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Essay on The Qing Dynasty

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12/2/11
World Civ. China
9:55 Mon, Wed

Part A , Number 2
The Qing Dynasty, like all the Chinese Dynasties, began with an expectation of success. The Zhou Dynasty found such success within the “100 schools of thought”, while the Qin found success within trade and exploration which in the end, unified China (Russ). However, the Qing Dynasty found a different way to make their mark with the development of the Chinese Dictionary, forming Banner systems and population increase. Nevertheless, while all of the Dynasties strived for success, they ended with the ultimate failure; by not obtaining the mandate of Heaven. Throughout the history of the region many Dynasties attempted to push China in a positive, powerful position, yet none …show more content…

give up Hong kong, and grant Britain special rights in China that other countries do not have( Russ).This not only placed debt upon the country but also opened the gates of China to other countries. Not only was china slowly losing control of their borders and foreign relations, but their population was also crumbling from the inside and the political structure was now in jeopardy with the corrupt emperor Cixi taking control of the dynasty. The internal and external burdens left china searching for hope and assistance from someone they could trust to take over the reins and get this once powerful country back on track. Throughout China’s history only male emperors were accepted as ruling bodies, therefore, when Cixi comes to power there was resentment and doubt among the people. After the death of her son, Tongzhi Emperor, Cixi appoints their fourth year cousin as the next rulers (Ebey). Due to the venerability of his age, discretionary power was placed in the hands of Cixi. Many of the Chinese felt this was more deceit within the dynasty because not only of the manipulation of power, but also because Tongzhi was known for drinking and there was rumor that Cixi encouraged her son to have many concubines, making him vulnerable to sexually transmitted disease (Russ) and distracting him from his political duties. This lack of direction within the dynasty left Cixi to rule. This was an unpopular action due to gender stereotypes at the time,

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