Qing Dynasty

The **Qing Dynasty**, also known as the **Qing Empire**, the **Empire of the Great Qing**, or the **Chinese Empire** is a country located in East Asia. It borders the Russian Empire, the Khanate of Mongolia, and Russian Manchuria to the north, the Kingdom of Joseon to the east, the revolting Emirate of Turkestan to the west, and the Sikh Empire, Nepal, Bhutan, Siam, and French Indochina to the south, while through various ports and concessions it also borders the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Spain, Portugal, and Prussia.

The Manchu-led Qing Dynasty was established in 1636, and rules over China proper since 1644 with the conquest of the main Chinese territories. The Tibetan States, the Golog Confederacy and the Kumul Khanate are parts of the Empire with high levels of autonomy, called tributary states.

## History

The Ming Dynasty, of Han ethnicity, which overthrew the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty in 1368 was in turn overthrown after several revolts and succeeded by the Qing, of Manchu origin, after taking advantage of the chaos China had been thrown into after the Ming's collapse, though a fierce resistance by several revolts and Ming remnants would delay the complete conquest of China until 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor.

Under the Qianlong Emperor, a series of campaigns known as the Ten Great Campaigns would secure Qing control over Central Asia. During this period, a war against the Dzungar Khanate was fought, resulting in the conquest of the Khanate and the subsequent Dzungar genocide. The Qing was at its height during this period, but after Qianlong's death the dynasty would enter an epoch of progressive decline. Population rose to 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, leading to fiscal crisis.

Following the Opium Wars which showed the Qing's technological and military decadence, European powers led by Great Britain imposed "unequal treaties", free trade, extraterritoriality and treaty ports under foreign control. The Taiping Rebellion and the Dungan Revolt in Central Asia led to the death of some 20 million people, due to famine, disease, and war. In spite of these disasters, in the Tongzhi Restoration of the 1860s, Han Chinese elites rallied to the defense of the Confucian order and the Manchu rulers.

Initial success in the modernization of the country was lost with China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War of 1891-92, in which the Qing lost their influence over Korea and the possession of Formosa. While the New Armies were established, the ambitious Hundred Days' Reform of 1898 was turned back by Empress Dowager Cixi in a coup d'etat which placed the modernist Guangxu Emperor under house arrest. As little as over a year later, after gaining the support of Yuan Shikai, head of the modernized New Army, a counter-coup was launched by Guangxu which resulted in the restoration and continuation of the Hundred Days's Reform after a 3-year civil war which saw the defeat of Chinese traditionalists and the loss of Manchuria and the Mongolian territories to Russia and an independent Mongolia respectively.

The modernization programs were led by Kang Youwei, who was elevated to the position of Prime Minister by the Guangxu Emperor. Reforms included the replacement of the imperial examination system, the establishment of a western university in Beijing, modernization of China's army and navy, and the transition from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy. A constitution based on the Prussian Constitution of 1853 was adopted in 1906, establishing a bicameral parliament known as the **Dìguó yǐnshí** (*Imperial Diet*).

## Government and Politics

The Qing Dynasty is currently ruled by the **Zìqiáng Dǎng** (*Self-Strengthening Party*) currently led by Kang Youwei as Grand Minister of the Empire, although much of the party and country is in hands of the so-called Yuan Clique, a highly influential clique of New Army officials led by Yuan Shikai who once were instrumental in the fall of the Cixi regime. However, since then, their presence has caused many of the Guangxu Emperor's promised administrative reforms to slow down, and are known by their highly opportunistic nature, and their continuous internal conflicts which would rip apart the country was it not for their shared loyalty to Yuan Shikai, which has led many to compare China to a bottle of champagne, with the presence of Yuan Shikai being the only reason it's still held together.

**Conscription Law:** Limited Conscription
**Economic Law**: Civilian Economy
**Trade Law**: Limited Exports
**Emperor**: Guangxu
**Head of Government**: Liang Qichao
**Minister of Foreign Affairs**: Kang Youwei
**Minister of Economy**: Tan Sitong
**Minister of War**: Yuan Shikai