Qing Decline Ming Dynasty

Question: Discuss about theQing Declinefor Ming Dynasty. Answer: Process of Qing Decline from the Late 1830s to its Abdication in 1912 The Qing Dynasty was the last great dynastic empire that ruled China. In 1644, the Qing rulers overthrew the Ming dynasty and started ruling the modern China. Unlike the Ming rulers, Qing were not ethically Chinese; however, established a peaceful kingdom by increasing the prosperity in their kingdom and trade relations with the Western countries. Like other Chinese dynasties, the initial period of Qing Empire was marked by powerful kings in the initial period and natural disasters, rebel and invasion at the end of the dynasty. The Chinese citizens were kept happy by giving higher bureaucratic positions who passed the imperial exams. It is also known as Manchu Dynasty as it was founded by Manchu Clan Aisin Gioro in the northeast China. Later, the reign expanded to the surrounding territories and established the Empire of the Great Qing.[1] In spite of all these efforts, the Qing dynasty could not escape the eventual reasons which collapsed the earlier dynasties. In the 1800s, the mil itary power of the dynasty weakened with increase in large civil rebels and defeat in wars with the foreign nations.[2] The development in the Western countries and expansion of their overseas colonies also contributed to the decline of the Qing Dynasty. China remained unaware of the maritime expansion of the foreign countries till the First Opium War in 1840s. The Qing Dynasty declined after the mid-nineteenth century following the Xinhai revolution in which the Empress Longyu was abducted and overthrown by the civilians. Along with it, there were several internal and external factors which worked together towards the decline of the Qing dynasty. The decline of the Qing Empire initiated in 1799 after the death of Emperor Qianlong. Till 1800s, the reign of Qing Empire was somewhat successful with fast growing population and modernized empire. However, the ruling court was incompetent to rule the empire amidst the luxurious lifestyle, natural disasters and the foreign invasions. The empire implemented isolationist policy which resulted in conflicts with the Europeans and the Japanese kingdoms. The Euro pean countries quickly modernized after the industrial revolution; however, the technological advancements in China were very little. Therefore, the British Empire easily defeated the Qing army and forced them to abandon their trading ports.[3] Later, the first opium war was announced in 1838 between the British Empire and the China mainly due to the reason that Britishers wanted access to the China for trade and commerce; however, Qing Court wanted to keep them out of British influence. In 1842, the British Empire acquired Hong Kong under the treaty of Nanking which showed that the British Army power was obsolete. After success in these wars, the Kingdom of England wanted more presence in China in trade and commerce. Several disagreements lead to the second opium war which was easily won by England.[4] Another major reason of the decline of the Qing Dynasty is the war between Sino-Japanese war between 1894 and 1895. The Japanese modernized quickly and defeated China in these wars. Unlike Britishers, Japanese kingdom wants to establish their territories in China and colonize the whole region. During this time, the Qing Dynasty also faced several internal rebellions. It includes the White Lotus Rebellion (1796-1804), the Taiping Rebellion (1851-1864) and Dungan Revolt. Events in Qing China Involving Foreign Forces The invasion by the foreign forces was a major reason for the decline of the Qing Dynasty. The isolationist policy of the Qing Empire was also a significant reason for its decline. The kingdom kept itself separated from the foreign countries which resulted in lack of modernization and unawareness of the modern warfare skills. The Qing dynasty also suffered from civil disorders and foreign invasions. The powerful emperor of the Qing dynasty Cixi and guanxu died in 1908 which resulted in civil unrest and unstable central authority. Moreover, the rise in European empires and their expansion all across the globe adversely impacted the Qing dynasty. Although the treaty of Nerchinsk (1689) assisted in establishing steady relations with Russia, then rules by Czars.[5] As discussed, the dynasty was facing challenges from the maritime developments and the modernization of Europe. The British Empire developed their trade centres in India and Indonesia and tried to trade with the Chinese merchants. However, the response of the kingdom was to restrict maritime trade and give supreme powers to the Chinese merchants. In essence, the British East India Company sent a proposal to Qing state authorities to open free trade in China and give equal rights to the European merchants. The viewer of the Qing Imperial Court was that trade and commerce are the secondary activities of state and the country does not require diverging in it, as it is surplus in natural resources. On the other hand, the British Empire considered trade as the primary source of the commerce activities. The British Empire used to import Chinese tea, silk and other products and export largely opium to China. The king was concerned about the outflow of silver from the Chinese empire and the damage opium was doing to its subjects and ordered authorities to end opium trade in the country. It resulted in the first opium war in 1840. With the first opium war, the British army realized the obsolete war tactics of the Chinese army. The British army easily won the war against Chinese and Qing army had to surrender in 1842. As reparation of the war, China had to open up several trade ports to the British Empire. Moreover, the regime also realized the weakness in the Qing Empire and they revolted against the central authority.[6] It can be critiqued that the civil unrest and the rebellions were a result of the foreign invasion and the public intrust. As a result, several rebellions such as Taiping rebellion, Miao Rebellion and Panthay Rebellion initiated in the country. The social unrest along with the famine and the social injustice such as slavery, opium smoking, judicial torture and opium smoking resulted in massive rebellion in the country. The foreign countries were also dissatisfied with the Treaty of Nanjing and reluctantly supported the Chinese empire during the civilian rebel. Moreover, while combating these rebellions, the Qing dynasty lost a large amount of their wealth as large amount of the farmland was destroyed. Later in 1856, the second opium war was initiated when Qing authorities boarded a private ship to search for pirates which was carrying a British flag. The second opium was lead to the Treaty of Tienstin which contained hugely offensive conditions for the Chinese nationals.[7] Bibiography June Grasso andMichael G. Kort, Modernization and Revolution in China (M.E. Sharpe, 2015), 59-62. Zhengyuan Fu, Autocratic Tradition and Chinese Politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 146-148. Ulric Killion, A Modern Chinese Journey to the West: Economic Globalization and Dualism (Nova Publishers, 2006), 42-46. Daniel McMahon, Rethinking the Decline of China's Qing Dynasty: Imperial Activism and Borderland Management at the Turn of the Nineteenth Century (Routledge, 2014), Chater 7. Ho-fung Hung, Protest with Chinese Characteristics: Demonstrations, Riots, and Petitions in the Mid-Qing Dynasty (Columbia University Press, 2011), 102-135.