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The rise and fall of the qing dynasty essay
Rise of qing dynasty essay
Essay on the rise of the qing dynasty
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The argument of this essay poses the question, was the Qing dynasty to be considered Chinese? The “New Qing History” scholars argue that the Manchu rulers maintained their ethnic identities and thus the Manchu-centered Qing was fundamentally different from the proceeding chinese dynasties. However, I support the argument that the Qing dynasty was a real Chinese dynasty and their success through sinicization.
The Qing dynasty rulers were legitimate Chinese dynasties because, like the Han previously adopted, they also claimed to be the “Son of Heaven”. The rulers referred to themselves as “Emperor” and adopted Han bureaucracy to rule the empire. The Qing located its capital into Chinese homeland.
The Manchus relocated in an attempt to establish
The Qing operated just like the Ming in regards to politics, from the bureaucracy to the political divisions of provinces to the Mandarin Squares worn to denote ranks of officials. It was not uncommon for the Manchus and Han to intermix.
Another reason the Qing was Chinese was the Imperial Jade Seal. The Qing Emperors created numerous Imperial seals to lessen the significance of the Imperial Jade Seal. They did this because they were in fear that if found, it would lead to rebellion against their rule as Chinese emperors. Whoever controlled the seal was said to have the Mandate of Heaven, this was called “The Heirloom Seal”. If they were part of a “Manchurian” empire, then they couldn’t care less about a jade seal used by Han Chinese.
Most of all, Qing rulers considered themselves the true rulers of China. They were just from another ethnic group. Both of these ethnic groups are a part of the “Chinese” ethnicity, which makes them and their dynasty
The Qing was the first to consider themselves as a Chinese nation. If the dynasty was not Chinese, then no dynasty is Chinese for these reasons: The Qing was the first to make modern territorial treaties. Starting from the Treaty of Nerchinsk they referred to themselves in Chinese, as well as every subsequent treaty.
The rise of nationalism in the Qing dynasty led it to become the first to have a Chinese national flag and anthem.
The Qing also called their emperor “Chinese” and referred to Manchuria as “Chinese territory’. The Emperors described their dynastic expansion as Chinese conquests.
The concept that some dynasties were more “Chinese” was not a concept that originated in China. It is an American concept from the idea of Oriental Depotism. He saw them as unique instead of non-Chinese. China’s current stance is that it is a multi-ethnic nation, much like how the Qing saw itself as a multi-ethnic
Han – a period of time in China in which the country was merged together (Dictionary) Manchurian – a resident of the NE region of China or Manchuria (Dictionary) Yin and Yang – is a symbol used in relation to a Chinese philosophy to represent balance between good and evil or dark and light (Dictionary) Wu Xia or Wuxia – a type of Chinese story utilizing martial arts of ancient China which showcases heroism (Dictionary) Chivalry – of the mind which creates a world not bound by the rules of reality (Dictionary) Peking – a Chinese name once used for Beijing (Dictionary) Taoism – “a popular Chinese religion” which uses the philosophy of Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu (Dictionary) Confucianism – a teaching from Confucius based on “love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct” (Dictionary) Gobi desert – a desert Pinyin or pin yin – a way to translate “Chinese into the Latin alphabet” (Dictionary). Response 1
In the Qing empire the leaders were not able to resolve the problem caused by increased population pressure and concentration of land ownership. The Qing Dynasty was the last imperial dynasty in China. The dynasty was founded by the non-chinese people of the Manchus who originally lived in the northeast which was later called Manchuria. The Manchus used the disintegration of the central government of the Ming Empire that
The title of Ray Huang’s book 1587: A Year of No Significance: The Ming Dynasty Decline suggests that this book is a work based on a single year in which little occurred. But in reality, Huang’s look at the events of 1587 demonstrates the complex workings of the leadership during the decline of the Ming dynasty, giving the reader an insight into the societal structure, the governmental process, and the mistakes that occurred systematically to enhance the progression towards the seemingly inevitable downfall. Though nothing of historical significance occurred during the year 1587, Huang is able to demonstrate the way in which the existing culture and the smaller, more systematic elements of political leadership can be understood within the context of a seemingly unimportant period of time. Chapter 1: The Wan-Li Emperor, begins by explaining the major premise of the work: The concept of looking at a single year in the history of the leadership of China and evaluating the implications for understanding other aspects of history, including the decline of the Ming Dynasty.
Americans “thought [the] Chinese had some kind of superpower since they worked for such low wages and lived in small crowded areas” (“The Chinese Experience in 19th Century America”). The Chinese just wanted to have a better life since that was the reason they came to America and they were just working hard to achieve their American Dream of living a better life than the one in their country. They did not mind working hard for what they wanted and they did, but they were just thought of as different and as exorcists for doing this. There were Yellow Peril novels written about how the Chinese wanted to take over the American government so they could put in place their own culture. On the other hand there were groups of people who did feel the Chinese were welcomed.
The start of Chinese Empire did not occur in a steady rate but an erratic rate. It all started when the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties created a Chinese state in and around present day China. After their system failed, all of the states were very competitive against each other which lead to a ruler of the Qin dynasty, Shihuangdi’s, unification in 221 B.C.E. The way the Roman Empire started was completely different from the way the Chinese Empire rose. No one really knows what happened, but legend has it that two Etruscan brothers Romulus and Remus were saved by a she-wolf. After that Romulus and Remus got into a deadly fight and Romulus succeeded and started an empire. Since his name was Romulus he named the civilization Rome. This all happened around 753 B.C.E. on the Tiber River around present day Italy.
"Qing dynasty (Chinese history)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/112846/Qing-dynasty>.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasty, under the circumstance of which the absolute monarchy reached its peak progressively, two trends of thoughts appeared in China:
The Han Dynasty, the amazing Chinese era to have said to unified China for over 400 years old. This era in China’s history began in 206 B.C when a rebel armies rose up against the Qin army. One rebellion, led by Chen Sheng and Wu Kuang was later joined by Xiang Liang, Xiang Yu, Ying Bu, and Peng Yue joined forces with Liu Bang. The people of the Qin Dynasty were unhappy under the rule of Qin Shihuang who was ran his empire with an iron fist. His rule was absolute and disagreeing was punishable by death, though Emperor Qin was the one who to end the Warring States as well as complete the conquering of China in 221 B.C, thus expanding the Chinese state. After the takeover, Liu Bang took the name as Emperor of China and changed his given name to Emperor Gaozu and the Qin laws were abolished.
Chapter 4: China's Qing Dynasty & Its Collapse." East-Asian-History Home. Penn State. Web. 06 Apr. 2011..
It is thus rational for us to question the validity of preconditions upon which these ideas were acquired and the legitimacy of the ideas; and later but more importantly, how did the Legalists become the only classical thoughts had its teaching adopted as the sole official doctrine of a regime ruling all China and bring about the unification of China; and lastly, the association of the all-too-soon collapse of the ephemeral Qin Dynasty and the Legalists thoughts.
From 1700 to roughly 220 BCE (before the Common Era), the region currently known as China was divided into six states: Qin, Wei, Zhao, Qi, Yan and Zhongshan, each ruled by different kings. These inter-warring states were already familiar with wall building techniques, each having constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. When Shih Huangdi, the young king of the ancient Chinese state of Qin (also spelled Ch’in, from which the word China derives), conquered each of the remaining five states in 221 BCE, the continuous warring finally came to an end. By conquering these states, Shih Huangdi established the Qin Dynasty, thus creating the first unification of China, and the first Chinese central government. In his efforts to make this new concept of centralized rule “stick”, as well as prevent the reemergence of feudal lords, Shih Huangdi ordered the destruction of the wall sections that divided his empire along the forme...
The way the Chinese have conceived of their past, and of themselves, was profoundly shaped by the Shiji. The Shiji, or Historical Records, was a monumental work composed of 130 chapters written during the Han dynasty by Sima Qian. It presented the past from several perspectives: a chronological narrative of political events; topical accounts of key institutions; and biographies of individuals that Qian saw as important. The political narrative began with the Yellow Lord and continued through the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, down to the Han dynasty and Emperor Wudi of Sima Qian's day. Chronological charts with genealogical data and information on government posts came next, such as the calendar, state ritual, the construction of waterworks, and government finance. Thirty chapters were devoted to the ruling houses of the states of the Zhou period, recounting the reigns of successive rulers. These were supplemented by seventy chapters on other important individuals, including not only great officials and generals, but also people not associated with the government, both the famous and infamous including: philosophers, poets, merchants, magicians, and even rebels. Even non-Han people along the frontiers were described in narrative accounts. The emergence of a unified empire out of the warring States of pre-Qin China, the consolidation of the former Han, and the relations between the empire and the surrounding people groups were major themes in the Shiji. Qian’s records also offer insights through his role as a historian and his attempt to resolve a life changing experience he distinguished in his own life. Equally important, Sima Qian, by writing so well on so much, had a profound impact on Chinese thinking about government, pers...
...when Qing China had become one of the world’s largest empires and was prosperous. The two Edicts begin by expressing the ways in which Qianlong was lenient and hospitable with Lord Macartney and his party. There are also sections that commend the king on his humility of his actions and requests. However, the remainder of the document proceeds to list the demands that Qianlong was presented with and the reasons why each were denied. This rejection of demands was likely a way to protect China from the British Empire, who was known to colonize other nations.
There were three reform movements between 1860-1911, “ the Qing court and Chinese provincial officials had tried to adapt a wide range of Western techniques and ideas to China’s proven needs: artillery, ships, the telegraph, new schools, factories, chambers of commerce and international law” (Spence, 234). The first reform being the Self-strengthening Movement the second was the Hundred Days Reform and the last is regarded as the Late Qing reform. These three reforms were similar in the fact that the main objective was to strengthen China. However, there were multiple reasons for the failed plans of the reforms. Analyzing certain individuals and events during the late Qing dynasty will help determine if the Manchus would have been viable leaders for modern China.
The Ming Dynasty had created an empire. They had the government, the military, and the economic system to prove it. At different points in time, The Chinese Empire was the greatest in the world, for trade, military, and other key factors in a society.