Questions tagged [qing-dynasty]

Questions relating to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), the last ruling dynasty of China. It was founded by the Manchu people and is also sometimes referred to as the Manchu Dynasty.

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Can anyone help me identify this silver Chinese dragon dollar?

These coins were historically minted at the Nanking mint in Kiangnan province but the obverse of this coin appears to reference the "Zhejiang" mint. I've not been able to locate any other ...
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What was the role of the Court of Revision and Judicature in the Qing dynasty?

Wikipedia provides: The Court of Judicature and Revision, also known as the Court of Judicial Review, was a central government agency in several imperial Chinese. From the Chinese, the system was ...
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What became of the daughter of Cixi‘s photographer?

„Princess“ DerLing has written several books on Empress Dowager Cixi. Her brother Xunling took the only photographs of Cixi known to me. But on some of the pictures from 1903 (example below) a little ...
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How many times in history has a government completely "moulded to its own shape the physical character of the people"? [closed]

Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet published the book "Travels in China" in 1804. In it he made poignant but quite accurate assessments about then China. I am Chinese and I am reading this book ...
Qiulang 邱朗's user avatar
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What were Lord Macartney's original words about Chinese under the Qianlong Emperor's brutal regime in 18th century?

This is a follow-up question of Where can I find modern account of Macartney Embassy to China (1792–1794)? After Lord Macartney returned from his mission to the Qianlong Emperor, he made a poignant ...
Qiulang 邱朗's user avatar
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Where can I find modern account of Macartney Embassy to China (1792–1794)?

Macartney Embassy was the first British diplomatic mission to China. It was such an important but little-known event. I read quite some Chinese materials but not many English materials. The wiki ...
Qiulang 邱朗's user avatar
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Why did the USA stop expanding westwards into East Asia?

Why did the USA stop expanding westwards into East Asia? The USA initially started on the east coast of North America, and gradually expanded westwards to reach the Pacific Ocean through a combination ...
Thomas Gold's user avatar
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Were Korea and Tibet's relationship with Qing China similar?

Korea (Joseon) and Tibet both paid tribute to the Qing Empire, while maintaining internal autonomy. However, Chinese Nationalists were happy to support the independence of Korea, but not that of Tibet....
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Which works by Kang Youwei attack Empress Dowager Cixi?

Background It is widely reported that Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao bear the principal responsibility for the negative image of Dowager Cixi as the reactionary who halted the 1898 reform. As far as ...
Ludi's user avatar
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Was it against protocol for the Emperor to pray inside the Forbidden City?

Background An oft reproduced narrative about the Empress Dowager Cixi asserts that she held the Guangxu Emperor captive within the Forbidden City. Lately, I heard a version that disputes all of this ...
Ludi's user avatar
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How do we know that this decree was written by Cixi?

In another, extremely helpful answer we found the handwritten text underlying many claims about Empress Dowager Cixi’s illiteracy (see aforementioned answer for example of such claim). But how do we ...
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Where to find Cixi‘s 1865 decree dismissing Prince Gong?

Zhang Rong‘s Cixi biography titled »EMPRESS DOWAGER CIXI: THE CONCUBINE WHO LAUNCHED MODERN CHINA«, Chapter 6, Loc 1365 on kindle claims: Without the rigid etiquette, she realised, Prince Gong was ...
Ludi's user avatar
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Did Empress Cixi divert funds for the Beiyang Fleet to build the Summer Palace?

There is a popular story that Empress Dowager Cixi diverted funds originally intended for the Beiyang Fleet in order to upgrade the Summer Palace. This is significant because the amount - approx. 22 ...
congusbongus's user avatar
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What taxes were legally required to be paid in silver in Qing China?

Background It is often argued that the following mechanism heavily contributed to the commencement of the opium trade between the Qing and British Empires (you are welcome to correct my understanding):...
Ludi's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
787 views

Why weren't the New Territories ceded to the British instead of leased in 1898?

Note New Territories is abbreviated to NT. Here's an overview of the UK's acquisition of HK - The handover of Hong Kong was in 1997 so it's safe to discuss the PRC's land policy in Hong Kong. But ...
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How was the Lanfang Republic set up if emigration from China was illegal?

The Lanfang Republic (蘭芳共和國) was founded in 1777. The Qing Dynasty banned people from leaving China, so how did the republic get its founding citizens? How did it become a tributary state of China if ...
Flux's user avatar
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How did laborers travel from China to Malaya in the early 19th century?

There was a wave of Chinese emigration to Malaya beginning in the early 19th century. Those who emigrated were mostly laborers seeking to work in tin mines, rubber plantations, and other agricultural ...
Flux's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
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What title did the merchants permitted to deal with Canton's 13 Factories carry?

What I know: During the period leading up to the Opium Wars, trade into China from Europe was locked down to 13 buildings in Canton known as the 13 factories. European merchants were only permitted to ...
baudot's user avatar
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How did Qing China keep in contact with other places?

Imperial China received diplomatic missions from other places whenever those places decide to send a mission (for example: Japanese missions to Imperial China). These missions were irregular, and were ...
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Do Manchurian Nationalists want Independence?

Manchuria existed from the Middle Ages to present-day China. The Qing dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria in the late 16th Century. Wikipedia:Qing Dynasty The Qing ...
Jake's user avatar
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Why didn't America "rent" parts of China? [closed]

After the Opium War, Britain and France signed treaties with China that said they could establish "spheres of influence" over parts of China. Britain and France went this way, but why didn't America?
user17409's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
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How did a nomadic minority group the Manchus come to rule over China?

The population of the Chinese empire was about 120 times larger than the Jurchen tribe, who later renamed themselves to Manchus. Yes, the Manchus were very skilled warriors and the late Ming dynasty ...
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16 votes
3 answers
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Why is the Qing Dynasty in China considered Feudalistic?

From my understanding of the Qing Dynasty (and a few more dyansties before it as well), the Empire (under the Emperor) owned all land. Power and responsibilities were delegated to state elected ...
Razor Storm's user avatar
21 votes
4 answers
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Why did Mongolia split in two when they declared independence?

When Mongolia declared independence from the Qing Empire in 1911, part of it stayed under Qing control. This is the part known today as Inner Mongolia. But even before their independence, there were "...
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Are the Xibe people the same as the Manchu?

Xibe people living in Xinjiang are Qing dynasty colonists in the region. They clearly speak the same language as the Manchu did, which bears a question: Are the Xibe and Manchu people the same ethnic ...
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