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==Demographic & Economic Expansion==
==Demographic & Economic Expansion==
The population of China in the 19th century was around 400-450 million.<ref>Benjamin Elman, ''A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China'', University of California Press (2000), 130.</ref>
The population of China in the 19th century was around 400-450 million.<ref>Benjamin Elman, ''A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China'', University of California Press (2000), 130.</ref>
Throughout much of the Qing Dynasty, Chinese tea, silk, and [[porcelain]] were in high demand both within East Asia and among European markets. Europeans did not discover the techniques for producing porcelain themselves until the 18th century. Tea + silk constituted at least 50% of Chinese exports throughout the 19th century, peaking as high as 92% in 1842 and 93.5% in 1868, though this figure fell to 64.5% in 1890, just before the turn of the century. At least 40% of tea production in China was for export, and 50-70% of silk production, all the way to the 1920s. Jumping ahead to the 20th century, the loss of foreign markets in the 1930s through 1940s (and into the PRC era) thus deprived "countless thousands of Chinese peasants" of their livelihoods.<ref name=esherick>Joseph Esherick, "Harvard on China: The Apologetics of Imperialism." ''Bulletin of Concerned Asian Scholars'' 4:4 (1972), 10.</ref>
However, in return, the Chinese demanded chiefly precious metals as payment, insisting they had little need or desire for European goods. With the chief sources of precious metals in the New World controlled by the Spanish & Portuguese, and Japanese mines - the most significant other source of silver in the world at the time - running dry midway through the 18th century, European powers sought alternative ways to access Chinese goods. The [[British East India Company]] turned to pushing [[opium]] upon Chinese merchants at [[Canton]] (Guangzhou) as an alternative to payment in silver or gold. This quickly turned into a serious problem for the Chinese government, and society, as opium addiction ran rampant. The efforts of Canton Imperial Port Commissioner [[Lin Zexu]] to stem the tide, by collecting and destroying several million pounds of opium in the port, led to the outbreak of the [[Opium War]] in [[1840]], which is often cited as marking the beginning of the end for the Qing Dynasty. The war ended in a decisive British victory, and in the Qing Court being forced to grant numerous concessions to the British, including opening more ports to trade, granting rights of [[extraterritoriality]] to British subjects in China, paying the British Crown several million silver dollars in reparations, and ceding [[Hong Kong]] to the United Kingdom entirely. A [[Second Opium War]] would follow, in [[1856]]-[[1860]]. As late as 1870, opium still constituted 43% of China's imports, and until 1890, it remained the largest single import product in China.<ref name=esherick/>
==Arts & Culture==
==Arts & 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]]. Some of these lands had not been controlled by China since the [[Tang Dynasty]], while others had never previously come under Chinese control.
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. Border disputes between China and Russia over areas of Xinjiang would be settled by a Treaty of St. Petersburg in [[1881]].
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 Chinese would fight for Vietnam again in [[1884]], this time [[Sino-French War|against the French]].
Siam's final tribute mission to China took place in [[1853]].
Siam's final tribute mission to China took place in [[1853]].
*[[Nurhachi]] ([[1616]]-[[1626]])
*[[Nurhachi]] ([[1616]]-[[1626]])
*[[Shunzhi Emperor]] ([[1644]]-[[1661]])
*[[Shunzhi Emperor]] ([[1644]]-[[1661]])
*[[Kangxi Emperor]] (1661-
*[[Kangxi Emperor]] (1661-[[1722]])
*[[Yongzheng Emperor]] ( -[[1735]])
*[[Yongzheng Emperor]] ( -[[1735]])
*[[Qianlong Emperor]] (1735-[[1796]])
*[[Qianlong Emperor]] (1735-[[1796]])
...
*[[Puyi]] (-[[1911]])
==References==
==References==