17th Century Economy

As the 17th century was drawing to its end, the Chinese economy was struggling to recover from major war losses. The overthrow of the Ming Dynasty resulted in great economic instability, but the markets began to expand in the following period.

The southeast coast of China was reopened and trading with other regions was established once again. Foreign trade also began to expand at a steady rate with a 4% growth per year.

Government Intervention

The markets at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty were struggling and a large portion of the population was unable to pay its taxes. After so many wars, the population was left almost incapable of paying its dues, but the government found a solution.

The people were given incentives to contribute to the market growth. This resulted in a steady increase in wealth and more people were able to pay their taxes. The money received from taxes was used to hire laborers and facilitate private merchants. Also, the government forced merchants to open new mines only in poor areas to provide jobs and help the population to earn its living.

18th Century Economy

As the 18th century arrived, the population in China started to grow. During the Ming Dynasty, the peak count reached 150 million people. But during the 18th century, the population numbers doubled. This growth was caused by the period of peace and stability.

Also, food scarcity was less of a problem. China imported peanuts, sweet potatoes, maize and new species of rice that increased the food production.

Food Creates Wealth

This import of food meant new crops and incidentally, some people turned into nobles due to the wealth they accumulated by cultivating the land. Some of them managed to gather huge fortunes and started making connections with officials.

All these changes that lead to the increase of the population, prosperity, and wealth were made possible by the decisions made by the government under the reign of the Qing Dynasty.

Territory in the North

In the northeast, territory was lost to Russia in 1858. The Illi Basin, around Lake Baikalsh in the northwest, was occupied by the Russian Empire in 1871, but returned under the Treaty of Saint Petersburg ten years later. Most of the Qing Empire was made up of provinces divided into prefectures, although certain regions close to borders were further divided into subprefectures.

Yellow and Yangtze Rivers

As the population of China grew to 400 million at the height of the Qing period around 1800, an effective transport and supply network became ever more vital. Among the greatest trade arteries was the Yellow River, which runs from Qinghai Province’s Baiyan Har Mountains for more than 3,000 miles through western and central China, eventually emptying into the Bohai Sea, close to the city of Dongying.

The Yangtze River, even longer than the Yellow, also proved increasingly important, especially as the industrialization of China began to make its presence felt in the 19th century.

Mountains and Deserts

The most fertile and populous region of Qing China lay in the east and southeast, in a wide crescent of land running from Beijing in the north down to the border with Vietnam. The empire annexed much of the eastern part of Tibet in the 18th century, bringing the southwestern border of the country up against the Himalayas.

This range provided an effective barrier against invasion from India to the south, although it also militated against any further Qing expansion in that direction. The Chinese empire was also constrained from significant further growth in the north, thanks to the deserts of Taklimakan and Gobi, both hostile and rocky expanses.

Dividing the Ranks

Men who wished to serve in this bureaucracy were required to take examinations for either civilian or military postings. In turn, these positions were then subdivided into nine ranks and then further subdivided into category “A” or category “B.” Posts could be as varied as a secretary within the Forbidden City to a tax collector or police commissioner.

In the military, a man could attain several ranks, including serving as an Imperial bodyguard. Han Chinese, Manchus, and some Mongols could serve in this bureaucracy. There was a type of quota system that split the positions between the Han and the Manchu.

Head of the Government

The Qing system was headed by the emperor. There were six ministries, each of which had two presidents and four vice presidents. These ministries were run by an Inner and Outer Court, whose power flowed from the Forbidden City.

The government’s Outer Court handled everyday matters and was situated in the southern end of the city, while the more important matters of state were handled in the northern end of the city by the Grand Council, though the Grand Council did not come into existence until the early 18th century.

Divisions into Boards

The six ministries were then divided into boards. One board dealt with civil appointments and the honors list, another with finance, and another with rites, which oversaw the protocol of the court and the worship of ancestors and various deities.

There was also the war board and a board that handled the legal infrastructure. There was a board that handled construction projects such as new temples, palaces, and other infrastructure. It also controlled the mint.

Finally, there was a bureaucracy set up to administer the territories in Tibet and Mongolia. Positions in this bureaucracy were at first divided between ethnic minorities. Eventually, however, positions were available to Han Chinese subjects as well.

Machine Gun

China discovered gunpowder long before the Qing Dynasty took over the throne. However, during the dynasty’s rule, the first machine gun was invented. Firearms were used for quite some time, but expert Dai Zi managed to develop a continuously shooting gun. He lived during the Qing Dynasty and his invention was able to hold up to 28 bullets.

Legalism

Legalism was invented by the Chinese during the Qing era. It mainly focused on ideas and philosophical analysis of obedience to the legal system. Most of the ideas promoted by this new philosophy talked about rewarding the people who respect the law and punishing the ones who do not.

Printing Production

When the Qing dynasty claimed the throne, most of the famous Chinese inventions were already discovered. However, they managed to come with some significant contribution to literature by inventing and developing the printing production industry. The invention also aided the scholars and artists to promote and distribute their work. During this period, China experienced great growth in terms of literature and poetry.

Battle Gear

The Qing soldiers did not invent battle gear, but they did make some changes to the current gear that they used. For one thing, the foot soldiers made their armor lighter so they could move faster. In addition, foot soldiers typically began carrying bronze swords and spears. These new innovations in battle gear helped the Qing Dynasty foot soldiers win more wars and increase the power and wealth throughout the land. They also used swords with longer blades to make stabbing the enemy even easier.

Eight Banners System

The military’s central core was the Eight Banners, which also served other important roles in Qing Dynasty society. This system as created in 1615 by Nurhaci, the man who founded the dynasty. Hong Taiji, his son, then created the Eight Banners.

The Eight Banners system was closely based on the Manchu tradition where soldiers arranged themselves into hunting parties. In addition to the soldiers being registered under the Eight Banners system, their families were registered under it, too.

The system expanded by simply assimilating Manchu bands that had been defeated in battle. Hong Taiji continued the expansion by swallowing up defeated armies.

Symbolism of the Banners

Each of the banners had a flag of a different color. The colors were white, red, blue and yellow. Every other flag had a red border, except for the red flag, which had a white border instead.

The banners were also arranged in a hierarchy with yellow as the highest and the ones bordered with blue as the lowest. The top three banners were commanded directly by the Emperor and only had Manchu soldiers and the Han Chinese who had scored the highest scores on the military exams. The other five banners were commanded by Nurhaci’s royal male relatives.

The Green Standard Army

After the Qing Dynasty was firmly established in 1644, there was another army called the Green Standard Army, named for the color of their flag. Most of the real fighting to conquer China was in fact done by these troops, along with Chinese soldiers who served with the Eight Banners.

Both the Green Standard Army and the Eight Banners were standing armies and the soldiers were paid by the government. Militias were also created as a police force and a force to deal with disasters. They were also paid small salaries and had limited training.

Sacrifices and Tolerance

The most important of these included sacrifices to Heaven at Beijing’s Altar of Heaven. Other sacrifices were made to the Earth and to the ancestors of the new emperor. Confucius himself became the object of great veneration with the majority of the structures contained in his home court of Qufu dating from the Qing period. However, several other religions existed and were tolerated to a greater or lesser degree.

Three Main Religions

In addition to the main Qing Dynasty religion of Confucianism, two other faiths were permitted official recognition. These were Buddhism and Daoism, sometimes known as Taoism. When it became politically expedient for the Chinese to form a pact with the Mongols, Tibetan Lamaism – as the religion of the Mongol rulers – grew in importance.

Qing sovereignty of Tibet was more nominal than actual, but was accepted by the mountain kingdom’s leaders as a potential way to bring Lamaist monasteries to Beijing itself. The Tibetans also pushed to be granted ambassadorial status in Beijing.

Monotheistic Faiths

Islam was almost insignificant in China until around the mid-1800s when its influence spread from Islamic Turkestan and from Chinese cities which had a substantial proportion of Muslim immigrants or converts. It played almost no role in official society right up to the end of the Qing period in 1911.

Christianity, however, had a rather longer history in Qing China, in fact having begun several centuries earlier with the visits of Jesuit priests to the Chinese court. One of these, Adam Schall von Bell, brought the Western calendar to Beijing for the first time. Some historians believe that there may have been as many as 100,000 Christians in China in 1700.

Emperor and His Advisors

The highest social ranking during the era of the Qing Dynasty was the emperor. Emperors could have multiple wives and they typically spent more time with their favorite ones. They also had a group of advisors with whom they typically discussed important issues and decisions.

The advisors were next in line in the Qing social structure. This particular class was superior to nobles, soldiers, and officials. They could also assume the emperor role in his absence. But being so close to the top of the command chain also led to abuses and plots to take down the emperor.

Generals, Nobles, and Workers

The rest of the population was divided by their role in the society. Many parents tried to get their children the best education so they could become a scholar official, one of the most prosperous social rankings at that time. They were still lower in rank than nobles and generals, but it was the most accessible social status for an average citizen.

Artists and Peasants

Peasants were at the bottom of the hierarchy. All other ranks were above them and this social ranking also had the largest number of members. They would often become the subject of abuse and violence of the government officials and soldiers.

Artists were more fortunate as they were highly respected by society during the Qing Dynasty. Nobles would often be seen enjoying the company of artists or pay for their services.

Slaves and Servitude

The common trait of all these social classes was servitude. Each social rank would have to serve and respect the ones above it with the emperor at the top of the chain. Rich families often had slaves and the wealthiest ones had slaves who in turn had their own slaves. During that time, having slaves was seen as an important avenue for social advancement.

Culture during Manchu Rule

Poetry and paintings were highly appreciated by the Manchu emperors. In 1711, a rhyme dictionary was printed and remained an authoritative publication up until present day. Emperors continued to sponsor literature which actually led to the assembly of the largest collection of poetry and prose of that time. The collection was completed in 1782.

Calligraphy and painting were also of high interest. Court painters and scholars were often hired to work for political figures and nobles. These two disciplines were considered one of the Chinese “Four Arts,” which were critical elements of cultural identity of that time.

Culture Grows during Qing Period

The Qing period brought even more growth to the arts and culture. Poetry was highly appreciated by educated gentlemen, but most writings of that time actually came from women. Some of the most well-known Chinese pieces of literature were written during the Qing dynasty rule.

In 1877, Six Chapters of a Floating Lifewas written. Similar writings continued to be published, focusing on various aspects of life and meditation.

Scholars and More

Several cultural personalities also lived in this period. Huang Zongxi, Wang Fuzhi, and Gu Yanwu were three of the most representative Confucian scholars. All of them developed new thoughts and teachings for Neo-Confucian apprentices.

The emperors proclaimed themselves patrons of these writers and all other scholars and artists. Their rulership protected and promoted culture and the arts while the nobles adopted them as a means to enforce their social status.

Cultural Cuisine

Traditional cuisine also rose during that time and managed to stir a cultural pride. The male chefs of that time started to adopt various techniques to improve the aesthetic standards of the traditional dishes. Tea drinking became more common and made its way into everyday life.

The Mandarin Square

In the cases of Qing Dynasty officials, the important part of their clothing was the Mandarin Square, which was worn on the upper part of their robes. These squares, often beautifully embroidered, let someone know the person’s rank.

The rank was represented by an animal. Big, strong animals denoted military rank. For example, the first military rank’s symbol was a Qilin, a mythical creature that is often known as the Chinese unicorn. The second rank was a lion. The third rank was a leopard and the fourth was a tiger. The ninth military rank was a sea horse.

Scholars often had birds embroidered on their Mandarin Squares. The first rank scholar wore a crane on his square, while the third rank had a peacock, and the fifth rank had a silver pheasant. The last, or ninth rank, was the paradise flycatcher, and all musicians wore the oriole.

Qing Dynasty Headgear

Officials also wore different headwear depending on their rank. In the winter, officials wore a cap made of black velvet and in the summer a hat made of rattan. Both types of caps had knobs on the top. The knobs were embellished into finials when the official had an audience with the Emperor as well as a long tassel of red silk and a peacock feather.

The shape and color of the knob or finial was also dictated by protocol. Royalty and aristocracy wore pearls while a first-ranked officer wore a ruby and a second-ranked official wore an opaque red ball.

Women’s Clothing

Costumes for women could be even more elaborate, especially if they were associated with the court. The foundation garment was the qipao, which was loose-fitting and covered most of the body. This gown could be made of sumptuous fabric like satin and silk for a noblewoman, or cotton or fur for a commoner. The gown could also be made warmer with a surcoat or a vest.

Like the mandarin square, a qipao could be embellished with gorgeous embroidery that featured flowers, animals, and other figures. Women also wore beautifully embroidered platform shoes.

By the time of the abolition of the imperial government in 1911, China had become a vast, unified, and multicultural nation. The first half-century of Qing rule saw war with the Ming, and in 1644 Qing forces captured Beijing, later itself to become the Chinese capital. In 1683, the Kangxi Emperor completed the conquest of China.

Expansion and Conquest

After China had been united, Qing forces continued to push into central Asia, especially during the late 18th century. The Qianlong Emperor’s so-called “Ten Great Campaigns” lasted around 40 years. By this time, Qing China had reached the peak of its power and prosperity: the empire’s population was around 400 million at its greatest extent.

Imperial China accepted tribute from neighboring states in return for maintaining peace. Gradually, the style of government changed: Manchurian influence had continued under the early emperors, but increasingly Confucian influences were felt, especially in the civil service and other aspects of bureaucracy.

Later Reforms

From the end of the 18th century onward, financial problems began to set in, thanks to persistently low tax rates. In the 19th century, European powers took control of several important ports and there were serious rebellions in central Asia. Nevertheless, the empire survived.

In the 1860s, the Tongzhi Restoration saw the birth of the so-called Self-Strengthening Movement, which resulted in a recovery of territory in the east. Late in the Qing period, there was a concerted attempt to bring China into the modern world with substantial legal reform and the introduction of elections. These continued until 1908, when the Emperor’s death led to a more hardened stance, which eventually led to the revolution that brought imperial rule in China to an end.