Zhou Enlai commented on the Qing Dynasty in "Regional Ethnic Autonomy is Conducive to National Unity and Common Progress": "Today's mainland territory is so vast that it was inherited from the Qing Dynasty. The continent is vast and populous, and it should be recognized that the Qing Dynasty contributed to this. ”
In fact, the Qing Dynasty was not the biggest - I think there are four main reasons: the Qing Dynasty's strong military force, the Qing Dynasty's strong material power, the Qing Dynasty's fruitful frontier development, and the Qing Dynasty's flexible and diverse ethnic policies.
01, strong force
Let's start with the first reason. Today's Chinese people, influenced by the official education of modern history for decades, always have the impression that the Qing Dynasty was beaten by foreign powers and that its military strength was weak, but in fact, this is a very one-sided view. The decline of the late Qing Dynasty was beaten by the Western powers armed with industrial civilization, which does not mean that the early Qing Dynasty was also hanged and beaten. In fact, the prosperity and strength of martial arts in the Qing Dynasty are also rare in Chinese history. rose from Nurhachi, unified the Jurchens, and swept through Liaodong; to Huang Taiji to establish the Qing Dynasty, conquer Korea, destroy Chahar, and fight the Ming Dynasty; Then the Shunzhi Dynasty entered the Central Plains, swept away the Great Shun and the West, and destroyed the Southern Ming regimes; The Kangxi Dynasty leveled the three feudatories, collected Taiwan, fought against Tsarist Russia, conquered Zhunger three times, and sent troops to Tibet; The Yongzheng Dynasty pacified Luobzang Danjin and collected Qinghai; The Qianlong Dynasty destroyed Zhunger, pacified the Hui Department, conquered Jinchuan, counterattacked the Gurkhas, fought against Burma, and invaded Annam, which can be described as great martial arts. There were many defeats along the way, but in the end, the Qing Dynasty always won a strategic victory. Even in the Daoguang period, when the Qing Dynasty was in decline, the Qing court was able to use troops on a large scale in Xinjiang, thousands of miles away, to eliminate the Zhanger rebellion supported by Tsarist Russia in one fell swoop and fight back against the Kokand invasion. Before 1840, the Qing Dynasty could be said to have posed a substantial threat to the Qing Dynasty in its vicinity, which was in stark contrast to the Han Dynasty's long-term troubles with the Xiongnu, the Tang Dynasty's long-term threat from the Tibetans, the Song's long-term pressure from the Liaojin, Western Xia and Mongols, and the Ming Dynasty's long-term invasion by the Mongol tribes in northern China. It can be said that it was the powerful military force of the Qing Dynasty that laid down the vast territory of the Qing Dynasty, and it was the strong military force of the Qing Dynasty that ensured that foreign enemies did not dare to invade on a large scale, and no one within the empire could shake the rule of the Qing court, thus ensuring the long-term peace and stability of the country. In the end, the Qing Dynasty achieved the great unification of China by force, and deterred the surrounding countries, ensuring China's long-term peace and border stability
02, strong material strength
Let's talk about the second reason. Strong force is only the basic guarantee, but in order to control these places for a long time, it also needs sufficient human, material and financial support. When the Han, Tang and Ming dynasties were at their peak, they also expanded their territories and had a vast territory, but because the cost of developing and guarding the frontier was too great, it caused huge pressure on the national finances and brought a heavy burden to the people, and finally had to carry out strategic contraction and abandon many areas. In the Qing Dynasty, due to the great development of agriculture, handicrafts and commerce, the state had far more human, material and financial resources than the previous dynasties. In the middle of the 18th century, the Qing Dynasty reached the peak of its strength, with a population of 250 million, more than 1 billion mu of cultivated land, a total grain output of more than 250 billion catties, and a year of financial income of more than 50 million taels of silver, and 45 million taels of silver when it was small, these figures show that the Qing Dynasty had an unprecedented material power in Chinese history. Therefore, although the Qing Dynasty's wars to open up the frontier were frequent and costly, it did not have much impact on the people's lives, and the financial pressure on the state was not very great, which further strengthened the ruler's determination to open up and defend the frontier.
03, Fruitful frontier development
Let's talk about the third reason. In the past dynasties, in addition to using force as a guarantee, it was also necessary to develop and build the frontier to provide material support for long-term defense. Historically, the Qin Dynasty developed the Hetao region, the Han and Tang dynasties all built military camps in the Western Regions, and the Ming Dynasty carried out large-scale immigration to the southwest, all for this purpose. The Qing Dynasty made greater achievements in frontier development than its predecessors. During the Qing Dynasty, the border areas of Northeast China, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Taiwan, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Kang-Tibet were all developed to varying degrees. Among them, the greatest development achievement is Taiwan, Taiwan only had more than 200,000 Han residents when the Qing Dynasty was unified, and then the Qing court immigrated to Taiwan in large numbers, and by the middle of the Qing Dynasty, Taiwan had grown to more than 2 million Han residents. At the same time, Taiwan's sugar industry has developed considerably, which has led to the economic prosperity of the whole of Taiwan. In Xinjiang, the Qing government began to immigrate to Xinjiang on a large scale through government forces. There are two channels for immigration, one is the military tun, and the Qing court directly moved a large number of officers and soldiers of the Eight Banners and the Green Battalion to Xinjiang, guarding the frontier while clearing the wasteland; One was Mintun, where the Qing court recruited poor people from Shaanxi and Gansu on relatively favorable terms and helped them immigrate to Xinjiang. The Qing court in Inner Mongolia and Northeast China had certain concerns and restrictions on immigrating Han Chinese, but as the phenomenon of spontaneous Han Chinese immigrating to these areas to open up wasteland became more and more, the Qing court also adopted a tacit attitude. In the Kang-Tibet region, the Qing court began to forcibly change the land and return to the river, immigrating from Sichuan. After the large-scale migration and development of the frontier in the Qing Dynasty, the connection between the border areas and the interior became increasingly close, and provinces were established in Xinjiang, Taiwan, and Northeast China. The Qing government also intended to establish provinces in Outer Mongolia and Tibet, but this was not realized due to the Xinhai Revolution. The Qing Dynasty's vigorous development of the frontiers provided a strong material guarantee for the Qing Dynasty to control these areas for a long time.
04. Flexible and diverse ethnic policies
In dealing with ethnic issues, the DPRK adapted measures to local conditions and carried out management systems (system innovations) with their own characteristics in accordance with the characteristics of different regions and different nationalities: the Eight Banners system for the Manchus, the Union Flag system for the Mongols, the provincial system for the Han people, the Tusi system for the ethnic minorities in the southwest (but it has been promoting the reform of the land and the return to the stream), the three-headed rule system of the Dalai Lama, the Kashag and the Minister in Tibet for the Tibetans, and the Burke system for the Uygurs. These systems stabilized the Qing Dynasty's rule over different ethnic groups, stabilized the vast border areas, and achieved long-term peace and stability in a unified multi-ethnic country. This approach to local governance is still in use today. At the same time, the Qing rulers also fully respected the culture and beliefs of various ethnic groups, and on the one hand, the Qing emperor adhered to Confucianism and revered Confucius, and at the same time adopted a tolerant and equal attitude towards the religious beliefs of the Manchu shamanism, Tibetan Buddhism of the Mongolian and Tibetan peoples, Taoism of the Han people, and Han Buddhism, and Islam of the Uyghur and Hui peoples. For most of the Qing Dynasty, most ethnic groups were able to live in harmony with each other, and the Qing government was able to effectively manage them.
These four points determined that the Qing Dynasty could fight, afford, defend, and stabilize the vast frontier area, which is why the territory of the Qing Dynasty was so vast. After more than 200 years of the Qing Dynasty, great progress has been made in ethnic integration, and a community of the Chinese nation with 56 ethnic groups has been basically formed. This was a major historical contribution made by the Qing Dynasty to China, and it was also an important reason why the Qing Dynasty was able to control the vast frontier stably for a long time. However, the late Qing government, which was not angry......
First, is it accurate that the Qing Dynasty laid the territory of the mainland? This article takes you to understand the truth
The Qing Dynasty played an important role in Chinese history, and our perception of it has both positive aspects, such as the establishment of today's China, and thought-provoking negatives, such as the humiliating history of the late Qing Dynasty. We can examine the influence of the Qing Dynasty from multiple perspectives, and gradually delve into its role in the formation of China's territory.
First of all, for the contribution of the Qing Dynasty in the formation of the territory, it is undeniable that it made efforts to integrate the frontier provinces. After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, in the early years of Kangxi, it took nearly twenty years to completely unify the interior, including the complete unification of the Han land. After the rebellion of the three feudatories, the Kangxi Emperor took eight years to quell the large-scale turmoil and once again realized the unification of the Han land. At this time, the greatest contribution of the Qing Dynasty was the inclusion of Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, the three eastern provinces and Inner Mongolia into the Chinese territory. Through the efforts of two generations of emperors, Nurhachi and Huang Taiji, the Qing Dynasty unified the northeast and legally administered more than 2 million square kilometers of territory in the northeast through the signing of the Treaty of Nebuchu in 1689.
However, the contribution of the Qing Dynasty was also accompanied by historical twists and turns. After the Second Opium War, the Qing Dynasty lost one million square kilometers of territory in the northeast in the struggle with Tsarist Russia, and signed the Treaty of Aihui and the Treaty of Beijing. This history makes us lament that, despite the fact that the administration of the territory has been legally achieved, in reality we have lost part of our sacred territory for various reasons.
The Qing Dynasty also had a complicated experience with the struggle for frontier provinces. In Inner Mongolia, although there was a brief period of control during the Qin and Han dynasties, the real rule was during the Qing dynasty. Through military conquest and marriage, the Qing Dynasty achieved effective jurisdiction over Inner and Outer Mongolia. However, with the fall of the Qing Dynasty, we lost Outer Mongolia. The control of the Qinghai-Tibet region was also an effort of successive dynasties, but it was not until the later years of the Qing Dynasty that Kangxi finally consolidated his rule over the Qinghai-Tibet region.
As for Xinjiang, as early as the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, through Zhang Qian's mission, we learned about the Western Regions for the first time. However, the control of Xinjiang has been a problem for successive dynasties. It was not until the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty that the Qing Dynasty successfully incorporated Xinjiang into its territory by destroying the Dzungar Khanate. Although Tsarist Russia seized more than 500,000 square kilometers of territory in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the history of Xinjiang has always been closely linked to the efforts of the Qing Dynasty.
The territory of the Qing Dynasty became the legal basis for our territorial claims, and after the founding of New China, we inherited the territory of the Qing Dynasty. Legally, it is a matter of course for the PLA to recover Xinjiang and Tibet. Political giants such as Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shikai wrote the "republic of five ethnic groups" into the law, laying the legal foundation for us to inherit the territory of the Qing Dynasty. In the war in the northwest, the People's Liberation Army recovered Xinjiang with a thunderous force, and Liu Deng's army sent troops to the southwest and peacefully unified Tibet.
On the whole, the Qing Dynasty had both a positive side in the formation of China's territory, which laid the territory of today's Chinese frontier, and a sad side, which lost part of its territory. We should take a comprehensive view of the position of the Qing Dynasty in Chinese history and rationally evaluate its contributions and mistakes in the formation of its territory. At the same time, we should cherish today's territory and constantly strive to safeguard the dignity and territorial integrity of our country in international affairs.
Second, without the Qing Dynasty, there would be no "New China"? Why did the Qing Dynasty lay the foundation for modern China?
On February 12, 1912, the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Xuantong issued an edict to abdicate, marking the official end of the Qing Dynasty that lasted for 276 years.
The fall of the Qing Dynasty meant the complete end of the thousand-year-old imperial system, but the merits and demerits of the Qing Dynasty could never be conclusive. In fact, to this day, there is still considerable controversy about this dynasty, especially around the historical role of the Qing Dynasty in modern China.
Although "the Qing Dynasty laid the map of modern China" has long been recorded in black and white in various history textbooks, with the development of network technology, many established histories have been overturned one after another, including the contribution of the Qing Dynasty to the map of modern China.
On the Internet today, the contributors to China's territory can be roughly divided into two groups:
The core idea is the land territory of more than 9.6 million square kilometers of New China, which is the result of the hard work and hard work of all dynasties since the beginning of Chinese civilization, such as the Qin Dynasty opening up Lingnan, the Han Dynasty marching into the Western Regions, the Tang Dynasty passing through the northeast, the Yuan Dynasty conquering Qinghai-Tibet, and the Ming Dynasty consolidating Yunnan and Guizhou.
The other faction in opposition to this is the "People's Liberation Army Laying School," which has a fundamental view that although the ancient territory was prosperous, it was ultimately a passing cloud, so every inch of modern China's territory is the result of the bloody struggle of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. After all, since the Opium War, the territory of the mainland has been shrinking under the gnawing of foreign powers, and only half of the Forbidden City was left when the Qing Dynasty fell. Coupled with the warlord melee during the Republic of China, the country has long been divided, if it were not for the People's Liberation Army to defeat the strong with the weak and finally liberate the whole country, how could there be a new China standing tall among the nations of the world?
It should be said that both views have their own merits, but each has its own flaws. For example, the phrase "since ancient times" is conclusive, but it cannot explain the Mongolian problem. After all, Mongolia in history was once an inseparable part of the territory of the Great Unification Empire, and was included in the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty many times, but now it has parted ways with us; However, although the "People's Liberation Army laying faction" swore an oath, it could not answer the question of the treasure island. After all, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has never really set foot on the treasure island, but we believe that the treasure island is the sacred territory of New China.
Therefore, both views are inherently wrong, and the core of their error lies in the deliberate ignorance of the historical contribution of the Qing Dynasty in the establishment of territory.
Thanks to some propaganda with ulterior motives, today's Qing Dynasty has long become synonymous with evil, and modern China is poor and weak, and passively beaten, as if the Qing Dynasty is a heinous criminal, and the negative consequences of modern times should be borne by the Qing Dynasty.
This does not seem to be groundless, after all, the Qing Dynasty did promote literary prisons, implement policies to fool the people, suppress the development of science and technology, and other evil policies are too numerous to mention. But it is undoubtedly shameless and ignorant to impose all the guilt of modern times on the head of the Qing Dynasty.
You must know that the sudden rise of Western countries after the Age of Discovery is not accidental, and in modern times, the entire Eastern world has been overtaken by the Western world and reduced to a passive target. To put it bluntly, any dynasty in such an era is the result of much the same, and the Qing Dynasty just happened to catch up.
Many people believe that the Qing Dynasty established by ethnic minorities is inevitably not as powerful as the dynasty established by the Han people, and the late Ming Dynasty is longer than the late Qing Dynasty. This is undoubtedly also a reversal of black and white, you know, the Ming Dynasty in the face of the Japanese invaders, also repeatedly defeated, the later Luowan naval battle, the main force of anti-aggression is the pirates rather than the official army.
Therefore, wearing the colored glasses of ethnic minorities, infinitely magnifying the sins of the Qing Dynasty, especially taking the loss of power and humiliation of the country in modern times as the label of the entire Qing Dynasty, thus ignoring the great contribution of the Qing Dynasty in the early stage of expanding the territory, is undoubtedly sinister.
After all, the Central Plains belonged to the Ming Dynasty, and the Mongolian Plateau, the Western Regions and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau belonged to Mongolia, and as long as the two were defeated, the vast territory of 13.1 million square kilometers would be at your fingertips.
It's just that they will take the initiative to raise their hands and wait for the Qing army to conquer? Of course not, in fact, from 1644 when it entered the customs to defeat Li Zicheng and other peasant rebels, the Qing Dynasty successively eliminated a number of Southern Ming regimes, put down the rebellion of the three feudatories, and did not reunify the Central Plains until 1683.
On the Mongolian side, starting from the first Battle of Yaksa launched by the Qing Dynasty in 1685, the Qing Dynasty successively subdued Mobei Mongolia, defeated Galdan twice, marched into Tibet, and quelled the Qinghai and Shuote Mongol rebellions, until 1759, when the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains were completely pacified, pushing the Qing Dynasty's territory to its peak.
It can be said that the Ma Dynasty, which started as a fishing and hunting nation, almost did not fight for many years in the early Qing Dynasty, and its territory continued to expand. Coupled with the large-scale promotion of high-yield crops such as corn and sweet potatoes, as well as a series of policies to increase the population, such as "spreading the land into the mu", the population of the Qing Dynasty increased rapidly, and the famous "Kangqian Prosperous Era" appeared.
Many people do not think so, after all, the Englishman Magalny has long said that the Qing Dynasty he saw was unclothed and impoverished. Not to mention whether Magalny has cataracts or not, just saying that Emperor Qianlong refused Magalny's behavior of grabbing the interests of the Qing Dynasty and opening the door of the Qing Dynasty is enough to make Magalny talk nonsense.
Moreover, in ancient history, which prosperous era of the common people had enough food and clothing? Zhang Yanghao's cloud "Xing, the people are suffering." Death, the suffering of the people" is the most real state of existence of the ancient people.
Therefore, a lot of the history of the Qing Dynasty needs to be recognized. Back to the territory, not to mention whether the acquisition of the Qing Dynasty's territory was the result of the Qing army's bloody struggle. Even if the Northeast is expressed as the "dowry" of the Qing Dynasty, and the Central Plains and Mongolia are expressed as the "leakage" of the Qing Dynasty, the "marriage" and "leakage" of the Qing Dynasty are also timely.
In other words, the greatest contribution of the Qing Dynasty to the territory was not the Qing army's stewardship, but the vigorous enterprising spirit and far-sighted world vision of the expansion of the territory in the specific 17th century.
The fall of the Ming Dynasty was largely due to the arrival of the "Xiaoice Period", Xiaoice which also prompted the Mongols and other nomads to move south, resulting in increasingly fierce conflicts with the Central Plains Dynasty.
The biggest advantage of the Qing Dynasty was that it came from the northeast and was more adaptable to cold climates. And more importantly, compared to the difficult northward advance of the Central Plains regime from south to north, the Qing Dynasty's horizontal push from east to west was relatively easy.
At the same time, Tsarist Russia, which had sprung up, was also rushing from west to east. The Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia advanced east-west, so that the Mongols and other nomads completely lost the possibility of fleeing to the north and west, and could only choose between Qing and Russia. Compared with Russia, which regarded itself as Europeans, Mongolia undoubtedly preferred the Qing Dynasty, which was an important basis for the Qing Dynasty's eventual conquest of Mongolia.
While the Qing Dynasty continued to expand, the "Thirty Years' War" in Europe finally settled and the Peace of Westphalia was signed. As the world's first international law treaty in modern times, the Peace of Westphalia clarified the concept of "sovereignty", and since then, every inch of land opened up by the Qing Dynasty has not been a "territory" that "is taken when it is prosperous and abandoned when it is declining", but a "territory" jointly determined by more than two countries, and the Qing Dynasty also has a new definition of "Qing government".
Later, the Treaty of Nebuchu signed between the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia in 1689 was the first confirmation of the territory of the two countries. The subsequent Treaty of Aihui and the Treaty of Beijing, although humiliating and humiliating, were also legal documents that determined the territory of the two countries.
It can be said that no matter how many times since ancient times, only when they were included in the Chinese territory during the Qing Dynasty can they be regarded as real Chinese territory. Even at the end of the Qing Dynasty's life, as long as there was no international treaty stipulating that only half of the Forbidden City remained in the Qing Dynasty's territory, the Qing Dynasty's territory still contained more than 11 million square kilometers, including Mongolia, which was the basic rule of the "Westphalian system".
It is precisely because of the series of constraints imposed by the "Westphalian System" on the territory of the Qing Dynasty that the Republic of China can basically inherit, after all, this is no longer a change of dynasty, and there is no need for the reopening of the territory, but the rotation of the government, and the international community only needs to change the name of the country.
Under such circumstances, even if the warlord melee is only limited to a relatively fixed area, after all, no matter how good Zhang Zuolin is, he will not go to Siberia or North Korea to stake his race.
And when the autumn wind of the People's Liberation Army sweeps away the leaves, of course, it is not aimless, but the liberation of the territory once under the jurisdiction of the Nanjing Nationalist Government, which is also the territory of China recognized by the international community.
Therefore, even if the PLA has not yet set foot on the treasure island, the treasure island is not a terra nullius. After all, the Cairo Declaration has long reaffirmed China's indisputable sovereignty over Taiwan, Penghu, and other places, and this has long been a well-known fact.
It can be said that the expansion of territory in the early Qing Dynasty was by no means a leak, but a real blessing for the Chinese nation. Otherwise, when the historical window of integrating the Central Plains and Mongolia is missed, once Mongolia becomes the bag of Tsarist Russia and other powers, it is very likely that today's mainland territory will stop at the Great Wall!
Of course, the strength of the Qing Dynasty in the early stage, especially the "aftermath of the Fen III" of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong, another important factor was the extreme prosperity of the Dzungar Khanate, and its ambition to revive the Great Mongol Empire, especially the Central Plains, was the most important reason why the Qing Dynasty had to fight to the end. The continuous expansion of the Qing Dynasty in the direction of Mongolia in the early stage was basically a tug-of-war of "Qing advance and retreat".
Therefore, "the Qing Dynasty laid the map of modern China" is by no means groundless, but an ironclad fact that can stand the test. Considering that China today uses the border treaties signed with foreign powers in the late Qing Dynasty as the legal basis for its territorial claims on the mainland, we should understand that without the Communist Party, there would be no New China; Without the Qing Dynasty, there would be no "China's present territory".
Third, some people say that "if there was no Qing Dynasty, there would be no 9.6 million territory now", what do you think about this?
Although the Qing government at that time was corrupt and incompetent, did not want to forge ahead, was invaded by foreign powers, and was reparated and ceded land, the signing of the "Nanjing Treaty" made the Qing Dynasty lose more than 2 million square kilometers of territory, and even Japan, an island country, also robbed Taiwan, the Ryukyu Islands, and the Penghu Islands, and the Chinese territory arbitrarily divided by the world powers became less and less, but in fact, if there was no Qing Dynasty, China's territory would be much smaller than it is now. Before that, we might as well take a look at the dynastic territory before the Qing Dynasty, and the total territory of the princely states in the pre-Qin period was only more than 2 million square kilometers; The Qin Dynasty incorporated the Liangguang region and conquered the Yellow River region in Inner Mongolia, and the territory at this time should be 3 million square kilometers; The Han Dynasty added the Hexi Corridor, the Western Regions, Yunnan, and the Korean region, which at this time covered an area of 6 million square kilometers; In the Jin Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, it was not as good as the Han Dynasty, not to mention the Northern and Southern Dynasties, until the Sui and Tang dynasties, after unification, the Turks were exterminated, and Xinjiang was included in the territory, which was the post-territory of up to 9 million square kilometers; The territory of the Song Dynasty was not large, and it exceeded 10 million square kilometers by the Yuan Dynasty, but the Yuan Dynasty was short-lived, and the period of existence was relatively short; The territory of the early Ming Dynasty was okay, but in the later period, Ming Chengzu gave up the Hetao area and the area north of the Great Wall of Hebei, and the territory of the Ming Dynasty was only 3.5 million square kilometers.
Later, the Qing Dynasty overthrew the Ming Dynasty and gradually incorporated Mongolia, Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Tibet into its territory, plus its own dowry (Northeast China), and the land area was unprecedented, reaching 13 million square kilometers.
Next, let's look at how much the Qing Dynasty contributed to China's territory.
With the expansion of the territory of the Northeast region, the Qing Dynasty opened up 2.48 million square kilometers of territory in the Northeast; The expansion of the territory of the eastern region should be regarded as Taiwan, Taiwan was recovered by Zheng Chenggong, but then it has been in a state of separation, until 1683, the Qing Dynasty Admiral Shi Lang Zhengshi landed in Luermen, Taiwan was also included in the territory of the Qing Dynasty, Taiwan area of 36,000 square kilometers; the expansion of the territory of the northern region, Inner and Outer Mongolia was included in the territory of the Qing Dynasty, first 1 million square kilometers in Saibei, and later 1.8 million square kilometers of Outer Mongolia and Kelbudor and Wulianghai under the jurisdiction of Geerdan, a total of 2.8 million square kilometers.
The territorial expansion of the southwest region naturally led to the eventual incorporation of 1.6 million square kilometers of Tibet into the territory of the Qing Dynasty; With the expansion of the territory of the central and western regions, Qinghai's territory of 600,000 square kilometers, the Qing Dynasty completely defeated Luobzang Tenzin in 1724 and incorporated Qinghai into the territory of the Qing Dynasty; The expansion of the territory of the northwest region, that is, the entire territory of Xinjiang's 1.9 million square kilometers, was under the jurisdiction of the Qing government; It should be explained that the Qing Dynasty's rule over Xinjiang, Tibet and other ethnic minority areas, completely included them, although the previous dynasties established jurisdiction, but as long as the central government was weak, they took the opportunity to secede, after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, they obviously did not do so, nearly 300 years of rule made them realize that they are already an inseparable part of China.
Since then, it has been four times larger than the Ming Dynasty's territory of about 3.5 million square kilometers, and without the Qing Dynasty, China would be a medium-sized country at best, and it is likely that it would be the same as the Song Dynasty. What warlord has such strength?
Of course, it is not that the Qing Dynasty is so powerful, but that the dynasties have laid the foundation, the Qing Dynasty has laid the current territory of China, and it has not boasted, not to the right person, I personally think that the Qing Dynasty can be sprayed in other places, but the contribution to the territory has to be cautious.
If there was no Qing Dynasty, then there would be no three regions on the territory of the mainland, namely, Xinjiang, Mongolia and Taiwan. Xiaobian said that the territory of the Qing Dynasty is relatively large, you may feel a little unbelieving, then the following Xiaobian will compare with you the territory of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty on the mainland, when the Ming Dynasty ruled the best, at the peak moment, the land area of the Ming Dynasty was about 9.97 million square kilometers, the Ming Dynasty was actually very good, the country area at this time is not much different from the area of the continent now, you may feel that the land area of the Ming Dynasty is quite large, But the Qing Dynasty's was even bigger, the Qing Dynasty's land area was nearly 134 million square kilometers, if there is really no comparison, there is no harm, so at a glance, the Ming Dynasty's land area has become smaller. Also, if at the end of the Qing Dynasty, when the imperialist powers invaded us and wanted to sign an unequal treaty with us, if we could resist and stand up, then the current territory of the mainland would have become larger.
Back to the beginning, if there was no Qing Dynasty, then the territory of the mainland, Taiwan, Mongolia and Xinjiang may not be ours, so that the territory of our country will be less now. We also all know that the Qing Dynasty was a dynasty established by the Manchu Qing Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, maybe the ruler was not very ambitious, did not think about expanding the territory, the military aspect was to build the Great Wall, fortifications, and Mongolia was also defended, did not think about conquering them, and the Qing Dynasty did let Mongolia receive its own command, but made a lot of efforts, and finally put Mongolia under its own territory. Xinjiang too, the Ming Dynasty did not touch the border of Xinjiang, but the Qing Dynasty in order to give a piece of Xinjiang to its own territory, it really went through several generations of efforts, perseverance, and finally succeeded. Finally, there is Taiwan, and Taiwan is similar, but Taiwan also belonged to the Ming Dynasty, but it was negligently managed.
Fourth, if there was no Qing Dynasty, it would be difficult to have the territory of today's China, right?
There is a fact, whether you like the Qing Dynasty or not, but you must admit one thing, this thing is that the Qing Dynasty gave China such a large territory, which transcended all dynasties in history and has a huge impact on the mainland territory today.
It can be said that the territory of the Qing Dynasty had a huge impact on the territory of New China.
Why?
Today, let's talk about it.
1. Most of the time in history, the size of the territory is mainly determined by strength
A long time ago, there was no concept of a state in the world, only the concept of tribal groups, but with the development of time, tribes waged wars in order to seize more resources, including land, cattle and sheep and all kinds of resources needed for development.
In this way, many small tribes united to form a large tribe, and when this tribe was large enough, the state appeared. So we can be sure of one thing, that is, the creation of all new states is a brutal and bloody history, that is, a history of aggression.
In addition, there are also some countries that are formed when they are tribal alliances, and these tribes continue to expand abroad in order to ensure their own interests, and finally conquer the surrounding countries and become the envy of everyone.
Everything in this world is very cruel, so if you want to live, you can only work harder.
The Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty, and then carried out the partition, after the partition of the major vassal states is to expand to the four directions, obtained a large area of land, the key to the vassal states to obtain a huge amount of land is to have enough strength, so that the surrounding strength is not their own opponent, so that they can be sure that they have beaten down the country, has been passed on.
After Qin Shi Huang unified the six countries, he formed the first great unified country in Chinese history, and the rainfall and land of the Qin Dynasty had not been seen before, and these lands were all knocked down by the Qin State inch by inch, so that they could be passed on.
The army of the Han Dynasty went north to Mobei and went out of the Western Regions, and the territory was very large, and these rains were also won by the Han Dynasty step by step by force.
After that, all dynasties, no matter how large their land or their overall national strength, were all decided by force.
Whether it is China or other countries in the world, it is not determined by any laws or rules that make it strong, but by its own strength.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the territory covered 9.6 million square kilometers, and the PLA's super combat effectiveness did not prevent various regions from falling into a state of division.
Therefore, I can say that the size of the territory, from a historical point of view, is completely determined by strength.
In addition, since modern times, the territory has also been affected by another factor, and the factor that affects the territory is the International Law.
2. International law
What is the principle of territorial subsistence law?
The principle of territorial survival refers to the special rules of international law in which the newly independent State inherits the property of the State of the predecessor State.
According to that rule, the movable property of the State to which the predecessor State belonged during the period of dependency of its territory, whether in the form of a State or in the form of a tribal or local government, and whether or not it was transferred in whole or in part by the colonial ruler to the suzerainty and outside the territory in question, shall be transferred to the newly independent State.
From this sentence, it can be known that the newly independent country can inherit the land of the previous collapsed country, so the territory of the newly independent country depends entirely on the territory of the previous dynasty.
After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, it was the Republic of China that inherited everything from him, and after the Republic of China finished its calves, the land belonged to New China.
There is also the fact that there are certain objections to whether the Republic of China is an independent country, and why there are objections, mainly because the era in which the Republic of China lived was relatively chaotic, and the warlords and the government of the Republic of China both existed, and then our party and the Kuomintang also existed at the same time.
Therefore, some historians feel that New China should have inherited the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, the People's Republic of China had a strong determination to take back Hong Kong and Macao, which had been leased out, and finally both places were recovered.
Anyway, during the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi laid a large area of land, and the 11 million square kilometers of land he still owned at the end of the Qing Dynasty, so that New China could inherit 9.6 million square kilometers of land.
We can dislike the Qing Dynasty, but our current territory is completely inseparable from the Qing Dynasty. Many people say that the Qing Dynasty closed the country and closed the country, which made them miss the first and second industrial revolutions, and made the former old powerhouse become the object of bullying by everyone.
The most important thing is that if it weren't for the Qing Dynasty, we really wouldn't have that big territory.
The first impression of the Qing Dynasty was that of a ruined family, corrupt and incompetent, losing power and humiliating the country, ceding land and paying reparations, and making the Western powers rub under them, especially ceding a large amount of land to Russia in the Outer Northeast and Outer Northwest. However, in fact, the Qing Dynasty was extremely expansive in the early and middle periods, and it continued to expand its territory, from a small minority regime in the northeast to a great empire that dominated the world, laying the map of modern China.
The whole country of the Qing Empire
1) Unification of the Northeast
In 1616, Nurhachi, the Jurchen leader of Jianzhou, was proclaimed Great Khan in Hetuara and established Houjin. At this time, it was still a nascent and weak regime. In 1618, in the Battle of Salhu, the operational principle of concentrating forces and breaking through each was adopted, and the Ming army was defeated, and the forces entered the Liao River Valley. After conquering Shenyang, Liaoyang and more than 70 cities east of the Liaohe River, the capital was moved to Liaoyang in 1621 and Shenyang in 1625, occupying most of the eastern part of Liaodong.
In 1626, Huang Taiji inherited the throne of Khan, made great efforts to govern the country, implemented the integration of Manchu and Han, expanded the Eight Banners organization to the Han and Mongolian ethnic groups, and reduced the burden on the peasants and developed production. At this time, the Later Jin Dynasty negotiated peace with the Ming Dynasty, and the strategic purpose was to unify all the tribes in the entire Northeast under their banner, accumulate strength, and then try to enter the customs. Since then, Jin has continued to go north, conquering the four tribes of the Haixi Jurchens (Hada, Huifa, Wula, Yehe) and the Savage Jurchens.
In 1635, Dolgon and others defeated Lin Dan Khan, pacified the Chahar tribe, and unified southern Mongolia. In 1636, Huang Taiji changed the name of the country to the Great Qing Dynasty, and the unified clan was called Manchuria. He sent troops to Korea that year, and two months later included Korea as a vassal state. In 1640, Huang Taiji launched a key battle to unify the Northeast against the Ming Dynasty before entering the customs----- the Battle of Songjin, through more than a year of competition, ended in a great victory for the Qing army, captured Hong Chengchou alive, surrendered to Zu Dashou, and the Qing army occupied all the towns outside the Ming Dynasty except Ningyuan. At this point, the Qing Dynasty completely unified the northeast region.
2) Unification of the Han land
In 1644, the regent Dolgon led the Manchu army into Shanhaiguan under the leadership of the Ming general Wu Sangui, defeated Li Zicheng, captured Beijing, and moved the capital to Beijing. Since then, the Qing Dynasty has entered another realm, that is, it is no longer just a minority regime living in a remote corner, but has begun to enter the traditional Han land. At that time, the Ming Dynasty in the traditional sense had fallen, and the eighteen provinces of the Han Dynasty included the remnants of the Ming Dynasty that retreated south (known as the Southern Ming Dynasty in history), the peasant uprising to establish Li Zicheng's Dashun and Zhang Xianzhong's Daxi, and Zheng Chenggong's occupation of Fujian Taiwan.
After the loss of Beijing, Li Zicheng was forced to retreat to Guanzhong to protect himself, Dolgon pursued Li Zicheng all the way, and defeated Li Zicheng in Jiujiang in the second year, 1645, the Dashun regime collapsed, and the Qing army occupied Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, Henan, Hubei and other regions, and the troops approached the Nanming south of the Yangtze River. At this time, the Southern Ming Dynasty still has half of the country, hundreds of thousands of troops, but unfortunately, the internal forces of the Southern Ming regime competed for power and profit, attacked each other, and the Qing army captured Yangzhou City in only 8 days, waved Nanjing, and the Hongguang regime ended in only one year. At the same time, another army of the Qing Dynasty, led by Wu Sangui and Haoge, launched an offensive against the Onishi regime. In 1646, Zhang Xianzhong was defeated and killed, and the Onishi regime ceased to exist.
After that, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and the remnants of the Southern Ming regime and the Zheng clan began to unite against the Qing Dynasty, and successively recovered Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi and other regions, and by 1648, the Southern Ming Yongli regime controlled seven provinces, including Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, and Sichuan, and occupied southern and southwestern China. However, it was precisely because the Nanming regime at this time was a combination of many forces, each with its own calculations, and the internal factional struggle was serious, and it was doomed to failure. In 1654, Sun Kewang surrendered to the Qing Dynasty in a coup d'état, and Li Dingguo fled to Yunnan with Emperor Yongli. In 1659, the Qing army captured Kunming, and Emperor Yongli fled to Burma, and the Southern Ming Dynasty existed in name only. The following year, the Qing army defeated Zheng Chenggong on the southeast coast. So far, from entering the customs to unifying the hinterland, it took less than 20 years for the Qing Dynasty to unify the eighteen provinces in the hinterland.
There is also an episode and repetition here, that is, the pacification of the three feudatories and the recovery of Taiwan. The three feudal domains refer to the feudal towns under the jurisdiction of the three vassal kings of Wu Sangui, Geng Jingzhong, and Shang Kexi in the early Qing Dynasty, and they were the feudal towns of the former Han people who surrendered to the feudal kings in order to deal with the resistance of the peasant army and the Southern Ming government after the Qing court entered the customs with insufficient strength. In 1673, Kangxi announced the withdrawal of the feudal domain. In November of that year, Wu Sangui killed Zhu Guozhi, the governor of Yunnan, and claimed that the generalissimo of the whole world recruited soldiers and horses, and rebelled. At this time, ethnic contradictions were still widespread throughout the country, so the Ming imperial family, the Zheng Jing clique, some Han officials, and the upper echelons of ethnic minorities all responded quickly, and it developed into a rebellion that swept half of China. It took eight years, that is, in 1681, for the central government of the Qing Dynasty to completely defeat the original rebel forces and re-pacify the three feudatories. In 1683, he sent troops across the Taiwan Strait to destroy Ming Zheng and bring Taiwan back under the jurisdiction of the central government. From then on, the Han land was truly and completely under the rule of the Qing Dynasty.
Fifth, the Qing Dynasty finally laid the map of today's China? After reading it, solve the confusion
The Qing Dynasty undoubtedly had the most say on the issue of territorial laying, because after all, the territory of the mainland reached a new peak during the Qing Dynasty and directly formed the framework of today's territory.
Therefore, the Qing Dynasty in fact laid the map of the mainland today.
Some people say that the contribution of the Qing Dynasty in terms of territory is insignificant, for example, Xinjiang was incorporated into the territory 60 years ago when Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty set up the Western Regions Protectorate; The Northeast was ruled in 725 when the Tang Dynasty set up the Heishui Governorate; As for the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it was also an established fact after the Mongol Khanate and the Tibetan high-level reached the "Liangzhou Alliance" in 1247!
Therefore, the contribution of the Qing Dynasty in the territory is negligible.
Some people also think that the Han, Tang and Yuan dynasties are so old that they can no longer play the role of declaring sovereignty, so the territory of the mainland today was fought down by the uncle of the People's Liberation Army, and it also has nothing to do with the Qing Dynasty!
Then Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong and Zuo Zongtang expressed their dissatisfaction, it was meaningful before and after, why was the Qing Dynasty useless alone? Is it meaningless to say that the 100-year war with the Mongols is meaningless?
No! In fact, the Qing Dynasty's territorial expansion was not only effective, but also necessary. Why? Silent Night History believes that the following points need to be clarified:
1. Territorial development raced against time, and the Qing Dynasty outperformed Tsarist Russia
Those who say that the Han, Tang and Yuan dynasties laid the territory of the continent should understand that when the Han Dynasty owned the Western Regions, the northeast and the north were still outside the country; When the Tang Dynasty owned the Northeast, Qinghai-Tibet still had Tibet; When the Mongols subdued Qinghai-Tibet, Jiangnan was still resisting.
What does that mean? That is to say, although these lands have been incorporated into the mainland territory one after another, but the time of incorporation has come and gone, not at the same time, when you own this land, the other land is still free, which is a typical gourd to lift the scoop.
Moreover, because of the long period of time, it is really difficult to say how strong the claim to this land is, for example, the Jews were previously established on the east coast of the Mediterranean, and then forced into exile after the destruction of the country, and this land became occupied by Palestine, so the question is, who does this land belong to?
In fact, like the Han, Tang and Yuan dynasties, the battle for territory did not rely on history and memories, but on fists and strength.
And during the Qing Dynasty, the problems faced by the mainland were more complicated, because Tsarist Russia came.
It took just over half a century from 1582 when the Cossacks crossed the Ural Mountains to expand eastward, expanding into the Sea of Okhotsk in 1639 and the Heilongjiang River basin in 1643.
Because of its high latitude, Tsarist Russia has been seeking a warm outlet to the sea, which is an inexhaustible driving force for Tsarist Russia's southward expansion.
If the Qing Dynasty did not act at this time, it would not only be Heilongjiang that Tsarist Russia invaded.
Therefore, including the Qing Dynasty launched the Battle of Yaksa and expelled Tsarist Russia from Heilongjiang; and the Khalkha Mongols with a down payment to defeat the Dzungar Khanate, and in fact, the Qing Dynasty had been fighting with Tsarist Russia for territory in southern Siberia and the Mongol tribes.
By 1757, the Qing Dynasty eliminated the Dzungar Khanate, and the Qing Dynasty finally won the battle for Mongolia!
The early Qing Dynasty's aggressiveness effectively curbed the pace of Tsarist Russia's southward expansion, and stabilized the border line through the Treaty of Nebuchu and the Treaty of Kyakhta, making it impossible for it to swallow the entire Mongolian region. If the Qing Dynasty did not conquer Mongolia in time, then Tsarist Russia would go south, and the entire Mongolian region would become the territory of Tsarist Russia, and the expansion of the Qing Dynasty would be directly connected with Tsarist Russia, which was extremely unfavorable to the Qing Dynasty.
2. The territorial guards lived like years, and the Qing Dynasty preserved most of them
After the Qing Dynasty defeated Tsarist Russia, it effectively contained the aggressive momentum of Tsarist Russia for more than 100 years.
However, with the decline of the Qing Dynasty and the arrival of colonists, the territory of the Qing Dynasty began to be eaten up by foreign powers, and the territory began to be lost continuously.
From the Opium War to the fall of the Qing Dynasty for more than 70 years, it can be said that the Qing Dynasty was like a year, because of the continuous invasion of Tsarist Russia, the Qing Dynasty successively lost the Outer Northeast, Outer Northwest, Treasure Island and Khalkha Mongolian region, and the territory of the Qing Dynasty was shrinking step by step.
However, because of the hard work of the Qing Dynasty in the early stage of the Qing Dynasty and the continuous practice of preserving most of the land in the later Qing Dynasty, the main body of the Qing Dynasty's territory was preserved.
By the 70s of the 19th century, the second industrial revolution began, and imperialism rose one after another. Under such conditions, the direction of colonial expansion of the great powers began to shift from the occupation of land to comprehensive and in-depth control. Although this kind of control deepened the national crisis of the Qing Dynasty, it objectively preserved the territory of the Qing Dynasty.
When Tsarist Russia concocted the criminal "Yellow Russia" plan to include the entire Xinjiang, Khalkha Mongolia and Northeast China into Russia's territory, other powers obstructed it because of the damage to their interests, and finally aborted this criminal plan.
Because of the Qing Dynasty's "territorial defense", the Qing Dynasty survived to the imperialist era after the Second Industrial Revolution and passed the most dangerous period of territorial encroachment.
When the great powers set off a frenzy to carve up the continent and the great powers wanted a piece of the Qing Dynasty's pie, the "open door" policy of the United States once again helped the Qing Dynasty preserve the integrity of its territory.
Because of this, by the time the Xinhai Revolution broke out, the Qing Dynasty's territory was still as high as 11 million square kilometers, and these lands were inherited by the Republic of China and became the territorial basis for the PLA uncle to "lay" today's territory.
3. It was difficult to consolidate the territory, and the Qing Dynasty completed unification
As the saying goes: "It is easy to fight the country, but it is difficult to sit on the country", for the Qing Dynasty, it was difficult to lay down and defend the country, and it was even more difficult to consolidate the territory.
For a long time, the nomads north of the Great Wall have been the confidants of the feudal dynasty, the Ming Dynasty spent more than 200 years of war, but also did not completely wipe out the Mongols, but also was captured by the Mongols, the emperor was captured, and the soldiers pressed the border to the city of Beijing.
However, the nomadic problem was solved in the hands of the Qing Dynasty, because the Mongol power spread throughout the Mobei, the Western Regions and the Qinghai-Tibet region, so when the Qing Dynasty solved the Mongolian problem, it also meant that the Qing Dynasty solved the Mobei, Western Regions and Qinghai-Tibet problems.
In 1635, the Later Jin conquered Monan;
In 1691, Kangxi presided over the "Duolun Alliance" to include Khalkha Mongolia in the territory;
In 1716, Dzungaria invaded Tibet; In 1722, Kangxi sent the fourteenth son of the emperor Yinyu to Tibet to expel Dzungaria and include Tibet in the territory;
In 1724, Yongzheng sent Nian Qianyao to quell the rebellion of Qinghai and Shuote Mongols, and the Qing army recovered Qinghai;
In 1757, the Qing army eliminated the Dzungar Khanate and put down the rebellion of Daxiao and Zhuo, so that Xinjiang was incorporated into the territory of the Qing Dynasty.
Compared to the Han dynasty, the Qing dynasty ruled the frontier regions in a more flexible and solid way. For the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty set up the alliance flag system in the southern Mongolia and northern Mongolia regions, set up the general Uriya Sutai in the northern desert region, set up the Ili general in the Western Regions, and set up administrative areas in Tibet and Qinghai.
In addition, in order to strengthen the rule of the southern desert, the western regions and Qinghai-Tibet, the Qing Dynasty used Lamaism as a link to build eight outer temples in the summer resort to communicate with the religious leaders of these regions, and each Qing emperor had a corresponding Mongolian Khan title.
Through a completely different governance model from the 18 provinces of the Han Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty not only solved the problem of nomads that had plagued the Central Plains Dynasty for thousands of years, but also implemented the ruling power of the Central Plains Dynasty to the border areas, consolidating the territory of the Qing Dynasty.
It should be said that these measures have indeed played a very important role. Until the fall of the Qing Dynasty, most of the upper echelons of the forces in these regions supported the central government, and the Qing Dynasty's frontier governance systems such as the reincarnation of the spirit child and the casting of lots in the golden vase were inherited by the Republic of China and the founding of the People's Republic of China!
Therefore, it is not too much to say that the Qing Dynasty laid the territory of the mainland today!
Sixth, the changes in the territory of the Qing Dynasty in 296
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty in China. After the establishment of the Qing Dynasty, it continued to fight in the south and the north, unifying the major powers of the East Asian continent, and finally reached an area of more than 13 million square kilometers. In the late Qing Dynasty, due to political corruption and Western invasion, the territory area was reduced by more than 1.5 million square kilometers, and many areas became imperialist concessions and spheres of influence, but the Qing Dynasty still handed over more than 11 million square kilometers of sovereignty to the Republic of China, and finally laid the foundation of modern China. The Qing Dynasty here is the Qing Dynasty in a broad sense, including the predecessors of the Qing Dynasty, the Later Jin and Jurchen Kingdoms.
The Qing Dynasty was a dynasty established by the Manchus, whose predecessor was the Jurchens. As early as the Song and Song dynasties, the powerful Jin Dynasty was established. During the Ming Dynasty, the Jurchen people were divided into three parts: the Jianzhou Jurchen, the Haixi Jurchen and the Savage Jurchen (Haidong Jurchen). In the early Ming Dynasty, the Northeast region became the sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty, and Ming Chengzu once set up the Nuer Gandu Division to manage the Heilongjiang River Basin, and the Ming Dynasty also canonized some guards. However, after Xuande, the power of the Ming Dynasty withdrew from the Heilongjiang Valley, and the Jurchens began to turn against the Ming Dynasty. During the reign of Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty, the Jurchens continued to invade Liaodong; During the Chenghua period, the Ming Dynasty continuously strengthened its offensive against the Jurchens and achieved many victories; During the Jiajing period, due to the decline of national strength, the "Liaodong Border Wall" had to be built in Liaodong to resist the invasion of the Jurchens. Due to the delay in the unification of the Jurchens, the wars against the Jurchens in the early Ming Dynasty were basically victorious.
In 1583, Nurhachi started his army with "less than 100 soldiers, and only 13 soldiers", and began the great cause of unifying the Jurchens of Jianzhou. By 1588, the Sukesu Hu Division, the Hunhe Division, the Wanyan Division, the Dong E Division, and the Zhechen Division had been eliminated, announcing the formal unification of the Jianzhou Jurchens, and at the same time initially establishing the "Jurchen State", which had a population of only 15,000 at that time. Subsequently, Nurhachi began the process of unifying the Haixi Jurchens, and by 1613 he had destroyed the Da, Ula, and Huifa tribes, and in 1616 established the "Later Jin" state. When unifying Yehebu, they encountered the intervention of the Ming Dynasty, and the two countries broke out in 1619 in the Battle of Sarhu, and the Ming Dynasty's 100,000 troops were wiped out. From then on, the Jurchen war against the Ming Dynasty turned from defensive to offensive. After that, Nurhachi continued to attack the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming forces were forced to withdraw from Liaodong, and Nurhachi moved the capital to Shenyang in 1625.
The Huang Taiji period (1626-1643) was the period of the first large-scale expansion of the Qing Dynasty's territory. His two expeditions to Korea made Korea a vassal state of the Qing Dynasty, and many Western maps included Korea in the Qing Dynasty's territory; Three westward expeditions to Mongolia Lin Dan Khan, which included Monan Mongolia (Inner Mongolia) into the territory of the Qing Dynasty; Four northern expeditions to the Jurchens in the East China Sea included the Heilongjiang region into the territory of the Qing Dynasty. At this time, Russia's invading forces also entered Heilongjiang, and Huang Taiji conquered the Jurchens in the East China Sea, which made the Russian invasion blocked. On the Ming side, Huang Taiji continued to attack the western Liaoning region, so that the Ming Dynasty forces completely withdrew from the northeast and took Shanhaiguan as the boundary. In 1636, Huang Taiji officially changed the Jurchen nationality to Manchuria and changed the name of the country to "Qing".
In fact, Huang Taiji was also the Great Khan of Mongolia, and the Moxi and Khalkha tribes all expressed their submission to the Qing Dynasty, and the religious leaders of Tibet also expressed their submission, so Tan Qixiang included Dzungaria, Khalkha Mongolia (Outer Mongolia), and Tibet and Qinghai into the early territory of the Qing Dynasty. However, I always insist that the nominal canonization is not considered territory, and the Ming and Qing dynasties are treated by the same standard, so these areas are not counted as territories.
In 1644, the Ming Dynasty was overthrown by a peasant uprising. Subsequently, Li Zicheng's "Dashun" and Zhang Xianzhong's "Daxi" appeared in the mainland, and the Nanming, Zheng and other secession regimes, at this time, Huang Taiji had died, Shunzhi succeeded to the throne, and the real power was in the hands of Dolgon. Dolgon took the opportunity to enter the customs, defeated Li Zicheng in 1644, made the capital Beijing, and proclaimed "Dingding Yanjing to appease China". After that, the Qing Dynasty successively destroyed the two peasant regimes of Dashun and Daxi, and the Southern Ming regimes such as Hongguang, Longwu, Shaowu, and Yongli, and finally unified the interior in 1664. At this time, the area of the Qing Dynasty had reached more than 6 million square kilometers, reaching the peak area of the Ming Dynasty.
When the mainland was close to reunification, Zheng Chenggong felt unable to gain a foothold on the mainland, so he led an army to land in Taiwan in 1661, drove out the Dutch colonists, and established the Zheng regime. Therefore, he recaptured Taiwan run by Zheng Zhilong, so it was called "recovering Taiwan".
During the Kangxi period (1662-1722), the Qing Dynasty's territory continued to expand rapidly. After Kangxi came to power, in 1681, he put down the "Rebellion of the Three Feudatories", which made the situation on the mainland more stable. In 1683, the Zheng regime in Taiwan was eliminated, and the Taiwan Prefecture and the three counties of Taiwan, Fengshan and Zhuluo were set up in Taiwan, marking the official incorporation of Taiwan into the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty of China. When the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, Russia took the opportunity to invade Heilongjiang, and after Kangxi unified Taiwan, he defeated Russia in 1685 and 1688, and finally signed the Treaty of Nebuchu in 1689, with the Outer Khing'an Mountains as the border between the two sides. In the signing of the treaty, Kangxi used the name of the country "China", which was the first time that the word "China" was used in an international treaty, and it was the first time that China became the official name of the country.
During the Sino-Russian negotiations, the Dzungar Khanate in the northwest continued to expand eastward, occupying the entire Khalkha Mongolian region and reaching Ulan Butong. Subsequently, Kangxi conquered Galdan three times, and won all three times. At the same time, the Dzungar rear plotted to make Alabutan independent, and Galdan was forced to commit suicide by poisoning both internally and externally. After that, the Khalkha Mongol region was incorporated into the territory of the Qing Dynasty. In 1717, he sent 6,000 troops into the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to destroy the Heshute Khanate. In 1720, Kangxi's Three-Way Army drove the Dzungar army out of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the Qing Dynasty garrisoned troops in Qinghai-Tibet, marking the incorporation of Tibet and Qinghai into the Qing Dynasty's territory. Since then, the territory of the Qing Dynasty has exceeded 10 million square kilometers.
After Kangxi's death, Yongzheng consolidated the country laid by Kangxi. In the north, the Treaty of Brensky and the Treaty of Kyakhta were signed with Russia, which established the Qing Dynasty's sovereignty over Outer Mongolia; On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the rebellion of Lobzang Danjin was put down, and the Xining Minister and the Minister in Tibet were set up, which was the first time that the Central Plains Dynasty of China set up an administrative agency on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; In the southwest region, a large-scale implementation of "land reform and return to the stream"; On the Dzungar side, the two sides signed a peace treaty, with Hangai Mountain as the boundary.
During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, the Dzungar Khanate was in decline, and its Russia was accurately destroying the Dzungars. However, the Qianlong Emperor took the lead, and in 1755, he eliminated the Dzungar Khanate and occupied the Western Regions. This was the first time since the Tang Dynasty that a central Chinese dynasty occupied the area. Later, Qianlong put down the rebellion of Amur Sana, Daxiao and Zhuo, and renamed the Western Regions "Xinjiang", and set up General Ili to govern here, and the area of the Qing Dynasty reached 13 million square kilometers, and this data was maintained until 1858, about 100 years, which was the first phenomenon in Chinese history.
After that, the Qing Dynasty underwent a large-scale change in its territory, which occurred after the Opium Wars. In 1842, Britain occupied Hong Kong Island through the Treaty of Nanking, which was the beginning of modern territorial loss. In 1858, when the Qing Dynasty fell into the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Second Opium War, Russia took advantage of the fire to loot and forced the Qing Dynasty to sign the Treaty of Aihui, occupying 600,000 square kilometers of land north of Heilongjiang. In 1860, the Qing Dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Beijing, occupying 400,000 square kilometers of land on the Ussuri River and more than 400,000 square kilometers in the northwest. Russia has occupied more than 1.5 million square kilometers of land during the Qing Dynasty.
But the late Qing dynasty also struggled to maintain its vast empire. For example, the Westernization Movement was carried out, and three navies were established; Zuo Zongtang defeated Agubo's invasion in 1876 and recovered Xinjiang, which was established by the Qing Dynasty. In 1884, Taiwan Province was established; After the Second Opium War, the population of Northeast China grew rapidly, and finally the three provinces of Northeast China were established at the end of the Qing Dynasty. Although many parts of the Qing Dynasty became spheres of influence of the imperialists, the sovereignty of these places still belonged to China. In the late Qing Dynasty, the United States implemented an "open door" policy, which required all countries to guarantee China's territorial sovereignty and not allow the partition of China's territory. Although this measure serves the United States, it guarantees China's legitimate sovereignty over Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet, Northeast China, and other places.
In 1895, the island of Taiwan was forcibly ceded to Japan, the largest territorial loss of the late Qing Dynasty. In 1911, when the Xinhai Revolution broke out, Sun Yat-sen proposed to "drive out the Tartars and restore China", Japan tried to make Northeast China independent, Britain tried to make Tibet independent, and Russia tried to make Mongolia independent. After that, Sun Yat-sen and Yuan Shikai carried out the "North-South Peace" and reached a common opinion on the "Republic of the Five Nationalities" in response to the imperialist attempts. In February 1912, Yuan Shikai forced the Qing Emperor to abdicate, and the Qing Dynasty promulgated the "Qing Emperor's Abdication Book", declaring that "the complete territory of the Manchu, Han, Mongolian, Hui and Tibetan ethnic groups is still a great Republic of China", which also marks the transfer of more than 11 million square kilometers of territorial sovereignty to the Republic of China in the late Qing Dynasty.
Seventh, why was the Qing Dynasty able to have such a huge territory? What are the advantages over other great unification dynasties?
Let's first take a look at the territory maps of several great unified dynasties in the Central Plains imperial system. Except for a brief period when the Tang Dynasty controlled the northern steppe region, which was a foreign competitor, but for the most part, the core area of the Central Plains Dynasty was actually the traditional agricultural area south of the Great Wall, which was within the so-called 400 mm isoprecipitation line, and then controlled the Western Regions through the narrow Hexi Corridor between nomadic and Tibetan areas. The Western Regions also needed to be controlled during the prosperity of the dynasty, and once it declined, it was the Western Regions that was the first to be lost.
A look at the map of the Qing Dynasty makes it much more pleasing to the eye: north of the Great Wall, the nomadic areas of the northwest that often entangled with the Central Plains dynasty were mostly under rule. What distinguished the Manchu territory from other great unified dynasties was the strengthening of its rule over the "traditional frontier" regions. It is no exaggeration to say that the Manchu dynasty laid the territorial foundation of the Republic of China and the Republic of China today.
Like the previous unified dynasties, the Manchus faced the threat of the nomadic peoples in the north and fought wars for decades and centuries, but the difference was that the Manchus eventually effectively ruled the nomadic areas and maintained them until the fall of the dynasty. So how did the Manchus do it?
By the time of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, firearms had developed to a considerable extent. Taking artillery as an example, according to the "Qing Dynasty Literature General Examination", there are three types of artillery equipped with lag: red-coated cannons, cupola cannons - known as "mortar cannons" in the West, which are the predecessors of modern mortars, sub-mother cannons and god machine guns. Among them, the red-coated cannon has a large body diameter ratio, a long range and the most powerful, and it is also the main equipment of the Qing army. The individual firearms equipped by the Qing army were mainly soldier bird guns and carrying guns, which were two types of arquebuses. More advanced flintlock pistols had actually been introduced to China, but only in small quantities.
Artillery and muskets played a crucial role in the Qing army's battles of Ulan Butong, the Battle of Zhaomoduo and the Battle of Erdeni Zhao against the Mongol Dzungaria, the battle of the Heishui Battalion against the Hui and Zhuo, and the war against the Great and Small Jinchuan.
Although equipped with the most advanced firearms in the East at that time, the war between the Qing soldiers and the Mongol army, the main enemy at that time, was not a dialogue between pre-modern firearms and primitive bows and arrows. Because the Dzungar tribe also received firearms support from their ally, Tsarist Russia. The significance of the Qing army's armament with firearms was that the infantry had the strength to face the enemy's cavalry without moving like a mountain, restrained the mobility advantage of the Mongol cavalry, forced the enemy to fight against each other under the coordination of infantry and cavalry, and then crushed the enemy to death with strong comprehensive strength.
However, a friend wants to ask, most of the wars of the Great Unification Dynasty against the nomads have achieved the expected victory, but most of them have also been exhausted by the long-term war, so why is it that only the Manchus can maintain long-term effective rule? ?
As a typical agricultural country, the development of agricultural production will inevitably promote the increase of population, and from this point of view, population is an important indicator of national strength. Judging from the population indicators alone, the national strength of the Manchu Qing Dynasty is undoubtedly far greater than that of the previous great unified dynasties.
In the Great Unification Dynasty, the population base of the Han and Tang dynasties was tens of millions, and by the Song Dynasty it exceeded 100 million, and the Ming Dynasty was about 120 million to 150 million in its heyday. The population of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty was about 90 million in the early years, and it grew to nearly 300 million in just over 100 years, and this more than 100 years was also the time when the Manchu regime was most entangled with Mongolia and Hui militarily.
The rapid development of agriculture in the Manchu Qing Dynasty was mainly due to the initial determination of the people's will at the beginning of the great turmoil, the government implemented the policy of recuperation and recuperation, and at the same time the cultivated land area has expanded to a great extent compared with the Ming Dynasty, according to Li Genpan's book "Ancient Chinese Agriculture" records, the cultivated land area of the Qing Dynasty expanded from 784 million mu in the Ming Dynasty to 1.1-1.2 billion mu, and the new cultivated land mainly came from the reclamation of land in the border mountainous areas. Finally, there is the development of agricultural technology. Another factor to mention is the expansion of new crops, mainly maize, potatoes and sweet potatoes, but not as much as we thought.
It was precisely by virtue of its greater national power than the previous great unified dynasties that the Manchus were able to continue to invest resources to ensure effective rule over the conquered areas after more than 100 years of struggle with the nomadic forces.
In addition to setting up special administrative institutions, garrisons, and tuntians as the previous great unified dynasties, the Manchu Qing also adopted management methods such as "co-opting", strengthening control, and intentionally or unintentionally "weakening" the management of the nomadic areas in the north.
Long before the establishment of the Guanwai system, the Later Jin established a political alliance based on the marriage system with the Mongols, mainly the eastern Mongol tribes, with the aim of jointly countering the Ming Dynasty, which was still relatively powerful at the time, and to advance into the Central Plains. Different from the Han Dynasty's "harmony", the Manchu and Mongolian marriages were two-way, that is, both the Manchu Gege "married" the Mongolian princes, and the Mongolian princesses married to the Manchu as concubines, and this system has been throughout the entire Qing Dynasty. There is no doubt that the marriage system strengthened and strengthened the Hongmeng political alliance, and whether it was as a staunch political ally, attacking the stable rear of the Central Plains and an important source of troops, the Mongol tribes fulfilled their role perfectly. In the Manchu wars against the Manchus, the Mongol cavalry was an important player that could not be ignored.
Tibetan Buddhism spread over the steppe region for a long time, and the Manchu regime was keenly aware of its exploitation. As early as the Huang Taiji period, the Manchu Qing Dynasty began to vigorously promote Tibetan Buddhism in the grassland area, and gradually improved into two major systems: the Zhangjia Living Buddha in Inner Mongolia and the Jebtsundamba Living Buddha in Outer Mongolia. The Manchu government incorporated the leaders of Tibetan Buddhism in pastoral areas into the political system of the government through canonization, and further expanded the influence of Tibetan Buddhism by building monasteries in pastoral areas. Under vigorous promotion, Tibetan Buddhism soon overcame the primitive "shamanic" religion on the grassland and became the religious belief of the grassland people. The Manchus consolidated their political rule in the steppes by controlling their cultural beliefs, and even played a huge role in quelling rebellions.
In addition, the Manchus also implemented a policy of "banning" in pastoral areas, that is, isolating the people in the pastoral areas from the Han people, isolating the exchanges between the Mongolian tribes, and even forbidding the Mongolian tribes from mining for a time, and also strictly controlling the trade between the Mongolian region and the Central Plains. To a large extent, this was due to the Manchu fears of the Mongol power, both that it would be "sinicized" so that it would affect the stability of the Manchu-Mongolian political alliance, and that it would not lose control. Therefore, the "ban" policy was actually a "weakening" policy of the Manchu government, intentionally or unintentionally, towards the Mongol power.
Just looking at the rule of the Western Regions of the Great Unification Dynasty in the past, it has actually shown that the Central Plains Dynasty at that time had the strength to rule as far as the border. Its recurrence is often due to a lack of stamina in entanglements with northern nomads. By the time of the Manchu Qing dynasty, the development of firearms restrained the nomadic cavalry, and the emergence of Tibetan Buddhism coincided with its coincidence, and with the policy of adversarial affairs, it was only natural that the Manchus were able to control such a large territory.
Why did the Qing Dynasty replace the Ming Dynasty? Just because they have these three advantages, many people are reluctant to admit it.
To this day, there are still many friends who like the Ming Dynasty who still grit their teeth when they mention the Qing Dynasty, which is not only very naïve, but also irrational. In the end, the one who wins the hearts of the people wins the world? Whose fist is hard, who will take the country? I'm afraid everyone has their own arguments! By the time the Xiaoice Age of 1615-1675 came, the Ming Dynasty had fully integrated into globalized trade, which made the Ming Dynasty, with the silver standard as the core of its economy, rapidly deteriorate in the global silver crisis.
At this time, the Manchurians, who did not even have their own currency or even writing, were not affected by the international situation. In addition, even if the grain production is reduced, the Manchurians in the alpine land can still rely on fishing, hunting and animal husbandry to supplement their rations. In the face of this contrast, the Ming Dynasty was delayed by its old and bloated body. Later, Jin took advantage of the difficult times of the Ming Dynasty to continue to grow, and finally replaced the Ming Dynasty with his own efforts.
1) Huang Taiji's shrewdness
The fall of the Ming Dynasty was inseparable from the following factors:
the advent of the Xiaoice era; the reign of terror of the factory and sanitation system; chaotic partisan disputes; a bad economy; an increasingly bloated royal group; Corruption of the superstructure.
The predecessor of the Qing Dynasty was the Later Jin, which was a northeastern land bordering the Ming Dynasty.
Whether it is Huang Taiji or Nurhachi, they have all been canonized by the Ming Dynasty and can be regarded as ministers of the Ming Dynasty.
Whether in language, customs, and culture, the Manchus had already been sinicized before entering the customs, and there was no such self-deception as barbarians.
In Nurhachi's earliest Eight Banners, there were 4,800 Han Chinese households, many of whom intermarried with the aristocracy.
Even if they were low-status Han Chinese, they could still own their own property and power.
Like the later Cao Xueqin family and Nian Qianyao's family, they were all born in Baoyi Ahha, and they still became feudal officials.
In order to get rid of the backward culture of his steppe peoples as soon as possible, Nurhachi not only vigorously advocated intermarriage between Manchu and Han, but also imitated the administration of the Ming Dynasty to manage the interior.
However, Nurhachi was worried that he would die as quickly as the Northern Wei Dynasty because of excessive sinicization, so he formulated the "Eight Kings Discussion System" before his death.
In the Yongzheng Dynasty, the eighth elder brother who wanted to engage in palace changes wanted to use the Eight Kings to discuss politics to set up Yongzheng, but he was quite embarrassed by Zhang Tingyu's rebuttal.
Yes, the so-called Eight Kings Council has never been implemented at all. Because this is a tight spell for his successor, Huang Taiji, he doesn't want to be just a puppet emperor.
In order to realize his ambition to truly take power, Huang Taiji not only corrected Nurhachi's previous hard-line policies towards the Han Chinese, but also stipulated that children aged 8-15 must study.
What books do Manchurian children read? Of course, it is not the legendary "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but the classics of Sinology such as the Four Books and Five Classics, Zizhi Tongjian, and Sun Tzu's Art of War.
In 1629, Huang Taiji imitated the Hanlin Academy of the Ming Dynasty and established the Shangshu, and held the first imperial examination in the history of the Qing Dynasty.
Of the 300 Han Chinese slaves, 200 became officials through the imperial examinations. Not only that, Huang Taiji also imitated the lighting system to establish six departments, and put the position of the six departments on the eight banners.
Huang Taiji's purpose in doing this is obvious, that is, to make full use of the Han people and the things invented by the Han people to govern the Han people.
On May 14, 1636, Huang Taiji changed the name of the era to "Chongde" at the suggestion of the Han minister Fan Wencheng and others, marking a starting point for their transition from tribal leaders to Han Chinese power.
But Huang Taiji, like Nurhachi, was also afraid that the Eight Banners would lose their innate riding and archery advantage due to excessive sinicization, so before he died, he stipulated that the Manchus must not learn the robes and coats of the Han people, and must maintain the spirit of martial arts.
2. Dolgon's political wisdom
Dolgon is a person who looks very much like Zhu Bajie in the mirror, whether it is in the Manchu or Han people, he has not received a good reputation, and the ending is also very poor.
But we have to admit that if it weren't for Dolgon, the Qing Dynasty would not have been able to enter the customs at all. After the death of Huang Taiji, Dolgon, who was holding a heavy fist, in 1644-1645, replaced 3 of his 9 general soldiers with ordinary Han Chinese, and 6 with Han Chinese. Moreover, the 8 governors were all Han Chinese.
What's even more amazing is that Dolgon has long understood the minds of the literati of the Ming Dynasty who are hypocritical and righteous, and actually entered Beijing under the banner of avenging Chongzhen.
Of course, this is a cat crying mouse, but for those shameless literati, this is the best step for them to join the Qing army. Not only that, but when Dolgon appointed Han Chinese, he also gave priority to the literati from the north. Because these people have always been suppressed by the Donglin Party of the southern faction in the partisan struggle of the Ming Dynasty.
In the 1646 imperial examination, a total of 373 Han scholars were selected, of which 365 were northern literati.
Whether it is to avenge the emperor of the Ming Dynasty or to kneel down at the tomb of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, there is only one purpose, that is, to show the literati of the Ming Dynasty.
And these scholars, who were studying for the sake of being officials, for the sake of glory and wealth, as soon as they found the steps, immediately fell like flies at the feet of Dolgon.
Like the Haining Chen family, it was at this time that they defected to the past.
Who is the Chen family? According to legend, the family of Chen Jinnan, the chief helmsman of the Red Flower Society, is also the family of Emperor Qianlong's father.
Since this family defected to the Qing Dynasty, it has produced 208 people and 3 scholars in 300 years, which can be described as a real famous family.
In addition, Dolgon also withstood the opposition of the Manchu aristocracy and reduced taxes during the war, further buying people's hearts.
In addition, in terms of justice, Dolgon's judicial trial was based entirely on the laws of the Ming Dynasty, which is rarely seen in history. But compared to Dolgon, he is still not ready.
3) Shunzhi, who played the art of the emperor to perfection
Only people who don't understand history will think that Shunzhi is just a hairy boy who is bent on falling in love. This young son of heaven is even more precocious than the later Kangxi, and he also knows how to govern the country.
After being suppressed by Dorgon for 6 years, Shunji completely turned over. Shunzhi not only raided Dolgon's house, but also transferred the three banners and horses in Dolgon's hands to his own hands. Even if Shunzhi is really Dolgon's illegitimate son, he still has no affection in front of power, not to mention that it is just a court legend.
In the 12 years of Shunzhi's pro-government, he acted arbitrarily and exerted the emperor's power to the extreme of history. And the tools he used, one is the Zizhi Tongjian, and the other is the Confucian classics.
In order to completely eliminate the situation of the civilian clique in the Ming Dynasty, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty must be diligent in his administration. Whether it is Yongzheng who died on the throne or Qianlong who was leisurely on the surface, their workload was several times greater than that of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Shunzhi fully interpreted the Confucian doctrines such as the monarch and the ministers, the three obediences and the four virtues, completely eliminated the idea that the scholars took the world as their own responsibility, and turned them into tools to serve the imperial power through and through.
In 1653, Shunzhi seized a small "Ren Zhen case" to expand the discussion of the Manchu-Han dispute. It was originally a small issue of political differences, but in the end, it was raised to a major issue of politics and party struggle by Shunzhi. All the Manchu and Han officials of the Third Yuan, the Nine Qings, the Six Branches, and the Fourteenth Dao were involved.
The "Ren Zhen Case" originally convicted 3 university scholars of beheading, 13 senior officials were exiled, and 28 Han officials were convicted. But in the end, Shunzhi did not learn from Zhu Yuanzhang to kill them all, but passed them all along.
After doing this two or three times, the ministers finally understood. In terms of the general policy of the empire, Shunzhi wanted absolute obedience, not the opinions of officials.
Regardless of the Manchu and Han dynasties, whoever dares to interfere with the imperial power with the spirit of the past scholars like the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties will die.
It is precisely in this way that Shunzhi turned all the ministers into the coat of their Aixin Jueluo family.
From the moment Zhu Yuanzhang lifted Zhu Xi to the altar and killed the officials, the literati had already lost the independent personality that scholars had, which was exactly what the emperors Zhu Yuanzhang and Shunzhi wanted.
Therefore, many historians refer to the Song Dynasty as the era of hooligans and slaves......
8. Why did the Qing Dynasty become the largest and most stable dynasty in Chinese history?
In Chinese history, the Yuan and Qing dynasties undoubtedly had the broadest territory.
However, although the territory of the Yuan Dynasty was vast, they had little management over the northern part. At the same time, after the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown, the territory under the command of the entire Yuan Dynasty was divided into two, showing that the Yuan Dynasty was not very stable.
Therefore, the Qing Dynasty was undoubtedly the one with the widest territory and the one that could remain stable.
So, why did the Qing Dynasty become the largest and most stable dynasty in history?
I believe that the reason for such a situation has a lot to do with the development and maturity of the nation in ancient China, and it is also closely related to the ethnic policy adopted by the Qing Dynasty.
The Chinese nation today is a big family of unity and harmony, and it is seldom split like Western countries and Middle Eastern countries because of contradictions between ethnic groups. Even if there is still a little bit of friction in the border areas, these frictions do not affect the great unity of the entire Chinese nation at all.
Since ancient times, the entire history of the development of the Chinese nation has been divided into two branches: "Hua" and "Yi". The "Hua" here refers to the Central Plains, but also includes the Jiangnan region and the Bashu region. The word "yi" here refers to some of the surrounding areas. Among these "Yi", starting from the Chu State, to Qin Shi Huang's southern expedition to Baiyue, to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's opening of the Southwest Yi, the southern and southwestern regions have basically been integrated. Although there have been wars between the Central Plains and ethnic minorities in the southwest and south in history, the scale is not large, and there are only some small frictions.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the west was in constant friction with the Central Plains during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Tang Dynasty, and the Song Dynasty. However, this friction is not very big. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was annexed to the Central Plains, so the west was integrated.
The most complicated and confrontational with the Central Plains is the north. During the Warring States period, the north had already formed a powerful Xiongnu Empire through its own continuous integration. This Xiongnu Empire, although it later experienced the blows of Zhao, Yan, and Qin during the Warring States Period, and then the blows of the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, weakened. Later, however, many great empires reappeared. For example, the Turkic Empire in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Liao, Xia, Jin, and Mongolian empires in the Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, and the Mongols and Later Jin in the Ming Dynasty.
Due to the relatively backward civilization in the north and the migration of entire ethnic groups, it does not have a very complete history. However, the history of the Central Plains is very complete, and the Central Plains countries, like the north, continue to have dynastic changes, which continue until the end of the feudal dynasty.
That is to say, for a large part of the time in ancient China, the northern and central plains countries developed separately in the form of two main lines.
However, although it is said that there are two main lines, these two main lines are intertwined and twisted together like ropes. There was constant friction and wars between the countries of the North and the Central Plains, but at the same time there was constant integration.
The integration between the countries of the Central Plains and the ethnic minorities in the north is not the same as that of many Western countries. The integration of Western countries is basically the substitution of one nation for another. However, this dominant position of the Central Plains state in ancient China has always remained unchanged, and it has always formed a tributary relationship with the ethnic minorities in the north. Although there will be wars between the north and the south, under normal circumstances, the north will regard the Central Plains countries in the south as suzerain. After all, the countries of the Central Plains are much more advanced than the North in terms of politics, economy, and culture. Therefore, China's historical development is dominated by the Central Plains countries.
From this point of view, the analogy of the rope that we mentioned earlier does not seem to be appropriate. The relationship between the Chinese state and the ethnic minorities in the north is a relationship between trees and vines. The Central Plains country is a tree, and the minority country in the north is a vine. The vine always surrounds the tree, and of course it may affect the growth of the tree, but it also promotes the growth of the tree. And the tree, in a straight and upward posture, rushed into the air with the vine.
It is precisely because of such a relationship of growth and development that by the time of the Qing Dynasty, the entire Chinese nation had basically been integrated. In this process of integration, the territory will naturally become larger and larger, and there will be more and more nationalities. It can be seen that the Qing Dynasty, as the last feudal dynasty, has the largest territory, and it is not difficult to understand.
In addition, the reason why the Qing Dynasty was able to maintain the stability of its territory was also largely related to the relatively good ethnic policy adopted by the Qing Dynasty.
During the Qing Dynasty, in fact, only the Mongols were left in the entire north. It was obviously much easier for the Qing Dynasty to deal with a nation. When the Qing Dynasty treated the Mongols, the method adopted was different from that of the Central Plains countries in ancient China, which used the method of tribute, while the Qing Dynasty adopted the method of marriage. Naturally, the countries of the Central Plains in ancient times also had marriages, and the way of marrying the princess to the grassland was adopted. However, the so-called "marrying princesses" in ancient Central Plains countries are actually marrying "fake princesses". And the Qing Dynasty was a real marriage, and it was a common marriage. Even at least a princess, she has to marry to the steppe.
In doing so, the Qing Dynasty obviously wanted to change the bloodline of the steppe peoples, and by changing the bloodline, to strengthen the flesh-and-blood ties. At the same time, it also gave the Mongols a sufficient sense of dignity, so that they had the status of "masters". In this way, the confrontation with the Qing government living in the Central Plains was not so strong.
If the confrontation was not strong, they would have fewer ideas for independence, so the Qing Dynasty was able to maintain stability.
9. Why did the Qing Dynasty have a large territory and a large population?
Regardless of whether everyone's attitude towards the Qing Dynasty is criticism, praise, or objective neutrality. The Qing Dynasty had two advantages that could not be overlooked, the territory was very large and the population was super large.
In 1820, the territory of the Qing Dynasty reached 13.16 million square kilometers. The population reached more than 300 million in the middle of the Qing Dynasty and more than 400 million in the late Qing Dynasty.
Some people may disagree with this, they think that science and technology, democracy and freedom are important, and territory and population are not important at all.
This perception could not be more wrong.
Whether in ancient times or in modern times, it is relatively easy for a country to develop science and technology, economy, democracy and freedom, but it is extremely difficult to increase the number of people and increase the area of territory.
At a certain time, the population can increase rapidly, but due to the "Malthusian trap", among other factors, population growth can quickly stagnate and become negative. Even modern developed countries cannot be cracked.
It is even more difficult to increase the territory. After World War II, it was certainly difficult to increase the territory. Many people think that it was easy to increase territory before World War II and in ancient times, but it was also very difficult. For any political entity, territory is fundamental to survival, and in order to obtain territory, it is necessary to completely conquer the people in the territory.
The reason why the Qin Emperor and Han Wu were able to expand their territory on a large scale was because they stood on top of the world and ruled the most powerful country in the world. There is only one country in the strongest country in the world, and one will make a thousand bones dry.
In modern times, it seems easy for the Western powers to expand all over the world. In fact, the process is also very difficult, and in the end, only the United States and Russia can turn the colonies into their own territories. The other powers have failed, which shows how difficult it is to increase the territory!
In contrast, it is much easier for a country to develop its economy, science and technology, democracy and freedom.
Since it was so difficult to increase the population and territory, why could the Qing Dynasty do it?
1. Overall, the rulers of the early and middle Qing Dynasty had a high level of proficiency and were able to effectively deal with internal and external troubles.
Since the Anshi Rebellion, the ruling level of the Han rulers has dropped significantly, and they have been unable to effectively suppress the civilian bureaucracy and local tyrants internally, and have been unable to expand their territory externally.
The last four dynasties of China, the Song Dynasty, were normal Han Chinese dynasties, militarily weak and submissive. The Ming Dynasty was also a Han Chinese dynasty, but the founders were the most marginal beggars in society. This shows that the literati, doctors, landlords and gentry are rotten to the core, so that a beggar can stand out.
The Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty were established by ethnic minorities, and the Han rulers were directly compared. The subtext is that you are no longer worthy to be a ruler, so be a ruled!
The level of rulers in the early and middle Qing Dynasty was already comparable to that of the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty, and they had a fight with the rulers of the Western powers of the same period, and they were not a problem to deal with internal and external troubles.
How did the Qing rulers do this?
2. Suppress and suppress literati, doctors, and landlords, and levy taxes on landlords and wealthy merchants.
In ancient times, meritorious families enjoyed tax exemption, and the refusal of wealthy landlords and merchants led by the Donglin Party in the Ming Dynasty to pay taxes to the imperial court was the most important reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty abolished the poll tax, implemented the apportionment of the land into the mu, and the officials and gentry paid the grain in one piece. Only by ensuring fiscal revenue can we have sufficient logistical support in foreign wars.
The abolition of the poll tax is the direct cause of the increase in population. In previous dynasties, taxes were levied on a per capita basis, and after the birth of a child, a tax was paid at the age of two or three. The poor could not afford to pay their taxes, so they had to drown their children.
3. The Qing Dynasty had a lighter tax, which was conducive to population growth.
A declining population means that the burden of human pressure is too great. The population of the Qing Dynasty could increase substantially, at least it shows that the burden on the people of the Qing Dynasty was lighter than that of the previous dynasties.
In the previous Han dynasty, the Han people actually had to feed two armies that fought each other, one was the Han army and the other was the army of nomads. The nomads kept going south to loot in order to survive, and they were also fed by the Han people.
The Qing Dynasty directly subjugated most of the nomadic tribes, allied with them, and divided and ruled. Only a very small number of Mongol tribes, such as the Dzungars, dared to challenge the Qing Dynasty, and for most of the time, the Qing Dynasty achieved peace. The Han people only needed to raise an army that did not fight often, and the burden was greatly reduced.
Summary: In the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, the emperor and the scholars ruled the world together. The status of the literati landlords was too high, they enjoyed tax exemptions, their lives were corrupt and degenerate, they did not want to make progress, and they were repeatedly defeated in foreign wars. The Qing Dynasty suppressed and suppressed the power of literati landlords, made landlords also pay taxes, and also subjugated the nomads, abolished the poll tax, and reduced the burden on the people.
The financial resources of the imperial court were guaranteed, and the foreign wars were won one after another, and the territory naturally increased. The burden on the people was lightened, and the population naturally increased. Whether in ancient times or in modern times, it is relatively easy for a country to develop science and technology, economy, democracy and freedom, but it is extremely difficult to increase the number of people and increase the area of territory.
At a certain time, the population can increase rapidly, but due to the "Malthusian trap", among other factors, population growth can quickly stagnate and become negative. Even modern developed countries cannot be cracked.
It is even more difficult to increase the territory. After World War II, it was certainly difficult to increase the territory. Many people think that it was easy to increase territory before World War II and in ancient times, but it was also very difficult. For any political entity, territory is fundamental to survival, and in order to obtain territory, it is necessary to completely conquer the people in the territory.
The reason why the Qin Emperor and Han Wu were able to expand their territory on a large scale was because they stood on top of the world and ruled the most powerful country in the world. There is only one country in the strongest country in the world, and one will make a thousand bones dry.
In modern times, it seems easy for the Western powers to expand all over the world. In fact, the process is also very difficult, and in the end, only the United States and Russia can turn the colonies into their own territories. The other powers have failed, which shows how difficult it is to increase the territory!
In contrast, it is much easier for a country to develop its economy, science and technology, democracy and freedom.
Since it was so difficult to increase the population and territory, why could the Qing Dynasty do it?
1. Overall, the rulers of the early and middle Qing Dynasty had a high level of proficiency and were able to effectively deal with internal and external troubles.
Since the Anshi Rebellion, the ruling level of the Han rulers has dropped significantly, and they have been unable to effectively suppress the civilian bureaucracy and local tyrants internally, and have been unable to expand their territory externally.
The last four dynasties of China, the Song Dynasty, were normal Han Chinese dynasties, militarily weak and submissive. The Ming Dynasty was also a Han Chinese dynasty, but the founders were the most marginal beggars in society. This shows that the literati, doctors, landlords and gentry are rotten to the core, so that a beggar can stand out.
The Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty were established by ethnic minorities, and the Han rulers were directly compared. The subtext is that you are no longer worthy to be a ruler, so be a ruled!
The level of rulers in the early and middle Qing Dynasty was already comparable to that of the Qin Emperor and the Han Dynasty, and they had a fight with the rulers of the Western powers of the same period, and they were not a problem to deal with internal and external troubles.
How did the Qing rulers do this?
2. Suppress and suppress literati, doctors, and landlords, and levy taxes on landlords and wealthy merchants.
In ancient times, meritorious families enjoyed tax exemption, and the refusal of wealthy landlords and merchants led by the Donglin Party in the Ming Dynasty to pay taxes to the imperial court was the most important reason for the fall of the Ming Dynasty.
The Qing Dynasty abolished the poll tax, implemented the apportionment of the land into the mu, and the officials and gentry paid the grain in one piece. Only by ensuring fiscal revenue can we have sufficient logistical support in foreign wars.
The abolition of the poll tax is the direct cause of the increase in population. In previous dynasties, taxes were levied on a per capita basis, and after the birth of a child, a tax was paid at the age of two or three. The poor could not afford to pay their taxes, so they had to drown their children.
3. The Qing Dynasty had a lighter tax, which was conducive to population growth.
A declining population means that the burden of human pressure is too great. The population of the Qing Dynasty could increase substantially, at least it shows that the burden on the people of the Qing Dynasty was lighter than that of the previous dynasties.
In the previous Han dynasty, the Han people actually had to feed two armies that fought each other, one was the Han army and the other was the army of nomads. The nomads kept going south to loot in order to survive, and they were also fed by the Han people.
The Qing Dynasty directly subjugated most of the nomadic tribes, allied with them, and divided and ruled. Only a very small number of Mongol tribes, such as the Dzungars, dared to challenge the Qing Dynasty, and for most of the time, the Qing Dynasty achieved peace. The Han people only needed to raise an army that did not fight often, and the burden was greatly reduced.
Summary: In the Song Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, the emperor and the scholars ruled the world together. The status of the literati landlords was too high, they enjoyed tax exemptions, their lives were corrupt and degenerate, they did not want to make progress, and they were repeatedly defeated in foreign wars. The Qing Dynasty suppressed and suppressed the power of literati landlords, made landlords also pay taxes, and also subjugated the nomads, abolished the poll tax, and reduced the burden on the people.
The financial resources of the imperial court were guaranteed, and the foreign wars were won one after another, and the territory naturally increased. The burden on the people was lightened, and the population naturally increased. (Reference: Qing Historical Manuscript)