Qing Dynasty
By Eman M. Elshaikh
The long-lived Qing dynasty ruled over a massive multi-ethnic empire as it
experienced a period of economic prosperity in the eighteenth century.
1130L
Qing Dynasty
Eman M. Elshaikh
Introduction
As a student, you’ve probably had to follow a dress code—rules about your clothing and grooming. In most cases,
breaking these rules would get you into trouble with the school principal. When Manchu rulers came to power
during the Qing dynasty (1644–1912 CE) in China, they imposed their own kind of dress code. All men had to style
their hair in a very particular way: the front of the head was shaved, and the rest of the hair was pleated into a long
braid running down the back.
The Manchu, an ethnic minority in China, had to enforce this rule upon the majority Han Chinese, for whom this was
a foreign custom. We’re not sure what your principal does if you break the dress code, but if the Manchu rulers saw
you in the wrong haircut, you could be executed for treason.
Illustration depicting Manchu hairstyles, called queues. By Internet Archive Book Images. No restrictions.
What’s so important about a hairstyle? How you dressed, groomed, and in some cases shaped your body really
mattered in Qing China. But these weren’t playful fashion statements. These variations were more like uniforms
because they differentiated people along ethnic, class, and gender lines. For instance, Manchu women were not
permitted to bind their feet, whereas upper-class Han Chinese women maintained this custom. Even some common
Han women bound their feet and continued to labor in the home and farm.1 But these distinctions generally
collapsed over time, with Manchu and Han women living similar lives. Across ethnic groups, women largely worked
domestically if they could afford to stay at home. Confucian values reinforced the idea that women should be
obedient to their male family members.
1 Foot binding, now banned, was a painful form of body modification that narrowed the shape of women’s feet. It has usually been associated with
beauty and femininity. But new research suggests it was also a way to limit young girls’ ability to run around, so they could do work in textile
production, which is stationary.
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Qing Dynasty
Eman M. Elshaikh
As we’ll see, Qing China was a diverse and complex society, with many ethnic groups, social classes, and political
actors playing a part in the formation of modern China. The Manchu Qing, who were seen as foreign by many of the
Han Chinese, had to make their government feel more legitimate. So, they enforced hair and clothing standards to
create a sense of unity and be a part of Chinese culture.
A multi-ethnic empire
By the eighteenth century, the Qing dynasty ruled over a vast territory, from Mongolia to Tibet to Xinjiang in Central
Asia. During the eighteenth century, partly because of the influx of New World crops like potatoes and peanuts,
the population doubled. In addition to these staple crops, farmers were also producing cash crops like tea. It was
a time of prosperity, and farmers, artisans, craftspeople, and merchants participated in a lively trade network both
domestically and abroad.
Qing dynasty of China in 1765. Public domain.
But this huge country wasn’t really on the same page economically, culturally, or ethnically. Across this massive
stretch of land and the large population, many different communities maintained their own traditions and ways of
life. So how did the Qing rule over this huge country and keep it unified?
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Qing Dynasty
Eman M. Elshaikh
For starters, it had a really strong centralized government, led by an absolute monarch, the emperor. But the
emperor also had a well-organized political structure backing him up. The Qing maintained a Ming-era political
system. By not changing too much too fast, they were able to maintain Chinese unity. Under this political system,
the emperor ruled over the Grand Secretariat (administrative office), which coordinated multiple imperial ministries.
Over time, the Qing emperor centralized the control of these ministries in his inner court by bringing it under an
imperial advisory council, which was made up of a special group of high officials. The Qing also kept the civil
service system of the Ming, using the imperial examination system to vet officials.
Qianlong Emperor entering Suzhou and the Grand Canal. From a scroll depicting the
1751 Emperor’s inspection tour of southern China. By Xu Wang, public domain.
The Qing appointed officials from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, though some things were divided along ethnic
lines. While the Qing themselves were Manchu, they strategically integrated the Han and even the Mongols into
government. Han elites, or those who had passed state examinations, were brought into the imperial center as civil
bureaucrats or military leaders. This provided some ethnic cohesion.
The military had also become multi-ethnic. The early Qing organized their military using a banner system. Each
banner, or administrative unit, had a particular function like taxation or recruiting soldiers. Initially, the banners
were made up solely of Manchu warriors. Over time, the emperor allowed Han Chinese and Mongol banners as well,
making the military multi-ethnic.
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Qing Dynasty
Eman M. Elshaikh
The Bordered Yellow Banner was one of the Eight Banners of the Manchu Qing dynasty military. It was among
the three “upper” banner armies under the direct command of the emperor himself. By Sodacan, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The banner system basically created a special class of people, called bannermen. Membership was inherited, along
with land and income. This system helped the Qing consolidate their power, and it continued to be an effective
political tool through the eighteenth century.
Toward the end of the century, the banner system started to fall apart. The bannermen became less disciplined and
less effective, and the system was too expensive. The ethnic aspect of the banner system also started to change.
In the eighteenth century, many Han bannermen were asked to leave the banners in order to restore a Manchu
majority. Though the Han and other ethnic groups still remained part of the banner system, the banners eventually
came to represent Manchu identity.
A managed economy
The Qing also used their imperial power to influence the economy, which flourished throughout the eighteenth
century. Farming was vital to the government for providing economic growth and stability. The economy revolved
around farming villages and towns, rather than major urban centers. Qing leaders promoted agriculture by encouraging
people to settle new land and by providing seeds, livestock, and tax breaks. Farmers created productive agricultural
colonies throughout the country, especially at the edges. Soon Qing society was an agricultural powerhouse.
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Qing Dynasty
Eman M. Elshaikh
But all this farming didn’t diminish commercial
activity. In fact, Qing China was arguably one of the
most commercialized countries at the time. During
this period, farmers started producing surplus and
selling goods. Trade between villages and regions
developed into a robust network, creating the growth
of bustling towns like Suzhou. Domestic trade
boomed, and merchant guilds were established to
facilitate it. As a result, the merchant class, who were
traditionally looked down upon in Confucian thought,
grew much larger and became powerful both socially
and politically. Qing rulers were wary of this, and they
tried to limit the power of wealthy merchants by
instituting some restrictions on trade and industry.
Though domestic trade moved in all directions,
foreign trade was pretty one-sided. Qing China had Detail of Prosperous Suzhou, an eighteenth-century scroll painting
an incredibly favorable balance of trade with Western by court painter Xu Yang commissioned by Emperor Qianlong. The
countries, meaning China exported way more than large painting depicts the bustling urban life of Suzhou. In this section
it imported. The most important foreign good China of the painting, Xu Yang shows busy commercial activity in China’s
imported was not a good at all but a currency: silver, waterways. Public domain.
to be exact. As China exported goods, silver flooded
the Chinese market.
The Qing had a very restrictive trade policy with
the West, but they had looser agreements with their
Russian, Central Asian, and Southeast Asian neighbors. Western trade was regulated under the Canton system that
developed in the eighteenth century. It said Westerners could trade only in Canton harbor (today’s Guangzhou) and
only with approved Chinese guilds. This system helped regulate foreign trade, and it also enriched the members of
these select guilds—some becoming the richest men in the world. Other coastal cities were depopulated, making this
particular harbor the locus of foreign trade.
Qing China in context
During this age of prosperity, China’s workforce
grew. Laborers and merchants spread outward in
search of economic opportunities. The workforce
migrated between China’s many distant regions, and
also outside of China. Many Chinese traveled
overseas, mostly to Southeast Asia.
The Thirteen Factories c. 1805, displaying the flags of Denmark, Spain,
the United States, Sweden, Britain, and the Netherlands at Canton
(Guangzhou). Public domain.
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Qing Dynasty
Eman M. Elshaikh
Southeast Asia was controlled by several different
states, many of which were mired in political
turmoil. Though parts of the region had some kind
of centralized state in control, much of the rest of
Southeast Asia was managed by looser political
structures. Some scholars have described these
as “solar polities,” (a polity is a state) where a
strong urban center exerts a gravitational pull on
the surrounding areas. As a result, many semi-
independent tributaries were under partial control
of powerful city-states. Through trade and migrant
labor, Qing China also had power in the region.
The most active ports of trade in the region were
in modern-day Indonesia, Philippines, and
Malaysia, where Qing Chinese migrants and
merchants moved across regional networks.
From its start, the Qing ruled over a massive
and multi-ethnic empire, including Manchus,
Han Chinese, Mongols, Uyghurs, Tibetans, and
numerous other groups. Despite challenges, the
eighteenth century was a time of prosperity and
relative peace, with an ethnic minority unifying
China under its control for nearly three centuries!
Territorial divisions in mainland Southeast Asia c. 1750 CE. By Nicolas
Eynaud, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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Qing Dynasty
Eman M. Elshaikh
Sources
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Stanford University Press, 2017.
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[Link]/art/collection/search/395639.
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Qing Dynasty
Eman M. Elshaikh
Eman M. Elshaikh
Eman M. Elshaikh is a writer, researcher, and teacher who has taught K-12 and undergraduates in the United States and in
the Middle East and written for many different audiences. She teaches writing at the University of Chicago, where she also
completed her master’s in social sciences, focusing on history and anthropology. She was previously a World History Fellow at
Khan Academy, where she worked closely with the College Board to develop curriculum for AP World History.
Image credits
Cover: Flag of the Chinese Empire under the Qing dynasty (1889-1912), details per the restoration of Beiyang fleet researcher.
By Sodacan, public domain. [Link]
Manchu hairstyles, called queues. By Internet Archive Book Images. No restrictions. [Link]
(hairstyle)#/media/File:Geschichte_des_Kost%C3%BCms_(1905)_(14580605068).jpg
Qing dynasty of China in 1765. Public Domain. [Link]
[Link]
Qianlong Emperor entering Suzhou and the Grand Canal. By Xu Wang, public domain. [Link]
Emperor#/media/File:Entering_Suzhou_and_the_Grand_Canal11.jpg
Bordered Yellow Banner, by Sodacan ,CC BY-SA 4.0. [Link]
File:Bordered_Yellow_Banner.svg
Detail of Prosperous Suzhou, an eighteenth-century scroll painting by court painter Xu Yang commissioned by Emperor Qianlong.
Public domain. [Link]
The Thirteen Factories c. 1805, displaying the flags of Denmark, Spain, the United States, Sweden, Britain, and the Netherlands
at Canton (Guangzhou). Public domain. [Link]
Territorial divisions in mainland Southeast Asia c.1750 CE. By Nicolas Eynaud, CC BY-SA 4.0. [Link]
Kingdom_of_Champasak#/media/File:Laos_-_Division_territòriala_vèrs_1750_(vuege).png
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