Speaking of the Qing Dynasty, the first thing that comes to mind may be more of the history of land-cutting indemnities since 1840, but the Qing Dynasty was once one of the world's largest powers, and during that period, later generations called the Kangqian prosperous era.
In this prosperous era that lasted for more than 100 years, it was divided into three periods, the first was the founding period after kangxi twenty years, the second was the reform and development period when Yongzheng was in power, and the third was the peak period after The sixteenth year after Qianlong, after which the prosperity of Kangqian turned from prosperity to decline.
As the last stage of Kangqian's prosperous world, what was the strength of China in the Qianlong era?
First, the peak of the prosperous world, the peak of the territory
From 1680, when Kangxi put down the San Fan Rebellion and officially opened the prosperous era of Kangqian, to the time when Qianlong ascended the throne in 1735, it had already experienced 55 years. In the past 55 years, the population, economy, and military strength of the Qing Dynasty have been greatly developed, especially when Qianlong's father Yongzheng was in power, he vigorously rectified the administration of officials, purged the Qing dynasty's government, established the Military Aircraft Department, and developed the centralization of power to the peak.
At the same time, the kangxi and Yongzheng emperors vigorously promoted the reform of enlistment and the governance of the Yellow River, so that the people could live and work in peace and contentment. By the time Qianlong took over the government, the national treasury was more than 34.53 million taels, and the population reached more than 150 million. After the development of two generations of emperors, during this period, the Qing Dynasty was in its heyday, and in the hands of Qianlong, the Kangqian prosperous world reached its real peak.
At this time, the army of the Qing Dynasty was mainly divided into two parts, the Eight Banner Army and the Green Camp Army, and the total strength of these two units has been maintained at about 800,000, and it is equipped with a large number of firearms, such as muskets and red-clad cannons, and its strength is quite strong. However, the strength of the army in this period was already declining compared with the Kangxi period, although a series of measures were taken to reform after Qianlong took the throne, but the effect was not obvious. In particular, the strength of the Eight Banners Army has declined considerably, and the trend of coveting pleasure is prevalent.
In contrast, in Europe in the same period, an industrial revolution began to appear, and the large-scale application of new weapons made the military strength of the Qianlong period begin to be out of touch with the times. However, compared with the surrounding areas, the military strength of the Qianlong period was still quite strong, and Qianlong claimed that he had ten martial arts in his lifetime. According to Qianlong's ten perfect martial arts, we can see that during this period, the military strength of the Qing Dynasty was mainly reflected in the fight against foreign enemies and the pacification of civil unrest.
In quelling civil unrest, the Qianlong era showed the strength of the great unified dynasty:
In the twenty-third year of Qianlong, the Qing government mobilized a large army to annihilate the Dzungars in one fell swoop and unify northern Xinjiang;
Next, Qianlong ordered the army to quell the rebellion of Huibu and Xiaohe Zhuo, thus unifying southern Xinjiang;
In the forty-first year of Qianlong, the Qing army quelled the Jinchuan Rebellion and further consolidated the Qing government's rule in the southwest region;
In the fifty-second year of Qianlong, Qianlong sent troops to Taiwan to quell the Rebellion of Lin Shuangwen in Taiwan.
In terms of attacking foreign enemies, the performance of the Qing Dynasty army in this period is also remarkable:
In 1762, the Qing dynasty army counterattacked the Burmese invasion in self-defense, and 10,000 Qing troops directly attacked the Burmese capital city, directly recovering the lost land that had been plundered by Burma during the Wanli dynasty, and finally ending with the Burmese Nagong as a vassal;
In 1788, Qianlong even ordered the Qing army to attack Annam, and it took only 20 days to conquer the capital of Annam and help the Annam Li clan restore the country...
This is only part of the Qianlong Ten Perfections of Martial Arts, and the military strength of the Qing Dynasty in this period was irresistible to neighboring countries. It was Qianlong's great martial arts that made the territory of the Qing Dynasty reach its peak during this period, with more than 13 million square kilometers.
Second, the country is rich and the people are poor, and the crisis under the prosperous world
During the Kangqian period, after Kangxi quelled the Rebellion of the Three Domains, the world was peaceful for nearly fifty years. During this period, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, so the population was greatly multiplied, and the population growth rate accelerated, with an average annual growth rate of about 2.8 million, from 150 million people in the early years of Qianlong to 300 million in the last year of Qianlong, which doubled.
In the middle of the Qianlong period, the total number of reclaimed land reached more than 7.41 million hectares, and the annual income of the field endowment reached 48.87 million taels, which was also double that of the Kangxi period. The national treasury silver, from 34.53 million taels at the beginning of Qianlong's reign, increased to 73.9 million taels in the 39th year of Qianlong. It can be said that the economic strength of the Qing government during this period was quite strong.
However, the financial revenue and economic strength of the Qing Dynasty mainly came from agriculture and handicraft manufacturing. Compared with the European countries in the same period, which had begun the industrial revolution, during the Qianlong period, the economic form of the Qing Dynasty was still relatively primitive, staying in the self-sufficient small peasant economy, the development of industry and commerce was seriously hindered, and the new economic form was slow to develop.
At this time, although China's economy is still at the forefront of the world, it has begun to show a trend of decline.
Even so, the prosperity of the Qianlong era is more like a representation, and the greater crisis of the Qing Dynasty is gradually budding. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was a well-deserved prosperity in terms of military strength and economic aggregates, but if it was to be refined to every people at that time, then this prosperous world was a bit "unworthy of the name".
No matter what period of time, eating is the top priority, and it is precisely on the issue of eating that the Chinese people in the Qianlong period had a very hard time. According to statistics, in 1700, China's annual per capita grain production could still be 835 catties, and by 1795, it had dropped to 582 catties.
The reason for this decline is that the increase in food production has far not kept pace with the growth of the population, which has also led to the hardship of people's livelihood. What's more, the land annexation during this period was very severe, and the people at the bottom did not have the ownership of the land at all, and 60% or 70% of the annual farming income had to be handed over to the landlords. As a result, the life of the upper class is very luxurious, but the records of the people at the bottom eating chaff vegetables abound. Once the people at the bottom suffered a disaster year, they had to sell their children and daughters and become homeless refugees.
Third, the last glory of the feudal era
Undoubtedly, the Qianlong era was the peak of Kangqian's prosperity, and it was also the last glorious period of the Qing Dynasty. But since then, the ills of the Qing Dynasty can no longer be covered up.
During this period, the Qing Dynasty was still at its peak in the world in terms of comprehensive national strength, and various countries sent emissaries to visit. The achievements of the Qing Dynasty army in quelling civil strife and fighting foreign enemies were also handy, and the economic and financial revenues were also red-eyed by all countries in the world. But this achievement was based on the difficult life of the people at the bottom.
During the Qianlong period, the national strength was actually constantly depleted, and Qianlong's ten perfect martial arts also reflected that the country was unstable, and the constant civil unrest reflected the dissatisfaction of the people at the bottom with those in power.
This shows that the prosperous era of Kangqian was already completely at the end of the Qianlong era. However, when Qianlong was troubled by the constant uprisings in China, European and American countries began a vigorous industrial revolution, and the level of production was greatly improved.
Therefore, during the Qianlong period, although the comprehensive national strength of the Qing Dynasty improved compared with the feudal dynasties of ancient China in the past, compared with the European and American countries in the same period, it began to be left behind. Since then, China has begun to lag behind the West in an all-round way, and its prosperity has since come to an abrupt end, from prosperity to decline, and it cannot be revived until the founding of New China.
Half a century after Qianlong's death, China was greeted by the arrival of a century of humiliation in modern times.
Text/Leyu
Resources:
1. "On the Issue of Historical Staging of the "Prosperous Era of Kangqian"", Li Shangying
2. Does "Kangqian's Prosperous Age" really exist? ---Analysis Based on Economic Data Calculations", Li Qiang, Xu Kangning, Wei Wei