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The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of Imperial China. Ruled by [[Manchu]] emperors, it began with the fall of the [[Ming Dynasty]] in [[1644]], and ended with the [[Xinhai Revolution]] in [[1911]]. Though not a [[Han Chinese]] dynasty like the Ming which preceded it, due to its time, interactions with the West, and the overwhelming proportion of Qing period buildings, documents, and objects which have survived compared to those from earlier periods, it is the Qing which, perhaps, has most influenced or constituted the image of Imperial China, and of traditional Chinese culture; to name just a few examples of this phenomenon, men wearing their hair in [[queues]], and men and women both wearing robes or dresses with off-center clasps (e.g. the ''cheongsam'' or ''qipao'', commonly known in the West simply as a "Chinese dress") both derive from Manchu culture, and not from Ming or earlier "native" Chinese traditions.

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of Imperial China. Ruled by [[Manchu]] emperors, it began with the fall of the [[Ming Dynasty]] in [[1644]], and ended with the [[Xinhai Revolution]] in [[1911]]. Though not a [[Han Chinese]] dynasty like the Ming which preceded it, due to its time, interactions with the West, and the overwhelming proportion of Qing period buildings, documents, and objects which have survived compared to those from earlier periods, it is the Qing which, perhaps, has most influenced or constituted the image of Imperial China, and of traditional Chinese culture; to name just a few examples of this phenomenon, men wearing their hair in [[queues]], and men and women both wearing robes or dresses with off-center clasps (e.g. the ''cheongsam'' or ''qipao'', commonly known in the West simply as a "Chinese dress") both derive from Manchu culture, and not from Ming or earlier "native" Chinese traditions.

Though nearly three hundred years in length, and seeing numerous considerable economic, political, social, and cultural developments over the course of those centuries, the Qing Dynasty is perhaps most strongly associated with the circumstances surrounding its decline and fall in the 19th to early 20th centuries, from the [[Opium War]] of the 1840s and the first of the [[Unequal Treaties]] which resulted, to the [[Taiping Rebellion]] of [[1850]]-[[1864]], failed attempts at reform and modernization, the First [[Sino-Japanese War]] in [[1895]]-[[1896]], the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of [[1899]]-[[1901]], and the final fall of the dynasty in 1911.

Though nearly three hundred years in length, and seeing numerous considerable economic, political, social, and cultural developments over the course of those centuries, the Qing Dynasty is perhaps most strongly associated with the circumstances surrounding its decline and fall in the 19th to early 20th centuries, from the [[Opium War]] of the 1840s and the first of the [[Unequal Treaties]] which resulted, to the [[Taiping Rebellion]] of [[1850]]-[[1864]], failed attempts at reform and modernization, the First [[Sino-Japanese War]] in [[1895]]-[[1896]], the [[Boxer Rebellion]] of [[1899]]-[[1901]], and the final fall of the dynasty in 1911.

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 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]].  

Nurhachi 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]], he formally declared the renaming of the Later Jin as the Qing Dynasty, establishing [[Mukden]] as the formal capital. The Manchus invaded Korea that same year, and secured a treaty the following year reestablishing Korean [[tribute|tributary]] obligations to the Chinese Court.

Nurhachi 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]], he formally declared the renaming of the Later Jin as the Qing Dynasty, establishing [[Mukden]] as the formal capital. The Manchus invaded Korea that same year, and secured a treaty the following year reestablishing [[Korean tribute missions to China|Korean tributary obligations]] to the Chinese Court.

Beijing fell to the Manchus in [[1644]]. 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]]. 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.

The [[1689]] [[Treaty of Nerchinsk]] established agreements as to a key stretch of the Chinese-Russian border; in [[1727]], the [[Treaty of Kiakhta]] arranged for trade without tribute across that border.

The [[1689]] [[Treaty of Nerchinsk]] established agreements as to a key stretch of the Chinese-Russian border; in [[1727]], the [[Treaty of Kiakhta]] arranged for trade without tribute across that border.

Following a series of successful conquests in the west, the Qing consolidated a number of these areas into a "new territory" ([[Xinjiang]]) in [[1768]].

Following a series of successful conquests in the west, the Qing consolidated a number of these areas into a "new territory" ([[Xinjiang]]) in [[1768]]. Some of these lands had not been controlled by China since the [[Tang Dynasty]], while others had never previously come under Chinese control.

Under the Qianlong Emperor, the Qing Empire engaged in [[Ten Great Campaigns]], including intervention in a succession dispute in Vietnam in [[1789]]; this ended in the expulsion of Chinese (Manchu) military force & civil control from Vietnam.

Under the Qianlong Emperor, the Qing Empire engaged in [[Ten Great Campaigns]], including intervention in a succession dispute in Vietnam in [[1789]]; this ended in the expulsion of Chinese (Manchu) military force & civil control from Vietnam.

The Taiping Rebellion ended in 1864, and the Imperial Court set in motion the [[Tongzhi Restoration]], a series of reforms aimed at slowing or reversing the dynasty's decline.

The Taiping Rebellion ended in 1864, and the Imperial Court set in motion the [[Tongzhi Restoration]], a series of reforms aimed at slowing or reversing the dynasty's decline.

In the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]] which ended the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese exacted considerable indemnities from the Chinese; Japan gained control of Taiwan, as well as the [[Liaodong peninsula]], though Japan was forced to return the peninsula after Russia, France, and Germany objected (an incident known as the [[Triple Intervention]]). China was also obligated to pay sizable monetary reparations to the Japanese government.

Japan's emergence into the world of modern nation-states began to have significant impacts on China's foreign relations as early as the 1870s. The [[1876]] [[Treaty of Ganghwa]], concluded between [[Meiji period]] Japan and [[Joseon Dynasty]] Korea, acknowledged Korea as an independent nation-state, creating difficulties for China, which still saw Korea as a tributary state. Disputes between China and Japan over claims to Ryûkyû and Taiwan lasted throughout much of the 1870s, finally culminating in the Japanese [[Ryukyu Shobun|abolition of the Ryûkyû Kingdom]] and annexation of its territory in [[1879]]. Japan would then gain control of Taiwan in [[1895]], in the [[Treaty of Shimonoseki]] which ended the Sino-Japanese War. In addition to Taiwan, the Japanese exacted other considerable indemnities from the Chinese; Japan also gained control of the [[Liaodong peninsula]] in northeastern China, though Japan was forced to return the peninsula after Russia, France, and Germany objected (an incident known as the [[Triple Intervention]]). China was also obligated to pay sizable monetary reparations to the Japanese government.

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