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The M’ing, founded in 1368 under the peasant
emperor Hong Wu, was a militarily oriented
socio-political entity much given to radical
interpretations of Confucianism and with a very
strong defensive ethos (the Great Wall dates to
this period). However by the 17th century cracks
had started to appear, young male heirs being
manipulated as puppets by the ruling families,
and the court became rotten with intrigue. To
compound matters, the Manchurian Chinese
cities were being attacked by local groups –
dubbed the Manchus – who eventually invaded
China and deposed the old regime. The last M’ing
emperor, Chongzhen, hanged himself on Coal
Hill overlooking the Forbidden City, bringing an
end to his line and ushering in the Q’ing Dynasty.
The Q’ing had been founded by Nurhaci in the
early 17th century, and persisted until the
collapse of imperial China in 1912 with the
hapless Pu-Yi, the last emperor of China. Their
isolationist policies, social control (all men
required to shave their heads, wear queues, and
wear Manchu rather than traditional Chinese
dress) introspection and cultural conservatism
was at odds with their liberality in certain social
issues – such as forbidding the binding of
women’s feet (later withdrawn due to social
pressure from the populace). However, this
cultural inflexibility – which grew as the emperors
grew increasingly unaware of the world outside
their palace walls, much less the country’s
borders – was a difficult stance to maintain in
the shadow of the European thalassocracies, and
it may have been this which helped hasten the
demise of the Imperial system.
- (SP.623)
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