Qing-dynasty

Great Qing
大清 ᡩᠠᡳ᠌ᠴᡳᠩ ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ
1636–1912
Top: Flag (1862–1889) Bottom: Flag (1889–1912) Imperial Seal
Anthem 《鞏金甌》 "Gong Jin'ou" ("Cup of Solid Gold")
Qing empire, 1765
Capital		Shengjing (Fengtian prefecture) (1636–1644) Peking (Shuntian Prefecture) (1644–1912)
Languages		Mandarin, Manchu, Mongolian, Tibetan, Chagatai, numerous regional languages and varieties of Chinese
Religion		Heaven worship, Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, Shamanism, Christianity, others
Government		Monarchy
Emperor
•	1636–1643	Hong Taiji (founder)
•	1644–1661	Fulin (first in Peking)
•	1908–1912	Puyi (last)
Regent
•	1643–1650	Dorgon
•	1908–1912	Zaifeng
Prime Minister
•	1911	Yikuang
•	1911–1912	Yuan Shikai
Historical era		Imperial era
•	Later Jin rule	1616–1636
•	Dynasty established	1636
•	Qing conquest of Beijing	1644
•	First Opium War	1840–1842
•	Second Opium War	1856–1860
•	Sino-Japanese War	1 August 1894 – 17 April 1895
•	Xinhai Revolution	10 October 1911
•	Abdication of Puyi	12 February 1912
Area
•	1790	13,100,000 km2 (5,100,000 sq mi)
•	1880	11,500,000 km2 (4,400,000 sq mi)
Population
•	1740 est.	140,000,000
•	1790 est.	301,000,000
•	1898 est.	395,918,000
Currency		Cash (wén) Tael (liǎng)
Preceded by Succeeded by Later Jin Shun Southern Ming Dzungar Republic of China

Tael (liǎng)

The Qing dynasty, also known as the Qing Empire, officially the Great Qing (/tʃɪŋ/), was the last imperial dynasty of China, established in 1636 and ruling China from 1644 to 1912. It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for the modern Chinese state. It was the fourth largest empire in world history.

The dynasty was founded by the Jurchen Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria. In the late sixteenth century, Nurhaci, originally a Ming vassal, began organizing "Banners", military-social units that included Jurchen, Han Chinese, and Mongol elements. Nurhaci formed the Jurchen clans into a unified entity, which he renamed as the Manchus. By 1636, his son Hong Taiji began driving Ming forces out of Liaodong and declared a new dynasty, the Qing. In 1644, peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng conquered the Ming capital, Beijing. Rather than serve them, Ming general Wu Sangui made an alliance with the Manchus and opened the Shanhai Pass to the Banner Armies led by the regent Prince Dorgon, who defeated the rebels and seized the capital. Resistance from the Southern Ming and the Revolt of the Three Feudatories led by Wu Sangui extended the conquest of China proper for nearly four decades and was not completed until 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661–1722). The Ten Great Campaigns of the Qianlong Emperor from the 1750s to the 1790s extended Qing control into Inner Asia. The early rulers maintained their Manchu ways, and while their title was Emperor, they used "Bogd khaan" to the Mongols and they were patrons of Tibetan Buddhism. They governed using Confucian styles and institutions of bureaucratic government and retained the imperial examinations to recruit Han Chinese to work under or in parallel with Manchus. They also adapted the ideals of the tributary system in dealing with neighboring territories.