The Qing Dynasty was the last feudal dynasty in Chinese history, and it is also the one that most people know best, because the Qing Dynasty is the closest to us. Throughout the history of the Qing Dynasty, one of the most controversial figures is Empress Dowager Cixi. She overthrew the power of Guangxu and took sole control of the government of the Qing Dynasty. But he is a short-sighted person who only covets pleasure. But this can not all blame Cixi, behind her there is more than two hundred years of feudal history of the Qing Dynasty.
In 1616, Nurhaci was founded as khan, with the name Ofjin, which was the predecessor of the Qing Dynasty. Twenty years later, Emperor Taiji proclaimed himself emperor and changed the name of the country to Daqing, which had already occupied Liaoyang and Shenyang. In 1644, Dorgon took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains and led his army into Shanhaiguan. After Li Chengcheng and retreated, the Qing army occupied the Central Plains, which can be described as a moment of scenery.
In the Kang Yongqian period, it was even more important to create the prosperity of the Three Dynasties. However, it is a pity that the Qing Dynasty still did not escape the law of prosperity and decline, and the origin of all this began with the order of Qianlong twenty-second year (1757) to order the closure of the country. This has led to domestic levels that have remained stuck hundreds of years ago.
In contrast, the Western powers at that time were making a fierce industrial revolution, and by the 1840s, they had completed the transition from workshop handicraft industry to large-scale machine industry. In fact, in order to open up the Chinese market, in 1816, the British Earl of Amested came to China to discuss the issue of trade, but was rejected by Qianlong.
Qianlong believed that the Qing Dynasty itself would be self-sufficient and did not need any state to trade and communicate. This situation continued to be the case in the late Qing Dynasty, when An English merchant built a short stretch of railway in the capital, but during the test, cixi was summoned out because the train whistle was too loud, and Cixi thought it was a man-eating monster, so he ordered it to be demolished.
There are many such examples, I Li Lianying is Cixi's confidant eunuch, at that time there was a German businessman who wanted to introduce the "light bulb" to the Chinese market, and it was natural to open the market without the support of those in power, but this businessman could not see Cixi, so he trusted the relationship to see Li Lianying, and gave a lot of money hoping that Li Lianying could help him say good things in front of Cixi.
Li Lianying made a clever move, arranged in Cixi's palace, hung a lot of electric lights to look very beautiful, Cixi came back to see it was really surprised, and actually asked: "How can these big eggplants still shine?" Li Lianying explained for half a day that Cixi understood that the "eggplant" shaped thing in front of her was an electric lamp.
Another time into a more "classic", in 1901 Cixi's birthday, Yuan Shikai in order to shoot Cixi's ass, so he bought a car or two from abroad, Cixi also sat up happily, and after Cixi sat firmly, the driver started the car and ran around with Cixi.
Unexpectedly, Cixi felt very good and asked, "This horse is so powerful, it must have eaten a lot of grass, right?" "It's really a classic quote that reflects the criticism of the times, and it is still hilarious. What is more interesting is that because the driver of the carriage in ancient times was kneeling, Cixi saw that the driver was not used to sitting, so she ordered the driver to kneel and drive.
From this case, it can also be seen that the Qing Dynasty's rejection of new things eventually inevitably led to decay and demise in prejudice and pedantry.