Chinese foreign policy in the 16th and 18th centuries. History of China. Northern hike. Occupation of Beijing
"Ni-nan" - there was a cry of a swift between the bridge rafters ...
But who or what disturbed his peace and sleep?
- A Taoist dispute between two friends whose speech is so unclear,
Looking at Mount Zhishan for a glass of wine...
(Liu Lisun. Poet of the Song Dynasty. “Poems on a Screen”)
State name of China translated into Russian as "middle state". The word comes from the name of the Khitan tribe, which ruled in the northern part of the state at the time when the country's contacts with European states first began to be established. Marco Polo gave the country the name Catai when he traveled to Asia. So they began to call Northern China. Southern China, conquered by that time by the Mongols, Marco Polo called "southern barbarians" (Manji). IN English language the word Catai came in as Cathai.
Today, the official name of the country is the People's Republic of China (PRC). The name was changed in 1949 with the rise of the Chinese Communist Party. The form of government in the country is a socialist republic.
The total population according to 2007 data is 1.317 billion people. This is the largest population of a single country in the world. The main part of the population is made up of ethnic Chinese (self-name - Han) - about 92% of the population. In total, 56 nationalities live in China.
Territory of China 9,596,960 sq. km (in terms of territory, China is second only to Russia, the USA and Canada). The length of the land strip, excluding the islands, is 18,000 km. China consists of about 5,000 islands. The largest islands in China are Taiwan and Hanan.
The capital of the state is Beijing.
The official currency is the yuan.
The official language is Chinese, in Hong Kong they also speak English, and in Macau they also speak Portuguese.
Religion of China
The main religions of China are Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
Confucianism arose in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. in China. The original name of the doctrine is zhu. The founder of the doctrine is Confucius. Confucianism supports the cult of the earth and the cult of ancestors, and also accepts the sky as the highest principle. The pinnacle of human development in Confucianism is the attainment of the Tao. Tao represents the highest substance, replaces the concept of "God". The main idea of Confucianism is the spiritual and social self-improvement of man. Education, constant spiritual development, respect for traditions and the rules established in society are considered important. Morality and ethics in Confucianism are primary, and religion is secondary. Confucianism is rational and seeks not only to show a person the way to achieve the Tao, but also pays attention to politics, ethics, social life, striving for an ideal society. Confucianism does not contain a doctrine of the origin of man, but teaches what, from the point of view of morality, a person should be.
Taoism is the doctrine of Tao (the way), the Chinese religion, which contains elements of traditional philosophy and science, as well as shamanism, mysticism and divination. The emergence of Taoism presumably dates back to the 4th-3rd centuries. BC. The main sources of Taoism are the mystical cults of the Chu kingdom, as well as the magical practices of the Qi kingdom. The founders of Taoism are Emperor Huangdi and the sage Lao Tzu. Taoism contains a complex hierarchy of deities and demons, the pantheon is headed by the God of Heaven Shang-di, the founder of the religion, Lao Tzu, is also included in the pantheon. Taoism has never been considered an official religion. Just like in Confucianism, the main idea in Taoism is the attainment of Tao. Great importance has the concept of wu-wei, which is an understanding of when action is necessary, and when inaction is necessary.
Buddhism is a doctrine of spiritual awakening, originating from the ideas of Buddha Shakyamuni. The emergence of Buddhism dates back to the 6th century. BC. The basis of Buddhism is blessed truths: suffering, the causes of suffering, the state of liberation, the path to liberation. Buddhism is divided into Mahayana (the Great Vehicle) and Theravada (the teachings of the elders). In China, mainly in Tibet, Mahayana is practiced. The Great Vehicle is subdivided into the Great Vehicle (Mahayana) and the Lesser Vehicle (Hinayana). The teachings of the Lesser Vehicle are limited to the pursuit of individual enlightenment, while the Great Vehicle preaches universal enlightenment. A person in Buddhism is one of the particles of the universe, one of the executors of the universal world law. The whole universe is based on an ethical mechanism, which is set in motion by good and evil deeds. Human life is just one of the moments in a long chain of rebirths. The world in Buddhism is illusory, just as all its pleasures are illusory. Everything is governed by the law of cause and effect - karma. The condition of each subsequent rebirth is the cumulative result of all previous ones. Death in Buddhism is not a final process, but a transition to another state. Personality is not a unity, but only a collection of dharmas (energy particles). The human soul also breaks up into separate elements. Personality is made up of five basic elements: corporality, sensation, desires, ideas, cognition. The reincarnation of the same personality is possible only if all the energy particles that make it up come together again. The soul is an individual consciousness that carries the entire spiritual world, transforms with each new rebirth and strives for rebirth.
History of China from ancient times to the twentieth century
It was a very long way to the Jiangnan tower - I walked it alone!
Only a flawed month and the cold dawn entered the palace of Hua Qing.
Only the west wind, whistling, decided to climb the Tower of Dynasties;
Under the dome of the Changyang Chamber, the dull sounds of rain can be heard...
(Wang Jian, poet of the Tang Dynasty. "Ode to the Hua-Qing Palace")
Ancient China
In the I millennium BC. on the territory of modern China there were seven strongest kingdoms - Chu, Qin, Wei, Zhao, Han, Qi and Yan. Period from 481 to 221. BC. in the history of ancient China is called the period of the warring states. During this period, the prerequisites were created for the formation of an empire, which, during its greatest territorial expansion, stretched from the Gobi Desert to the South China Sea, if we consider the extent from north to south, and also from the Liaodong Peninsula to the Pamir Mountains from east to west. The empire took shape by the end of the 3rd century BC. and continued in this form until the end of the second century. AD, after which it broke up.
The Warring States period was a time of successful development of the productive forces, because iron processing techniques were mastered. Until the VI century. BC. Ancient China was still in the Bronze Age. The tools that were used in crafts and agriculture were primitive.
Iron tools, which began to be used in agriculture, contributed to its widespread development. In Chinese agriculture, the plow, sickle, scythe, spade, hoe and other tools were used.
The Chinese practiced deep plowing and applied organic fertilizers. However, plow agriculture spread slowly and unevenly. It was relatively widely used at that time only in the north of China.
Serious irrigation work began on loess soils in the Yellow River basin. Large canals, dams and dams were created. This was primarily due to military and transport purposes, but canals were also used for irrigating the soil. A huge number of ditches were diverted from each canal, carrying water to the fields. Canals specially designed for irrigation began to be built.
Agriculture was the main occupation in the economic life of the ancient Chinese kingdoms. In Northern China, wheat, sorghum and millet were predominantly bred, and in Southern China, rice. Gardening developed (especially the cultivation of mulberry trees), as well as gardening.
The cultivation of the land was a communal activity, and not just the labor of slaves. Agricultural production rested on the efforts of free farmers. Agriculture was considered an occupation worthy of honor and respect.
With the extraction of iron and the skills of its processing, handicrafts began to develop. Iron was used to make tools and weapons. The kingdoms of Chu and Han became famous for swords, Zhao for shovels, Qin for pikes and spears. By the 3rd century BC. iron tools and weapons became widespread and began to displace bronze and copper ones.
At the same time, the production of copper and bronze products, such as mirrors, vessels, ornamental parts of chariots, and weapons, is developing. Weaving (especially silk weaving), ceramic, woodworking and lacquer crafts are developing, painting on silk is flourishing.
The technology of writing is being actively improved, the construction business is developing, which leads to the construction of magnificent palaces of kings and nobility, cities and defensive structures. On the northern borders of the kingdoms of Qin, Zhao and Yan, walls are being built to protect against the raids of nomadic tribes, which later became the links of the Great Wall of China.
Shipbuilding is developing successfully, especially in coastal kingdoms. The Chinese invent the compass, which was first used for overland travel, and then began to be used by navigators.
5th-3rd centuries BC. were marked by an increase in trade turnover within the kingdoms, as well as the strengthening of trade relations between the kingdoms. Commercial ties were established with neighboring tribes. The share of slave labor has increased. There were several categories of slaves, designated by the terms nu, bei, tong, shi, fu, jie, pu, li. Slaves were divided into private and state, the share of private slavery at that time increased significantly. Prisoners of war remained the main source of slaves. State slavery was increased by those convicted of crimes. Also, poor people, vagrants and the homeless began to be turned into slavery. With the ruin of the community members, debt slavery developed, which later became the main source of private slavery. The slave trade in non-Chinese slaves developed. The labor of slaves was used in hard work, construction, crafts and crafts, as well as in agriculture.
By this time, the emergence of Confucianism, Taoism and Fajia.
There was a progress of natural-science knowledge and ideological sciences. Astronomy, known in the territory of the Chinese kingdoms from ancient times, developed. Elementary knowledge of anatomy and medicine appeared. Natural philosophy and literary creativity developed.
Early Middle Ages
The beginning of the medieval era in China was associated with the invasion of barbarians. Various nomadic tribes that lived to the north and west of China penetrated far into the interior of the country. Northern China was subjected to especially numerous invasions. Part of the North Chinese nobility was forced to leave their lands and emigrate to South China, where the influx of barbarians was less strong. The result of the barbarian invasions was, first of all, the political fragmentation of China into many small states, at the head of which were partly barbarian leaders with their retinues, partly (in the south) representatives of the southern Chinese nobility of a semi-tribal, semi-slave type. Period from 420 to 589 in the history of China became the period of many northern and southern dynasties.
The barbarians failed to destroy state organization slaveholding China. But their invasion still had some social consequences. Chinese slavery was not completely destroyed, but it suffered a significant blow. The settled barbarians increased the number of the so-called free peasantry. Ordinary peasant warriors began to become dependent on those military leaders who managed to capture largest number lands, gradually turning them into serfs. It was during this period that Chinese estates, called zhuang-yuan, began to spread, which no longer had a slave-owning, but a feudal-serf character. Among the Chinese themselves, strong houses stood out, i.e. the richest and most powerful families who rose above the rank and file members of the clan and also became larger landowners who exploited their impoverished relatives as dependent peasants. However, the remnants of tribal relations persisted in China for a very long time. Back in the 10th and 11th centuries, serfs officially called themselves the children and relatives of their landlords.
The first attempt at the political unification of China in the early Middle Ages was the attempt of the Sui Dynasty. The founder of the Yangjin dynasty, or Yandi, was the head of the barbarian squads, who served in one of the northern dynasties. In 589 Yangjin subjugated North and South China and conquered Annam. Under him, the irrigation system was restored and partly expanded. In particular, the Grand Canal was dug, connecting the Yellow River with the Yangtze River. About a million peasants gathered from different parts of China were employed in the construction of this canal. But the rule of the Sui dynasty turned out to be short-lived, and the very unification of China under this dynasty was still fragile. Local power was in the hands of the local nobility. The raids of the Turkic tribes, which intensified in the west, demanded great forces from the empire, which it lacked.
In 618, one of the Western princes named Gaozu, a semi-Turkic by birth, seized power in the empire, marking the beginning of a new Tang dynasty.
The Tang Empire ruled China for about 300 years - from 618 to 907. The capital of the dynasty was the city of Chang'an (today Xi'an). The most brilliant representative of this dynasty was Gaozu's successor, Taizong (626-649). As a result of a series of wars, Taizong greatly expanded the empire's borders. The territory of China, considering the lands dependent, vassal of the emperor, extended in the north to the Amur and Khingan, in the south - to India and Siam, in the east - to Korea (which Taizong also tried to capture), in the west - almost to Iran. Under Taizong, the vast empire acquired the features of a complex bureaucratic monarchy, ruled by numerous imperial officials in the center and locally.
Under Taizong, special knowledge was introduced for officials. All officials were divided into nine ranks. The central administration finally took shape in the form of six departmental chambers or ministries (ministries of ranks, taxes, military, criminal court, public works, religious ceremonies). Local governors were appointed. The emperor managed to turn the local nobility into officials, who, thanks to their subordination to the center, received a number of social and official privileges.
Under Taizong, land ownership rights were verified, and the background of state lands, on which state peasants sat, subjected to many taxes and duties, was significantly increased. For their allotment, the peasants were obliged to pay a tax in grain, a tax in handicrafts, and, in addition, to carry out a heavy state corvée from 20 to 50 days a year. The bureaucratic nobility took possession of a significant part of the land, the possessions of some of the largest officials exceeded ten times the possessions of one peasant family.
The Tang Empire continued to maintain its position as the largest state in Asia under Taizong's successors. Empress Wuhou (689-705), the patroness of Buddhism, stood out among them. In the VII-VIII centuries. China conducted intensive foreign trade with the Arab Caliphate, India, Siam and Annam. But in the 8th century, a deep crisis of the Tang empire was revealed. The peasants, crushed by taxes, requisitions, all kinds of state duties, became impoverished and were forced to lead the most miserable way of life. Frequent epidemics due to hunger claimed hundreds of thousands peasant lives. The peasant allotments themselves decreased in number, as they were systematically seized by powerful houses - larger farmers, officials, usurers. The decrease in the number of state peasants had an unfavorable effect on the income of the imperial treasury. At the same time, the process of feudalization strengthened the local nobility and gave rise to centrifugal aspirations among the imperial governors and generals themselves. The turning point in the history of the Tang dynasty was the uprising of the commander-in-chief An Lu-shan. In 785, he opposed the emperor with 120,000 troops. In 786, An Lu-shan managed to capture the imperial capital of Chang'an. The emperor fled and only the next year crushed the uprising with the help of hired barbarians. Following the performance of An Lu-shan, there were uprisings of governors in South China, which also required great efforts from the emperor to suppress them.
The plight of the peasants led in the second half of the 9th century to the largest peasant uprising of 874-883. The uprising was led by a soldier of the imperial guard, a former small salt merchant Huang Chao. The Chinese peasant uprising of 874-883, which took place almost simultaneously with the uprising of the Zinj in the Baghdad Caliphate, is striking in its duration, mass character, and energy. It was also not devoid of some organization, which allowed it to achieve major successes for a certain time. The uprising began in the northern provinces of Shandong and Hebei. Then it penetrated into Central China in the province of Henan. Already in 874-875, Huang Chao had about 100,000 armed peasants. In 879, Huang Chao made a trip to South China, where he took the richest port of Canton. The rebels seized all the goods of numerous foreign merchants. In the hot climate of the south, a severe epidemic broke out among Huang Chao's soldiers. Huang Chao retreated north to the Yangtze River. Despite the consequences of the epidemic, his army continued to grow and by 880 already numbered 250-300 thousand people. In 881, Huang Chao took Chang'an and proclaimed himself emperor under the name Da Qi. The peasant emperor expressed his social program through the mouth of his chief minister, who declared that Da Qi wanted nothing more than to benefit the common people. Huang Chao stayed in Chang'an for two and a half years. In 883, the emperor of the Tang dynasty returned to the capital with the help of barbarian hordes - the Uighurs, Tanguts and other northwestern nomads. The steppe barbarians ruthlessly exterminated the Chinese peasants. In the people, these bloody predators were called "black crows". Huang Chao himself, forced to flee from Chang'an, died the following year in Henan province, killed by one of his entourage.
The peasant war of 874-883 resulted in the death of many feudal lords and high officials. As a result, the number of state peasants increased again. The end of the Tang Dynasty was predetermined by a powerful peasant movement. The emperors of this dynasty ruled for some time after the suppression of the rebellion. But their power no longer extended to all of China. In the north, at the beginning of the 10th century, a large barbarian state of an alliance of Khitan tribes was created, who captured Manchuria, part of Mongolia and part of northern China. The capital of the new state was the city of Yangjing, later known as Beijing or Beiping.
In 907, the reign of the Tang Dynasty ended. China entered a period of complete fragmentation. In 960, China was unified under the rule of the Song Dynasty. Its founder was Zhao-Kuan-Yin, one of the northern Chinese commanders, who won several victories over the Khitans. The capital of the new dynasty was at first the city of Chang'an. Later, the center was moved south to Hangzhou.
The Sung empire was weaker than the Tang. The unification of China under the Song Dynasty itself was not complete. Both in the north and in the south, part of the provinces did not recognize the authority of the Sung emperors. The Turkic, Mongol and other western nomadic tribes also did not fix the empire, presenting an ever-growing threat to its borders. The Sung emperors waged wars with the Khitans, Korea, and Annam. But the results of these wars were not certain enough to subjugate these countries to China. Yet, during the Sung Dynasty, China's international relations strengthened again. Large foreign trade developed not only with Central Asia, India and Indochina, but also with Korea, Japan and Indonesia.
The class relations of the Sung Empire in the 11th century led to deep antagonism, reminiscent of the times of the last Tang emperors. The number of state peasants, which increased slightly after the uprising of 874-883, again decreased. In the 11th century, the state received taxes from only half of the lands, since the other half of the lands was seized by privileged officials - feudal lords. The peasants were compelled from year to year to pay enormous sums in the form of interest on debts to usurers. The role of the latter was often played by the officials themselves, forcibly forcing the peasants to take loans from them on the most difficult usurious conditions. The condition of the peasants became dire. Hunger strikes, epidemics, the extinction of entire villages and districts became a kind of chronic phenomenon. The peasant movement again began to threaten to turn into a big peasant war on an all-Chinese scale. The desire of the imperial government to prevent a new peasant war and restore the shaken state finances was reflected in the rather radical reforms of one minister of the Sung dynasty, Wang An-shih.
Initially, Wang Anshi (1021-1086) was one of the provincial officials. In the provinces, he could closely get acquainted with the most egregious facts of the poverty of the population, the arbitrariness of officials and the domination of usurers. Rising to the post of imperial minister, Wang An-shih in the period 1068-1073. held several financial, economic and social events. First of all, he carried out a new land census and taxed the lands of the service nobility, by which time they had almost ceased to pay land taxes. Further, Wang An-shih freed the peasants from the state corvée, replacing it with a monetary tax. The peasants were obliged to pay land taxes partly in products, partly also in money. To avoid hunger strikes, Wang An-shih organized a system of state grain granaries, from which bread was given to the population in famine years. In order to suppress usury, Wang An-shih created a state bank where peasants could receive loans at low interest rates. Wang An-Shih's attempts to organize state trade were interesting, partly using the tax fund, partly by buying up products from merchants by the state. Wang An-shih tried to carry out a major reform in military affairs. He proposed to replace the mercenary army with a general conscription. The main army was to be a peasant militia. Every three yards had to put one infantryman, every ten yards - one cavalryman.
Wang An-shih's reforms met with sharp opposition from officials and feudal lords. In 1075, Wang An-shi was dismissed. His plans were considered "dangerous" for the state, although he aimed to streamline the feudal state, freeing it from the most harmful elements.
In the 12th century, the position of the Sunn empire did not improve. In 1126, due to the danger of invasions from the northern peoples, the emperors had to move the capital to the south, to Hangzhou. Since 1127, the Song dynasty has already controlled one Southern China. Northern China became part of the new large state of Jin, which absorbed the former Khitan state. IN early XIII century Northern China is conquered by the Mongols. But in the southern part of the empire, which remained under the control of the emperor, there were constant unrest. In the period 1127-1132, 93 mass uprisings were recorded in the official chronicles. In a reduced form, limited to South China, the Sunn Empire lasted until 1279, when it was conquered by Genghis Khan's grandson Kublai Khan. Kublai founded a new Mongol dynasty, called the Yuan in Chinese. Thus, for a long time China was included in the system of the Mongolian states of Central Asia.
Chinese culture of the period of the VI-XI centuries. was very well developed. It was far superior in its development to contemporary European culture in many respects. In China, irrigated, partly vegetable gardening was practiced. The production of rice, cotton, tea, raw silk was already the basis of Chinese agriculture at that time. In China, a lot of iron, copper, gold, silver was mined. Chinese crafts made great progress during the Tang Dynasty. Chinese porcelain, Chinese silk and cotton fabrics, various iron and copper products, together with tea and raw silk, constituted the main items of Chinese export. In China in the XI century, there were over 2 thousand cities. Some of them, like Canton and Hangzhou, each had one million inhabitants.
The Chinese have achieved a high development of science. Already in ancient times they knew writing (hieroglyphic), they were the first to invent writing paper. The Chinese were the first to practice printing, however, in its simplest form - in the form of cutting book text on wooden boards and then printing it on paper. In China, at the beginning of the 8th century, the official government newspaper Capital Bulletin was born, which existed until the beginning of the 20th century.
The Chinese studied mathematics, astronomy, geography, history. They own the invention of the compass and gunpowder. In 754, the Hanling Academy of Sciences was organized in China, which is the oldest scientific institution on a national scale in the world. China was famous for its chronicles. More than 500 volumes of annals remained from the Sung empire alone. There were large libraries in China containing hundreds of thousands of manuscripts. In a number of cities there were higher schools in which future government officials were to be trained. The examinations for the title of mandarins included the requirement of knowledge, in addition to the science of public administration, also philosophy (mainly in the form of Confucianism) and literature. Thanks to the great linguistic diversity of China, as well as as a result of intensive ties with neighboring countries, philology, compilation of dictionaries, and the study of grammatical and syntactic forms have received great development in China.
Chinese literature is already early middle ages represented by classical works. In the Tang period, two poets especially stood out: Li Bo (699-762) and Du Fu (712-770). The first was the author of numerous lyrical poems, in which he reflected a purely secular, cheerful, epicurean-materialistic worldview. The second wrote in a more solemn style, processing in his poems the rich material of folk mythological and heroic epos.
China in the Middle Ages did a lot for the development of architecture and visual arts. Chinese buildings - palaces, temples, towers, city gates - were less bulky compared to Indian ones, lighter and more elegant in decoration. They were created from the most diverse material - wood, marble, iron. Their decorations were rich carvings, porcelain, gold. The roofs of the imperial palaces and the houses of the urban rich were often covered with gold sheets.
High development painting reached in medieval China. In addition to beautiful easel painting, the art of drawing, engraving, woodcuts, wood burning, etc., has become widespread. Every household item of the ruling classes was striking in its artistic performance. Various products made of porcelain, bronze, ivory, wood and stone created world fame for the art and diligence of Chinese craftsmen, who often spent years and even decades of their lives on the manufacture of individual artistic objects.
China in the XI-XV centuries
Created first in northern China, the Mongol monarchy under Kubilal (1259-1294) spread to central and then to southern China. In 1728, the city of Hangzhou, the capital of the former Song Dynasty, was taken. In 1279, southern China was completely conquered. The new dynasty since 1264 was called the Yuan dynasty.
The Mongol conquest was as difficult for China as it was for other countries in Asia and Europe. Continuing for several decades (if we count the campaigns of Genghis Khan as the beginning), it cost China countless sacrifices in people and property. The Mongols devastated the Chinese fields and partly turned them into pastures for their flocks. Cities and villages were subjected to ruthless looting. Heavy requisitions were imposed on the Chinese people. The new Mongol officials were even more brutal than the old Chinese mandarins. But the Mongols themselves were under strong Chinese influence already in the 13th century. They mastered the Chinese language, Chinese writing and adopted the entire system of Chinese government. On the other hand, thanks to the inclusion of China in the system of Mongolian states, China was able again and even to a greater extent than it was under the previous national dynasties of Tang and Sunn, to take part in international trade. Iranian, Arab, Uzbek, Indian merchants appeared in China. The export of Chinese silk, porcelain, iron and copper, according to the Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who visited China under Khubilai, was carried out to all parts of the world. Continuing their wars of conquest outside of China, the Mongol khan-emperors sold their booty in China. Possessing unlimited despotic power and a large labor force for captives, the Mongols carried out a large construction of new roads and canals. They also patronized the development of Chinese industry, which provided such a valuable export. But the economic and political benefits were mainly enjoyed by the Mongol nobility and the Turkic and Iranian feudal lords and merchants attracted by the new dynasty. The old Chinese bureaucracy and the Chinese merchants felt hurt. Far from improving, the position of the broad masses of the Chinese working people has worsened over the decades, as bureaucratic-fiscal oppression and feudal exploitation have intensified. In the 16th century, there were repeated palace conspiracies against the Mongol emperors. In wider circles of the population, national-revolutionary organizations were created with the aim of freeing the country from foreign domination. In 1351, in the provinces of Henan and Shandong, there was an uprising of red turbans, prepared by an alliance called the "White Lily". In 1356, red turbans threatened the very capital of the Mongol dynasty, Beijing. In the 60s of the XIV century, uprisings against the Mongols were already taking place in most of the Chinese provinces. Home driving force the peasantry appeared as a national movement. One of the leaders of the peasant rebel army Zhu Yuan-zheng was proclaimed emperor (1368). He took the name Hong Wu. The new dynasty founded by him was called the Ming dynasty. She ruled China from 1368 to 1644. Its capital was at first the city of Nanjing, but then the center was moved again to the city of Beijing.
The new dynasty, emerging from the ranks of the people, at first pursued a policy that somewhat alleviated the position of the working people. So, tax lists were revised in order to more evenly distribute taxes. As a result of the confiscation of the lands of the Mongol nobility, the number of state peasants increased significantly. More than once, Hong Wu issued decrees on the addition of arrears. At the end of the 16th and in the first half of the 15th centuries, irrigation works were intensively carried out in the country. The government patronized the development of crafts in the country. The tax burden was somewhat weakened in relation to urban artisans. But at the same time, the peasant emperor was not going to make any social revolution. Large landownership and privileged bureaucracy remained, although at first they were subject to some restrictions. Pretty soon, the strengthened dynasty undertook aggressive campaigns aimed at capturing new lands, as well as expanding Chinese foreign markets. Even under Hong Wu, the power of the emperor extended to Korea. Under his successors, Annam was conquered and military expeditions were made to Indonesia, Indochina, and Malacca. Part of the petty rulers of these countries recognized supreme power Chinese emperor. The Chinese began to move to Indochina and Indonesia. In the 16th century, the Ming Empire no longer had to advance, but to defend its own borders. In the west, she was threatened by the Mongols. In 1550, one of the descendants of Genghis Khan approached Beijing with a large army and burned its suburbs. In the second half of the 16th century, China had to wage a tense struggle against Japanese aggression. Nevertheless, the Ming dynasty found the strength to repel the samurai, who were forced out of the continent at the very end of this century.
FROM early XVI century, Europeans began to penetrate China. The first to arrive there in 1516 were Portuguese ships. In the 40s of the 16th century, the Portuguese founded several colonies on the coasts of China. But by the beginning of the 50s, they were all destroyed by the local population, outraged by the extortion of the colonialists. Only in Macau, captured in 1557, did the Portuguese manage to gain a stronger foothold. In the second half of the XVI and early XVII centuries. The Spaniards, the Dutch, the British, and the French appeared in China. But the Ming government did not allow any deep penetration of foreigners into the depths of China. The trade turnover with China in the 16th century among European merchants was insignificant when compared with trade in India and Indonesia. In the second half of the 16th century, the first relations with China of the Russians took place.
China in the XVI-XVII centuries
China in the XVIII-XIX centuries
By the end of the 18th century, there was a resurgence of trade between China and European and Asian countries. The Chinese sold tea, porcelain, silk to Europe, but did not purchase any European goods, preferring to receive silver for their goods. The British began to import opium from India to China, gradually introducing the local population to smoking opium. The coastal regions of China became especially dependent on the supply of opium. In the 19th century, the Opium Wars broke out in China.
The first Opium War in China took place in 1840-1842 between Great Britain and China. Great Britain defended its interests in trade, including in the opium trade. The reason for the start of the war was the arrest of an opium smuggler in China and the destruction of their cargo. Great Britain won the war, mainly due to the actions of its fleet. On August 29, 1842, the Nanjing Treaty was signed, which secured the victory of Great Britain in the war, and also established the obligation of China to pay an indemnity of $ 21 million and transfer the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain. The war was the beginning of a long weakening of China, the oppression of foreign powers and the depopulation of the local population.
The Second Opium War took place from 1856 to 1860 between China on one side and Britain and France on the other. Great Britain and France demanded the possibility of unlimited trade and the admission of their ambassadors to Beijing. The reason for the start of the war was again the arrest of opium smugglers on a British ship assigned to Hong Kong. The war again ended with the defeat of China, on October 25, 1860, the Beijing Treaty was signed, according to which China undertook to pay 8 million liang to Great Britain and France, as well as to expand their trade zone. Under the treaty of Great Britain, the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula departed.
In 1894, China went to war with Japan. The Sino-Japanese War continued until 1895. The main reason for the war was Japan's claims to control Korea and Manchuria, which at that time were in vassal dependence on China. China lost this war, on April 17, 1895, the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed. Under this treaty, Korea gained independence from China, while Taiwan, the Penghuledao Islands and the Liaodong Peninsula retreated to Japan. Japan also got the opportunity to build industrial enterprises in China and import industrial equipment into the country.
The consequence of the Sino-Japanese war and the signed Treaty of Shimonoseki was a triple intervention by France, Russia and Germany. On April 23, 1985, these countries turned to Japan demanding that the Liaodong Peninsula be returned to China, fearing Japanese control over Port Arthur. On May 10, 1985, Japan returned the Liaodong Peninsula to China, however, at the same time increasing the amount of indemnity assigned for China's loss of the Sino-Japanese war.
In 1897, German Chancellor Wilhelm II obtained Nicholas II's consent to the deployment of a German naval base at Jiaozhou in Shandong. In November 1897, the Chinese killed German missionaries in Shandong. In response, Germany captured Jiaozhou. The Chinese had to lease Jiaozhou from Germany for 99 years and allow Germany to build two railways in Shandong, as well as a number of mining concessions.
In 1898, in June, a period called the "hundred days of reform" began in China. The Manchu emperor Zai Tian enlisted a group of young reformers to develop reforms that would allow China to make a leap forward in its development. The reforms affected the education system, railways, factories, agriculture, the armed forces, domestic and foreign trade, as well as the state apparatus. In September 1898, a palace coup took place, led by Empress Dowager Cixi. The coup was successful, all reforms were cancelled.
China in the 20th century
The 20th century in China began with the Yihetuan uprising in May 1900. During the uprising, 222 Chinese Christians were killed, and the Petang Catholic Cathedral was besieged. On June 21, 1900, Empress Cixi declared war on Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Japan, the United States, and Russia. The countries agreed on a joint struggle against the rebels. On February 8, 1904, with the liberation of Manchuria by the Russian troops in China, the Russo-Japanese War began. This war ended with the defeat of Russia.
In 1911, the Wuchang uprising began in China, which resulted in the Xinghai Revolution, which lasted from 1911 to 1913. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown and China was proclaimed the Republic of China. Tibet passed into the zone of influence of Great Britain. On February 12, 1912, the first president of China, Yuan Shikai, who had previously been prime minister and commander-in-chief of the Chinese army, was proclaimed. In 1913, after Yuan Shikai suppressed uprisings in the central and southern provinces, a dictatorship was established in the country.
When did the first World War, China declared its neutrality and the inadmissibility of hostilities in the country. However, Japan launched military operations in the province of Shandong - a German colony. Japan managed to achieve the capture of German territories and take control of the entire province.
In 1915, China was again proclaimed a monarchy, and Yuan Shikai became emperor. However, already in 1916, Yuan Shikai died. After his death, China began to disintegrate into military fiefdoms, led by militaristic groups that began active relations with other countries, especially with Great Britain and Japan.
In 1912, the Kuomintang Party was established in Guangzhou Province. In 1921, the Chinese Communist Party was founded. In 1923, cooperation was organized between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China through the mediation of the Comintern. On January 20, 1924, the first congress of the Kuomintang was held in Guangzhou. June 16, 1924 was founded military Academy Whampu under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek. The Kuomintang set a course for cooperation with the CPC and the Communist Party of the USSR. In March 1926, Chiang Kai-shek carried out a military coup in Canton, expelled the communists from the city, and three months later he was elected chairman of the Kuomintang and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Having achieved high power, Chiang Kai-shek invited German advisers headed by the former General of the Reichswehr von Seeckt. In December 1927, a communist uprising took place in Canton, which was brutally suppressed by the Kuomintang.
In autumn 1931, Japan occupied China. On July 7, 1937, World War II began for China, which ended in 1945 with the defeat of the Japanese army. On April 24, 1949, the Chinese People's Liberation Army won the civil war destroying the Kuomintang. On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed, which was recognized by the USSR on October 2, 1949.
In 1966, a cultural revolution took place in China, led by Mao Zedong, who fought to strengthen his position in the CCP. It actually continued until 1976, i.e. before the death of Mao Zedong. Mass purges were carried out in the ranks of the CCP, helping to strengthen the power of Mao Zedong.
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In 1978, with the coming to power of Deng Xiaoping and Hu Yaobang, economic reforms in China were launched. The course was taken to build a market economic system with Chinese characteristics. Following this course until the end of the 20th century allowed China to take the positions it now holds in the 21st century.
Snow and plum blossoms argue in the spring - no one is ready to give up.
The brush was put aside by the writer, tired of philosophical works.
Plum should lose in whiteness - snow is three fen whiter,
The snow will yield a whole duan to the fragrance of mei!
(Lu Meipo. Song Poet. "Snow and Plum Blossom")
Cradle of ancient civilization. China is considered the most ancient cradle of civilization on our planet. The Chinese are proud of their antiquity and the richness of their history and culture. To emphasize the exceptional position that, in their opinion, their homeland occupies, they still call it "Zhongguo" - "Middle State". Until the 20th century The Chinese also called their country “Tianxia” (“Celestial”), “Zhong-hua” (“Middle Flower”), “Zhong-yuan” (“Middle Plain”), “Zhen-dan” (“Eastern Dawn”) and "Tian-chao" ("Heavenly Dynasty").
In our country, the country of the Hans, as the Chinese still call themselves, has received the name "China". It came from the Mongolian-Turkic people "Khitan", who occupied until the XII century. AD area in the northeast of modern China. In the Russian language, the word "Kitan" passed from the neighboring Turkic peoples with the sound "China". In Western Europe, the country became known as "Sina" or "China", from the English "China", i.e. "Qin" - a Chinese dynasty that existed in the III century. BC.
The Chinese, calling their country the "Middle State", since ancient times believed that their land is in fact the "center of the universe." They were convinced that by Heaven itself they were destined for the role of carrying civilization to the surrounding peoples, who were referred to only as "barbarians". Even the wars that were waged in the XIX century. against the Middle State, the European powers, the Manchu rulers referred to it as nothing more than an “uprising” or a “rebellion of the barbarians”. The French in 1884-1885 were called "rebellious vassals", and the British - "rebels", "half human, half animal".
Sky, emperor, ancestors. China is one of the few countries where the cult of veneration of Heaven has been combined with the cult of ancestor worship. Moreover, on earth this unity was embodied by the emperor, who was respectfully called "Tian-tzu" ("Son of Heaven"), as well as "Huangdi" - "Supreme Ruler on Earth." The emperor was considered the unlimited ruler of his subjects and their property. The position of the emperor was emphasized and highlighted in every possible way. So, for example, no one except the emperor and members of his family had the right to wear yellow clothes, the color of the sun. Almost all items used by the emperor were yellow, including tiles on the walls and roofs of the imperial palaces. None of the subjects were allowed to use the color yellow.
In China, they were sure that the emperor was responsible for all living beings living on earth. They talked about it like this: “There is no land that does not belong to the emperor; whoever eats the fruits of this land is a subject of the emperor."
The Chinese nation was traditionally viewed as one big family headed by the emperor. In China, the saying was widely used: "The Sovereign is the father and mother of the people." All members of this "family" were ordered to show filial love and respect for the emperor. Traditional relations emperor - subjects, father - son, husband - wife, senior - junior assumed respect, obedience, duty. According to a tradition dating back to the great Confucius, who lived in the VI-V centuries. BC, the Chinese had to strictly follow the rules, of which there were about 3 thousand.
Temporary workers. However, in early XIX in. the power of emperors in China was limited to the chambers of his imperial palace in the Forbidden City, a fenced-off quarter in the capital of the Qing Empire - Beijing. In fact, all affairs in the state on behalf of the emperor were run by various temporary workers, as a rule, these were the chief eunuchs at the court of the emperor. Naturally, they did not have time to take care of the affairs of the prosperity of the state. Taking the opportunity, they actively climbed into the treasury of the state, spending money on personal needs.
So, at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. the state was actually ruled by the courtier Heshen, whose fortune was equal to the annual income of the empire. There were legends about his palace among the people. Allegedly, it was a copy of the imperial palace. The vineyard in the palace garden was made by the most skillful jewelers from pure silver, gold and precious stones. The trunks and branches were of silver and gold, and the berries were of diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and corals.
In fact, everything in the country was run by Chinese officials - shenshi, who in Europe were known as "tangerines", so called by the Portuguese (from the Portuguese "mandar" - "rule, rule").
The desire of the Chinese for strict regulation in everyday life was transferred to relations with other peoples.
After the expulsion of the Mongol invaders and the accession of a new Ming dynasty in China, the central power is restored and strengthened. The territory of the empire was divided into provinces, which, in turn, were subject to regions, districts and counties. The provincial administration consisted of three parts: regular officials, military commanders and censors, who controlled both. The high degree of centralization of the bureaucracy and well-established control over it at first provided the dynasty with the complete loyalty of the state apparatus.
During the XV-XVI centuries. China experienced an economic boom. However, the development of commodity-money relations and private property, accompanied by the impoverishment of the peasantry, undermined the social base of the empire. It was at this time that the resources of traditional agriculture with its reliance on manual labor were practically exhausted. Various temporary workers, favorites, gained great influence on the emperors, which gave rise to constant court intrigues, conspiracies, and abuses at all levels of power. An opposition movement has formed in the country, led by academic officials calling for reforms. The position of the dynasty was complicated by renewed military pressure from the Mongols. In addition, the Manchu tribes became more active in the north of China. In 1636, the Manchu leader proclaims the creation of the Qing Dynasty (1636-1911). Thus, the dominion of foreign conquerors was again established in China.
The Manchus and the Chinese commanders who served them were able to take over the entire territory of China in a short period of time. The victory of the Manchus became possible largely due to the fact that the new conquerors were extremely tolerant of Chinese values, in particular, of the traditional class of academic officials. The Manchu leaders did not begin to destroy the centuries-old Chinese state machine, which was created in the era of previous dynasties, the state apparatus of power.
Qing emperors pursued an active policy of conquest. In the 18th century, numerous campaigns were carried out against the peoples who inhabited the southwestern borders of the empire. China managed to expand its borders in the east as well, extending its influence to the region of Tibet.
The Qing Empire entered the 19th century as the most powerful state in East Asia. However, behind its external brilliance, the old vices of agrarian despotism were hidden: the weakness of the army, the limited production potential, overpopulation, and the corruption of the authorities. These vices were clearly revealed in the middle of the 19th century - during the Taiping uprising (1851-1864) and the first clashes with the capitalist countries of the West.
India.
The medieval political structure of India is characterized by constant instability of power, both in the north and in the south of the country. The emerging dynasties and states were short-lived and frankly weak. Having existed for a certain period of time, they broke up into separate regions and principalities, which continued a fierce struggle for spheres of influence. Political changes did not affect the internal structure of society: here, as before, the state dominated, having the right to dispose of all the country's resources and carrying out a centralized collection of taxes.
The basis of the socio-economic structure of India was the traditional community. Relationships within the community were regulated by the caste system, according to which belonging to a particular caste is associated with the birth of a person, determining his social position for the rest of his life. Such a system favored the smoothing of contradictions on the lower "floors" of society, the absence of serious internal conflicts. Strong caste-communal structures were the key to the stability of Indian society in the Middle Ages.
Geographically, the community included several neighboring villages, united into a single whole. The internal life of the community was regulated by a strict internal routine associated with the mutual exchange of products and services. Each village had its own headman, who was responsible for paying taxes. Representatives of each village were included in the community council, which led the entire association. The communal system also extended to cities.
village communities, urban population paid the state the traditional sixth of the output. The rulers and princes used the collected taxes for the maintenance of soldiers and officials, the maintenance of temples and the priests who served them.
Formation of Muslim states in India - Delhi Sultanate (1206-1256) and the Mughal Empire (1526-18th century) brought changes to the socio-political and economic life of India. The bureaucratic apparatus grew, an extensive system of central and local governments was formed, and taxes increased accordingly.
The main form of land use remained communal, while part of the land was given to the use of the Islamic nobility. Despite the fact that the penetration of Islam contributed to a change in the way of life of the traditional population of medieval India, the formation of new cultural values, the process of Islamization did not affect the deepest civilizational foundations - the community-caste structure.
The collapse of the Mughal Empire coincided with the beginning of active European colonization of India and the adjacent regions of Asia. Colonial expansion, which resulted in the breakdown of the traditional structure of Indian society, ended the Middle Ages in the history of India.
1. Japan.
The history of medieval Japan can be conditionally divided into two periods: Nara and Heian (7th century - first half of the 12th century) and the era of the shogunate (late 12th century - middle of the 19th century).
At the first stage, Japan developed as a classical eastern state. Many institutions were deliberately transferred here from neighboring, more powerful at that time, China. The Japanese emperor, like the Chinese, concentrated in his hands the supreme secular and religious power. At his court there was an aristocracy - the highest stratum of society that performed bureaucratic functions. Community peasants worked directly for the benefit of the treasury of the state, which disposed of these funds at its own discretion. The political system of Japan was characterized by the centralization of power, the supreme ownership of the state (in the person of the emperor) on land with direct communal land use.
However, already at this time, the formation feudal relations. In XI -XI centuries finally approved a new form of land ownership - the feudal estate. In 1192, the emperor loses secular power, yielding it to the shogun. The feudal order is finally established in the country. The lowest economic unit was the community. The estate of feudal lords as a whole was divided into large princes and their vassals - ordinary samurai. There was also a layer of influential samurai closest to the shogun, who had great privileges. Subsequently, the structure of Japanese society began to be characterized by a division into four main categories: merchants, artisans, peasants and nobles. In relation to representatives of the lower strata of society, the feudal lord had exclusive rights: if the behavior of the peasant seemed objectionable to the samurai, he had the right to hack him to death right there, without any trial, which was an echo of traditional Eastern social relations. "
However, in general, Japan followed the path of developing proprietary institutions, being a kind of exception to the traditional pattern of development of Eastern societies. The reasons for this lie in the specifics of geographical conditions and historical development country. The state here immediately took shape from the communal-tribal system, bypassing the stage of slavery; geographical conditions did not require a constant general effort to maintain the economy (irrigation), on the contrary, the fragmentation of the territory by mountain ranges and rivers into valleys contributed to the isolation and separation of the individual economy.
Until the 19th century Japan was a closed country.
From the end of the Middle Ages (1368) to 1644, the Chinese Empire ruled Ming dynasty(which means "light" in translation).
Decline of the Ming dynasty
By the end of the 16th century, the Ming Empire was experiencing better times. Noble families began to seize communal peasant lands, forcing the peasants to give them most of the harvest. The families of the farmers were starving and impoverished, and the imperial treasury was empty. Many officials, following the instructions of Confucius on the duty of care, more than once sent their reports to the highest name. However, the last Ming emperors cared more about luxury and entertainment than about the welfare of their subjects. Often, a messenger from the imperial palace came to the houses of officials who decided to take such a step with a small bundle in their hands. With trembling hands, this bundle was unfolded by a previously influential official, and if there was a silk cord, it meant only one thing: the emperor orders his faithful subject to hang himself.
Rebellion against the Ming dynasty and its fall
The peasant uprising against the Ming Dynasty was led by a former village headman and robber, Li Zi-cheng. His army occupied entire provinces and cities, expelled officials, abolished high taxes, returned the peasants to us lands. In 1640, when the army of the rebels entered Beijing, the last Ming emperor hanged himself in his own palace on a silk cord. Li Tzu-cheng proclaimed himself the new "well-intentioned" emperor, but high officials and large landowners did not agree with this. One of them, the commander Wu Sangun, who guarded the Great Wall of China, decided to call on the help of the northern nomads.
As early as the beginning of the 17th century, the Manchu tribes united under the rule of one leader, stopped paying tribute to the Chinese emperor and proclaimed the creation of their own imperial dynasty, Qing (“bright”). Every year, the Manchurian cavalry broke through the Great Wall, plundered cities and villages. Now the Manchus, together with the Chinese nobility, attacked the peasant army.
In the 1630s and 1640s, an army of rebellious peasants overthrew the dynasty of the Ming emperors.
Power and inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom
Manchu Qing dynasty
In 1644, Beijing was captured by the nomadic Manchus, who proclaimed a new imperial Qing dynasty("light"). Chinese resistance to the Manchus was suppressed only to early XVIII century.
The Manchu leader became Chinese emperor with the title of god. All the highest government positions were occupied by the Manchus. The class of conquerors (professional warriors) dominated over the Chinese classes of scientists, farmers, artisans and merchants. Yielding to the Chinese in numbers, the Manchu conquerors were afraid to dissolve in their mass, so interethnic marriages were prohibited. The entire Chinese society was placed under strict police control. The Chinese had to shave half their heads and braid the rest of their hair. Anyone who refused to do this was immediately cut off his head and put it on a pole in the center of the village. Citizens were ordered to hang signs on their houses indicating how many people lived in the house. Peasants, under pain of punishment with whips, were forbidden to leave the villages and even slaughter livestock and poultry without the permission of the authorities. A list of books was compiled, which, according to the Manchus, "oppose our dynasty and which must be put on fire."
| Manchu. Military official |
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| Chinese Emperor Kangxi |
Nevertheless, the Manchu dynasty suited the Chinese nobility, as it sought to follow the Chinese traditions of governance. All bureaucratic positions and land rights of the Chinese nobility have been preserved. Second Manchu emperor kangxi tried to follow the rules of Confucianism in everything. He became a good connoisseur of Chinese literature and art. Kangxi took care of the development of agriculture, crafts and trade in the empire. The Chinese army was sent by the warlike Manchus to conquer the Great Chinese Plain. During the 18th century, the entire eastern half of Great Steppe: Mongolia, Kashgaria and Dzungaria. Chinese-Manchu troops forced to recognize the authority of the emperor in Korea, Vietnam and even Burma. As a result, the borders of the Chinese Qing Empire stretched from the taiga forests, along the Amur River in the north to the jungles of Indochina in the south, from the Pacific Ocean in the east to Central Asia in the west.
Thus, after the change of dynasties Chinese empire reached its external power. material from the site
China's self-isolation
The Chinese empire and the Japanese empire of the shogunate in the XVI-XVII centuries had to decide how to meet Far East the emergence of Europeans.
IN different time both China and Japan have introduced self-isolation policies. These policies at different times had different goals and different degrees of isolation. However, the result was the same: the closure of China and Japan from the penetration of Europeans erected a barrier between the Western European civilization and civilization of the Far East.
On this page, material on the topics:
The Manchus saved China as independent state. Abahai forbade the Manchus to wear the Chinese costume. All Chinese are required to wear their Manchu hair style.
The state system is intact. At the head of the state, Bogdykhan is an emperor with unlimited hereditary power. All the land was considered to belong to him, all on earth were his subjects. Twice a year, the emperor performed religious ceremonies: in the temple of Earth and in the temple of Heaven. His decrees were announced from the walls of the forbidden city. His face was forbidden to be seen, called by name. The emperor could only be called by the motto of his reign. All decisions of all state bodies were formalized as coming from the name of the emperor.
The State Council is an advisory structure. The State Council included the Manchurian princes.
A system of vacancies has been introduced. A list of posts that can only be held by Manchus and a list of posts that can be held by both Manchus and Chinese are defined.
Dasyuashi - 4 people Chancellors: 2 Manchus and 2 Chinese.
Only the Manchus can use the great state seal. Each dasyuashi has 2 deputies: 1 Manchu and 1 Chinese.
The system of 6 ministries has been preserved:
- - military;
- - judicial;
- - tax;
- - ceremonies;
- - ranks;
- - public works.
There are 2 officials at the head of the ministry: 1 Manchu and 1 Chinese. Each chief has several deputies: 1 Chinese and from 3 to 7 Manchus. Tracking system.
False denunciation was punished according to the principle of reciprocal accusation - the scammer received a public position on the one whom he denounced. It was forbidden to report on older relatives, with the exception of the murder of a father, you can report on your mother.
Kuishi Dafu (translated as "Supreme Censor") monitored the officials. To conduct foreign affairs, a chamber for dependent territories - Lifanyuan - is being created.
The country is divided into 18 provinces (qingu, xunfu). Dongbemei ("northeast") is the name of the northeastern part of the country, including the easternmost part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Heilongjiang Province, Liaoning Province, and Jilin Province. Northeast China is considered the domain of the Qing Dynasty. The provinces were divided into 10 regions. The regions were divided into districts. Desyatidvorka is the lowest administrative unit.
Bauji - the principle of mutual responsibility. The government officials are Chinese. It was forbidden for namesakes to work at the same institution. The system of exams for admission to the service was preserved - 3-stage exams.
Confucianism is a state ideology that includes 9 books. Officials must know them. A candidate for officials had to write an essay on a given topic, consisting of 8 parts and with a certain number of hieroglyphs.
The country was ruled by 20,000 officials, 7,000 military officials. Shenshi - class of officials, the most privileged: 20 ranks. Each rank has a strictly regulated system of behavior: clothing, travel, home, etc., a regulated number of wives.
Nun - peasants;
Gong - artisans;
Shang - merchants.
1647 - The Manchus adopted a criminal code. The concept of "shadow" has been preserved. Any relative of a high-ranking person was considered to be in that person's shadow.
The Manchus stood outside the estate system. Marriages between Manchus and Chinese are prohibited. There were separate courts and separate prisons for the Manchus.
The armed forces consisted of two parts: the 8th banner army and the green banner troops. The troops of the green banner consisted of the Chinese. The 8th banner army was maintained at the expense of its own lands. 250 mu of land per warrior, 100 mu = 6 ha.
