Shannon's+Essay

The Qing dynasty, also know as the Manchu dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty in Chinese history ( [|cite] ). It began when the Manchus took control over China during the fall of the Ming dynasty. The great successes of the Qing dynasty lead to peace and prosperity throughout China ( [|cite] ). During the 1800s, the decline of the dynasty surfaced when weak emperors were in control and foreign pressures resulted in numerous horrific uprisings. __We can learn from the history of the Qing dynasty that weak emperors, the lack of the peoples’ thoughts in the government and corruption can lead to a decline in a nation.__

When the Manchus came into power during the 1600s, many strong leaders emerged creating powerful military forces and maintaining their own culture. Each emperor was born into power no matter his age. After the Qianlong Emperor, many rulers were weak and unintelligent. His son, the Tongzhi Emperor came into power when he was just five years old. By the age of seventeen, the pressures and responsibility of being emperor overwhelmed him and he turned to alcohol and sex to comfort him. Unfortunately for him, he died at the age of eighteen ([|cite]). What we can learn from this is that being born into power doesn’t necessarily mean that a person is going to be a strong leader. You have to put in a lot of effort and hard work.

During the decline of the Qing dynasty, there were many efforts to reform China, however each one failed. Hundred Days' Reform, the Self-Strengthening Movement, and the Late Qing Reform were some of the attempts to reconstitute China. A big problem within the Qing government was corruption. Many conservatives, including Cixi, were against the reform movements because they were afraid that they would lose their power when the reforms brought new system and policies ( [|cite] ). Most officials emulated Cixi’s attitude towards anything that had to do with modernization. What we can learn from this is that countries need honest and incorrupt people running the country. Canada and many other countries vote on who their leaders and officials are which is a good step to incorruption. Although, voting doesn’t totally diminish this, at least people get to decide who they believe is the best leader.

The ** bureaucracy of the Qing dynasty also contributed to the fall of the Chinese people. The structure of the Qing government strictly focalized around the emperor, who had complete power, and presided over six ministries or boards consisting of two presidents and four vice presidents ([|cite]). This was part of the Qing culture. Although there was one Manchu and one Han in each position, the Qing government never perceived the input of the common people. There were probably many people who had ideas that could help restore the state of the country, but because of their social class, education, and/or gender they were impermissible. We can learn that everyone’s thoughts should be heard so they could come together with a well-defined conclusion. **


 * In conclusion, there are many lessons that can be learned from the people of the Qing dynasty: leaders need to be strong and completely devoted to their country, the thoughts and ideas of the people should be heard and that the government officials should possess honesty and capability. We can refine our society as a whole by learning from the mistakes of the past. **

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