The Manchu dynasty showed a stubborn determination in the face of civil strife such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and suppressed rebellions at all costs to maintain its dominance. However, when invaded by foreign powers, the Manchus repeatedly chose to surrender and pay reparations, and seemed to be powerless to resist foreign powers. This huge contrast between internal and external attitudes makes people puzzled: Why can a dynasty be so tough internally and so weak externally? What is the reason why the Manchu Qing Dynasty acted so contradictory in dealing with internal and external troubles? What are the deep-seated reasons behind this?
The Manchus' stubborn resistance to the civil war
The rise of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom was undoubtedly the greatest challenge to the rule of the Manchu dynasty. At first, the Taiping Army was just a guerrilla force, operating in Guangxi and other places. But soon, with the addition of Hong Xiuquan, the Taiping army became a huge army, conquered countless cities, occupied Nanjing for a time, and established the "Tianjing" regime.
Faced with the rapid growth of the Taiping army, the Manchu court naturally harbored a lot of fear. Because the goal of the Taiping army was to overthrow the rule of the Manchus and establish a new dynasty. This was undoubtedly the most fundamental threat to the Manchus.
In 1853, the Taiping Army went on a northern expedition in an attempt to attack Huanglong and capture Beijing. Lin Fengxiang, Li Kaifang and others led more than 20,000 elite Taiping troops to advance all the way to the north. Eventually, they reached Duliu Town, Jinghai, Tianjin, just over 300 miles from Beijing.
This move shocked Beijing. The whole city was under martial law, and many high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen fled from Beijing. You can imagine what a panic it was.
Faced with the approach of the Taiping army, the Manchu court naturally tried its best to resist. A large number of troops were sent to the front line of Tianjin and fought fiercely with the Taiping army. In the end, although the Taiping army failed to capture Beijing, the battle was a wake-up call for the Manchu court.
From then on, the suppression of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom became the top priority of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Whether it is Zeng Guofan's "Jiangnan Heavy Task" or Li Hongzhang's "Everlasting Army", they are all specially formed to exterminate the Taiping Army.
In this protracted civil war, the determination of both sides is comparable. The Taiping army regarded the Manchus as "traitors" and vowed to overthrow their rule, while the Manchus regarded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom as a "great rebellion" and would never tolerate its existence.
As the so-called "you live and die", the two sides have to fight to the death. Eventually, after 14 years of bloody warfare, the Manchus finally conquered Tianjing in 1864 and completely wiped out the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
This civil war brought endless disasters to China, but the Manchu dynasty did whatever it took to maintain its dominance. Even at the cost of millions of lives, even if the country's wealth was exhausted, the Manchus would never tolerate the existence of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
In addition to the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the range of activities of the Twist Army also spread throughout the north for a time. They had fought as far north as Yixian and Tianjin in Baoding, Hebei, and were only two or three hundred miles away from Beijing, which also made the Beijing division tremble.
The slogan of the earlier White Lotus uprising was "The sun and the moon are back, oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty". This was undoubtedly a complete negation and overthrow of the Manchu dynasty.
In the face of these huge threats from within the country, the Manchus were naturally high-spirited, regarded them as a top priority, and vowed to eliminate them invisibly. Even a banner man like Zeng Guofan was sent to Jiangnan to exterminate the Taiping army, which shows how much attention the Manchus attached to this.
It was precisely because of the civil strife in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and other countries that they were intent on overthrowing the rule of the Manchus that the Manchus were so determined to confront them and exterminate them at all costs. This stubborn struggle against the civil war stems precisely from the need to maintain its legitimate dominance.
The humiliating surrender of the Manchus in foreign wars
In stark contrast to the stubborn resistance to the civil war, the Manchus surrendered humiliatingly in foreign wars.
At the beginning of the 19th century, in order to reverse the trade deficit in China, Britain began to send large quantities of opium to China. In order to curb this situation, the Qing government ordered a ban on the opium trade. However, in order to protect its own trade interests in China, Britain simply ignored this, which eventually led to the outbreak of the First Opium War.
In this war, the Qing army was quickly defeated. In 1842, the British captured Guangzhou, forcing the Qing government to sign the humiliating Treaty of Nanjing. According to the treaty, the Qing government was no longer allowed to ban the opium trade and was forced to cede Hong Kong, and at the same time opened five treaty ports and compensated Britain for military expenses.
Just four years later, the Second Opium War broke out again. This time, the British and French forces smashed Huanglong, attacked the city of Beijing, and set fire to the Old Summer Palace. Eventually, the Qing government was forced to sign the Treaty of Tianjin and the Treaty of Beijing, further opening more treaty ports, compensating huge military expenditures, and ceding Kowloon and other places.
In these two wars, the performance of the Qing army can be described as embarrassing. Their armament, compared to the British and French powers, was simply a century behind.
The main ship of the Qing army at that time, the largest was only the small "Hunhe". The British battleships, on the other hand, were the most advanced sailors in the world at that time, with strong hulls and fierce firepower, and could sail freely for thousands of miles of sea territory.
In the face of such a gap in weapons, the Qing army simply lost its ground. They can only defend passively, waiting to be breached. As a result, such a strange phenomenon appeared: whenever the Qing army and the British army fought, the strength of the two sides was basically equal, and even the Qing army was less than the British army.
This is because although the Qing army has a total strength of 800,000, it can only be passively defended due to its lack of mobility. Whenever a war breaks out everywhere, it is necessary to transfer troops and reinforcements from a long distance, and it is often necessary to travel half a year.
In contrast, the British army could rely on the advantage of strong ships and sharp guns, maneuver freely, and launch an attack on the Qing army anytime and anywhere. They swept southward across the southeastern coast, bombarded Tianjin in the north, and even invaded Beijing and burned the Old Summer Palace during the Second Opium War.
In the face of such a huge disparity in weapons, the Qing army was simply vulnerable. They were defeated repeatedly, and finally had to be forced to surrender, signing a series of unequal treaties that humiliated the country.
Not only that, the Empress Dowager Cixi at that time had the remarks of "measuring China's material resources and forming a friendship with the country". This is undoubtedly preparing to cede the wealth of the whole of China to the foreign powers.
It can be said that in the face of the invasion of foreign powers, the Manchus did not have the determination to do their best at all. They soon chose the path of surrender in order to safeguard their fundamental interests——— dominance in China.
The deep reasons for the difference in the attitude of the Manchus towards internal and external wars
Through the stubborn resistance of the Manchus to the civil war and the humiliating surrender of the foreign war, it is not difficult to find the underlying reasons for this radically different attitude.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Twisted Army, the White Lotus Sect and other civil strife, all of which aimed to overthrow the Manchu rule and establish a new dynasty. This is undoubtedly the most fundamental threat and challenge to the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
In the case of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, its founder, Hong Xiuquan, proclaimed himself the "Heavenly King" and established the "Tianjing" regime, with a clear banner to "expel the Manchus and rejuvenate China."
Faced with this kind of civil strife, which was intended to overthrow its rule, the Manchus naturally did their best to suppress it at all costs. Because once they lost their dominance in China, the Manchus would never recover.
As the saying goes, "the family is sufficient, what is the shortage", as long as they can continue to rule China, even if it is a land reparation, the Manchus will not hesitate. Therefore, in the face of the attack of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the Manchu court would send a large number of troops to exterminate it.
By contrast, the invasion was not intended to replace the Manchu dynasty. Their purpose is nothing more than to trade in China and obtain profits.
Britain launched the two Opium Wars in order to protect its trade interests in China. France and other countries were also coerced by Britain to participate.
It can be said that the purpose of the invasion of the great powers was not to overthrow the rule of the Manchus, but only to profit in China. As long as the Manchus were able to open their ports and grant trade privileges, the great powers would naturally stop there.
Therefore, in the face of the invasion of foreign powers, the Manchus did not resist with all their might, as they did with civil strife. Instead, they soon chose the path of surrender and signed a series of unequal treaties.
This is because the Manchus believed that as long as they could maintain their dominant position in China, they would not hesitate to pay compensation for the cession of land. Civil strife, on the other hand, meant the overthrow of Manchu rule, which could never be tolerated.
It can be said that maintaining the dominant position was the most fundamental reason for the difference in the attitude of the Manchus towards internal and external wars. The Manchus could make some concessions as long as they did not jeopardize their rule in China, but when threatened with overthrow, the Manchus did everything they could to suppress them.
Lessons and reflections on the internal and external troubles of the Manchu Dynasty
Through the very different attitudes of the Manchu dynasty towards internal and external wars, it is not difficult to see some profound lessons and questions worth reflecting on.
For the Manchus, the purpose of the civil war was to preserve the legitimacy of their rule in China. As long as they could continue to rule China, even at a heavy cost, the Manchus would not hesitate to do so.
Therefore, in the face of the attacks of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Twist Army, the Manchus were naturally high-spirited and regarded them as the top priority. They did not hesitate to exhaust their national strength and dispatched a large number of troops to exterminate them, and they were not relentless.
This stubborn struggle against the civil war stems precisely from the need to maintain the legitimacy of the rule. Once they lost their dominance in China, the Manchus would never recover.
In contrast, the purpose of the Manchu foreign war was to safeguard its core interests in China. As long as the Great Powers did not endanger their dominance, the Manchus could make some concessions.
Therefore, in the two Opium Wars, although the Qing army was losing and retreating, the Manchus soon chose the path of surrender and signed a series of unequal treaties.
This is because the original intention of the invasion was not to replace the Manchu rule, but only to profit in China. As long as the Manchus were able to open their ports and grant trade privileges, the great powers would naturally stop there.
It can be said that maintaining the dominant position was the most fundamental reason for the difference in the attitude of the Manchus towards internal and external wars. The Manchus could make some concessions as long as they did not jeopardize their rule in China, but when threatened with overthrow, the Manchus did everything they could to suppress them.
However, this practice of maintaining dominance also exposed some of the shortcomings and lessons of the Manchu dynasty.
First, the Manchus placed too much emphasis on maintaining the legitimacy of their rule while ignoring the fundamental interests of the state. In the face of the invasion of foreign powers, in order to maintain their dominance, they would rather cede land and pay reparations than resist with all their might.
This practice undoubtedly came at the expense of the country's territorial sovereignty in exchange for the continued rule of the Manchus in China. But in the long run, this is undoubtedly a stopgap measure, not the best policy.
Second, the Manchus' resolute attitude towards civil war also reflected the corrupt roots of their rule. The rise of civil strife such as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Twisted Army was caused by the corruption of the Manchu rule and the misery of the people.
However, the Manchus were obsessed with it, did not think about reform, and only knew how to suppress the rebellion. This practice, of course, can maintain the rule, but fundamentally speaking, it does not solve the root cause of the problem.
Finally, the stark contrast between the Manchu attitudes towards internal and external wars also exposed the short-sightedness and lack of foresight of their rule. They only care about the current dominance, but they do not realize that the long-term stability of the country is the most fundamental plan.
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It was this short-sightedness and lack of foresight that led to such contradictory and contradictory actions of the Manchu dynasty in the face of internal and external troubles. This also laid many banes for later China.