The Decline of the Qing Dynasty

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In the 1790s, China seemed a vast and powerful state. It was an empire incomparably ancient and enormously rich. It traded silk, lacquer, porcelain and tea to the western traders, but scarcely needed them. The Qing dynasty of the Manchu’s had brought a reign of peace and prosperity that had seen the number of Chinese multiply to over 300 million, making China the most populous nation on Earth.

Beijing, the Manchu capital, was a magnificent city. The streets, which bustled with traders during the day, were normally quiet and safe at night. The city was full of gardens and bridges. Unlike many other large cities in the world, it was very clean, as a special detail removed all horse droppings and other refuse. The streets were well policed, crime and civil disorder were almost non-existent. The shops were full of goods, and they streamed with banners.

The Qing government was arranged thus: the Head of every ministry was a Manchu, supported by a Chinese deputy.

There were in effect, two governments ruling China-the visi-ble outer government, characterized by it’s well ordered bureaucracy. There were in fact 18 grades of bureaucrat, with prestige and salary to match. Most government service positions were chosen on the basis of examinations taken Confucian philosophy and morality. It was hoped in this way thatable and honest men would serve China. There was a civilian administration and a separate military establishment. The civilian administration was divided into two parts— the first was the 6 boards or Ministries, each run by a Manchu and a Chinese deputy. Each had its own function, personnel, revenue, rites, war, public works and punishments. There was no equivalent of foreign affairs-foreigners were expected to pay tribute, and had no other role. In the second category was the censorate. The task of the censors was to weed out corrupt bureaucrats and review policy. They even had the right, even theduty, to criticize the Emperor’s policies-although this was a very rare occurrence. Helping the censors in their task was the fact that any official, however lowly, had the right to send memorials directly to the Emperor-an effective way of dealing with corruption.

Within the Forbidden City, lay the inner court and secret government, outside of the eyes of nearly everyone. Within the Forbidden City sat the Emperor, his court and his wives and concubines, and other instruments for controlling the bureaucracy. Above the board were the grand secretaries. Originally assistants hired or fired at the shim of the emperor, they had gradually increased their powers and status, to become the equivalent of a Western cabinet, but by the reign of Qianlong, they had also been superseded by the grand council,a new authority of 6-10 people, Manchu and Chinese, some of whom may also have been grand councillors. The Westerners who visited Beijing were suitably impressed by what they saw.

Yet amidst all this glory，corruption that would lead to the sad decline and eventual fall of the Qing Dynasty was beginning.And the fault，partly，was the Emperor Qianlong’s.

In 1775，the Emperor Qianlong，then 65 years old，took fancy to a young man called He Shen （see Figure 19），forty-three years younger than him.He Shen was reportedly feminine in appearance，with very fair skin and long，red lips.There was also a rumor，whispered among the commoners，behind the emperor’s fascination with this man.

Figure 19 The Residence of He Shen in Beijing It was said that when Qianlong was still a young prince in the palace，he ran one day into the room of a lady-in-waitingjust as she was putting on her make-up.Being young and playful，he decided to play a prank on her，and tiptoed from behind to scare her with the fright.The lady-in-waiting jumped at the sudden shock and turned round，touching the future emperor.

Another passing court lady witnessed this breach of protocoland reported it.The lad-in-waiting was demoted，and unable to take the humiliation，hanged herself one day.This incident had a profound impression on Qianlong，and it was said that he found He Shen to be very similar in appearance to the court lady whose death he had caused.Perhaps he thought He Shen was the reincarnate of the court lady and his guilt overcame his common sense.

Someone tells a different story about how He Shen gained the favor of the great emperor.More reasonable explanation is that He Shen knew what the emperor wanted but it was inconvenient for him to declare.He Shen always did something to meet his needs.

He abrogated powers and official posts，including that of Grand Councillor，for himself and his family and cronies，and regularly stole public funds and taxes.The old emperor still trusted him implicitly and listened only to him.Bribery became widespread，and taxes were raised again and again.The peasants suffered.Soon though，their suffering was compounded by severe floods of the Yellow River，and indirect result of corruption as dishonest officials pocketed funds meant for the upkeep of canals and dams.The price of rice went up，and many were soon starving.People hated corruptive officials so they made up many stories to mock and expose He Shenthe biggest avaricious official in the history.In the stories there are usually three important characters:He Shen，Emperor Qianlong and a third one who is also a high ranking official，and he fights with He Shen with wisdoms before the emperor，putting him in embarrassment.This figure is either the hunchbacked minister Liu Yong or the eloquent scholar Ji Yun or JiXiaolan .The straggle is actually between the three:the two men representing evil and justice with the emperor Qianlong keeping a balance through compromise.

The problems that corruption caused were further worsened by the fact that China was simply overpopulated，and many were homeless vagrants，creating large-scale social problems very difficult to deal with.By the turn of the century China had lost its shine.