The Qing Dynasty was an important period in Chinese history, during which China expanded to an unprecedented extent. However, the Qing Dynasty was a dynasty founded by the Manchurians, who differed from the Han nation, which greatly influenced the development of China.
The Qing Dynasty was established after the fall of the Ming Dynasty by two generations, Nurhachi and Huang Taiji. They developed their power in the northeast and gradually conquered the whole of Chinese mainland through constant wars. After the Qing army entered the customs, they began to implement their own policies throughout the country, which were mainly aimed at the Han people.
The Qing Dynasty imposed a system on the Han people called the "banner people". Under this system, all Han Chinese were divided into two categories: the bannermen, i.e., military personnel who served directly to the emperor, and the minren, i.e., all Han Chinese except the military. This system greatly restricted the identity and social status of the Han people, and their freedom was greatly weakened.
The Qing Dynasty also adopted a series of cultural control measures to strengthen its rule over Han Chinese regions. For example, they forbade Han Chinese to wear traditional Han clothing in public, while requiring them to wear Qing dynasty clothes. In addition, they adopted Confucianism as their official philosophy to strengthen their ideological control over the Han Chinese people.
Although the Qing Dynasty tried to consolidate their rule through cultural and political repression of the Han people, they discovered some problems over time. Especially in terms of economy, due to the small population of Manchuria, their ability to develop land and build infrastructure is not comparable to that of the Han people. Therefore, in order to deal with these problems, the Qing government had to rely on the support of the Han landlord class.
Manchu rule during the Qing Dynasty had a profound impact on China. On the one hand, it led to the loss of the rights of freedom and equality to a large number of Han people, and at the same time brought profound changes to Chinese culture. On the other hand, the Manchurian aristocracy also needed to rely on the power of the Han landlord class to maintain its rule. Although centuries have passed since this issue, it still leaves a deep mark on China's history.