Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)

Mongolian
North of China Proper
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
Han Chinese
Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
Manchu
Northeast of China Proper
 EARLY STAGES OF MANCHU
 The Qing dynasty
originated from
the northern part
of China known
as Manchuria.

 For many years they were separated from

the main part of China.

 The Great Wall was used against the

Manchu as well as the Mongols.
 THE INVASION OF MANCHU
 The conquest of the Ming was an ongoing
campaign that lasted for thirty years

 It began when a Ming official Wu Sangui invited

the Manchu into China to help the failing Ming
crush a rebellion.

 After defeating the rebels the Manchu took over

and established the Qing Dynasty

 The first emperor of the Qing was Shun-Chin.

 Manchu Emphasized Their
Superiority
 Racial Purity

 Reserve Manchu homeland for Manchurians

only

 No intermarriage

 All Chinese men must wear the Manchurian

hairstyle: “queue”
 The Queue (Manchu Pigtail)

After conquering China,

the non-Chinese Manchurians
(Qing Dynasty, 1644-1912)
made the hairstyle mandatory
for all males. The law was
enforced by the death penalty,
resulting in the popular slogan
of the time: “Keep your hair
and lose your head. Or lose
your hair and keep your
head.”
 The Foot Binding

 During Ming and Qing dynasties widows were

discouraged to remarry; and those who committed suicide
following their spouse to the grave received posthumous
honors.

 Women could not get a divorce, but men could set aside
a wife for not producing an offspring, adultery, theft,
disobedience to her husband’s family, or even being too
talkative.

 Foot binding originated during the Song Dynasty.

Popular amongst the wealthy classes, since it
demonstrated an ability to support women who could not
perform physical labor. Commoners sometimes did it to
especially pretty girls in hopes of arranging favorable
marriages that would enhance the family’s social
 QING DYNASTY:
BECOMING
CHINESE
 AdoptedConfucian
governance
Qing Dynasty Flag

 Promoted Confucian scholarship

 Built national library of history and philosophy

 Created
encyclopedia of Confucian thought and
Chinese history
 KANG HSI
 The Greatest of the Qing’s
rulers was the second, a
man named Kang Hsi.

 He completed the
conquest of the Ming by
defeating the three
rebellious groups in 1669
led by Wu Sangui.
 ACHIEVEMENTS OF KANG HSI
 He authored the “Sixteen Maxims of the Art of
Government”.

 He organized the administrative system in the 18

provinces of China Proper.

 He opened the Chinese ports to foreign traders and

tolerated all religions within the empire.

 In the later part, he issued trade restrictions and

prohibited free propagation of Christianity. Macao was
the only port opened to foreign trade.
 Portuguese, Dutch and British
all had trading rights but are
carefully controlled by Qing.

 Catholic missionaries built

churches and challenge
Confucianism.

 Christianity was banned in

1724.

 Christians ignored the ban

and continued to push into
China during Qing.
 THE ISOLATION
 Only the government was allowed to trade
with foreign countries.

 Those that wished to trade with China had to

follow certain rules:
 Trade only at special ports
 Pay tribute
 Do the “Kowtow” ritual (kneeling before
emperor & touching head to ground 9 times)
 THE ISOLATION
 British petitioned the Chinese to trade in
1793, but they refused to kowtow to the
Chinese emperor. The British then were
denied trading privileges in China.

 The Chinese strongly believed that they were

self-sufficient and did not need the British.
 George Macartney
tried to convince Emperor
Chien Lung of China to ease
restrictions on trade
between Great Britain and
China by allowing Great
Britain to have a permanent
embassy in Beijing,
possession of "a small
unfortified island near
Chusan for the residence of
British traders, storage of
goods, and outfitting of
ships," and reduced tariffs
on traders in Guangzhou.
 CHIEN LUNG
 He was the sixth emperor of
the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty,
and the fourth Qing emperor to
rule over China proper.

 Under his guidance,

successful military
expeditions were carried out
along the western and
southern frontiers.
 CHIEN LUNG
 Economically, Emperor
Chien Lung encouraged
farming and building
irrigation works, which
contributed to the
prosperous economy and a
continuously increasing
population, with the number
reaching 300 million, one
third of the global
population at that time