Station 2 of Asian:Qing Dynast of China

  After the ancient Egypt we go to my country China, as we know, there is a long history of China, many interested palce and story, the reason why I chosen Qing dynast is that Qing was a key of our country's history. And I like the building of Qing dynast, it is fantastic.

 
The Qing Dynasty  also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 (with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917). It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China.
During its reign the Qing Dynasty became highly integrated with Chinese culture. The dynasty reached its height in the 18th century, during which both territory and population were increased. However, its military power weakened thereafter and faced with massive rebellions and defeat in wars, the Qing Dynasty declined after the mid-19th century. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown following the Xinhai Revolution, when the Empress Dowager Longyu abdicated on behalf of the last emperor, Puyi, on February 12, 1912.

Kangxi emperor and consolidation
At sixty one years, Kangxi had the longest reign of any Chinese Emperor. But more importantly, apart from its length, Kangxi’s reign is also celebrated as the beginning of an era called "Kang-Qian Golden Age" , also known as "High Qing", during which the Qing Dynasty reached the zenith of its social, economic and military power. Kangxi’s long reign started when he was eight years old upon the untimely demise of his father. In order to prevent a repeat of Dorgon's dictatorial monopolizing of imperial powers during the period of regency, Emperor Shunzhi on his deathbed hastily appointed four senior cabinet ministers to govern on behalf of his young son. The four ministers—Sonin, Ebilun, Suksaha, and Oboi—were chosen for their long service to the emperor, but also to counteract each others' influences. Most importantly, the four were not closely related to the imperial family and laid no claim to the throne. However as time passed, through chance and machination, Oboi—the most junior of the four ministers—was able to achieve political dominance to such an extent as to become a potential threat to the crown. Even though Oboi's loyalty was never an issue, his personal arrogance and political conservatism led him to come into ever escalating conflict with the young Emperor. In 1669 Kangxi, through trickery, disarmed and imprisoned Oboi—a not insignificant victory for the fifteen-year-old Emperor, as Oboi was not only a wily old politician but also an experienced military commander.

The Manchus found controlling the "Mandate of Heaven" a daunting task. The vastness of China's territory meant that there were only enough banner troops to garrison key cities forming the backbone of a defence network that relied heavily on surrendered Ming soldiers. In addition, three surrendered Ming generals were singled out for their contributions to the establishment of the Qing dynasty, ennobled as feudal princes ,and given governorships over vast territories in Southern China. The chief of these was Wu Sangui , who was given the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, while generals Shang Kexi and Geng Jingzhong  were given the Guangdong and Fujian provinces, respectively.

Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors
The reigns of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1723–1735) and his son the Qianlong Emperor (r. 1735–1796) marked the height of Qing's power. During this period, the Qing Dynasty ruled over 13 million square kilometres of territory.
After the Kangxi Emperor's death in the winter of 1722, his fourth son Prince Yong succeeded him as the Yongzheng Emperor. Yongzheng remained a controversial character because of rumours about him usurping the throne, and in the late Kangxi years, he was involved in great political struggles with his brothers. Yongzheng was a hardworking administrator who ruled with an iron hand. His first big step towards a stronger regime came when he brought the State Examination System back to its original standards. In 1724, he cracked down on illegal exchange rates of coins, which was being manipulated by officials to fit their financial needs. Those who were found in violation of new laws on finances were removed from office, or in extreme cases, executed.
Yongzheng showed a great amount of trust in Han officials, and appointed many of his proteges to prestigious positions. Nian Gengyao was appointed to lead a military campaign in place of his brother Yinti in Qinghai.
More territory was incorporated in the northwest. Starting in 1727, Qing imperial residents were stationed in Lhasa, and commanded over Qing garrisons in Tibet. A toughened stance was directed toward corrupt officials, and Yongzheng led the creation of a grand council, which grew to become the de facto cabinet for the rest of the dynasty.
The Yongzheng Emperor died in 1735. This was followed by the succession of his son Prince Baoas the Qianlong Emperor. Qianlong was known as an able general. Succeeding the throne at the age of 24, Qianlong personally led the military in campaigns near Xinjiang and Mongolia. Revolts and uprisings in Sichuan and parts of southern China were successfully put down, and the control over Tibet was strengthened.
Qianlong Emperor also launched several ambitious cultural projects, such as the compilation of Siku Quanshu, or Complete Library in Four Branches of Literature. With a total of over 3,400 books, 79,000 chapters, and 36,304 volumes, Siku Quanshu is the largest collection of books in Chinese history as well as the largest series of books ever edited by the feudal authority.Nevertheless, Qianlong had used literary inquisition to silence opposition. The accusation of individuals began with the emperor's own interpretation of the true meaning of the corresponding words. If the emperor decided these were derogatory or cynical towards the dynasty, persecution would begin. Literary inquisition began with isolated cases in Shunzhi and Kangxi times, but had become a pattern during Qianlong's reign, during which there were 53 cases of literary persecution During the late years of Qianlong's reign, the Qing government saw a return of rampant corruption. The official Heshen was arguably one of the most corrupt in the entire Qing Dynasty. He was eventually forced into committing suicide by Qianlong's son, the Jiaqing Emperor (r. 1796–1820).
In 1796 open rebellion by the White Lotus Society against the Qing government broke out. The White Lotus Rebellion continued for eight years, until 1804, and marked a turning point in the history of the Qing Dynasty.

Rule of Empress Dowager Cixi
The Empress Dowager Cixi (Tsu hsi), concubine to the Xianfeng Emperor (r. 1850–1861) came to power in 1861 during the Xinyou coup, when, with the help of Prince Gong, she ousted eight regents (led by Sushun) whom the Xianfeng emperor had appointed on his deathbed to rule for the child emperor Tongzhi, Cixi's son. For 47 years in the Tongzhi era (1862–1874) and during the reign of her nephew the Guangxu Emperor (1875–1908), Cixi was the de facto ruler of China and the Qing empire. She was known for "ruling from behind the curtain" .
From 1889 to 1898, the dowager lived in the summer palace in semi-retirement. After losing to Japan in the first Sino-Japanese War (1894–95), the young Emperor Guangxu initiated the 'Hundred Days Reform'. The dowager then returned to the Imperial Court to call off the emperor's reform, and at the same time put him under house arrest and ordered eunuchs faithful to her to keep watch.
In 1899, she supported the Boxer Rebellion, during which thousands of Catholic and Protestant missionaries were killed; some were beheaded or skinned alive.^{[citation needed]} Tens of thousands of Chinese Christian converts were also killed.
When the troops of the Eight-Nation Alliance marched into Peking, she fled the capital only to accept peace terms by paying the foreign powers huge amounts of silver. Before her death, on November 15, 1908, she allegedly ordered her trusted eunuchs to poison the emperor.

Fall of the dynasty
The collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1912 brought an end to over 2,000 years of imperial China and began an extended period of instability of warlord factionalism. The unorganized political and economic systems combined with a widespread criticism of Chinese culture led to questioning and doubt about the future. China's turbulent history since the overthrow of the Qing may be understood at least in part as an attempt to understand and recover significant aspects of historic Chinese culture and integrate them with influential new ideas that have emerged within the last century.^{[citation needed]} In the 1930s, Imperial Japan invaded Manchuria (Manchu's homeland) and founded Manchukuo in 1934, with Puyi, as the nominal regent and emperor. After the invasion by the Soviet Union, Manchukuo collapsed in 1945.

  Qing was the ending of Ancient China History, it is so important of China and their person.


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