The Demise Of The Qing Dynasty

The Han Dynasty brought China to new heights, politically, socially and militarily. Economically, the Han dynasty regained its foothold despite a decline that occurred throughout the Qin dynasty, it overlapped over the early Han period. The creation of irrigation and water conservation projects made this possible. Improvements in the making of farming tools contributed greatly to the increase in agricultural revenues which helped boost the Han economy. Other programs were commissioned to enable increased farming efficiency. It was during the Han period that contact with the West through the Silk Road was first established. Chinese borders were expanded to incorporate Vietnam and North Korea, creating the Han dynasty as the biggest empire thus

While there might not be a real tangible reason why the qing dynasty collapsed, some people start to lay the blame on the western force. Personally,although the Western force may appear culpable, I believe it is unjustifiable to claim that it directly led to the destruction of the Qing dynasty. Rather than the western force, I believe the internal conflicts within China, and also the Qing dynasty itself are the greatest instigators for this downfall.

Founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan, a family of Manchu rulers, is the Qing Dynasty. Emperor Nurhachi founded the Latter Jin regime. Nurhachi' son, Huang Taiji moved the capital to Shenyang and renamed the regime into the Qing. At that time, the empire was divided into the eighteenth provinces we now know today. The Qing dynasty was China's last imperial dynasty. They ruled from 1644 to 1912, by the Manchus. The Qing dynasty is also known as the Manchu dynasty. The reigns of the first three monarchs, which persevered for 133 years, were a time of accord and success for China.

There were mainly six reasons for the failed attempts of reformation in the late Qing dynasty. These six reasons include: Empress Dowager Cixi's role, the opposition from conservatives, lack of careful planning, lack of capital, corruption and the rising popularity of revolutionary movement. Empress Dowager Cixi was born in 1835 to a family of Manchu government officials. It is believed that she was born somewhere in Beijing and had entered the Forbidden City as a concubine to the emperor Xianfeng. She had moved up the social ladder after giving birth to a male in 1856. During this time period Xianfeng was facing unmanageable problems, these included, the Taiping rebellion, intrusive foreign powers and the depletion of the royal treasury. After the death of emperor Xianfeng in 1861, Cixi was able to manipulate officials and succeeded in placing her son as the next Emperor. The first gesture in the direction of constitutional reform was made by empress Cixi in 1905, “she ordered the formation of a small study group of five princes and officials---three Mancus and two Chinese---who would travel to Japan, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Italy to study their governments” (Spence, 235). Empress Dowager Cixi however, was the biggest obstacle in carrying out the reforms. Her opposition towards the reforms was the main reason for

Cixi was the last ruler of China; she was very rich at a time when China was struggling. She was very independent in her own work ruthless at times that were necessary. She had many who opposed against her. Cixi resisted of the change of making China modern. Born on November 29, 1835 her original name Yehenara and renamed when ruling she was just an ordinary Chinese girl living in China. She started ruling for fifty years on November 15, 1908 (Price).

The Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) was the last feudal dynasty in China’s history; meanwhile, it was the dynasty that bred modernized thoughts and foster revolutionaries for Modern China. The Late Qing, which dramatically turned from prosperity to decline, experienced the failure of the Opium War, a series of unequal treaties signed with the western powers in mid-19th century, several well-known uprisings, reforms for modernization, and war among warlords. Every event gradually pushed the Qing dynasty to the end, while this article will focus on the modernizing reforms happened in the Late Qing. Whatever the result, the transform of modernizing thoughts, modernizing actions and modernizing policies in the Late Qing Dynasty was a essential factor in order to understanding modern China.

The Qing dynasty is pronounced “ching”. It was the last dynasty in the world and it was also the dynasty with the most land. The dates of the dynasty were lasting 1644 to 1912.

One of the key characteristics of the Great Leap Forward (1958-1961) was the focus on creating a “new socialist culture,” which included a change in consciousness and a forceful enlightenment. The ideology of the Chinese Communist Party first played an instrumental role in their triumphant victory in 1949. Prior to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, and indeed well afterwards, Confucianism reigned as the sole ideology in China. As an old, strongly conservative governing way of life, Confucianism valued hierarchy, emphasized a correct way of living (orthopraxy) instead of a correct way of thinking (orthodoxy), stripped youths of abilities to grow their influence, and placed an immense emphasis on the emperor (Liberthal 7-8). One can see the weakening of Confucianism with the Taiping Rebellion, the first movement not to invoke the Confucian argument that a ruling dynasty had lost the Mandate of Heaven (Bianco 30). Confucianism ultimately lost its power during the May Fourth Movement, a period of Chinese history that rejected “the subordination of subject to sovereign, of son to father, of wife to husband” and advocated the “limitless potential of human reason” (Bianco 39-40). The May Fourth Movement eventually grew into Marxist thought,

Despite many attempts of reform and revolution, the Qing Dynasty gradually collapsed. People could barely provide the basic needs for themselves. The wine industry declined along with the empire. Qing Dynasty was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), resulting Taiwan was ceded to Japan. Japan has colonized Taiwan for 50 years (1895-1945). In 1907, Japanese colonial government decided to impose liquor production tax because the financial difficulty caused by the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). The establishment of new taxation caused a major change in the style of the liquor business. The smaller business was driven to close due to large cost increase and some in order to survive they merge into larger companies and corporatized.

Often referred to as the Last Great Dynasty, The Qing Dynasty ruled China for over three centuries. The Qing were a proud dynasty and relied little upon foreign trade and influences to grow their economy. This was partly because The Qing were a self-sufficient society. Another reason for the denial of Western influences was due to The Qing’s great pride of their own culture. Any acceptance of Western influences would dilute the values and traditions of The Qing. That being said, The Qing did allow a trivial amount of foreign trade to take place in the Port of Canton. The refusal to allow Western influences, the lack of knowledge of the importance of foreign relations and the continued reliance of Confucian teachings all played a part in the demise of The Qing Dynasty. The modernization of China would not be possible without the rebellion of 1911.

The Qing era was successful in introducing a new variety of crops from the Americas in China. These crops included sweet potatoes, corn, and even a new faster growing rice. Sadly during both eras the population started to explode and with expansion comes serious problems, such as lack of enough land for the population as well as hunger amongst the rural areas. But, this also lead to a steady increase in manufacturing and commerce. Trade routes started opening into the West, this helped to boost the economy, which helped provide more goods and services into the everyday life in China.

Zewei explain The Confucian world perspective in China depended on the idea of the Celestial Empire of China and epitomized in the Tributary System. The Chinese perspective couldn 't fit into the equivalent universal relationship affirmed among European nations. In the mid-nineteenth century, particularly after the Opium Wars, worldwide law set out on an enraged impact with Chinese customary Confucianism. Debilitated by powers of Western powers, the Qing government had no real option except to come to trade off with the Western forces. Hence, the Confucian world request taking into account the Celestial Empire of China given way and Chinese authorities and researchers started to learn, acknowledge and apply global law.

The Qing Dynasty had experience a very prosperous period. But at the middle of the Chien Lung years, there were both internal problems and external invasion. And let’s see how these problems became the symptoms of decline of this former great country. The administrative inefficiency was a serious problem causing the Qing government to collapse. Since the emperor of the Qing government held a suspicion feeling on the officials, so he set up many restrictions, checks and regulations on them. Gradually the officials thought the less responsibility the less risk they will face. This really hinders the administration of the government. And there was nobody wants to take charge on important matters. So the decision had to be maked up by the emperor himself. But after Chien Lung there was no great emperor.

Confucianism has been known to be the binding factor for much of China’s history. Though the founder of Confucianism has no official title or record, the inspiration of these teachings, Confucius, was the guiding factor for change in China set forth by his understanding of environment and needs of his country’s future. Due to the acceptance and immersion of Confucianism with in the Chinese culture, much of Confucius’ teachings has found themselves religiously embedded in its entirety, not only within day-to-day life, but with the political and holistic venues.

The Golden Age of the Qing, governed by the traditional relationship-based philosophy of Confucianism, spanned from 1644 to 1800, providing growth and stability for China. However, decline soon followed as leaders of the Qing refused modernization and Western ideas. It was in this time of corruption, conflict, and humiliation that Mao Zedong seized control with his radical ideas of communism, an ideology that sought a classless society. Intending to restore China’s wealth and power, he began his long journey to fulfill his new vision of China. Mao Zedong revamped China by promoting rights for the peasantry, supplying resources and attention for the peasant class, and implementing a reformed way of thinking while maintaining the traditional idea of a single leader with absolute power in his new society.