Culture · Dynasty · 1644 CE–1912 CE
Qing dynasty
清朝 · Qīng Cháo. The Manchu dynasty that doubled China's territory, then collapsed under the weight of Western and Japanese imperialism — China's last imperial dynasty.
The dynasty
The Manchus — descendants of the Jurchen, who had ruled north China as the Jin five centuries earlier — entered Beijing in 1644 and proceeded to conquer the rest of Ming China over the following four decades. The early Qing emperors — Kangxi (r. 1661–1722), Yongzheng, and Qianlong — presided over what is sometimes called the High Qing, an era of territorial expansion (Tibet, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Taiwan), demographic growth (population tripled from c. 100 million to over 300 million), and bureaucratic consolidation.
The 19th century brought a relentless succession of crises. The First Opium War (1839–42) ended in the Treaty of Nanjing, the cession of Hong Kong, and the opening of treaty ports. The Taiping Rebellion (1850–64) killed an estimated 20–30 million people. The Second Opium War, the loss of Outer Manchuria to Russia, the establishment of the legation quarter in Beijing, the Boxer Rebellion, and the eight-nation occupation of 1900 progressively eroded Qing sovereignty.
The dynasty fell in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911; the last emperor, Puyi, abdicated in February 1912.
Legacy
China's modern national borders (with adjustments). Manchu architecture (Mukden Palace, Chengde Mountain Resort). The legation-quarter remnants of treaty-port modernity. The end of the imperial system.
Where to see it today
- Forbidden City — Inner Court (Qing-era)
- Chengde Mountain Resort (UNESCO)
- Mukden Palace, Shenyang (UNESCO)
- Summer Palace, Beijing (UNESCO)
- Old Summer Palace ruins, Beijing