperor, she fled to
Xi'an. As a military compensation, the Alliance listed scores of demands on the Qing Government, including an initial hitlist which had Cixi as No. 1.
Li Hongzhang was sent to negotiate and the Alliance backed down from several of the demands.
Image:Yuan Shi-Kai.jpg Yuan_Shikai.html" title="Meaning of thumb thumb|left|150px|[[Yuan Shikai was an adept politician.html" title="Meaning of left|150px|[[Yuan Shikai">thumb|left|150px|[[Yuan Shikai was an adept politician">left|150px|[[Yuan Shikai">thumb|left|150px|[[Yuan Shikai was an adept politician
Qing government and society
Society
Manchu males had the custom of braiding hair into a pigtail known as a
queue. During the Qing Dynasty, the Manchus enforced this custom onto the
Han Han population, and any male who was seen without pigtail outdoors was to be beheaded.
Emperor Kangxi commanded the most complete dictionary of Chinese characters ever put together at the time, and under Emperor Qianlong, the compilation of a catalogue of the important works on Chinese culture was made. Thousands of books viewed by Manchu rulers as politically unacceptable were destroyed when compiling the catalogue.
Image:Cixi1.jpg thumb|160px|Empress Dowager Cixi
Politics
The most important administrative body of the Qing dynasty was the Grand Council which was a body composed of the emperor and high officials. The Qing dynasty was characterized by a system of dual appointments by which each position in the central government had a Manchu and a Han assigned to it. During the
Qianlong Emperor's reign, for example, members of his family were distinguished by garments with a large circular emblem on the back, whereas a Han could only hope to wear clothing with a square emblem; this meant effectively that any guard in the court could immediately distinguish family members from the back view alone.
With respect to Mongolia, Tibet and Eastern Turkestan, like other dynasties before, the Qing maintained imperial control, with the emperor acting as Mongol khan, patron of Tibetan Buddhism and protector of Muslims. However, Qing policy changed with the establishment of Xinjiang province in 1884. In response to British and Russian military action in Xinjiang and Tibet, the Qing sent Army units which performed remarkably well against British units.
The abdication of the Qing emperor inevitably led to the controversy about the status of territories in Tibet and Mongolia. It was and remains the position of Mongols and Tibetan nationalists, that because they owed allegiance to the Qing monarch, that with the abdication of the Qing, they owed no allegiance to the new Chinese state. This position was rejected by the Republic of China and subsequent People's Republic of China which based their claims on the fact that these areas were integral parts of Chinese dynasties even before the Qing. Regardless of Hans, Manchus, Mongols, or other ethnic groups, they all established Sino-centric based dynasties, and claimed their legitimacy and history as part of imperial China over the last two thousands years. The Western powers accepted the latter theory, partly in order to prevent a scramble for China.
Bureaucracy
image:Qing-dynasty-vases.jpg thumb|300px|Qing Dynasty vases, in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon
The administrative system of the Qing Dynasty evolved out of its predecessor the
Ming dynasty Ming Dynasty. In its most developed state, the Qing government centred around the Emperor as absolute ruler presiding over six ministries (or boards), each headed by two Supreme Secretaries (尚書|Shángshù) and assisted by four Assistant Secretaries (ä¾?郎|ShÃlÄ?ng). Unlike the Ming system, however, the Qing racial policy dictated that appointments were split between Manchu noblemen and Han mandarins who had passed the highest levels of the state examinations. The six ministries and their respective areas of responsibilities were as follows:
'''Board of Civil Appointments''' (å??部|Lìbú) - The personnel administration of all civil officials - including evaluation, promotion, and dismissal. It was also in charge of the 'honours list'.
'''Board of Finance ''' (户部|Húbú) - The literal translation of the Chinese word 'hú'（户）is 'household'. For much of the Qing Dynasty's history, the government's main source of revenue came from taxation on landownership supplemented by official monopolies on essential household items such as salt and tea. Thus, in the predominantly agrarian Qing dynasty, the 'household' was the basis of imperial finance. The department was charged with revenue collection and the financial management of the government.
'''Board of Rites''' (禮部|LÇ?bú) - This was responsible for all matters concerning protocol at court, which included not just the periodic worshipping of ancestors and various gods by the Emperor -- in his capacity as the "Son of Heaven" (Tianzi|天å?), to ensure the smooth running of the empire -- but also looking after the welfare of visiting ambassadors from tributary nations. The Chinese concept of courtesy (li|礼), as taught by Confucius, was considered an integral part of education. An educated person was said to "know of books and courtesy (rites)" ("知书达礼"). Thus, the ministry's other function was to oversee the nationwide civil examination system for entrance to the bureaucracy. Because democracy was unknown to pre-Republican China, neo-Confucian philosophy saw state sponsored exams as the way to legitimize a regime by allowing the intelligentsia participation in an otherwise autocratic and unelected system.
Image:Stamp in qing dynasty.gif thumb|A stamp in Qing Dynasty
'''Board of War''' (兵部|Bìngbú) - Unlike its
Ming Dynasty predecessor, which had full control over all military matters, the Qing Dynasty Board of War had very limited powers. First, the Banner Armies were under the direct control of the Emperor and hereditary Manchurian & Mongolian princes, leaving the ministry only with authority over the Green Standard Armies. Furthermore, the ministry's functions were purely administrative - campaigns and troop movements were monitored and directed by the Emperor, first through the Manchu ruling council, and later through the General Command Centre (Junjichu|�機處).
'''Board of Punishment''' (刑部|Xīngbú) - The Board of Punishment handled all legal matters, including the supervision of various law courts and prisons. The Qing legal framework was relatively weak compared to modern day legal systems, as there was no separation of executive and legislative branches of government. The legal system could be inconsistent, and, at times, arbitrary, because the emperor ruled by decree and had final say on all judicial outcomes. Emperors could (and did) overturn judgments of lower courts from time to time. Fairness of treatment was also an issue under the apartheid system practiced by the Manchu government over the Han Chinese majority. To counter these inadequacies and keep the population in line, the Qing maintained a very harsh penal code towards the Han populace, but it was no more severe than previous Chinese dynasties.
'''Board of Works''' (工部|Gongbu) - The Board of Works handled all governmental building projects, including palaces, temples and the repairs of waterways and flood canals. It was also in charge of minting coinage.
In addition to the six boards, there was a Feudatory Affairs Office (ç?†è—©é™¢|LÇ?fà nyuán) unique to Qing government. This institution originated to oversee the welfare of Qing's Mongolian allies. As the empire expanded, it took over administrative responsibility of all minority ethnic groups living in and around the empire, including early contacts with Russia - then seen as a tribute nation. The office had the status of a full ministry and was headed by officials of equal rank. However, appointees were at first restricted only to candidates of Manchurian and Mongolian ethnicity.
Even though the Board of Rites and the Feudatory Affairs Office shared some duties of a foreign office, they fell short of being one. This stemmed from the traditional imperial world view of seeing China as the centre of the world and viewing all foreigners as uncivilized barbarians unworthy of equal diplomatic status. It was not till 1861 -- a year after losing the "Second Opium War" to the Anglo-French coalition -- that the Qing government bowed to foreign pressure and created a proper foreign affairs office known by the cumbersome name of "Tribunal for the Management of Affairs of All Nations" (ZÇ’nglÇ?gégÅ«oshÃwú YÄ?mÄ“n|總ç?†å?„國事務衙門), or "ZÇ’nglÇ?yÄ?mÄ“n" (總ç?†è¡™é–€ï¼‰for short. The office was originally intended to be temporary and was staffed by officials seconded from the General Command Centre (JÅ«njÄ«chú |è»?機處) on a part-time basis. However, as dealings with foreigners became increasingly complicated and frequent, the office grew in size and importance, aided by revenue from customs duties which came under its direct jurisdiction. Despite the imperial court's suspicion of all things foreign, the office became one of the most powerful departments within late Qing government.
Military
=Beginnings and early development
=
The development of Qing military system can be divided into two broad periods separated by the
Taiping rebellion (1850 - 64). Early Qing military was rooted in the
Banner (Manchu) Manchu banners first developed by
Nurhachi as a way to organize Manchurian society beyond petty clan affiliations. There were eight banners in all, differentiated by colours. The banners in their order of precedence were as follows: Yellow, Bordered Yellow (ie yellow banner with red border), White, Red, Bordered White, Bordered Red, Blue, & Bordered Blue. The Yellow, Bordered Yellow, and White banners were collectively known as the 'Upper Three Banners'(上三旗) and were under the direct command of the Emperor. Only Manchus belonging to the Upper Three Banners could be selected as the Emperor's personal bodyguards. The remaining banners were known as 'The Lower Five Banners' (下五旗) and were commanded by hereditary Manchurian princes descended from Nurhachi's immediate family, and known informally as the 'Iron Cap Princes' (é?µå¸½å?王). Together they formed the ruling council of the Manchu nation as well as high command of the army. In 1730
Yongzheng Emperor Yongzheng established the General Command Centre (Junjichu|�機處) at first to direct day to day military operations, but gradually Junjichu took over other military and administrative duties and served to centralize authority to the crown. However, the Iron Cap Princes continued to exercise considerable influence over the political and military affairs of Qing government well into the reign of
Emperor Qianlong.
As Qing power expanded north of the Great Wall in the last years of the
Ming dynasty, the banner system was expanded by
Nurhachi's son and successor
Hong Taiji to include mirrored Mongolian and Han Banners. As they controlled territories formerly under Ming rule, the relatively small Banner armies were further augmented by the Green Standard Army (ç¶ ç‡Ÿå…µ) which eventually outnumbered banner troops three to one. The Green Standard Army so-named after the colour of their battle standards was made up of those ethnic Han troops. They were led by a mix of Banner and Green Standard officers. The Banners and Green Standard troops were standing armies, paid for by central government. In addition, regional governors from provincial down to village level maintained their own irregular local militias for police duties and disaster relief. These militias were usually granted small annual stipends from regional coffers for part-time service obligations. They received very limited military drill if at all and were not considered combat troops.
=Peace and stagnation
=
Banner Armies were divided along ethnic lines, namely Manchurian and Mongolian. Although there existed a third branch of Han bannermen made up of those who had joined the Manchus before their establishment of Qing, Han bannermen were never regarded by the government as equal to the other two branches due to their late addition to the Manchu cause as well as their Han Chinese ancestry. The nature of their service - mainly as infantry, artillery and sappers, was also seen as alien to the Manchurian nomadic traditions of fighting as cavalry. After the conquest the military roles played by Han Bannermen were quickly subsumed by the Green Standard Army. The Han Banners ceased to exist altogether after Emperor Yongzheng's Banner registration reforms aimed at cutting down imperial expenditures. The socio-military origins of the Banner system meant that population within each branch and their sub-divisions were hereditary and rigid. Only under special circumstances sanctioned by imperial edict were social movements between banners permitted. In contrast, the Green Standard Army was originally intended to be a professional force. However during protracted period of peace in China from the 18th to mid 19th century, recruits from farming communities dwindled, due partly to Neo-Confucianism's negative stance on military careers. In order to maintain strengths, the Green Standard Army began to internalize, and gradually became hereditary in practice.
The approximately 200,000 strong Manchu Banner Army was evenly divided; half was designated the Forbidden Eight Banner Army (ç¦?æ—…å…«æ—— ''JìnlÇš BÄ?qÃ'')and was stationed in Beijing. It served both as the capital's garrison and Qing government's main strike force. The remainder of the Banner troops was distributed to guard key cities in China. These were known as the Territorial Eight Banner Army (é§?防八旗 ''Zhùfáng BÄ?qÃ''). The Manchu rulers, keenly aware of their own minority status, reinforced a strict policy of racial segregation between the Manchus and Mongols from Han for fear of their being assimilated by Han. This policy applied directly to the Banner garrisons, most of which occupied a separate walled zone within the cities they were stationed at. In cities where there were limitation of space such as in Qingzhou (é?’å·ž ''loldongs''), a new fortified town was purposely erected to house the Banner garrison and their families. Beijing being the imperial seat, the Regent Dorgon had the entire Chinese population forcibly relocated to the southern suburbs later known as the "Outer Citadel" (外城 ''wà ichéng''). The northern walled city called "Inner Citadel" (内城 ''nèichéng'') was portioned out to the remaining Manchu eight Banners, each responsibled for guarding a section of the Inner Citadel surrounding the
Forbidden City palace complex (ç´«ç¦?城 ''ZÇ?jìnchéng'').
The policy of posting Banner troops as territorial garrison was not to protect but to inspire awe in the subjugated populace at the expense of their expertise as cavalry. As a result, after a century of peace and lack of field training the Manchurian Banner troops had deteriorated greatly in their combat worthiness. Secondly, before the conquest the Manchu banner was a 'citizen' army, and its members were Manchu farmers and herders obligated to provide military service to the state in times of war. The Qing government's decision to turn the banner troops into a professional force whose every welfare and need was met by state coffers brought wealth, and with it corruption, to the rank and file of the Manchu Banners and hastened its decline as a fighting force. This was mirrored by a similar decline in the Green Standard Army. In peacetime, soldiering became merely a source of supplementary income. Soldiers and commanders alike neglected training in pursuit of their own economic gains. Corruption was rampant as regional unit commanders submitted pay and supply requisitions based on exaggerated head counts to the quartermaster department and pocketed the difference. When the Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850s the Qing Court found out belatedly that the Banner and Green Standards troops could neither put down internal rebellions nor keep foreign invaders at bay.
=Transition and modernization
=
image:China,Qing,Mandarin,Zenguofan,Painting,Color.jpg thumb|200px|Portrait of Zeng Guofan Early during the Taiping Rebellion, Qing forces suffered a series of disastrous defeats culminating in the loss of the regional capital city of Nanjing (�京) in 1853. The rebels massacred the entire Manchu garrison and their families in the city and made it their capital. Shortly thereafter a Taiping expeditionary force penetrated as far north as the suburbs of Tianjin (天津) in what was considered Imperial heartlands. In desperation the court ordered a Chinese mandarin
Zeng Guofan (曾國藩)to reorganize regional and village militias (TuányÇ’ng 團勇 and XiÄ?ngyÇ’ng 鄉勇) into a standing army to contain the Taiping rebellion. Zen's strategy was to rely on local gentries to raise a new type of military organization from those provinces that the Taipings directly threatened. This new force became known as the Xiang Army (湘è»?), named after the region it was raised. Xiang Army was a hybrid of local militia and a standing army. It was given professional training, but was paid for by regional coffers and funds its commanders - mostly Chinese gentries - could muster. Xiang Army and its successor the "Huai" Army (æ·®è»?) created by Zen's colleague and 'pupil'
Li Hongzhang (æ?Žé¸¿ç« ）were collectively called Yongying (勇營).
Prior to forming and commanding the Xian Army, Zen had no military experience. Being a classically educated Mandarin his blueprint for the formation of the Xian Army was copied from a historical source - the Ming Dynasty General Qi JiGuan (戚继光) who because of the weakness of the regular Ming troops had decided to form his own 'private' army to repel raiding Japanese pirates in the mid 16th century. Qi's doctrine relied heavily on Neo-Confucian ideas of binding the troops' loyalty to their immediate superiors and also to the regions which they were raised. This initially gave the troops a certain ''esprit de corps''. However it must be pointed out that Qi's Army was an ad hoc solution for a specific problem - combating pirates, as was Zen's original intend for the Xiang Army - to eradicate the Taiping rebels. However circumstances saw that the Yongying system became a permanent institution within the Qing military which in the long run created problems of its own for the beleagued central government.
Image:Qing Dynasty troop.gif thumb|250px|Qing troops training in Western drill Firstly, Yongying system signalled the end of Manchu dominance in Qing military establishment. Although the Banners and Green Standard armies lingered on depleting resources much needed by the rest of Qing administration, henceforth the Yongying corps were Qing government's de facto first-line troops. Secondly the Yongying corps were financed through provincial coffers and were led by regional commanders. This devolution of power weakened the central government's grip on the whole country, and was further aggravated by foreign powers vying to set up autonomous colonial territories in different parts of the country. However despite its negative effects the measure was deemed necessary at the time as tax revenue from rebel occupied provinces had ceased to reach the central government. Finally, the nature of Yongying command structure fostered cronyism amongst its commanders whom as they ascended up the bureaucratic ranks laid the seeds to Qing's demise and the eventual outbreak of regional "warlordism".
By late 1800s China was fast descending into a semi-colonial state. Even the most conservative elements in the Qing court could no longer ignore China's military weakness in contrast to the foreign "barbarians" literally beating down its gates - In 1860 during the
Second Opium War the capital Beijing was captured and the (Old) Summer Palace sacked by the relatively small Anglo-French coalition numbering 25,000. Although the Chinese pride themselves as the inventor of gunpower, and firearms had been in continual use in Chinese warfare since as far back as the
Song Dynasty Sung Dynasty, the advent of modern weaponry resulting from the Industrial Revolution in Europe such as the grooved rifle barrel (1855),
Maxim gun (1885), and steam driven battleships (1890s) had rendered China's traditionally trained and equipped army and navy obsolete. Various piece meal efforts to 'westernize' and update the weaponry of existing troops - mostly in the Haui Army yielded little lasting results. This was partly due to a lack of funds but mostly a lack of political will within the Qing government to see through measures of reform.
Losing the
First Sino-Japanese War Sino-Japanese War of 1894 - 1895 was a watershed for the Qing government. Japan, a country long regarded by the Chinese as little more than an upstart nation of pirates, had convincingly beaten its larger neighbor and in the process annihilated the Qing government's pride and joy - it's modernized North Sea fleet. In doing so, Japan became the first asian country to join the previously exclusively western ranks of colonial powers. The defeat was a rude awakening to the Qing court especially when seen in the context that it occurred a mere three decades after the
Meiji Restoration Meiji reforms set Japan on a course to emulate the Western nations in their economic and technological achievements. Finally in December 1894 the Qing government took some concrete steps to reform military institutions and to re-train selected units in westernized drills, tactics and weaponry. These units were collectively called the New Model Army (新�陸�). The most successful of which was the Beiyang Corps (北洋�) under the overall supervision and control of an ex-Huai Army commander, the Han Chinese general
Yuan Shikai (�世凱), who exploited his position to eventually become Republic president, dictator and finally abortive emperor of China.
Fall of the dynasty
By the early 20th century, mass civil disorder had begun and continuously grown. Cixi and the Guangxu emperor both died in
1908, leaving a relatively powerless and unstable central authority.
Puyi, the eldest son of
Zaifeng, Prince Chun, was appointed successor at age two, leaving Zaifeng with the regency. This was followed by the dismissal of General
Yuan Shikai from his former positions of power. In mid
1911 Zaifeng created the "Imperial Family Cabinet", a ruling council of the Imperial Government almost entirely consisting of
Aisin Gioro relatives. This brought a wide range of negative opinion from senior officials like
Zhang Zhidong.
The
Wuchang Uprising succeeded on
October 10th,
1911, and was followed by a proclamation of a separate central government, the
Republic of China, in
Nanjing with
Sun Yat-sen as its provisional head. Numerous provinces began "separating" from Qing control. Seeing a desperate situation unfold, the Qing government brought an unwilling
Yuan Shikai back to military power, taking control of his
Beiyang Army, with the initial goal of crushing the revolutionaries. After taking the position of
Prime Minister (内�总�大臣) and creating his own cabinet, Yuan went as far as to ask for the removal of Zaifeng from the regency. This removal later proceeded with directions from
Empress Dowager Longyu.
With Zaifeng gone, Yuan Shi-kai and his Beiyang commanders effectively dominated Qing politics. He reasoned that going to war would be unreasonable and costly, especially when noting that the Qing Government had a goal for constitutional monarchy. Similarly, Sun Yat-sen's government wanted a Republican constitutional reform, both aiming for the benefit of China's economy and populace. With permission from Empress Dowager Longyu, Yuan began negotiating with Sun Yat-sen, who decided that his goal had been achieved in forming a republic, and that therefore he could allow Yuan to step into the position of President of the Republic. In
1912, after rounds of negotiations, Longyu issued the
Imperial Edict bringing about the abdication of the child emperor
Puyi.
The collapse of the Qing dynasty in
1912 brought an end to over 2000 years of imperial China and began an extended period of instability, not just at the national level but in many areas of peoples' lives. Obvious political and economic backwardness combined with widespread criticism of Chinese culture led to questioning and doubt about the future. China's turbulent history since the overthrow of the Qing may be understood at least in part as an attempt to understand and recover significant aspects of historic Chinese culture and integrate them with influential new ideas that have emerged within the last century. The Qing dynasty is the source of much of this magnificent culture, but its perceived humiliations also provide much from which to learn.
Legacy
In the aftermath of the
Xinhai Revolution, a new
Republic of China was established and the
Puyi last emperor abdicated. The 268 years of Qing dynasty China saw glorious successes, humiliating defeats, and profound changes to virtually all aspects of life. Today's China has in many ways been shaped by these experiences.
See also
{{Commons|Qing Dynasty}}
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List of Emperors of the Qing Dynasty
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Dynasties in Chinese history
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Chinese sovereign
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Table of Chinese monarchs
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Military history of China
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List of Manchu clans
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Manchu official headwear
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Mandarin square Manchu official Clothing
External links
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Short History of the Qing Dynasty
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Art of the early Qing dynasty
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