Political
Events and Developments During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912)
Rule
of Emperor Shunzhi (1644-1661)
He appointed bondservants (baoyi) as officials
in charge of the internal palace administration and supervisors of the imperial
workshops that produced porcelain, silk and other luxury goods for imperial
use.
During his and his successor's reign the tax system of payments of agricultural products was reformed in favor of the population: taxes during this period were among the most moderate in Chinese imperial history.
In 1646 the state examinations are re-established. They had been discontinued during the period of dynastic transition.
The
process of conquering southern
1662
was also the year in which Zheng Chenggong
(=Coxinga; 1624-1662), the loyalist and pirate of
Rule of Emperor Kangxi (r. 1662-1722)
Emperor Kangxi understood that the key to a successful rule would be the contentment of the Chinese officials and the population. He therefore raised the salaries for officials and thus diminished corruption considerably.
He
became a patron of Chinese culture, which won him the support of the Chinese
intelligentsia, and Buddhist faith in the Tibetan tradition, which gained
him the support of the Manchu leading class.
Kangxi initiated the compilation of the History of the Ming Dynasty, had catalogues of Chinese calligraphies and paintings compiled, and devoted much time to studying mathematics, playing musical instrument, and practicing painting and calligraphy. He used his six voyages to the south (expensive inspection tours copied by his grandson, emperor Qianlong) to present himself to the Chinese upper class of the cultural centers of the south as a benevolent and mild ruler who not only respected Confucian values but expected everyone in the empire to live according to their ethical and moral demands.
To
establish unquestioned authority in his empire, he wrote an imperial edict
called 'Sacred Edict', a set of sixteen ethical guidelines for exemplary behavior
to be followed by the population, which had to be studied by everybody after
its publication in 1681. Aged 16 at the time when he wrote the 'Sacred Edict',
he initiated with this document not only a new educational practice but a
wave of conservatism that ended the free-spirited exaltations of the Late
Ming.
Guidelines:
1. Esteem most highly filial piety and brotherly submission, in order to give
due importance to the social relations.
2. Behave with generosity toward your kindred, in order to illustrate harmony and benignity.
Cultivate peace and concord in your neighborhoods, in order to prevent quarrels and litigations.
4. Recognize the importance of husbandry and the culture of the mulberry tree, in order to ensure a sufficiency of clothing and foof.
5. Show that you prize moderation and economy, in order to prevent the lavish waste of your means.
6. Give weight to colleges and schools, in order to make correct the practice of the scholar.
7. Extirpate strange principles, in order to exalt the correct doctrine.
8. Lectue on the laws, in order to warn the ignorant and obstinate.
9. Elucidate propriety and yielding courtesy, in order to make manners and customs good.
10. Labor diligently at your proper callings, in order to stabilize the will of the poeple.
11. Instruct sons and younger brothers, in order to prevent them from doing what is wrong.
12. Put a stop to false accusations, in order to preserve the honest and good.
13. warn against sheltering deserters, in order to avoid being involved in their punishment.
14. Fully remit your taxes, in order to avoid being pressed for payment.
15. Unite in hundreds and tithings, in order to put and end to thefts and robbery.
16. Remove enmity and anger, in order to show the importance due to the person and life.
(Translation:
Victor H. Mair, 'Language and Ideology in the Sacred Edict, in David
Johnson et al. (eds.), Popular Culture in Late Imperial China. Berkeley:
University of California Press 1983, pp. 325-359.)
In 1676 the new dynasty lived through a major crisis, when three military commanders, including Wu Sangui, the general who had called the Manchu army for assistance against rebel Li Zicheng in 1644, tried to unite their military forces against the Manchus.
But the Manchu army successfully re-gained control of the southern territories
that had rebelled against the rule in 1681. Two years later, in 1683
Rule
of Emperor Yongzheng (r. 1723-1735)
In 1724 the emperor commented elaborately on the Sacred Edict. The
enlarged commented edict had to be recited publicly twice a month at the local
Confucian temples, as the following source indicates:
'Thus
the twice-monthly explications in the various prefectures and counties as
well as the propagandizing by instructors in each village and community will
be intellegible to the ear of women and children while the recalcitrant and
the craven alike will be moved with enthusiasm. It is hoped that the officials
who guide the people will carry out these orders without being remiss...'
(Translation: Victor H. Mair,
'Language and Ideology in the Sacred Edict, in David Johnson et al.
(eds.), Popular Culture in Late Imperial China. Berkeley: University
of California Press 1983, pp. 343-344.)
In his article Mair describes how the proclamation of the Sacred Edict eventually developed from a public lecture into some kind of popular entertainment similar to storytelling in the marketplace.
The rule of emperor Yongzheng is associated with a consolidation of the state finances. His son, emperor Qianlong profited from this economic develoment because he usually was able to retain a large surplus during his rule. Yongzheng was also responsible for abolishing the hereditary status of servile positions which opened the path of upward mobility for people who had been bound in such services, sometimes for several generations.
Yongzheng also kept strict censorship over the publishing industry which reduced the amount of novels of morally doubtful contents.
Rule
of Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1796)
Under emperor Qianlong the Sacred Edict was published in a tri-lingual
edition (Chinese, Manchu, Mongol).
A supporter of Chinese culture and a patriot engaged for the Manchu cause
at the same time, emperor Qianlong commissioned dictionaries of the Manchu
language and genealogies of the Manchu aristocracy. In a book
inquisition that lasted for fifteen years (1774 -1789) critique of
Manchu rule as well as morally disturbing publications were eliminated from
the imperial collection of all Chinese books in the four categories
of the Classics, historical works, philosophical works, and belle-lettres. About 2,000
Chinese works were eliminated through this inquisition beyond recovery.
The harmonious coexistence of Chinese and Manchu that all three emperors envisioned
was challenged severely at times. In 1768 rumors circulated that sorcerers
were stealing souls by clipping the tip of the queue and chant the name of
the victim whose soul they were after. Since this clipping of the queue could
be interpreted as an assault against the Manchu hairstyle for men, many cases
of 'sourcerers' were registered who admitted under torture to having committed
the crime conspiratory practices.
As
a connoisseur of Chinese art Qianlong systematically enlarged the imperial
collection of paintings, calligraphy, porcellain, and other masterpieces of
luxurious quality. He also composed 42,000 poems, many of which Chinese literati
considered to be of mediocre quality.
His
personal predilections also seemed questionable when in his mid-sixties he
became fond of a bodyguard named Heshen, aged 25. Heshen exploited the unconditional
support of the emperor by enriching himself ruthlessly. He confiscated property
and accepted bribes on a scale unheard of. Only after the emperor died could
he be brought to trial. When he was executed the extent of his corruption
was revealed. With 800 Mio. ounces of silver he was one of the richest men
on earth.
Internal
and external expansion of a cosmopolitan empire
The Qing empire extended far into the Asian steppe and Central Asia. The expansion
had started when the Qing empire was threatened by the Dzungarian [Western
Mongol] ruler Galdan (1644-1697) who at the time had already brought Tibet
under their control. Though they had occupied Lhasa, the Tibetan capital since
1720, it took almost three decades until the Qing successfully gained control
over all of Tibet and 'protected' it from Dzungar domination.
Central Asia was brought under Qing control in several war campaigns against
Uighurs and Dzungars in the 1750s and was declared a Chinese province called
'New Borderland' in 1884.
Internally,
the provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Guangxi became settled by Han migrants.
Accomplishments
in Agriculture
Due to new crops and the improvement of grain production the Qing were fairly
well capable of feeding their population until ca. 1775. The population increased
though from ca. 143 Mio. in 1741 to 360 Mio. in 1812 and to sustain this vastly
growing population became a challenge in the 19th century since resources
became depleted.
II.
The nineteenth century
The impact of the western nations
Western nations had begun to trade with China in the seventeenth
century when the Portuguese and the Dutch established their trade routes between
Europe and Asia. They were joined by the British East India Company in the
eighteenth century. The most important goods exported by China were silk,
porcelain, and tea. By 1800 tea had surpassed the other goods by far: England
imported ca. 23 Mio. pounds of tea - paid for in silver.
This imbalance of trade evoked the British wish to regulate the flow of silver
in a more favorable way on their side. They sent emissiaries to the Chinese
court
asking for the replacement of the traditional tributary system by a trade
system based on principles used in the west, including the exchange of commercial
treaties and diplomatic ambassadors.
Since emperor Qianlong did not see the necessity to comply with these demands
that were disguised as wishes, he rejected the creation of a trade network
and told King George of England that "We possess all things" and
"have no use" for Manchester wool and other goods manufactured in
England. But Chinese merchants engaged in the trade of opium with British
traders who bought their loads from the British East India Company in India,
where the opium was produced. Though the import of opium was abolished in
1800 and smoking opium became punishable, the narcotic was smuggled into the
country and eventually caused the depletion of silver from China.
When
the Qing government attempted to stop the trade of opium by confiscating opium
pipes and burning opium publicly, the British sent an expeditionary fleet
to China to force the Qing authorities into negotiations. A military confrontation
became unavoidable. The first opium war ended in a disaster for China: Hong
Kong came under British control, diplomatic relations had to be established
under the conditions dictated by Britain, and China had to pay indemnities
of 6 Mio. Mexican silver dollars. A second Opium war followed, resulting in
more favors to be granted to the British: British citizens living in China
were exempted from Chinese jurisdiction, the British determined the customs
fees to be paid to China, and Britain became the 'most-favored-nation': any
priviledge granted to any other state had to be granted to Britain automatically!
Later the other western colonialist nations claimed the same privileges, so
that there was no favored nation anymore but the possibilities for foreigners
to trade in China increased dramatically, just as the numbers of foreigners
living in China.
More ports were opened for trade with the foreign nations, ports where the
foreigners lived in 'concessions', territories that were leased to the foreigners
and that were exempt from Chinese jurisdiction. Finally foreign entrepreneurs
even gained the
right
to open factories outside of the concessions, on Chinese territory.