Qing China

By meijieki
  • Period: to

    Manchu China

  • Nurhaci becomes Emperor Taizhu (1616-1626)

    Nurhaci is Emperor of the 'Jin dynasty' and united various Juchen tribes, consolidating the Eight Banners system.
    - Credited with the creation of a written script for the Manchu language
    - Uses captured Han officials to create an administrative system

  • Hong Taiji becomes first Emperor of the Manchu dynasty (1626-1643)

    • Developed the Eight Banners of the Banner System
    • Started using officials of the Han ethnicity as realised that the Manchus would always be a minority in a Han-dominated region. Used the Ming government model and recruited Ming officials
    • 1635 changed name of his people from Jurchen to Manchu
    • Continued expansion into Mongolia, expanding the region later known as Manchuria

  • Dorgon becomes Prince Regent (1643-1650)

    (14th son of Nurhaci)

  • The Shunzhi Emperor (1643-1661)

  • Emperor Kangxi becomes 3rd Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty (1661-1722)

    • Reigns for 61 years, longest reign in Chinese history
    • Not able to rule in his childhood as he inherits the throne age 7
    • Spring 1662 ordered the Great Clearance in southern China, in order to fight the anti-Qing movement began by Ming dynasty loyalists. This involved moving coastal populations inland
    • Crushed rebellious Mongols and incoporated the Chakhar into the Eight Banner system

  • The Yongzheng Emperor (1722-1735)

    • 'Despotic' rule
    • Used military force to preserve the dynasty's position (particularly in Outer Mongolia
    • Main goal to create an effective government at minimal expense
    • Intervened militarily when Tibet was torn by civil war (1727-1728) and after withdrawing left a Qing official (Amban), backed up with a military garrison to safeguard the dynasty's interests
    • Against Christian converts among the Manchu people

  • The Qianlong Emperor becomes the 5th Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty (1735-1796)

    • Rules for 60 years as vows not to rule longer than his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor
    • Military leader; his later campaigns expanded the Qing empire
    • Dzungar Khanate incorporated into the Qing empire and renamed Xinjiang
    • However, military campaigns were costly, and by the end of his rule there was rapid military decline
    • Major patron of the arts, "preserver and restorer" of Chinese culture
    • Censorship and burning of anti-Qing or 'rebellious' books and texts

  • The Jiaqing Emperor (1796-1820)

    • In his early years of rule, decisions were made by his father, the Qianlong Emperor
    • Strong opposition to Christianity in China

  • The Daoguang Emperor (1820-1850)

    • In 1813, whilst a Prince, had played a vital role in suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion in Beijing
    • Inherited a declining empire with the encroaching of Western imperialists
    • China experieced major problems with opium during his reign (had started during the Yongzheng Emperor's period (1722-1735), but had been very limited)
    • Edicts against opium in the 1820s and 1830s
    • Lost the First Opium War (1839-1842) and surrendered Hong Kong by the way of the Treaty of Nanking in August 1842

  • The Xianfeng Emperor (1850-1861)

    • Young Emperor
    • Taiping Rebellion (December 1850, captured Nanjing 1853)
    • Panthay Rebellion, Yunnan
    • Second Opium War (1856-1860)
    • Viewed non-Chinese as inferior

  • The Tongzhi Emperor (1861-1875)

    • Attempted political reform

  • The Guangxu Emperor (1872-1908)

    • Ruled under Empress Dowager Cixi's (conservative) influence
    • Initiated the Hundred Days' Reform (modernisation), but was stopped when Cixi formed a coup in 1898 and was then put under house arrest until his death
    • Reform-minded

  • The Xuantong Emperor (Puyi) (1908-1912)

    • Chosen by Empress Dowager Cixi at the age of only 2