The Qing dynasty () was an imperial Chinese dynasty ruled by the Aisin Gioro clan of Manchu ethnicity. Officially known as the Great Qing, the dynastic empire was also widely known in English as China and the Chinese Empire both during its existence, especially internationally, and after the fall of the dynasty.
Earlier names
In 1616 Nurhaci declared himself the "Bright Khan" of the Later Jin state (; Jurchen/Manchu: Amaga Aisin gurun) in honor both of the 12–13th century Jurchen-led Jin dynasty and of his Aisin Gioro clan (Aisin being Manchu for the Chinese (jīn, "gold")). The dynasty became known as the Later Jin dynasty by historians."The Oxford History of Historical Writing: Volume 3: 1400-1800" by José Rabasa, Masayuki Sato, Edoardo Tortarolo, Daniel Woolf, p30 His son Hong Taiji renamed the dynasty Great Qing in 1636, sometimes referred to as the Predynastic Qing. In 1644 the Shunzhi Emperor established the dynastic capital in Beijing and was enthroned in the Forbidden City shortly after the fall of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The Qing dynasty completely conquered the Ming dynasty's rump regimes (collectively known as the Southern Ming) by 1662.
Origin of the name Qing
The name Great Qing first appeared in 1636. Since there was no official explanation from the Qing government about the origin of the name, there are competing explanations on the meaning of Qīng (lit. "clear" or "pure"). The name may have been selected in reaction to the name of the Ming dynasty ( or Great Ming), whereas the character is composed of elements "sun" () and "moon" (), both associated with the fire element of the Chinese zodiacal system. The character Qīng () is composed of "water" () and "azure" (), both associated with the water element. This association would justify the Qing conquest as defeat of fire by water. The water imagery of the new name may also have had Buddhist overtones of perspicacity and enlightenment and connections with the Bodhisattva Manjusri. Alternatively, Great Qing may come from ancient Chinese text Guanzi, which included clauses like "鏡大清者，視乎大明" and "鑑於大清，視於大明", whereas "Great Qing" (大清) referred to the sky and "Great Ming" (大明) referred to the Sun and Moon, with the sky covering the Sun and Moon. "Qing" is also the name of several rivers in Manchuria, at one of which Nurhaci won a key battle in 1619. Also, in its Manchu pronunciation, Daicing is a near homonym with the Mongol word daicin, meaning "militant" or "warlike".
The name China for the Qing
The Qing dynasty was not founded by the Han people, but by the Manchus. Since its time the Qing became widely known internationally in English as "China"Treaty of Nanking. 1842. or the "Chinese Empire",McKinley, William. "Second State of the Union Address". 5 Dec. 1898. with China being the standard English translation of Zhongguo or Dulimbai Gurun. They were commonly used in for instance international communications and treaties in addition to English-language mass media and newspapers etc. during the Qing period.
While orthodox historians tend to emphasize the power of the Han people to "sinicize" their conquerors in their thought and institutions, scholars of the New Qing History tend to deconstruct the concept of "sinicization" and attempt to approach the Qing as an Inner Asian rather than Chinese empire, arguing that the Qing drew on both Chinese and Inner Asian political traditions. In response, scholar Zhang Jian pointed out the various ways in which the word "sinicization" can be understood. Scholar Yuanchong Wang emphasized that instead of focusing on the Manchu ethnic identity for the concept of "sinicization", he used the term "sinicization" in a different sense, in the hope to show how the Manchu regime, instead of the ethnic Manchus, promoted itself as the exclusively civilized Middle Kingdom or Zhongguo. He wrote that the Qing's depiction of itself as a Chinese empire was not hindered by the imperial house's Manchu ethnicity, especially after 1644, when the name "Chinese" took on a multiethnic meaning. Scholar Hui Wang noted that the recognition of the Qing dynasty as China by neighbouring dynasties and European states was also accompanied by the Qing's conscious effort to position itself as a Chinese dynasty and to inherit Chinese dynasties' role in the world.
Scholar Zhao Gang pointed out that the Qing emperors accepted their own Chinese identity, but it was not passive assimilation, as they actively changed old China from a Han-centered cultural notion to a multi-ethnic political entity; in other words, Manchu rulers gave a new meaning to the word "China" while becoming Chinese. After conquering China proper, the Manchus commonly called their state Zhongguo (, lit. "middle state", the name for China), and referred to it as Dulimbai Gurun in Manchu (lit. "central state", from Chinese Zhongguo). The emperors equated the lands of the Qing state (including present day Northeast China, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Tibet and other areas) as Zhongguo (Dulimbai Gurun) in both the Chinese and Manchu languages, defining China as a multi-ethnic state, and rejecting the idea that Zhongguo only meant Han areas. The Qing emperors proclaimed that both Han and non-Han peoples were part of Zhongguo. They used both "Zhongguo" and "Great Qing" to refer to their state in official documents. "Chinese language" (Dulimbai gurun i bithe) included Chinese, Manchu, and Mongolian languages, and "Chinese people" (; Manchu: Dulimbai gurun i niyalma) referred to all subjects of the empire.
When the Qing conquered Dzungaria in 1759, they proclaimed that the new land was absorbed into "China" (Dulimbai Gurun) in a Manchu-language memorial. The Manchu-language version of the Convention of Kyakhta (1768), a treaty with the Russian Empire concerning criminal jurisdiction over bandits, referred to people from the Qing as "people from the Central Kingdom" (Dulimbai gurun i niyalma, i.e. "Chinese people" in Manchu). The Qing also established legations and consulates known as the "Chinese Legation", "Imperial Consulate of China", "Imperial Chinese Consulate (General)" or similar names in various countries with diplomatic relations, such as in the United Kingdom (or British Empire) and the United States. Both English and Chinese terms such as "China" and "Zhongguo" were frequently used by Qing consulates and legations there to refer to the Qing state during their diplomatic correspondences with foreign states. The English name "China" was also used domestically by the Qing, such as in its officially released stamps since Qing set up a modern postal system in 1878. The postal stamps (known as 大龍郵票 in Chinese) had a design of a large dragon in the centre, surrounded by a boxed frame with a bilingual inscription of "CHINA" (corresponding to the Great Qing Empire in Chinese) and the local denomination "CANDARINS".
By the early 20th century, various textbooks with the names "Chinese geography" (中國地理) and "Chinese history" (中國歷史) as approved by the Qing's Board of Education had emerged for educational purposes. For example, Chinese geography textbooks published in the period gave detailed descriptions of China's regional position and territorial space. The Qing dynasty created the first Chinese nationality law in 1909, which defined a Chinese national () as any person born to a Chinese father. Children born to a Chinese mother inherited her nationality only if the father was stateless or had unknown nationality status.. Jus sanguinis was chosen to define Chinese nationality so that the Qing could counter foreign claims on overseas Chinese populations and maintain the perpetual allegiance of its subjects living abroad through paternal lineage.. A Chinese word called xuètǒng (血統), which means "bloodline" as a literal translation, is used to explain the descent relationship that would characterize someone as being of Chinese descent, and therefore, eligible under the Qing laws and beyond, for Chinese citizenship.
List of names in English
Alternative names in English China As a general term for the country. Applied to the Qing dynasty since the early Qing period. Chinese Empire As a general term for the imperial state. Applied to the Qing dynasty since the early Qing period. Central State, or Middle Kingdom Translation of Chinese: , as a general term for the country. Applied to the Qing dynasty since the early Qing period. Qing Empire,Empire to Nation: Historical Perspectives on the Making of the Modern World, by Joseph Esherick, Hasan Kayalı, Eric Van Young, p229 Ching Empire, or Ch'ing Empire Mostly used when specifically referring to the empire. The three spellings (Qing, Ching, Ch'ing) are various romanizations for the same sound (). Empire of the Great QingGold Mountain Blues, by Ling Zhang Translation of Chinese: . Great QingOur Great Qing: The Mongols, Buddhism, And the State in Late Imperial China, by Johan Elverskog Translation of Chinese: , the official name in Chinese. Great Qing state Translation of Chinese: or Manchu: Manchu dynastyVoyages in World History, by Valerie Hansen, Ken Curtis, p53 Used by some westerners, similar to the name "Mongol dynasty" for the Yuan dynasty. Sometimes written as "Manchu Dynasty of China".The Military Engineer, Volume 40, p580 Manchu empireThe Natural History of Man, by James Cowles Prichard, p215 Used by some westerners (including some New Qing History scholars). Alternatively (and historically) rendered as "Manchoo empire"A History of All Nations: From the Earliest Periods to the Present Time; Or, Universal History: in which the History of Every Nation, Ancient and Modern, is Separately Given. Illustrated by 70 Stylographic Maps, and 700 Engravings, Volume 1, Samuel Griswold Goodrich, p405 or "Mantchoo empire"A Sketch of Chinese History, Ancient and Modern, by Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff, p24 in the 19th century. Also written as "Manchu empire of China".The Origins of the Russo-Japanese War, by Ian Nish, Professor Ian Nish, Professor, p12 Additional names such as "Manchu Qing dynasty" or "Manchu Qing empire" are used for emphasizing the Manchuness of the Qing dynasty.
Historical names or romanizations officially used during the Qing dynasty in English Ta Ching The transliteration of Chinese: as appeared in the banknotes of the Ta Ching Government Bank during the late Qing dynasty, based on the Wade-Giles romanisation Ta4-ch'ing1. Tai Ching Ti KuoChina (Empire) Tai Ching Ti Kuo Copper Coin (10 and 20 Cash) 1903 to 1911 > The transliteration of Chinese: as appeared in the Great Qing Copper Coin during the late Qing dynasty, based on the Wade-Giles romanisation Ta4-ch'ing1-ti4-kuo2. Ta Tsing EmpireBurlingame TreatyTreaty of Wanghia Appeared in certain treaties in English (signed with the United States) during the late Qing dynasty, using a transliteration based on the Postal romanisation system for the Chinese part. ChinaConvention Between Great Britain and China Respecting Tibet Appeared in most treaties, official documents, postal stamps etc. Chinese EmpireTreaty of Nanking Appeared in international treaties in English. Empire of China Appeared in certain treaties in English.
Other (unofficial) historical names in English Cathay An alternative name for China as appeared in some English-language publications. The term was used in Marco Polo's book on his travels in the 13th century (during the Yuan dynasty), and it took a while for most Europeans to be convinced that Cathay referred to China or North China. This English term was sometimes used, although increasingly only in a poetic sense, until the 19th century, when it was completely replaced by "China". Celestial Empire The translation of Chinese: (a name for China) as appeared in North American and Australian mass media in the 19th century, in reference to the status of the Emperor of China as the Son of Heaven in the Sinosphere. Magnificent KingdomNew England Stamp Monthly, Volumes 1-2, p67