Qin Dynasty (221 - 207 BC) a dynasty founded by the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi. He re-established a single centralized state through the annexation of the existing six states: Han, Wei, Zhao, Yan, and Qi.
The Qin Dynasty came to power by overthrowing the Zhou Dynasty. In the Qin era, the principles of governing China for several centuries to come were laid.
The Emperor had the title The first majestic ruler of Qin. According to his policy, the beginning of a centralized state was laid, in which officials were lawyers.
The country was divided into districts and districts. The reform provided for the unification of the measurement of weight, space, coins, and writing. As a result, it became easier to trade, regardless of regional differences.
The creation of the empire was the logical conclusion of a complex and lengthy process of strengthening the integrating centripetal tendencies in the leading Zhou kingdoms. states.
More than 2 thousand years have passed since in 221 BC. The first centralized state in China was created - the Qin Empire, which was important for the history of China.
Period from 255 to 222 BC called the Zhangguo period - the Period of the Warring States. By the end of the III century. BC. the principality of Qin (prov. Shanxi) strengthened, which waged successful wars with other principalities, and then destroyed the Zhou dynasty and formed the first centralized despotism. Ying Zheng pursued a confident policy of unification of the country, which was necessary in connection with the development of agriculture and trade.
Many Chinese fought against the Huns, the nomads who inhabited Mongolia. The Huns had a powerful mobile cavalry. Nomad raids devastated the northern provinces of China, and the fight against them was difficult for the Chinese army, since the Chinese had few cavalry.
Usually the Huns easily got out of the blow and retreated deep into Mongolia. until the Chinese army stopped persecuting for lack of food and returned back. Following this, the Huns made new raids from the place where they could least be expected.
In 221 BC Zheng managed to defeat all his opponents and complete the unification of the country. The prince of the Qin principality, Ying Zheng, became the first ruler of China, proclaiming himself the first emperor, that is, “Qin Shi Huang Di”, which means the first sacred emperor of Qin.
The unification of China was of great importance for the history of China. The emperor created a clear system of centralized administration. The whole country was divided into 36 large regions, the boundaries of which did not coincide with the contours of the former kingdoms and principalities. And they were headed by junshou - governors.
The regions were divided into counties - xian, headed by "xianlings", and the counties - xian - into volosts - xiang, and smaller units - "ting". In each "tin" there were 10 communities - li. All the peasants of the empire received plots of land.
During the reign of Qin Shihuang-di, large-scale construction work was launched in the country.: post roads were built, irrigation systems were created, defensive structures were erected.
Another important contribution to the culture of China after the unification was the introduction of a single script. Before the Qin Dynasty, different principalities had their own scripts. This created obstacles in cultural exchange. After unification under the rule of Qin, Xiaozhuan, one of the types of Chinese ancient writing, became the generally accepted script.
The use of Chinese characters was legalized, which played an important role in the development of culture.
In addition, during the Qin Dynasty, a unified system of measures and weights was introduced. The first emperor of China also introduced a single monetary circulation in order to create favorable conditions for economic development and strengthen the central government.
213 BC by order of Qin Shi Huang, all ancient books were burned, and in 212 BC. 460 of the most active ideological opponents of the emperor from among the Confucians were executed.
As early as the end of the 4th c. BC. in order to protect against the raids of the Huns, the principality of Yin, Zhou and Qin began to build a large protective wall. The remains of this wall have not been preserved.
In 214 BC. The Chinese began building the Bian-chen wall - the border wall. The Great Wall of China begins at the old Chinese customs-fortress Shanhaiguan and goes to the west with mountain ranges, river banks and ends at the Jiayuguan fortress near the Richhofen ridge.
The construction of the Great Wall speaks of the high level of military engineering in ancient China. Under the Qin Empire, strategic routes were also built, as well as the construction of a waterway - the Grand Canal.
Qin Shi Huang - the first emperor of China
Qin Shi Huang (259 - 210 BC)- the ruler of the kingdom of Qin (from 246 BC), who began the end of the centuries-old era of the Warring States. The Qin Dynasty he founded, which planned to rule China for 10,000 generations, was overthrown a few years after his death.
Ying Zheng was born in 259 BC. e., in Handan- the principality of Zhao, where his father, Zhuang Xiangwang, was held hostage. After his birth, he received the name Zheng. His mother, a concubine, was previously in an intimate relationship with an influential courtier, Lu Buwe.
At the age of 13, Zheng became the Qin ruler, but until the age of 21 he was considered a minor, and Lu Buwe managed all affairs as regent and first minister.
The future Chinese emperor absorbed the then popular totalitarian idea of legalism, a prominent representative of which was Han Fei. The state structure of the Qin kingdom was determined by a powerful military force and numerous bureaucracy.
The Qin state was the most powerful in China. Everything was directed towards the unification of China under this dynasty. However, although the Qin dynasty in China significantly expanded its possessions at the expense of other kingdoms, these kingdoms still remained quite strong.
In 241 BC. e. the kingdoms of Wei, Han, Zhao and Chu concluded a new military alliance against Qin, but their combined troops were also defeated. Qingqi was also opposed by Yan and Qi - there are six kingdoms, the rest died during internecine wars.
In 238 BC. AD, when Ying Zheng ascended the Qin throne, he managed to defeat all the enemies one by one, capturing one territory after another during seventeen years of continuous wars. At the age of 32, he took possession of the principality in which he was born, at the same time his mother died.
He ordered to destroy each captured capital. In 221 Qin conquered the last independent kingdom on the Shandong Peninsula, Ying Zheng, at the age of 39, united all of China for the first time in history.
The unprecedented power of the ruler of the imperial era required the introduction of a new title. Qin Shi Huang literally means the founding emperor of the Qin Dynasty. The old name "wang", which translates as "monarch, prince, king", was no longer acceptable: with the weakening of Zhou, the title of van lost its value and significance. At first, the terms Huang (“ruler, sovereign”) and Di (“emperor”) were used separately.
Their unification should emphasize the autocracy of a new type of ruler. The imperial title thus created existed until the Xinhai Revolution of 1912. until the end of the imperial era.
It was used both by those dynasties whose power extended to the entire Celestial Empire, and by those who only sought to unite its parts under their leadership.
Qin Dynasty
The colossal campaign to unify the Celestial Empire was completed in 221, after which by decree of the emperor, weapons were confiscated from the population of the country from which bells and large bronze statues were ordered to be cast.
The new emperor carried out a number of reforms to consolidate the won unity: under the slogan “all chariots with an axis of the same length, all hieroglyphs are of standard writing”, a single network of paths was created, disparate systems of hieroglyphics of the conquered kingdoms were canceled, a single monetary system was introduced, as well as a system of measures and weights .
Xianyang was chosen as the capital of the Chinese Empire in the eternal Qin possessions, not far from modern Xian. Officials and nobles of all the captured states were transferred there (about 120 thousand families of hereditary nobility.
The huge country was again delimited into 36 large regions, the borders of which did not coincide with the framework of the former kingdoms and principalities. Each region was headed by a governor. The regions were divided into districts, which had chiefs, and the districts were divided into volosts, each of which included several dozen villages.
Much attention was paid to the organization of the central administration. At the head of the empire there were two ministers, one of whom Li Si played the main role. Several central departments were subordinate to these ministers, which had corresponding subdivisions in the regions.
So, the head of the military department was subordinate to the military leaders of the regions and a large staff of officials of the central apparatus, belonging to divisions and departments.
The structure of other departments was approximately the same - financial, tsarist-state economic, judicial, ritual and some others, including the supreme prosecutor's office, which supervised all departments and personnel of the country's administration.
All officials and persons below them strictly differed in their place in the system of not only positions, but also ranks. There were 20 of them The first 8 ranks could have ordinary people who received them depending on age, social and family status and merit, as well as by purchase or as a reward.
The rest (up to the highest, 19-20th, the owners of which were few in the empire) were bureaucratic ranks, which were granted for length of service and merit.
All numerous officials, up to the highest, received a fixed salary for their work. from state storages, more often grain, the amount of which was clearly established depending on the position and rank.
Only individual representatives of the 19th-20th ranks had the right to collect taxes from the peasants a certain territory donated to them in conditional possession, but at the same time they did not have administrative power here, their rights were limited to the collection of taxes.
Strictly centralized and well organized was the system of various and very difficult state duties, gigantic construction work, the obligation to provide for the army, the supply of food and equipment, participation in public works in the field, etc.
The principle of mutual responsibility, founded by Shang Yang, has become even more widespread than before.: it now concerned not only the peasants, but also those who recommended someone for the position of officials, which limited nepotism, that is, the desire to arrange a mediocre and incapable relative or acquaintance in a favorable position.
Coins were created - the same for all of China, the smelting of which has become a state monopoly, it is allowed to pay off duties and punishments, as well as the purchase of ranks so that excess income goes to the treasury.
Some of the merchants themselves were resettled from their native places, the big tax-farmers, who were engaged in salt production, iron-smelting, etc., were under the control of the authorities.
In addition, there was a network of large state-owned workshops in the state., on which artisans, including owners of private workshops, worked in the order of serving their duties or by court verdicts (state slavery of criminals), as well as for hire.
The system of legist legislation was quite rigid, up to the destruction of all relatives of the criminal along three lines of kinship - father, mother and wife - for special crimes. For less serious, physical punishment or state slavery awaited.
It should be noted that the entire described system of reforms and innovations as a whole had a considerable effect, and rather quickly. Strictly organized on the principles of barracks drill Chinese the state was able to implement a number of grandiose projects in a short time.
The Great Wall of China was built to protect against the nomads of the north. The construction of the capital with its colossal Efanggun palace complex was grandiose. not to mention the construction of the imperial tomb, about which many sources tell wonderful stories and myths.
Interesting! An ancient legend tells of the soul of the sleeping emperor Qin Shi Huang, who ascended to the moon and looked down at the earth from there. From the sky-high heights, the Chinese empire seemed to her a small dot, and then the emperor's soul was compressed, seeing the defenselessness of the Celestial Empire. It was then that he had the idea to build the Great Wall of China, which surrounded the whole country and hid it from cruel barbarians.
Tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang
Nothing illustrates the power of Qin Shi Huang better than size. burial complex, which was erected during the life of the emperor. The construction of the tomb began immediately after the formation of the empire near the present city of Xi'an.
According to Sima Qian, more than 700 thousand workers and artisans were involved before the creation of the mausoleum, and it lasted 38 years. The perimeter of the outer wall of the burial was 6 km.
The tomb with the burial of the first emperor was found by archaeologists only in 1974, then it turned out that Mount Lishan is a man-made necropolis. Its study continues to this day, and the burial place of the emperor is still waiting to be opened.
The burial mound was crowned with a certain pyramidal room, where, according to one version, the soul of the deceased should rise into the sky.
And although instead of living warriors, contrary to the usual tradition, their copies were buried in the tomb along with the emperor - Terracotta Army
,which is regarded by some experts as a very progressive step, we should not forget that in addition to the statues of terracotta warriors According to various estimates, up to 70 thousand workers were buried together with Qin Shi Huang along with their families, as well as about three thousand concubines.Interesting! The complex of the tomb of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty - Shi Huangdi is the first among Chinese objects was entered by UNESCO in the Register of World Cultural Heritage Sites.
The end of the life of the first emperor of China - Qin Shi Huang
During the last ten years of his life, the emperor rarely visited his capital. He constantly traveled to various parts of the state, offering sacrifices in local temples, informing local deities of their achievements and erecting steles with self-praise.
Detours of own possessions emperor laid the foundation for the tradition of royal ascents on yell Taishan. He was the first of the Chinese rulers to go to the seashore.
As can be understood from the "Shi chi" of the Han historian Sima Qian, the Chinese emperor was troubled by thoughts of his own death. During his wanderings, he met many wizards and sorcerers, hoping to learn from them the secret of the elixir of immortality.
In 219, he sent an expedition to the islands of the Eastern Sea in search of(probably in Japan). Confucian scholars saw this as empty superstition, for which they paid dearly: as the legend goes, the emperor ordered 460 of them to be buried alive in the ground.
In 213 BC. e Li Si persuaded the emperor to burn all the books, with the exception of those related to agriculture, medicine and divination. In addition, books from the imperial collections and chronicles of the Qing rulers were not touched.
In the last years of his life, in despair and having lost faith in gaining immortality ever, Qin Shi Huang less and less traveled around the borders of his state, fenced off from the world in a huge palace complex. Avoiding communication with mortals, the emperor hoped that people would see him as a deity.
Instead, the totalitarian rule of the first emperor of China caused growing discontent among the population. Having uncovered three plots, the emperor could not trust any of his confidants.
Death of Qin Shi Huang in 210 BC e. occurred during a trip around the country, in which he was accompanied by his youngest son Hu Hai, head of the office Zhao Gao and chief adviser Li Si.
Fearing unrest, they concealed the death of the emperor and, colluding, fabricated a letter on his behalf, in which not the eldest son Fu Su was declared heir to the throne, but the youngest - Hu Hai. The same letter contained an order to bestow an honorable death on Fu Su and the warlord Meng Tian.
Hu Hai ascended the throne at the age of 21 under the name of Er Shi Huang, however, in fact, remained a puppet of Zhao Gao and three years later was forced to commit suicide by his own order.
Revolts began in the empire, led by Chen Shen, in Guang and Liu Bang(late 209 - early 208 AD). In October 207 BC. e. the imperial capital Xianyang was taken by the army of Liu Bang, who was proclaimed emperor. He became the founder of the Han Dynasty.
During the reign of the Qin Dynasty, the territory of the state increased. It now included a significant part of China. The whole burden of waging wars, building the Great Wall, palaces, roads, etc. fell on the shoulders of the peasants, who were subjected to cruel exploitation. The consequence of this there were powerful peasant uprisings, under the blows of which the Qin dynasty fell.
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And lasted about 260 years.
The dynasty was founded in 1616 on the territory of Manchuria (the northeast of modern China) and soon, taking advantage of the unstable situation in China, where the central government was weakened by numerous peasant uprisings, subjugated all of China, and then part of Mongolia and Central Asia. Thus, a nation of less than 1 million people conquered 150 million people. At the first stage, the Qing dynasty, in order to strengthen its power and position in Beijing, issued a decree according to which, under pain of death, every man in the empire was required to dress in the Manchu style and shave the top of his head, as was customary among the Manchus.
However, the Manchu government quickly became Chineseized, and starting from the second Qing emperor in China (Kangxi), the rulers began to speak Chinese, and government positions were given to Chinese scientists. All this helped to overcome the tension between the Chinese and Manchu aristocracy, and peace and prosperity came to the country for more than 1.5 centuries, like a calm before the storm that followed.
The first half of the Qing period was marked by population growth and economic development. Until the end of the 18th century, after the ban on trade with other countries was lifted in 1684, China, trading in silk and tea, received a huge amount of silver, until this flow was blocked by the supply of opium. However, in general, the Qing government continued the policy of self-isolation, which eventually led to the forced opening of the country by the European powers.
Chinese science, which once held a leading position in all areas, lagged behind the European one more and more, delving into philosophy. The knowledge received from European missionaries was perceived by the Chinese with distrust and was not used to develop their own science. Ultimately, this ever-increasing lag became the greatest shortcoming of Chinese civilization.
China achieved great success in art, which was experiencing another rise. Fundamental encyclopedias containing the accumulated knowledge were created, painting, dramaturgy and literature developed (the first novel written in colloquial language appeared - “The History of the Stone, or the Dream in the Red Tower”, which tells about the fate of an aristocratic family).
The peaceful rule of the Qing Dynasty was broken in the last years of the life of Emperor Gaozong (1736-1795). At this time, among the lower strata of the population, and then among the discontented educated people who did not get into public service, the cult of the "White Lotus Society" spread. The uncontrolled growth of the sect aroused the suspicion of the government, which ordered an investigation, but the ensuing lawlessness of local officials led to an armed uprising. Members of the "White Lotus Society", whose ranks were replenished by robbers, began to attack government offices in the villages. At the same time, the Miao tribes rebelled in the south. It took several years for the imperial army to suppress the uprisings, which showed the West the failure of the Chinese armed forces and greatly undermined the authority of the ruling house. In addition to this, at the end of the 18th century, secret criminal gangs - “triads” began to form in Taiwan, which at that time opposed the Manchu emperor and undermined the foundation of the Qing dynasty from the inside. Interestingly, these criminal communities exist to this day.
The lifting of the ban on trade with other countries made a real trade boom: in the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. the Portuguese, Dutch, British and Americans bought tea and silk from Canton and Macau, paying for the goods with imported textiles and American silver. China's exports greatly exceeded its imports until the British, followed by the Americans, began to import opium into China. The drug turned out to be such a well-selling commodity that already from 1828 to 1836. imports exceeded exports by $36 million.
By that time, England had become the most powerful capitalist country, and the Canton opium trade had taken an important place in the British economy. The volumes of the drug supplied to the Celestial Empire grew exponentially. Many aristocrats and officials have turned into real drug addicts, degradation has captured all segments of the population. The Chinese government imposed a ban on the potion trade, but this only led to illegal trade, smuggling, and corruption. In an attempt to stop the inexhaustible flow of opium to China in March 1939, Special Envoy Lin Tse-hsu demanded that British and English traders stop importing the drug and confiscated their cash stocks of opium, destroyed in sea water. Following this, the British government declared the actions of the Chinese illegal and demanded compensation for losses, as well as additional benefits for their entrepreneurs and the provision of certain territories at their disposal. Having received no response from China, in April 1840 Great Britain declared war. The Americans soon joined the British. China was defeated in the first opium war and in 1842 was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing, according to which, in addition to significant amounts of indemnity, Great Britain received Hong Kong in perpetuity, access to trade in five ports: Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Shanghai and Ningbo - low duties to import their goods and other privileges.
This treaty was a turning point in Chinese history, after which a period of new Chinese history began. The Treaty of Nanjing and its supplementary agreement put China in an unequal position in its relations with Great Britain. They were followed by a series of similarly unequal agreements.
In 1844, treaties were signed with the United States and France, extending to these countries the rights and privileges that were granted to Great Britain. For 60 years, the country turned into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal state.
The appetite of the West, which found in China a gigantic market and a permanent source of income, was constantly growing. A few years after the signing of the peace treaty, the British demanded a revision of the conditions and the opening of cities, because. before that, all foreigners lived in special concessions. At the same time, endless rebellions, piracy, and flourishing smuggling, including the illegal trade in Chinese workers, began to tear China apart. The hatred of the local population for the "barbarians" reached its climax: the Europeans were attacked in the streets, pelted with stones, but this did not stop the British. In October 1856, England and France launched a new war against China. In May 1858, the combined army captured Tianjin, located only 150 km from Beijing: the Qing government was forced to hastily conclude a new treaty. The conditions of the Tientsin Treaty became even more difficult for the Celestial Empire: the creation of permanent foreign embassies in Beijing, the opening of additional ports, the permission for foreign missionaries to freely preach their religion, the opening of the Yangtze River all the way to Hankou, low trade duties and, finally, the legalization of the opium trade were added to the huge indemnity. (Source: R. Krueger, "China: a complete history of the Middle Kingdom").
The war, however, did not end there. In 1859, England and France demanded to remove the defenses on the Baihe River, but were refused. This was soon followed by an accidental military skirmish in the vicinity of Tianjin, in which the Chinese were victorious, killing about 400 enemy soldiers. In response to this, in 1860 the combined army captured Tianjin and approached Beijing. The Xianfeng Emperor fled, hiding behind the Great Wall of China. In October of the same year, the Anglo-French army sacked the Yuanmingyuan Summer Palace in the vicinity of Beijing. Soon the Qing government was again forced to sign a shameful and unequal peace treaty. The Beijing Treaty confirmed all the points of Tientsin, in addition, England received the Kowloon Peninsula, and China was obliged to pay additional indemnity.
Almost simultaneously with the second opium war in China, the most brutal peasant uprising in the history of the Celestial Empire broke out, which later became known as the Taiping Rebellion (1850 - 1864). The leader of the uprising was Hong Xiuquan, a Chinese Christian from a peasant family, who proclaimed himself the younger brother of Jesus Christ. Taiping (太平) means "Great Peace" in Chinese.
Hong's ideas, along with hatred for the Manchus and barbarians from the West, very quickly found a response among the broad masses of the people: in a few years, society turned into an influential and aggressive force. The bulk of the Taipings were ruined peasants, urban workers, and partly members of triads who wanted to overthrow the government. One of the hallmarks of the Taipings was long hair, a protest against the Manchu haircut that all men in the Qing Empire were required to wear. In 1851, about 20,000 Taipings announced the creation of the Heavenly State of the Great Balance. In March 1953, the Taiping army, which had grown to two million people, occupied Nanjing, which Hong Xiuquan renamed Tianjing and made his capital. So, the Taipings actually built their state inside the Qin empire. They issued new laws, carried out land reform and even created a new calendar. In the Heavenly State, wine, tobacco, opium, gambling, extramarital affairs, as well as concubines and bandaging of women's feet were prohibited. The land that belonged to God was fairly distributed among all men and women.
In 1856, in the leadership of the state, disputes for power began between the heavenly princes, usually accompanied by murders. Taking advantage of the weakening of power in Taiping, the Qing army launched an offensive. The Europeans in this war preferred to support the Manchus, refusing to call on the Chinese "Christian brothers", believing that Taiping society was not only immoral, but also a threat to trade. In 1864, Tianjin was captured, and the "heavenly prince" committed suicide by taking a lethal dose of poison. Thus, with the support of Britain, France, and the United States, the Qing government succeeded in suppressing the Taiping peasant movement, which held out for 14 years.
For the next 40 years, China continued to divide the world powers, finding more and more reasons for military aggression, as well as establishing a protectorate over the tributary countries of the Celestial Empire, among which were Burma, Korea and Vietnam. By the end of the 19th century, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Island became part of Japan, Russia got Port Arthur for twenty-five years, England dominated Hong Kong, Canton, Shanghai and the northern tip of the Shandong Peninsula, Germany leased the Jiaozhou region in the north of Shandong province for 90 years. , France leased Guangzhou Bay for 99 years.
At the same time, beginning in the 60s of the 19th century, the Qing government, realizing its crisis situation, made attempts to borrow advanced science from the West. However, the process of industrialization was very slow, which was largely due to the traditional Chinese mentality, considering any other peoples as barbarians, and imitation of them as a humiliation of the nation. In addition, then ruling as regent with her young son, and then with her young nephew, Empress Dowager Cixi had little idea of the state of affairs in the country, spending millions on the construction of luxurious palaces, while the camp was forced to take loans from Russia, Britain and other powers.
The reformers made themselves felt with renewed vigor after the coronation of the eighteen-year-old Emperor Guangxu, Cixi's nephew, in 1889, after which the empress officially ceded the throne to the new ruler, but in fact her influence at court remained the same. Guangxu was fascinated by Western knowledge and was interested in the ideas of Kang Yu-wei, a young scholar from Canton who actively advocated reforming the country. As a result of a personal meeting between the emperor and the scientist, the beginning of the "100 days of reforms" was announced: the changes were to affect industry, education and the state system. The bureaucracy sounded the alarm, and the Empress Dowager, with the support of her party, carried out a coup d'état in September 1898, removing the emperor from power and again taking the throne. All the decrees passed during the 100 Days were cancelled, but the reform machine was already running, and nothing could drown out the public opinion, which was louder and louder demanding change.
Popular discontent resulted in uprisings, among which the “boxing” or Yihetuan movement (1899 - 1902) became the largest. The "Boxers" opposed the intervention of "barbarians" in the economy, religion and politics of China and brutally cracked down on Christians and "overseas devils", as well as all the symbols of the presence of foreigners - railways, telegraph lines, etc. The "Boxers" were able to win the favor of Cixi, and the empress began to support them, which excited the foreign public. In 1900, rebels broke into Beijing, burning down Christian churches, embassies, and foreigners' houses. The Western powers reacted immediately: a month later, a 20,000-strong combined army of British, Americans, Japanese, Austrians, French and Italians was formed, which quickly managed to capture the capital. Cixi fled to Xi'an, the "boxers" were brutally killed. China was forced to sign an even more humiliating "Final Protocol", after which the Qing government completely became a tool in the hands of the powers that control China.
On November 14, 1908, Emperor Guangxu died after a short illness, and Empress Dowager Cixi herself died the next day. With her death, the Qing era actually ended, although nominally the dynasty continued to exist, the 3-year-old nephew of Cixi Pu-Yi was appointed the new heir. The Qing Empire finally ceased to exist after the Xinhai Revolution (1911 - 1913), in 1912 an act was signed on the abdication of the emperor from the throne, and in 1924 the emperor was finally deposed, stripped of his titles, declared an ordinary citizen of the republic and expelled from Beijing.
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| Sixteen barbarian states | Eastern Jin | |||||
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Qing dynasty |
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| Republic of China | ||||||
Qing dynasty, or Qing empire (Daiqing Gurun, whale. ex. 清朝, pinyin: Qing Chao, pall. : qing chao listen)) is a multinational empire created and ruled by the Manchus, which later included China. According to traditional Chinese historiography, the last dynasty of monarchical China. It was founded in the city of Manchurian clan Aisin Gioro in the territory of Manchuria, currently called northeastern China. In less than 30 years, all of China, part of Mongolia and part of Central Asia fell under her rule.
Initially, the dynasty was called "Jin" (金 - gold), in traditional Chinese historiography "Hou Jin" (後金 - Later Jin), after the Jin Empire - the former state of the Jurchens, from whom the Manchus derived themselves. In 1636, the name was changed to "Qing" (清 - "pure"). In the first half of the XVIII century. The Qing government managed to establish an effective administration of the country, one of the results of which was that in this century the fastest population growth rates were observed in China. The Qing court pursued a policy of self-isolation, which eventually led to the fact that in the 19th century. China, which was part of the Qing Empire, was forcibly opened by the Western powers and turned into a semi-colonial country.
Subsequent cooperation with Western powers allowed the dynasty to avoid collapse during the Taiping Rebellion, to carry out comparatively successful modernization, and so on. to exist until the beginning of the 20th century, but it also caused growing nationalist (anti-Manchurian) sentiments.
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Qing Empire, in 1844.
Rise of the Manchu state
At the beginning of the XVII century. the leader of the settled Jurchens living in Manchuria, Nurkhatsi (1559-1626), managed not only to rally several dozen disparate tribes under his command, but also to lay the foundations of a political organization. Claiming kinship with the Jurchen Jin Dynasty, Nurhaci declared his clan the "Golden Clan" (Aisin Gioro). The Nurkhatsi family owned the possession of Manchukuo, located beyond the northern border of China.
Decline of the Ming Empire
The decline of the Ming became apparent in connection with droughts, crop failures, economic crisis, corruption and arbitrariness of officials and the war with the Manchus (1618-1644). These catastrophic events forced the peasants to take up arms. In 1628, in the province of Shaanxi, scattered semi-robber bands began to create rebel detachments and elect leaders. From that moment, a peasant war began in northeastern China, which lasted 19 years (1628-1647).
In the 1640s, the peasants were no longer afraid of the weakened army, which suffered defeat after defeat. Regular troops were caught in pincers between the Manchu troops in the north and the rebellious provinces, fermentation and desertion intensified in them. The army, deprived of money and food, was defeated by Li Zicheng. The capital was left practically without a fight (the siege lasted only two days). The traitors opened the gate for Li's troops to enter unhindered. In April 1644, Beijing submitted to the rebels; The last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in the imperial garden.
The Manchus took advantage of this. The Manchurian army, led by Prince Dorgon, united with the troops of Wu Sangui, defeated the rebels at Shanhaiguan and then approached the capital. On June 4, 1644, Li Zicheng, leaving the capital, retreated in confusion. After 2 days, the Manchus, together with General Wu, occupied the city and proclaimed the emperor of the young Aisingero Fulin. The rebel army suffered another defeat from the Manchu army at Xi'an and was forced to retreat along the Han River all the way to Wuhan, then along the northern border of Jiangxi province. Here Li Zicheng died.
Manchu conquest of China
The pockets of resistance to the Manchus, where the descendants of the Ming emperors still ruled, in particular, the kingdom of Zheng Chenggong on Formosa, existed for a long time. Despite the loss of the capital and the death of the emperor, Ming China was still undefeated. Nanjing, Fujian, Guangdong, Shanxi and Yunnan still remained loyal to the overthrown dynasty. However, several princes claimed the vacated throne at once, and their forces were fragmented. One by one, these last centers of resistance fell under the authority of the Qing, and in 1662, along with the death of Zhu Youlan, the last hope for the restoration of the Ming disappeared (although there was a state in Taiwan that fought against the Manchus under the flag of the Ming Empire until 1682).
Kangxi-Qianlong era
The era of "closure" of China
Rules under the mottos "Daoguang" and "Yizhu", opium wars and the Taiping rebellion
Daoguang period
Army and bureaucracy
However, by the beginning of the 19th century, the Qing empire was increasingly under pressure from European states. The national internal political problems of the empire began to come to light especially when Aisingyoro Mianning ascended the imperial throne. At the beginning of his reign, a very strong threat of the decomposition of the "eight banner" Manchus and their assimilation by the Chinese was revealed. The Manchus, for whom the most important thing was horse riding, archery and knowledge of their native language, began to increasingly move towards a purely Chinese scale of social values - studying wenyan, receiving a classical Confucian education, passing examinations for a degree, becoming a shenshi and a civilian bureaucratic career . At first, the government fought this danger as best it could. So, in 1822, the emperor refused a financial subsidy to a school for the Manchus who studied the Chinese classics, in 1833 he recommended not to teach the “significant” anything other than horse riding and archery, in 1836 he brought down punishments on a number of higher “significant” commanders for the admission of a subordinate to examinations for a scientific degree without preliminary tests in these two types of military training.
The impoverishment of soldiers and lower officers became a mass phenomenon, which sharply reduced the combat effectiveness of the army. At the same time, its number and, accordingly, military spending, constantly grew. The staff of the bureaucracy and the funds for its maintenance increased. The size of the imperial court grew even faster. Expenses for the maintenance of the state and military-administrative apparatus fell heavily on the treasury. The situation was complicated by a further reduction in tax revenues from landowners - the smaller peasant farms could no longer pay the land-per capita tax in its former size. As a result, both the total debt of the population to the treasury and the annual amount of arrears grew more and more. In search of a way out, the government introduced new taxes, took loans from the largest usurious "transfer offices" and banking houses of Shanxi, increased salt taxation rates. The growing arrears and increased social tension forced Emperor Minning and Muzhang to issue a decree in 1830 to forgive old arrears.
Internal political "fermentation" in the empire under Daoguang
The mass of the poor, vagabonds and beggars continued to increase in the country. More and more disadvantaged and disaffected joined the ranks of secret societies. Provincial revolts became commonplace; suppressed in one area, they flared up in another. In 1823 there was an uprising in the province of Shandong, in - years. - in the province of Guangdong and on the island of Hainan, in 1833 - in the provinces of Sichuan and Hubei, and in 1835 - in Shanxi. Since 1836, a period of uprisings began in Hunan, in 1839 - in Guizhou.
The situation in Taiwan has worsened again. Agrarian unrest due to the illegal distribution of land by officials in Chiayi resulted in a mass uprising in 1830, which quickly engulfed the entire southern part of the island. It was led by the local Triads. The rebels pushed back the local troops and the Qing bureaucracy to the northern regions, establishing an anti-Manchu power in the southern part of the island, which lasted here for more than two years. Punitive units and a military squadron were sent from the mainland to eliminate it. With great difficulty, they managed in 1833 to restore the Manchu rule in Taiwan. Nevertheless, since 1834, new uprisings swept in waves throughout the island and were suppressed only by 1844.
A further influx of Chinese settlers, tax oppression and bureaucratic arbitrariness caused new uprisings of non-Han peoples in Southwestern China in the 30s of the 19th century. At the beginning of 1832, in the south of Hunan, the Yao people, led by Zhao Jinlong, rose up against the Qing authorities. The government sent punitive troops there under the command of Hai Ling'a (the military governor of Hunan), but they were completely destroyed. The Yao of the northern regions of Guangdong then joined the rebels. Large forces were thrown against them, led by Luo Siju (the military governor of Hubei Province). For a long time they could not cope with the yao, fortified in the mountains. Only after heavy fighting, having driven the rebels to the plain, did the Qing troops storm their Yangquan fortress and execute the head of the defense, Zhao Jinlong. A new Yao rebellion broke out in southwestern Hunan in 1836. It was led by the secret alliance "Longhua" - an offshoot of the "White Lotus", led by Lan Zhengzong (Hongkuang), who on the eve of the uprising took the princely title of Wei-wang. The movement, after a huge effort, was crushed and its leaders executed.
Foreign policy until the 1830s (conflict in Kashgaria)
The suppression of the Uighur uprising - 1827 and the subsequent fight against Jahangir cost the Qing government 10 million liang. This uprising shook the very foundation of Qing domination in Kashgaria, and the reciprocal atrocities of the punishers created the ground for a new Muslim uprising. All hopes were now pinned on Yusuf-Khoja, Jahangir's brother. The Khan of Kokand also strongly encouraged him to speak.
In the autumn of 1830, Yusuf crossed the border with his detachment and was joyfully greeted by the Belogorians. Mindful of the lessons of the Jahangir uprising, Yusuf generously distributed promises to the people and, with their support, entered Kashgar. However, in Yarkand the assault on the citadel ended in failure, the rebels suffered a major defeat there, after which a turning point occurred and the uprising began to wane. The population supported the uprising much less than in - 1827, the robberies of Yusuf's troops also restored civilians against the Khoja. The Montenegrin sect met the Belogorsk Khoja very coolly. The Qing authorities skillfully exploited the religious enmity between the two Islamic sects. In October 1830, Viceroy Changling launched an offensive against the rebels. At the end of 1830, Yusuf-Khoja with several thousand Belogorsk supporters and prisoners retreated to the border and went to Kokand territory. The suppression of the uprising, which lasted four months, cost the treasury 8 million liang.
Signing of the Nanjing Treaty
According to the treaty, the ports of Guangzhou, Xiamen, Fuzhou, Ningbo and Shanghai were declared open to trade and settlement by the British. The Gunhan Corporation was abolished. Hong Kong Island passed into the "perpetual possession" of Great Britain. Beijing had to pay compensation to England for opium, the debts of the Gunhan merchants and indemnity - a total of 21 million dollars. The Qing Empire was deprived of customs autonomy, and duties were not to exceed 5% of the value of the goods. The treaty was the first unequal treaty in the modern history of the Qing Empire. Later, in October 1843, Great Britain in Humen imposed on Beijing a "Supplementary Agreement for Trade in Five Ports". The latter established the right of extraterritoriality for English subjects and introduced consular jurisdiction, that is, the jurisdiction of the English consuls, and not the Qing court. The British got the opportunity to create their own settlements in the "open" ports. Great Britain was also granted the right of "most favored nation", that is, all the privileges that another power in the Qing Empire could receive in the future were automatically extended to Great Britain.
Following England, other Western powers rushed to the Qing Empire, hastening to take advantage of the defeat of Beijing. China was forced to sign the Wanxia Treaty with the United States in July 1844. This document extended to the Americans the rights received by the British under the Treaty of Nanjing and the Humen Agreement. In October 1844, a Franco-Chinese treaty was signed. In addition to the privileges already received by England and the United States, it provided for the right of the Catholic Church to conduct missionary propaganda in the Qing Empire, which became one of the means of the ideological expansion of the West. Based on unequal treaties, foreigners began to settle in "open" ports. Hong Kong and Shanghai became their main strongholds, while resistance to the invaders did not stop in Guangdong.
Reign of Aisingyorō Yizhu
After the end of the Crimean War, the British began to look for a pretext for war. Such a reason was found: it was the detention by the Chinese authorities of the English ship Arrow, which was engaged in smuggling.
On October 24-25, 1860, the Beijing Treaty was signed, according to which the Qing government agreed to pay 8 million liang indemnity to Great Britain and France, open Tianjin for foreign trade, and allow the use of the Chinese as labor force (coolie) in the colonies of Great Britain and France. From that moment on, the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula passed to Great Britain. An indirect result was the accession of the Amur and Primorye to Russia, in gratitude for the fact that Ignatiev saved Beijing from being plundered by the Anglo-French troops and other treaties between these countries.
The policy of "self-reinforcing"
Sino-Japanese War and the Yihetuan Movement
"New Politics"
| This section of the article has not been written. Yuan Shikai to become President of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen voluntarily resign. Sun Yat-sen complied with this condition, and after the abdication of the emperor, he resigned. On February 14, the Nanjing Assembly unanimously accepted Sun Yat-sen's resignation, and the next day elected Yuan Shikai as provisional president of the Republic of China. After becoming permanent president in September 1913, Yuan Shikai declared that from now on only the laws established by himself were valid. At his insistence, in April 1914, a new Provisional Constitution pleasing to him was urgently worked out, which made the president the complete master in the country. Immediately after the publication of the new constitution in May 1914, Yuan Shikai did away with the State Council, creating instead the Bureau of State Affairs under the President, headed by the staunch monarchist Xu Shichang. In June, Yuan Shikai formed a House of Political Advisors from his proteges, led by a weak-willed Li Yuanhong, and then extended his presidential term to ten years. From now on, only the president himself had the right to name his successor. The National Revival Campaign was launched in the capital and provinces, during which the institutions and departments in the capital and localities returned their former names of the Qing period. For the presidential nomenklatura, the highest court titles from the time of the Manchu dynasty were restored. At the initiative of Yuan Shikai, his political adviser, American Frank Goodnow, published an article stating that the republican system did not fit Chinese conditions, and that a monarchy would be more acceptable to the country than a republic. Goodnow's work served as the starting point for a propaganda campaign for Yuan Shikai to accept the imperial title and renounce the republic. In December 1914, Yuan Shikai, dressed in imperial attire, performed a solemn sacrifice in honor of the Heavenly Sovereign in the Temple of Heaven. To neutralize the supporters of the overthrown dynasty, Yuan Shikai made a deal with the Qing court. The pretender to the throne gave the Manchu princes a written promise to strictly observe the “Preferential conditions for the Qing court”, to preserve his privileges forever and include this document in the future constitution. At the same time, Yuan Shikai tried to intermarry with the Qing dynasty and offered to marry his daughter to Aisingero Puyi, hoping to secure the support of supporters of the old regime. The Manchu princes agreed to this marriage, although many of them hated Yuan Shikai for his betrayal of Emperor Zaitian in 1898 and for his betrayal of the dynasty in 1912. The deal went through, and Prince Pulun - the emperor's cousin - on behalf of the Qing dynasty and the personnel of the eight Manchu "banners" turned to Yuan Shikai with a request to take the throne. In the summer of 1915, Yuan Shikai inspired a petition campaign for the proclamation of a monarchy and the transfer of the throne to him. "Referendums" were held in the provinces, the participants of which unanimously voted for the restoration of the monarchy. In December 1915, the Central Council Chamber, having decided to establish a constitutional monarchy, turned to Yuan Shikai with a request for accession to the throne. To prepare this process, a special committee was established, the ceremony itself was scheduled for January 1, 1916 - the day from which the reign under the motto "Hongxian" of the new dynasty was to begin. At first, Yuan Shikai refused an official request to become emperor, citing his unwillingness to violate the presidential oath of allegiance to the republic and the fear of insulting the dignity of Puyi, who had abdicated. After a second "persistent request", on December 12, Yuan Shikai officially announced his decision to accept the imperial title. However, in December 1915, the army openly opposed Yuan Shikai, and launched a "war in defense of the republic," or "third revolution." Yuan Shikai failed to defeat the troops of the rebels. Chained to the fronts of World War I, the European powers reacted negatively to Yuan Shikai's plans. In the end, Japan also refused to support him. Seeing his defeat, Yuan Shikai retreated. On March 22, 1916, the abolition of the monarchy and the restoration of the republic were announced. The failed emperor tried to retain the presidency, but the republican generals categorically demanded his resignation. Almost the entire army turned away from him. On June 6, 1916, he died suddenly. Even during the period of the plebiscitary monarchy of Yuan Shikai, a conspiracy of three generals formed against him - Xu Shichang, Zhang Xun and Ni Sichun. They intended to seize the supreme power under the guise of the restoration of the empire headed by Puyi. The leaders of this clique met at the funeral ceremony of Yuan Shikai, and unanimously spoke in favor of the restoration of the monarchy, led by the Qing dynasty. Having convened a conference of provincial military governors in Xuzhou, Zhang Xun received from the audience (including Duan Qirui and Feng Guozhang) consent to overthrow the republican government and restore the Qing monarchy. At the same time, Zhang Xun considered himself the head of all the militarists of China. On June 9, 1917, Zhang Xun's troops entered Beijing. A statement was drawn up for the "return of power to the Qing Dynasty". On July 1, Zhang Xun arrived at the Forbidden City and invited Puyi to put his seal on a prepared manifesto and imperial decree. This manifesto restored the power of the Qing dynasty in China, introduced a constitutional-monarchical system and restored the Qing codes of laws. The year 1917 was declared the ninth year of Puyi's reign under the motto "Xuantong". Four generals acquired princely titles, and three of them became governors of the provinces; all real power passed to Zhang Xun, who received the title of "Valiant Prince". The organizer of the monarchical coup became the sole dictator and ruler of China, Puyi was assigned the role of a puppet, a number of the largest militarists were pushed to the backyard. Puyi's father (the former regent Zaifeng) and the imperial family hoped to return to power again and manage all the affairs. However, on the second day after the announcement of the restoration, Zhang Xun issued a decree forbidding the Manchu princes and nobles to interfere in state affairs. The extreme concentration of power in the hands of Zhang Xun frightened the republican generals, and the commanders of the troops turned from supporters of the monarchy into "defenders of the republic" again. The suppression of the putsch was led by Duan Qirui, who moved units loyal to him to Beijing. In his appeal to the population and in his declaration, he placed all the blame for the putsch on Zhang Xun alone and shielded Puyi and the Qing court in every possible way, removing the responsibility for the coup from the emperor. Duan Qirui's troops reached Beijing on July 11, 1917, and panic broke out in Zhang Xun's units. By July 12, the monarchist putsch was crushed. Following Zhang Xun, plans for the restoration of the monarchy in China were continued by General Xu Shichang, who in 1918 was elected president of the republic. Intending to become the sole ruler of the country, he saw himself as the prince-regent of the Qing dynasty restored to power. The President-General took a number of steps towards the revival of the empire. There was a sharp revival in monarchical circles in the hope of an imminent restoration. However, in 1918, the Beiyang militaristic clique, on which Xu Shichang had staked, split into two warring cliques, which put an end to his monarchical encroachments. In search of support for their plans, the imperial court established close relations in 1919 with Zhang Zuolin, the leader of the Fengtian clique. However, with his defeat in 1922, the bet turned out to be a bat. Then, in 1923, the Qing court tried to rely on one of the leaders of the Zhili clique, General Wu Peifu, but he did not agree to an alliance with the fallen dynasty. In the autumn of 1924, during the militaristic civil strife, Beijing was taken by the troops of an ardent republican, General Feng Yuxiang. On November 5, soldiers from his National Army blocked the entrances and exits of the palace, and an ultimatum was delivered to his head titled "Revising the 'Preferential Conditions for the Qing Court'." This document abolished the title of emperor forever, Puyi became a citizen of the republic, the Qing court had to urgently leave the Forbidden City and look for another haven, in addition to the private property of the imperial house, everything else became the property of the republic. Puyi voluntarily went over to the side of the Japanese and began to cooperate with them. In 1932, the rule of the Qing dynasty was restored to the territory of the puppet Manchu state of Manchukuo, Puyi ascended the throne under the reign motto "Datong". ControlAs in previous eras, the imperial administration consisted of three main components: civil, military (see next section) and "censorship" - supervising the bureaucracy and, theoretically, the emperor. However, in a situation where a foreign dynasty ruled over an unprecedentedly large territory with diverse demands, it became necessary to create additional authorities and control. This was the informal agency of Emperor Yongzheng ("office of military finance"), which then received official status under Qianlong. Local civil administration at the highest level was carried out by governors and governors-general (two or more of the first could be subordinate to one second). As a rule, the governors were of Chinese nationality, and their chiefs were of Manchu origin. An additional tax authority monitored the provision of the economic needs of the imperial family. neufu(Imperial Household Department). Military establishmentSocio-economic developmentSociety and culture |
The Qing Dynasty (also Great Qing, Chinese Daiqing; or Manchurian Dynasty) is the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history. It was founded as the Khanate of Later Jin by the leader of the Jurchens of the Jianzhou region (east of the city of Fushun, Liaoning province) Nurhaci from the Aisingioro clan. In 1636, his son Hongtaizhi introduced the new name of the Qing state. At the same time, the subjects of the Qing were called Manchus.
In 1644, the Manchus (the reign of Shunzhi) began a successful conquest of China, by 1683 it was finally completed. The next 100 years (the reigns of the emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong) became a period of territorial growth - the annexation of Mongolia, East Turkestan and Tibet.
From the end of the 18th century (the reigns of Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng), the Qing Empire entered a period of stagnation, which passed into the 1840s. into a systemic crisis aggravated by military defeats from the Europeans (British and French), a series of incomplete agreements (with England, France, Russia, etc.) and, which was the greatest test for the dynasty, uprisings in southern and northwestern China.
At the cost of numerous concessions to foreign powers, colossal casualties during wars and uprisings, the danger to the dynasty was eliminated and, from the 1860s. reform attempts began (the reigns of Tongzhi and Guangxu): the “self-strengthening” movement in the 1860s-1880s, the “hundred days of reforms” in 1898. Despite certain successes, the Qing Empire failed to overcome the negative trends that became apparent during the humiliating defeats from Japan, and the so-called. Boxer Rebellion.
The last attempt at systemic reforms in 1901-1911. was the most radical, it involved the introduction of a constitutional monarchy and the elimination of remnants of the past. However, the centralization of power necessary in the course of the reforms led to a conflict between the imperial government and the provincial elites, who opted for a revolutionary solution to the situation. The direct consequence was the abdication of Emperor Puyi and the proclamation of a republic.
However, the conflict between the center and the regions was not finally resolved, and already in 1916 the Republic of China began to gradually slide into the abyss of civil wars between regional militaristic cliques. In 1917, Emperor Puyi was restored to the throne for two weeks, but soon abdicated a second time. In 1924, he was expelled from the Beijing Forbidden City, and in 1932 he was secretly taken to Manchuria, where he became the ruler of the pro-Japanese state of Manchukuo.
First Opium War 1839 - 1842 Its consequences. England wanted to break the policy of isolating China and turn it into its own colonial appendage. China's rulers refused to expand ties with China. Several missions were sent to China, led by Macartney and Amherst. Unsuccessful for England. The cost of goods bought in China exceeded the proceeds from the English. import. English paid for goods with silver. Therefore, opium began to be widely imported into China, which covered the cost of paying for Chinese goods and contributed to the pumping of silver from China. The number of imported opium was increasing. The Qing government issued decrees banning its import. English merchants bribed officials and the Manchu nobility. The entire state is interested in the bribes of merchants-smugglers. apparatus of China. England sought the legalization of the opium trade and the opening of Chinese ports. In 1834, an English observer was sent to China without notifying the Chinese authorities, and 2 warships also arrived in Guangzhou. There was a leak of silver from China, discontent grew in various sectors of society. In 1836, Emperor Daoguang issued an edict to intensify the fight against opium smuggling. Lin Zexu led a group of officials to combat smuggling. He was appointed commissioner in Guangdong. In the spring of 1839 in Guangzhou, he demanded that the British hand over all stocks of opium and block the trading post of foreign merchants. 20,000 boxes of opium were handed over to the Chinese authorities. England used these actions to provoke a war against China. In November 1839, English. the ships attacked the Chinese junks. The ruling camp did not support Lin Zexu and sought to collude with the British. Britain made challenging demands on China that would only be fulfilled in the course of the war. In June 1840, a British military squadron arrived in China. Part of the ships blockaded Guangzhou, others headed for the mouth of the Yangtze. At the beginning of July The landing force occupied the Zhoushan Islands. The war began without an announcement. Civilians were looted. England was supported by France and the USA. The ruling circles were determined to capitulate. The emperor in November 1840 issued an edict abolishing the ban on opium. The massacre began with supporters of the resistance to the British. Lin Zexu is removed from his post. The Guangdong naval and land units have been disbanded. Qi Shan, the governor of the Zhili metropolitan province, negotiated with the British and agreed to their demands. This angered the Chinese. In February 1841, the British launched an offensive in Guangzhou and captured 1 of its forts. The government officially declared war on England, Qi Shan was put on trial. The British captured the environs of Guangzhou and some ports on the south coast of China. The Chinese waged a guerrilla war ("pinyintuan"). The largest operation was on May 30, 1841 near Guangzhou, where the English were surrounded. and retreated to their ships. In June 1842, the English. took Shanghai and advanced up the Yangtze. The fighting unfolded at Zhenjiang. All of its defenders fell in battle. There was a threat to Nanking. Soon the Chinese government capitulated. On August 29, 1842, an Anglo-Chinese treaty "on peace, friendship, trade and indemnification" was signed near Nanjing. China opened 5 ports for trade, provided patronage to the English. subjects, conceded Hong Kong, in English. goods were established preferential duties, paid a large indemnity. In 1843, an addendum was signed. an agreement confirming the lack of jurisdiction of the English. subject to Chinese court and laws, a system of foreign settlements was established in open ports. From now on, any concession wrested from other powers extended to Eng. opium continued to be widely imported into the country. Similar agreements were signed in 1844 with the USA, France, Belgium, Sweden and Norway. Meaning: China is open to foreign capital; colonizers USA, ENG and FR. occupied important eq., political. positions; Hong Kong became English. colony. The beginning of the infringement of the sovereignty and national independence of China has been laid. The import of goods to China expanded, it was drawn into the world capitalist market. The liberation struggle against foreign colonialists began. empire emperor reform chinese
A new impulse in the development of Catholicism in China is associated with the activities of the Society of Jesus. In 1579, the famous Jesuit Alessandro Valignano founded the mission of the order in the country. Soon, the Italian Matteo Ricci, who became a central figure in the development of Chinese Christianity of that era, went there. In 1601, he came to Beijing and became friends with Xu Guangqi, Minister of Ceremonies under Emperor Shen Zong. The activities of the Jesuits were not limited to the actual Christian preaching. Among the missionaries were a number of prominent scientists who engaged in research work. They also introduced the Chinese to the achievements of European civilization. Nor should their influence on China's foreign and domestic policy be underestimated. Thanks to the support of the Jesuits, including the organization of military units according to the latest European models, the mandate to govern the Celestial Empire passed to the Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911). The authority of the members of the order at the Qing court allowed other Catholic missionaries to work freely throughout China, including Taiwan, for a century. However, the mercy of the Sons of Heaven 3 is replaced by suspicion over time. The activity and "omnipresence" of European preachers is beginning to cause discontent both in the government and among the masses. In 1784, the activities of the Society of Jesus in China were officially banned, which, however, did not prevent it from working on a semi-legal basis. At the end of the century, persecution of Catholics intensified, but deep roots, the heroism of priests and laity, and support from Western powers helped the Church in China not only maintain influence, but also continue to develop.
It is impossible not to mention the Russian Orthodox Church, whose first contacts with China date back to the end of the 17th century. In 1683, in Siberia, in the territories for which at that time there was a dispute between China and Russia, a group of explorers from the Russian fortress of Albazin was captured. The captives brought to Beijing were enlisted in the emperor's guard, and a part of the city wall was allocated to them for protection. The new subjects of the empire were allowed to perform their religious cult and, moreover, they gave one of the Buddhist temples for services. The number of his parishioners increased when in the same year the Albazin fortress surrendered to the Chinese and some of the Cossacks entered the service of the Chinese emperor. Not engaging in active missionary activity, the Orthodox, at the same time, did not interfere with the familiarization of the indigenous population with Christian culture. It is known that already in 1692 several Chinese, including one mandarin, were baptized in Russian Orthodoxy.
Interested in spreading Russian Orthodoxy in China, Peter I soon sent a delegation to Beijing. The Chinese government, for its part, perceived the new missionaries as their own civil servants, who were obliged to provide spiritual guidance to those serving in the Imperial Guard of the Orthodox. All Orthodox priests in China were in this position until the middle of the 18th century. In addition to directly preaching, they also made a significant contribution to the study of the ethnography of China, as well as to the translation into Chinese of the Holy Scriptures and liturgical texts.
In the middle of the XIX century. China suffers two defeats in a row in the war with England and France (in the so-called First and Second Opium Wars). The Qing government was forced to sign a series of treaties giving France, Great Britain, and the United States enormous freedom of action in the country. Together with merchants and the military, Christian preachers from Europe and America, mostly Protestants, flock to China. With the help of Christian communities, supported and financed by the West, churches are being built in China, shelters, educational and medical institutions are being created. However, this is happening against the backdrop of an ever-increasing confrontation between the "Westerners" and those who sought to preserve the originality of Chinese culture as far as possible. Among Protestants and Catholics, the former obviously predominated. Christianity was often perceived by them as one of the elements of progress. It should also be noted that the leading roles in the Christian communities belonged almost exclusively to foreigners, and if we add to this the frequent abuses of church leaders, it is quite understandable that against the backdrop of the emerging national liberation movement, the attitude of the bulk of the population towards Christianity gradually worsened. At the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries, the Yihetuan uprising takes place, known in history as the "Boxer Rebellion". This movement, organized by one of the secret societies, sought to "cleanse" China from foreign dominance. Not surprisingly, Christian churches were also persecuted. At the same time, the "boxers" left the ethnic Chinese with a choice: to renounce Christ or die. This period gave a huge number of martyrs - priests and laity, both foreigners and natives.
