[English]
Nurhaci of the Later Jin dynasty
His family was of Manchu nobility
He himself was originally a minor official on the border of the Ming dynasty
Later, due to the Ming dynasty’s harsh measures against ethnic minorities in the northeast border region
he had no choice but to raise an army to defend himself
and quickly unified
the Jurchen people of Jianzhou, establishing the Later Jin dynasty
At this time, the Later Jin was just a local
regime, not yet powerful enough
Most of the time, it fought small skirmishes with the Ming dynasty in the northeast
After Nurhaci’s death
his son, Hong Taiji, changed the Later Jin to the Qing
and adopted more reasonable and proactive policies
effectively weakening the Ming dynasty’s national strength
allowing the Qing dynasty to gain the power to unify the country
Just before a showdown with the Ming dynasty
Hong Taiji suddenly passed away
without even naming an heir
At this time
his eldest son, Dorgon, and his brother, Hooge, competed for the throne
They were evenly matched
and neither could defeat the other. Ultimately, they had to adopt a compromise
which was to let Hong Taiji’s six-year-old son, Fulin, succeed to the throne
who became the Shunzhi Emperor
In the same year
the Qing army, led by Wu Sangui, a general of the Ming dynasty’s Shanhaiguan garrison
drove out Li Zicheng, who had just conquered Beijing and overthrown the Ming dynasty
and the Qing dynasty took over the entire country
As the first emperor of the Qing dynasty to enter the pass
his reign was not long
but he actively embraced Han Chinese culture and heavily employed Han Chinese scholars, allowing the Qing dynasty to stabilize
and establish itself in Han Chinese territory
Later, his favorite concubine, Dong E, passed away
and he became disillusioned with the world
insisting on becoming a monk
Although he didn’t actually become a monk in the end
not long after
he contracted smallpox
and died
The Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne at the age of eight
Being too young
they found him four regents
Among them was Aobai, who had fought alongside Hong Taiji in his youth
A veteran of three reigns, Aobai, relying on his distinguished achievements
and numerous allies
completely disregarded the Kangxi Emperor
After Kangxi took power
he used a few eunuchs to get rid of Aobai
destroying the Aobai faction
He was only sixteen years old at the time
Kangxi truly took control of the court
As an adult
he pacified Wu Sangui in Yunnan
Shang Kexi in Guangdong
and Geng Jimao in Fujian, three local warlords who emerged in the early Qing dynasty
and eliminated the Zheng Chenggong family in Taiwan
the Zheng regime, and launched three expeditions against the Jungar Mongols
suppressing the Mongol rebellion
and maintaining China’s unity
In terms of domestic policy
Kangxi was also excellent
diligent and loving of the people
respectful of Han Chinese culture
Under his rule
the Qing dynasty flourished
But he wasn’t without flaws
He was indecisive about the issue of succession
which led to the tragic Nine Princes Seizing the Heir Apparent
And his overly lenient policies led to corruption and an empty treasury
Kangxi reigned for 61 years
康熙在位61年
and his achievements outweigh his shortcomings
He was one of the most capable emperors of the Qing dynasty
Later, his fourth son
the Yongzheng Emperor, after years of cunning and struggle
finally emerged victorious among all his brothers and uncles
After ascending the throne
Yongzheng purged all the princes who had competed with him for the throne
which earned him the reputation of a cruel and ruthless tyrant
In governing the country
Yongzheng was a workaholic
He began to change the problems of the late Kangxi reign
emphasizing practical governance
and making the country prosperous
The Qing dynasty was revitalized
leaving a prosperous era for his son, Qianlong
Yongzheng reigned for 13 years before dying
Qianlong was the longest-lived emperor in Chinese history
With a strong national economy
Qianlong unified Xinjiang
Under his rule
the Qing dynasty reached its peak. Qianlong
particularly enjoyed spending money
like a nouveau riche
He spent lavishly wherever he went
and became even more obsessed with wealth in his later years
Under his influence
the Qing dynasty completely entered a cycle of corruption
with corrupt officials everywhere
and a broken judicial system
the people suffered
Famous corrupt officials and gentry took this opportunity to curry favor with Qianlong and rise through the ranks
engaging in large-scale corruption and bribery
Meanwhile, the West was undergoing earth-shattering changes
with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Britain
the establishment of the United States, and the outbreak of the French Revolution
These three events fundamentally changed the course and structure of world civilization
However
the Qing dynasty remained stuck in its ways
missing the last opportunity to understand the Western world
While Qianlong was indulging in self-admiration
the Western world was rapidly surpassing China. Qianlong abdicated after 60 years, passing the throne to Jiaqing, and died four years later
at the age of 89
The Qing dynasty left by Qianlong was already beyond repair
Jiaqing saw the decay of society
and immediately killed Heshen and investigated corrupt officials
But the decline of the Qing dynasty had already become apparent in terms of military and national strength
Under Jiaqing’s rule
the Qing dynasty continued to decline
Afterwards
Daoguang ascended the throne
He was a frugal and responsible emperor
During his reign
opium was the biggest problem
The massive influx of opium made the entire country sick, not to mention
it also led to a large outflow of silver
Therefore
a vigorous anti-smoking campaign was launched
With the support of Daoguang
Lin Zexu resolutely banned opium
and destroyed the confiscated opium at Humen Beach
This is the famous Humen Opium Destruction
Such actions also violated the interests of the British
In 1840
the British invaded China and launched the First Opium War
Faced with the British’s powerful ships and cannons
the Qing government was completely defeated and had to seek peace
and signed the Treaty of Nanjing, the first unequal treaty in Chinese history
China became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society
The Qing government didn’t have any money to begin with
and still had to pay indemnities
so it could only frantically squeeze the people
resulting in popular uprisings
Under such internal and external troubles
Daoguang died with resentment and regret. Xianfeng ascended the throne
Facing a pile of messes left by his predecessors, with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom seizing half of the country
and the British and French launching the Second Opium War
the Qing army couldn’t beat either side and could only run
After fleeing to Rehe, he began to indulge in pleasure
鹹豐就開始破罐子破摔，開啟
and lived a life of debauchery
He died at the age of 31
He was also the last emperor of the Qing dynasty with real power
Later, the Tongzhi, Guangxu, and Xuantong emperors
were either puppets of their own people
or puppets of foreigners
Cixi was Xianfeng’s
concubine and Tongzhi’s mother
When Tongzhi ascended the throne, he was very young
so Cixi and Xianfeng’s empress dowager Ci’an jointly ruled as regents
Ci’an died not long after
and Cixi basically took sole control of the court
At the age of 19, Tongzhi died of smallpox
He had no sons, so his four-year-old cousin Guangxu succeeded to the throne
Guangxu grew up seeing Cixi’s face
so he was particularly timid
As an adult
he also wanted to change the country through reform
but was strongly opposed by Cixi’s conservative forces, and the reform
lasted only 103 days before failing
known as the Hundred Days’ Reform. After that
Guangxu was imprisoned by Cixi
and later
the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beijing
Cixi and Guangxu fled, and the Alliance looted, burned, and massacred in Beijing
committing all sorts of atrocities
After looting and killing enough
they signed the humiliating Boxer Protocol with the Qing government
The Eight-Nation Alliance
left after being full and satisfied. Cixi returned to Beijing and continued to be her old self. Finally, when Cixi was about to die
she first poisoned Guangxu, who had no sons
and before her death, she temporarily announced that Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor, would succeed to the throne
那個時候
Puyi was only three years old
By this time, the Qing dynasty was almost over
Puyi’s only role was to be a hapless successor
當了壹個接盤俠
Three years later
In 1911, the Xinhai Revolution broke out
and provinces across the country declared independence
In 1912, the Republic of China was established
Puyi formally issued an edict to abdicate
and the last feudal dynasty in China, the Qing dynasty, came to an end. Okay
That concludes the history of ancient China
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