Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was founded in 1636 in Manchuria by Hong Taiji and established control over China proper in 1644 after the fall of the Ming capital Beijing to rebel forces and the subsequent Manchu entry through the Shanhai Pass. At its height under the Kangxi (r. 1661–1722), Yongzheng (r. 1722–1735), and Qianlong (r. 1735–1796) emperors, the Qing assembled one of the largest contiguous empires in history, incorporating Manchuria, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet, and Taiwan — territorial claims that continue to underpin the People's Republic of China's modern borders and disputes.

The dynasty governed through a dual structure that maintained Manchu identity (the Eight Banners system) alongside Confucian bureaucratic institutions inherited from the Ming. Its 19th-century decline is central to Chinese narratives of the "Century of Humiliation." Key inflection points include:

• The First Opium War (1839–1842) and the Treaty of Nanjing (1842), which ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain and opened treaty ports.
• The Second Opium War (1856–1860) and the Treaty of Tianjin and Convention of Peking.
• The Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), one of the deadliest conflicts in human history.
• The First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which ceded Taiwan to Japan.
• The Boxer Protocol (1901) following the suppression of the Boxer Uprising by an eight-nation alliance.

The Qing fell in the Xinhai Revolution of 1911; the last emperor, Puyi, formally abdicated on 12 February 1912, ending over two millennia of imperial rule and giving way to the Republic of China under Sun Yat-sen and later Yuan Shikai.

For contemporary researchers, the Qing legacy matters in debates over Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang, and maritime claims, where Beijing frequently invokes historical Qing administration as evidence of sovereignty.