The Last Dynasty---Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)

In the northeastern frontier of China, there lived a powerful tribe called the Manchus. Like their Jurchen ancestors, they had always dreamed of conquering China. When the peasant rebel Li Zicheng captured Beijing in 1644, the Manchus swiftly took this opportunity and poured into China. Joined forces with Ming troops under General Wu Sangui, the Manchus swept down on Beijing through the Great Wall. They expelled Li Zicheng and declared their rule in China as the Qing Dynasty.

The Manchus forced all Chinese men to grow the Manchu style queue ( Bian Zi) as a sign of submission.

The Chinese people resisted the "Barbarian rule" of the Qing for several decades. It was not until the rule of its dynamic Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1662-1722) that the Qing established a strong, stable and prosperous regime. The Kangxi, Yongzheng (1723-35) and Qianlong (1736-96) emperor reigns marked the high point of Manchu rule in China. During these periods, Chinese culture, art and literature flourished.

By nineteenth century, the Qing slipped into serious decline. It suffered massive social strife, economic stagnation and western penetration. A number of internal and external conflicts fiercely shook the Manchus' rule.

China was on the edge of falling apart. Angry Chinese people blamed on the weak government, especially the conservative, self-indulgent and xenophobic Empress Dowager Ci Xi (1835-1908). Ci Xi came in power in 1861. She never had official power, but managed to install toddlers as emperors, first her own 5-year-old son, Tongzhi, then her 4-year-old nephew Guangxu, and last her 3-year-old cousin Pu Yi. For almost half the century, she was the real power behind the throne. In 1900 when the western troops marched in China, they looted the capital and even ransacked the Forbidden City. Disguised as a peasant, the empress dowager fled the city in a cart. She returned to the Forbidden City a year later, but the power of the Qing dynasty was destroyed forever.

During the first decade of the twentieth century, anti-Manchu movement developed rapidly all over the country. Dr. Sun Zhongshan (Sun Yat-sen, 1866-1925) and his supporters devoted themselves to the overthrow of the Manchus and the establishment of a Chinese republic. In 1911, the republican revolution broke out. In February 1912, the Last Emperor, Pu Yi, was thrown out of the throne. The curtain came down on the last dynasty of China.  

                                                                                The Last Emperor Pu Yi   

Interested in more details about Qing stories?

From Emperor to Citizen-the Autobiography of Aisin-Gioro Pu Yi and Bernardo Bertolucci's Oscar-award winning film The Last Emperor will give you a panoramic picture of China at this turning point in Chinese history.