The Manchu Dynasty of China
When China declared a ban on Opium trade in 1838, war broke out. The first "Opium War" resulted in a small but significant defeat against China; China's military strength was outdated, and victory came easily for British forces. Britain's victory led to the signing of the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, which opened up Chinese ports and ceded the Island of Hong Kong to the British.
In turn, this inspired more Chinese rebellions, which further weakened Qing's power. When Britain tried to renegotiate the Treaty of Nanking, China refused to sign, it led to the Second Opium War. And with the humiliating Treaty of Tianjin in 1858, it opened even more trading ports to Europe.
By the beginning of the early 20th century, China was in a state of mass disorder with a very unstable central authority - partially the result of the death of Empress Dowager Cixi in 1908. The revolutionary Wuchang Uprising was successful in 1911, and the Republic of China was founded. The Qing Dynasty subsequently collapsed in 1912. This marked the end of Imperial China, which had existed for over 2000 years.
Kangxi Emperor
Kangxi Emperor is considered one of the greatest emperors of China, with a reign of 61 years - the longest reign of any emperor in Chinese history (1661-1722). Kangxi was successful in creating stability for China, which had suffered from wars and economic ill-health at the end of the Ming reign and beginning of the Qing reign. He is also famous for overseeing the creation of the Kangxi Dictionary, which is the largest and most complete Chinese dictionary ever created. It contains over 47,000 Chinese characters, many of which were obscure and rare at the time, and many of which are not in use today.
Qing Culture
Apart from Kangxi's cultural achievements, perhaps the most significant cultural development of the Qing Dynasty was the intellectual developments of the Chinese populace. Sensing a national crisis as the Qing Dynasty slowly came to its inevitable end, people began to look outside of China for answers to the country's problems. This led to the translation of many Western works of literature into Chinese. China was thus presented with new ideas and foreign concepts, which influenced future literature and politics.
Congratuation, you have finished. How do you feel? Hopefully, more knowledge than before (hehe). Thank you for stopping by guys. I appreciate your support always. Feel free to contact me anytime, and I always happy learn with you on Twitter. From where I am and wherever you are, stay thirsty my friend. (Thirst for knowledge, that is)
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