Qing dynasty

Not to be confused with the Qin dynasty, the first dynasty of Imperial China.

Qing Dynasty 清朝
1636–1912
Flag Imperial Seal
Anthem:  鞏金甌 Gǒng Jīn'ōu "Cup of Solid Gold" (1911–1912)
The Qing dynasty at its greatest extent in 1760 superimposed on a modern world map. Territory under its control shown in dark green; territory claimed but not under its control shown in light green.
Capital	Mukden (1636–1644) Beijing (1644–1912)
Official languages	Manchu, Mandarin Chinese
Religion	Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese folk religion
Demonym(s)	Chinese
Government	Absolute monarchy
Emperor
• 1636–1643 (founder)	Chongde Emperor
• 1643–1661 (first in Beijing)	Shunzhi Emperor
• 1908–1912 (last)	Xuantong Emperor
Regent
• 1643–1650	Dorgon, Prince Rui
• 1908–1911	Zaifeng, Prince Chun
Prime Minister
• 1911	Yikuang, Prince Qing
• 1911–1912	Yuan Shikai
Area
• Total	13.400000 km2 (5.173769 sq mi)
Preceded by Succeeded by 1636: Later Jīn 1646: Shun dynasty 1662: Southern Ming 1755: Dzungar Khanate 1683: Kingdom of Tungning 1912: Republic of China 1883: Zheltuga Republic 1895: Republic of Formosa 1911: Bogd Khanate Uryankhay Republic 1912: Tibet
Today part of	People's Republic of China, Mongolia

Territory of the Qing Dynasty (1820)

The Qing Dynasty or the Qing Empire (Chinese: 清朝; pinyin: Qīng cháo) was a dynasty of rulers of China from 1644 to 1912. The dynasty was founded by the Manchus and so its other name is the Manchu dynasty. The surname of the Qing emperors was Aisin Gioro. It became the Republic of China in 1912 after the 1911 Xinhai Revolution.

Rise of the Manchu state

In 1580, Nurhaci became the Jian Zhou general of the Ming dynasty. He unified the Manchu tribe and organised the Eight Banners. In 1616, Nurhaci declared himself Khan (King) and founded the Jin dynasty in Liao Ling. In 1626, Nurhaci led armies to attack Ning Yuan. Unluckily, Nurhaci was wounded by Yuan Chonghuan's Portuguese cannon and he died 2 days later. Huang Taiji, the son of Nurhaci, then succeeded to the throne and became the Khan of the Manchu tribe. In 1643, Huang Taiji was dead, caused by apoplexy. Shunzhi Emperor inherited Huang Taiji's throne. Prince Dorgon became the regent. In 1644, the Manchu armies conquered the north of China. The capital was changed to Beijing. The Ming dynasty was overthrown, though fighting continued until 1683.

History

Before the Aztec Empire existed, the indigenous (native) people in central Mesoamerica lived in many separate city-states. These were small cities with farmland around them. Each state had its own ruler. Around 1100 AD, these city-states started to fight each other for power and control of the area's land.

By about 1400, two city-states had grown into small empires. In 1428, these two empires fought the Tepanec War for control of the area. The Texcoco empire made an alliance with some other powerful city-states, including Tenochtitlan, and won the war. These allies were supposed to share power equally as they started to gain control of more land. However, by 1430, Tenochtitlan became the most powerful member of the alliance. It became the capital city of the Aztec Empire, and its ruler became the 'high king' of the entire Empire.

Growth

From 1430 onward, the Aztec Empire grew. Its military took over most of what is now northern Mexico. At this point, the Aztec Empire controlled 135,000 square kilometres (almost 84,000 square miles) of Mesoamerica.^p.453

Drawing of what part of Tenochtitlan may have looked like

When the Aztecs took over a state, they would take prisoners for ritual human sacrifice in Tenochtitlan. The state would also have to pay the Aztec Empire "tributes" (almost like taxes). As the Aztecs took over more and more states, these tributes made them very rich.

Sometimes, when the Aztecs took over a state, they would bring that state and its people into the Aztec Empire. However, if a state was on the edge of the Empire, the Aztecs might let it stay its own state. They did this so they would have other states around the Empire, protecting them from an invasion by other powerful states.

Tenochtitlan

See the main article: Tenochtitlan

The Aztecs had built their capital city right on a lake called Lake Texcoco. As the Empire grew, so did Tenochtitlan. By the early 1500s, at least 200,000 people lived in the city. This made Tenochtitlan the largest city in the Americas before Christopher Columbus arrived.

Tenochtitlan was the center of the Aztec government and religion. It was also a very big trading center. When the Spanish arrived in 1519, they guessed that 60,000 people came to the market in Tenochtitlan every day. People bought and sold many things there, including slaves (prisoners of war from states the Aztecs had taken over). The city had a huge pyramid called the Templo Mayor (Great Temple). The entire city was decorated with art, architecture, and stone sculptures.

The Aztecs had created canals all across the city. By bringing water to Aztec crops, these canals made it possible for the Aztecs to grow much more food than they normally could have. The Aztecs had also made levees to protect the city from flooding, and reservoirs for fresh water.

Society

At its most powerful, the Aztec Empire controlled about 11,000,000 people. Among these people, there were different social classes with different social statuses. The most important people were the rulers. Next were nobles. These were the Empire's powerful members of the government; great warriors; judges; and priests. These people enjoyed a high social status.

The next social class was the commoners (common people). These were the Empire's everyday workers. Most of them farmed, ran stores, or traded. Commoners were allowed to own land as a group or a family. However, a single person was not allowed to own land.

The lowest social classes in Aztec society were serfs and then slaves. Slaves had no rights at all. However, if they had the money, they could buy their own freedom and become commoners.

For most of the Aztec Empire's existence, it was very difficult to move between social classes. Usually, if a person was born in a social class, they would stay in that class for the rest of their life.

Education

By age 15, all children in the Aztec Empire had to go to school, no matter what social class they were in. This was very unusual for the time. In other places, like Europe, only boys were allowed to go to school, and only rich people could pay to send their children to school.

Until they were 15, children were taught by their parents. Once they turned 15, all children had to go to school. For most boys, the most important part of going to school was to make them the best possible warriors for the Empire.

“	Question: What [do] we enter in three places [and] leave by only one? Answer: [O]ur shirt. – Example of an Aztec riddle	”

Children of commoners went to schools called telpochcalli ('youth houses'). Boys got military training, while girls were taught how to do religious ceremonies. Both boys and girls were also taught about Aztec religion, morals, and history. They also learned singing, dancing, and public speaking.

The nobles' children went to a school called a calmecac. Its goal was to get the children ready for jobs as the Empire's leaders. These included jobs as military or government leaders; priests; scholars; teachers; and healers. These schools taught about things like astronomy, geometry, mathematics, debate, law, music, poetry, architecture, agriculture, and war. Boys had to eat and sleep at their schools. They usually started at age 15 and left around age 20 to get married. Girls could become priestesses or work in medicine, helping other women give birth.

Marriage

When a young person was ready to get married, their education would end. This usually happened in their late teenage years or early twenties. Especially with nobles, marriages were arranged. This meant children's parents, or possibly other older people in the community, would choose who a person married. Many marriages among noble youth were arranged as a power strategy (for example, to unite an Aztec with a family from a state that was recently taken over). Marriage ceremonies lasted four days.

Aztec men were allowed to have other wives as well as concubines. However, they were also expected to raise their sons, which was unusual for ancient societies (where women usually did all of the child-raising).

Aztec society also gave women rights that few other societies gave at the time. Even after marrying, an Aztec woman's property and money were still her own; they did not go to her husband. Women were also allowed to work in medicine, education, religion, and trade.

Morals

The Aztecs had strict rules and punishments for people who broke Aztec morals. For example, things like disorderly conduct (causing trouble in public), drunkenness, could be punished by execution.

• 
  Aztec 'high lords', who were in the top social class
• 
  Merchants, members of "the commoners," carry things they want to sell a long way away
• 
  Example of Aztec writing, which parents taught their children
• 
  Example of the Aztec language written in the European alphabet
• 
  Aztec symbols used for measuring
• 
  Drums were important in Aztec society. These two Aztec drums are now in a museum

Military

All adult men in the Empire had to be in the Aztec military. Men from states that had alliances with the Aztecs also fought in the Aztec military. So did some men from states that the Aztecs had taken over. Because of this, the Aztec military was large and powerful.

At this time, most battles were fought in big cities. If an army took over one of a state's biggest cities, it was then allowed to take control over all the land around those cities.

Aztec warriors protected themselves with thick cotton armour. They also had shields made of wood or reeds, and covered in dried animal skins.

For weapons, warriors had a few choices:

• Macuahuitl: A very sharp sword, with a point made of obsidian, which can be sharpened like glass. This sword could also be used as a club
• Atlatl: A weapon used to throw spears or darts
• Bows and arrows

• 
  Aztec drawing of warriors and their weapons
• 
  Aztec drawing of a Jaguar warrior, one of their best warriors
• 
  Eagle (left) and Jaguar warriors with macuahuitl
• 
  Drawing of a macuahuitl. The black parts would be sharpened like cut glass
• 
  Example of an atlatl

Religion

Painting of Tlaloc (left) and Huizilopochtli in their temple, with the skulls of the people the Aztecs sacrificed to these gods

The Aztecs were polytheistic, meaning they believed in many different gods. Two of the most important gods they worshipped were Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and the sun, and Tlaloc, the rain god. The Aztecs set up temples specifically to honor these gods at the top of the pyramid in Tenochtitlan. However, they also worshipped hundreds of other gods. Each one controlled some part of human life (like Quetzalcoatl, the god of learning and civilization), or some part of nature (like Zipe Totec, the god of springtime and regrowth).

In the Aztecs' religion, the sun was very important. The Aztecs believed that the world went through five stages, and each had its own sun. At the end of each stage, the gods would destroy the world and create a new one – but only four times. They thought they were living in the fifth and last stage, and that the gods could decide to destroy the world at any minute.

Keeping the gods happy

The Aztecs did many things to try to honor the gods and keep them happy. For example, they threw festivals, had banquets, made statues, and buried valuable items, all as offerings to the gods. They did penance, like cutting themselves and letting blood run out, to try to get the gods to forgive them for whatever they might have done wrong. They did ritual sacrifice of animals (killing the animals as part of a religious ritual).

Like many other ancient civilizations, the Aztecs also sacrificed human beings to the gods.

As Mesoamerican scholar Mark Cartwright explains:

“

Humans, both adults and less often children, were also frequently sacrificed to metaphorically 'feed' the gods and keep them happy [so they would not] become angry and make life difficult for humans by sending storms, droughts, etc., or even just to keep the sun appearing every day. Victims were usually taken from the losing side in wars.

”

The Aztecs sacrificed people in three different ways:

• Taking out their heart
• Cutting off their head
• Making them fight against many of the Aztecs' best warriors until they were killed

Restoration

A. The self-strengthening movement (1861 - 1895)

The Zongli Yamen - A Foreign Office of the Qing Dynasty

See the main article: Self-Strengthening Movement

The self-strengthening movement (Chinese: 洋務運動 or 自強運動; 1861 - 1895) was a reform organised during the late Qing. With the defeat in the Opium Wars and the outbreak of Taiping Rebellion, the emperor and the imperial officials realised that it was necessary to improve the country's state with a series of reforms. Therefore, the Self-Strengthening Movement was started.

The movement could be divided into three phases: the first phase (1861 - 1872), the second phase (1872 - 1885) and the third phase (1885 - 1895). The major leaders are Yixin, Prince Gong (Chinese: 恭親王), Wenxiang (Chinese: 文祥), Zeng Guofan (Chinese: 曾國藩), Li Hongzhang (Chinese: 李鴻章), Zuo Zongtang (Chinese: 左宗棠), Shen Baozhen (Chinese: 沈葆禎) and Zhang Zhidong (Chinese: 張之洞). However, owing to the conservatives opposition and the problems of modernization, it failed finally.

Reforms were:

• National defence
  • Arsenals were built in Shanghai and Xiamen.
  • Shipyards were built in Fuzhou and Tianjin.
  • The Beiyang Fleet was organized by Li Hongzhang.

• Industry and trade
  • Modern banks were built.
  • Many industries were built in the South of China.

• Diplomatic modernization
  • The Zongli Yamen, a foreign office of the Qing dynasty, was set up in 1861.
  • In 1868, the Qing government sent its first official diplomatic mission aboard.

B. The hundred days' reform (1898)

Liang Qichao - a leader of the Hundred Day's Reform

See the main article: Hundred Days' Reform

With the failure of the Self-Strengthening Movenment, the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War and the scramble for concessions, many Chinese leaders realised that reforms were urgently needed. Thus, the Hundred Day's Reform (Chinese: 戊戌變法; 11 June 1898 - 21 September 1898) was started in 1898. The leaders of the reform were Guangxu Emperor, Kang Youwei (Chinese: 康有為) and Liang Qichao (Chinese: 梁啟超). Eventually, it ended in a coup d'état led by Empress Dowager Cixi.

The main reforms were:

• Political reforms
  • Useless government posts were to be abolished.

• Economic reforms
  • Modern banks would be built.
  • Railways were to be built.

• Military reform
  • The army and navy were to have modern weapons.
  • A national militia would be organised.

Qing government and society

Politics

The Manchus changed their ways to be more like the Chinese in order to rule them better. The Manchus started wearing Chinese clothes and writing in Chinese. They began to enjoy Chinese food and art. One of the Manchu emperors, Qianlong Emperor, began to worry about how much like the Chinese the Manchus were becoming and he tried to get Manchus to be more Manchu. Qianlong Emperor made Manchus ride horses and shoot bows and arrows so that they would remember where they came from. The Chinese people used different types of clothes like maccukau, konaha, schinin and sakahn.

Regional Development

• Guangdong

In the early Qing, Guangdong was a province. There were 79 counties. In 1911, it was checked that there were 5,041,780 households, approximately 28,001,564 people. The famous mountains in Guangdong were Lingchau, Huangling and Luofu. Dongjiang, Beijiang and Xijiang were the most important rivers in Guangdong. Guangzhou, Zhaoqing, Xiamen and Fujian were the major Guangdong cities.

Further reading

• History of Ming, compiled under Zhang Tingyu in 1739.
• Draft History of Qing, compiled under Zhao Erxun in 1927.

Related pages

• How to Pronounce Qing? (correctly) Chinese Dynasty Pronunciation. Youtube.com