Trace Evolution of Chinese Attitudes

Trace Evolution of Chinese Attitudes Toward the Manchus

Trace the evolution of Chinese attitudes toward the Manchus from 1644 to 1796. How did they affect the course of Qing Government? Please note specific turning points and what affect they had on policy. Please make arguments about the relation between attitudes and policy.

The Qing, or Manchus, were responsible for overseeing China's last period of imperial rule. This dynasty, as it grew increasingly ossified, was finally overthrown by Chinese nationalist forces in 1912, after the forced abdication of the last emperor. Widespread popular disgust with internal corruption and the military campaigns that had impoverished the government precipitated this final rebellion. Yet during the height of their power, the Manchus adopted many aspects of Chinese culture, won widespread Chinese collaboration, and ruled China with a surprising amount of popular acclaim, while still retaining special privileges for their own people ("Qing Dynasty," The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2003).

Ironically, the term Qing means "pure and the dynastic emperors deliberately chose this term to give legitimacy to their alien rule ("Qing Dynasty," The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2003). "The Manchu were non-Chinese from the northeast" who believed they had an ancient right and claim to rule the Chinese nation, stronger than the reigning Ming (Pamintuan, 2003). Although the Manchus were not Han Chinese they had assimilated a great deal of knowledge of Chinese culture and practices, even before they crossed over the fortifications of the Great Wall. Also, the Manchus knew that to dominate such a populous empire over a wide spread of territory, their regime must marshal some sprit of popular compliance.

Thus, "they would have to do things the Chinese way," and so "the Manchus retained many institutions of Ming and earlier Chinese derivation" such as Confucianism (Nilsson, 2007). The Manchus continued the Confucian court practices and temple rituals, over which the emperors had traditionally presided" (Nilsson, 2007). But while many non-Manchus were employed as officials in central and local governments, the Manchus still "held half of the high offices to assure control over administration" ("Qing Dynasty," The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2003). "Half of the grand secretaries were Manchu and half were Chinese, and each board of the government was led by both a Chinese and a Manchu minister. In this way the Manchu secured administrative and military control...like using each side against the other so that the emperor always had the upper hand" (Pamintuan, 2003).

The early greatness of the empire fostered a sense of pride in all Chinese people and increased positive attitudes towards the usurpers of the Ming throne. Under the Manchu rule the empire grew to include a larger area than before or since. The Qing was the first dynasty to eliminate successfully all danger to China via the land (Nilsson, 2007). The Emperor K'ang Hsi, who reigned from 1661-1722, consolidated the Manchu regime by suppressing internal rebellions from 1673-81 and then defeated the Mongols and Tibetans. He also signed a peace treaty with Russia. This practice of effective relations with foreigners was cultural as well as political. At first, the Manchu emperors practiced toleration towards the West. They even accepted Jesuit missionaries into China, but when converts were told to reject Confucius, ancestor worship, and a cosmology that placed the Emperor at the center of the universe in terms of significance, this lead to the expulsion of the Roman Catholic missionaries in the early 18th century ("Qing Dynasty," The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2003).

But as well as love, the Manchu leadership also governed by fear. The Manchu regime was skillful in regards to its ability to wield the weapon of censorship and policing articulated dissent. It exercised "strict authority over literature" during the reign, in contrast to the literary flourishing of the Ming. "In the later half of the eighteenth century, more than two thousand manuscripts were lost forever when Emperor Qianlong ordered thousands of books to be examined for negative references to the Manchu. Writers accused of composing subversive works were jailed, exiled, or executed" and thus silenced (Pamintuan, 2003).

Such puritanical attitudes on the part of the leadership seemed to be embraced by the common people. For example, a woman's virtue was held in particularly high regard during this period. The number of widows who honored their dead husbands by refusing to remarry or by committing suicide reached a historical high (Pamintuan, 2003). The government sponsored special female-only homes to support impoverished widows who refused to marry, to honor the memory of their dead husbands (Pamintuan, 2003).

The first Manchu emperor's successors, Yongzheng and Qianlong, were equally long-lived, ensuring stability of the regime and sustained peace. Also, they were quite effective in accumulating imperial intelligence in outlying areas of the empire. "Missives called 'memorials' were sent from trusted officials in these areas directly to the emperor with seals to guarantee that the document had not been changed or tampered with en route," in contrast with earlier periods when reports from rural areas were often tampered with or changed before they reached the emperor (Pamintuan, 2003). There was a strong emphasis on restoring social and political order after the perceived disorder of the previous centuries (Pamintuan, 2003).

However, the success of the Qing in maintaining tight controls and resisting change proved a liability when the empire was confronted with growing challenges from the Western powers via the sea. "The centuries of peace and self-satisfaction dating back to Ming times had encouraged little change in the attitudes of the ruling elite" (Nilsson, 2007). What had once been the strengths of the regime, namely its support of Confucian ideas and artistry, gradually became its weakness. Internal rebellion grew, and for lack of money to put down rebellions the court increasingly relied on the sale of government posts to meet its expenses. More and more people bought their way into crucial government posts and used their posts to enrich themselves by squeezing the already poor local populace (Woo, 2006).