The Qing Dynasty
2 min readThe Qing Dynasty（1644+1911）was founded after the defeat of the Ming by the Manchus.The Manchus invaded from the north in the late 17th century.Even though the Manchus started out as alien conquerors，they quickly adopted the Confucian norms of traditional Chinese government.They eventually ruled in the manner of traditional native dynasties.
Emperor Kangxi（1654-1722）ordered the creation of the most complete dictionary of Chinese characters ever put together at the time.Under Emperor Qianlong（1711—1799），the compilationof a catalogue of the important works on Chinese culture was made.
The Manchus set up the“Eight Banners System” in an attempt to avoid being assimilated into Pcture 1-12 Emperor Qalong Chinese society.The “Fight Baners”were mitary institutions，set up to provide a structure with which the Manchu”bannermen”were meant to identify.Banner membership was to be based on traditional Manchu skills such as archery and horsemanship.In addition，they were encouraged to use the Manchu language rather than Chinese.Bannermen were given economic and legal privileges in Chinese cities.
Over the next half-century，the Manchus consolidated control of some areas originally under the Ming，including Yunnan.They also stretched their sphere of influence over Xinjiang，Tibet and Mongolia.
During the 19th century，Qing’s control weakened.China suffered massive social strife，economic stagnation，and Western penetration and influence.Britain’s desire to continue its opium trade with China collided with imperial edicts prohibiting the addictive drug，and the Opium War broke out in 1840.Britain and other Western powers，including the United States，thereupon forcibly occupied“concessions” and gained special commercialprivileges.Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanjing.In addition，the Taiping Rebellion（1851-1864）and the Boxer Rebellion occurred in this century.In many ways the rebellions and the treaties that the Qing wereforced to sign with the imperialist powers are symptomatic of the inability of the Chinese government to respond adequately to the challenging conditions facing China in the 19th century.
