Qing History Intro

Unlike the Ming Dynasty, nomadic people called the Manchus ran the Qing Dynasty. As the Ming dynasty ended with the emperor committing suicide, the Manchus took control of China, founding the Qing Dynasty. Through the Manchus, the Qing Dynasty would grow to become the largest empire in the history of China. The Manchus were founded by Nurhaci who is also accredited with the ordering for the creation of the Manchu language. One of Nurhaci's greatest accomplishments was the creation of banners. These banners organized people into companies from which they could be recognized. In 1626, Nurhaci died and was replaced on the throne by Hong Taiji. In 1629, Taiji raided the Chinese, crossing the Great Wall and capturing four cities on his journey to Beijing. Taiji made many contributions of his own to the country ranging from incorporating his own idea for government and obtaining techniques for casting cannons. The Qing dynasty was originally known as the "Later Jin" Dynasty and it was not until 1636 that Taiji changed the name of the Dynasty to Qing, meaning "pure" and "clear." In 1643, Taiji dies and leaves his son, Shunzhi who was only five years old, as emperor with his uncles as his regents. In 1644, The Manchus took control of Beijing and shortly after, the Qing Dynasty was officially the successor of the Ming Dynasty. This made Shunzhi the first Qing emperor of China. Shunzhi greatly believed in education and had his children schooled as well as encouraged others to learn. In 1661, Shunzhi died of smallpox, leaving the throne to Kangxi in 1662. Through the Manchu Rule, banner men would protect the cities, but because of the large size of China, very few of the cities could be guarded. In order to protect the remaining cities, converted Ming soldiers would protect the cities. Three Ming generals heavily contributed to the rise of the Qing Dynasty and so Kangxi rewarded them with large amounts of land to govern. In 1673, one of the generals requested retirement and was granted. The other two generals