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The Qing Dynasty has its origins in [[1616]], when [[Nurhachi]], a steppes warlord based to the northeast of China, declared the establishment of the Later Jin Dynasty, a reference to the [[Jurchen]] [[Jin Dynasty]] which conquered the [[Northern Song Dynasty]] in [[1127]]. The Manchus took [[Mukden]] (Shenyang) in [[1625]], and much of Inner Mongolia by [[1632]].<ref>Spence 24.</ref> They then established in [[1634]] a system of civil exams in Manchu, Mongol, and Chinese languages, based on the Ming Dynasty model of [[Chinese imperial examinations]]. Two years later, in [[1636]], the Manchus formally declared the renaming of the Later Jin as the Qing Dynasty, establishing [[Mukden]] as the formal capital. The Manchus invaded [[Joseon Dynasty|Korea]] that same year, and secured a treaty the following year reestablishing [[Korean tribute missions to China|Korean tributary obligations]] to the Chinese Court. Captured and surrendered Chinese served as advisors to the Manchus even in these earliest stages, both politically and militarily, as well as assimilating into Manchu society as artisans, soldiers, and farmers.<ref name=spence34>Spence, 3-4.</ref>

The Qing Dynasty has its origins in [[1616]], when [[Nurhachi]], a steppes warlord based to the northeast of China, declared the establishment of the Later Jin Dynasty, a reference to the [[Jurchen]] [[Jin Dynasty]] which conquered the [[Northern Song Dynasty]] in [[1127]]. The Manchus took [[Mukden]] (Shenyang) in [[1625]], and much of Inner Mongolia by [[1632]].<ref>Spence 24.</ref> They then established in [[1634]] a system of civil exams in Manchu, Mongol, and Chinese languages, based on the Ming Dynasty model of [[Chinese imperial examinations]]. Two years later, in [[1636]], the Manchus formally declared the renaming of the Later Jin as the Qing Dynasty, establishing [[Mukden]] as the formal capital. The Manchus invaded [[Joseon Dynasty|Korea]] that same year, and secured a treaty the following year reestablishing [[Korean tribute missions to China|Korean tributary obligations]] to the Chinese Court. Captured and surrendered Chinese served as advisors to the Manchus even in these earliest stages, both politically and militarily, as well as assimilating into Manchu society as artisans, soldiers, and farmers.<ref name=spence34>Spence, 3-4.</ref>

Beijing fell to the Manchus in [[1644]]. The Chinese rebel leader [[Li Zicheng]] took Beijing in that year, leading to the [[Chongzhen Emperor]] hanging himself two days later. Hearing of this, the commander of the Ming armies in the northeast, who had been leading the fight against Manchu expansion, enlisted the Manchus' aid against Li Zicheng. Ousting the rebel from the city, the Manchu forces then kept the city for themselves, rather than returning it to the Ming Chinese.<ref>Robert Tignor, [[Benjamin Elman]], et al, ''Worlds Together, Worlds Apart'', vol B, Fourth Edition, W.W. Norton & Co (2014), 501.</ref> This marks the formal fall of the Ming Dynasty. [[Chinese in Nagasaki|Chinese merchants]] informed [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] authorities in [[Nagasaki]] before the year was out; their requests for Japanese aid against the Manchu invaders come to naught. Following the fall of the Ming, many Chinese fled elsewhere in the region, or else continued to fight. The remainder of mainland China fell to the Manchus by [[1659]], but many Ming loyalists fled to Taiwan and continued the fight, holding out for forty years. Led by [[Zheng Zhilong]] and his son [[Zheng Chenggong]] (aka Coxinga), they harassed Chinese shipping and coastal communities to such an extent that in [[1657]] the Qing ordered a halt to maritime and coastal activities, and that coastal residents move further inland, in a policy known as ''[[qianjie|qiānjiè]]''. Meanwhile, many in Korea, Japan, and Ryûkyû saw the Chinese center as having fallen to barbarian rule, and saw their own lands or peoples as therefore representing the only surviving outposts of Ming - or true high Chinese - culture.

Beijing fell to the Manchus in [[1644]]. The Chinese rebel leader [[Li Zicheng]] took Beijing in that year, leading to the [[Chongzhen Emperor]] hanging himself two days later. Hearing of this, the commander of the Ming armies in the northeast, [[Wu Sangui]], who had been holding the Shanhaiguan pass against Manchu expansion, enlisted the Manchus' aid against Li Zicheng. Li left Beijing on June 4, 1644, one day after claiming imperial status, and two days later, Manchu forces led by [[Dorgon]], younger brother of [[Hong Taiji|the previous khan]], swept into the city with the aid of Wu Sangui, and placed Dorgon's nephew on the throne, declaring him the [[Shunzhi Emperor]]. This marks the formal fall of the Ming Dynasty, and the beginning of the Manchu/Qing claim to be the legitimate ruling imperial dynasty of China.<ref>Spence, 33.</ref> [[Chinese in Nagasaki|Chinese merchants]] informed [[Tokugawa shogunate|Tokugawa]] authorities in [[Nagasaki]] before the year was out; their requests for Japanese aid against the Manchu invaders come to naught. Following the fall of the Ming, many Chinese fled elsewhere in the region, or else continued to fight. The remainder of mainland China fell to the Manchus by [[1659]], but many Ming loyalists fled to Taiwan and continued the fight, holding out for forty years. Led by [[Zheng Zhilong]] and his son [[Zheng Chenggong]] (aka Coxinga), they harassed Chinese shipping and coastal communities to such an extent that in [[1657]] the Qing ordered a halt to maritime and coastal activities, and that coastal residents move further inland, in a policy known as ''[[qianjie|qiānjiè]]''. Meanwhile, many in Korea, Japan, and Ryûkyû saw the Chinese center as having fallen to barbarian rule, and saw their own lands or peoples as therefore representing the only surviving outposts of Ming - or true high Chinese - culture.

The Qing brought much of the central and southern parts of China under its control, including [[Hubei province|Hubei]], [[Shaanxi province|Shaanxi]], [[Sichuan province|Sichuan]] and all the coastal provinces,  within two years of taking Beijing, and finally secured control over [[Yunnan province]], on the border with Burma and Vietnam, in [[1659]].<ref name=tignor502>Tignor, et al., 502.</ref>

The Qing brought much of the central and southern parts of China under its control, including [[Hubei province|Hubei]], [[Shaanxi province|Shaanxi]], [[Sichuan province|Sichuan]] and all the coastal provinces,  within two years of taking Beijing, and finally secured control over [[Yunnan province]], on the border with Burma and Vietnam, in [[1659]].<ref name=tignor502>Tignor, et al., 502.</ref>