Qing Dynasty - The Golden Age of China
Qing China’s official Emperor was “Shunzhi Emperor”, but the actual founders of Qing were “Nurhaci” and “Hong Taiji”. They both led the “Eight Banners” army that was divided in terms of family relations. They were extremely powerful until the 1800s when foreign militaristic technology made them obsolete. With the help of “Dorgon”, one of his Prince Regents, Shunzhi was able to take over the most of the remaining rebel provinces of China. In 1951 when he was able to rule as Emperor without the help from Dorgon, he tried to suppress the corruption going on in the government, including corrupted officials and eunuchs, but however he did not have enough power to succeed. In 1661 it said he passed away because he contracted smallpox after his favorite concubine Donggo passed away after the death of one of Shunzhi’s son. Shunzhi was also thought that he ran away to become a monk but ultimately passed away because of smallpox. It is still questionable because a body (possibly his) was buried in Beijing.
After Shunzhi, 3 emperors brought total daylight to Qing Dynasty. It prospered to one of the richest nations in the world during the 17th and 18th century. The first Emperor, “Emperor Kangxi” is considered as one of the most prestigious emperors in Chinese history. Kangxi ruled over 60 years in China, beginning in age 8 after his father, Shunzhi Emperor’s death. He wasn’t like many of the weak emperors that have lived throughout Chinese history. At the age of 14, he got rid of the Prime Minister “Ao Bai” and started to take full control of the government by making the decisions himself. He reformed the tax system, strengthening the relations with nomadic tribes to the North and continuing to reclaim the lands of China, including defeating “The 3 Feudatories”, including Wu Sangui. He also signed the “Sino-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk” which stopped Russia from constantly invading and taking land from China. One of the greater achievements was being able to tolerate the Han Chinese and their way of thinking. He adapted to and greatly appreciated their culture and actively promoted their way of learning. However, during the last 20 years of his reign, his sons argued over which son should become the heir and successor, they often fought and much of it was ignored, and this went on for generations which became a major issue as time went on.
The 2nd and 3rd Emperors were “Yongzheng Emperor” and “Qianlong Emperor”. They ruled for almost 13 years and 60 years respectively. Yongzheng Emperor was thought to be the worst out of the 3 Emperors, and he focused on art much more. For example, a Jesuit Missionary called “Giuseppe Castiglione” who Yongzheng loved painting with on porcelains and plain paper. However, Yongzheng used much of the silver in the treasury in expansions and wars against nomadic t ribes. However after his sudden death in 1735, “Qianlong Emperor” ruled China for another 60 years. A lot of the lost ancient literature in China were found by him and compiled together into “The Complete Works of Chinese Classics”, however many of the anti-Qing literature were destroyed completely. However, he was a poet himself, writing over 40,000 poems in his life. “Dream of the Red Chamber” was written during his reign. However not only in literature, Qianlong also improved the irrigation system, increased the population of China into well over 300 million, and also successfully conquered new area for China. He continued to have more influence from foreign countries, giving China more improvements in military and in many cities around China. It was believed that he visited “Jiangnan”, which is the east of China as a tourist, and no one knew he was the Emperor, but however he wanted to experience the common life and see how people treated one another. However, just like Kangxi, Qianlong became too powerful and even conceited during his later years. He overused even more of the silver in China’s government treasury, using more than what he needed on rebellions, wars, needs for the people and for his own, extremely wealthy lifestyle. He lived pretty long as an Emperor, 87 years, but his final years were the opposite of what he accomplished before.
After Shunzhi, 3 emperors brought total daylight to Qing Dynasty. It prospered to one of the richest nations in the world during the 17th and 18th century. The first Emperor, “Emperor Kangxi” is considered as one of the most prestigious emperors in Chinese history. Kangxi ruled over 60 years in China, beginning in age 8 after his father, Shunzhi Emperor’s death. He wasn’t like many of the weak emperors that have lived throughout Chinese history. At the age of 14, he got rid of the Prime Minister “Ao Bai” and started to take full control of the government by making the decisions himself. He reformed the tax system, strengthening the relations with nomadic tribes to the North and continuing to reclaim the lands of China, including defeating “The 3 Feudatories”, including Wu Sangui. He also signed the “Sino-Russian Treaty of Nerchinsk” which stopped Russia from constantly invading and taking land from China. One of the greater achievements was being able to tolerate the Han Chinese and their way of thinking. He adapted to and greatly appreciated their culture and actively promoted their way of learning. However, during the last 20 years of his reign, his sons argued over which son should become the heir and successor, they often fought and much of it was ignored, and this went on for generations which became a major issue as time went on.
The 2nd and 3rd Emperors were “Yongzheng Emperor” and “Qianlong Emperor”. They ruled for almost 13 years and 60 years respectively. Yongzheng Emperor was thought to be the worst out of the 3 Emperors, and he focused on art much more. For example, a Jesuit Missionary called “Giuseppe Castiglione” who Yongzheng loved painting with on porcelains and plain paper. However, Yongzheng used much of the silver in the treasury in expansions and wars against nomadic t ribes. However after his sudden death in 1735, “Qianlong Emperor” ruled China for another 60 years. A lot of the lost ancient literature in China were found by him and compiled together into “The Complete Works of Chinese Classics”, however many of the anti-Qing literature were destroyed completely. However, he was a poet himself, writing over 40,000 poems in his life. “Dream of the Red Chamber” was written during his reign. However not only in literature, Qianlong also improved the irrigation system, increased the population of China into well over 300 million, and also successfully conquered new area for China. He continued to have more influence from foreign countries, giving China more improvements in military and in many cities around China. It was believed that he visited “Jiangnan”, which is the east of China as a tourist, and no one knew he was the Emperor, but however he wanted to experience the common life and see how people treated one another. However, just like Kangxi, Qianlong became too powerful and even conceited during his later years. He overused even more of the silver in China’s government treasury, using more than what he needed on rebellions, wars, needs for the people and for his own, extremely wealthy lifestyle. He lived pretty long as an Emperor, 87 years, but his final years were the opposite of what he accomplished before.