Story of the Forbidden City (2)： Rise of Manchu – the beginning of Qing Dynasty

During the reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), Clan Nvzheng began to rebel against the domination of the Ming Dynasty. Nurhaci, a powerful Manchurian chieftain who rose to prominence, embarked on a campaign to unite various Jurchen tribes over lands in Northeast China - just outside the Shanhaiguan Gate of The Great Wall.  By the early 17^th century Nurhaci was able to launch an assault on the Ming Dynasty enlarging the territory under his control.  During the wars, Nurhaci established the Eight-Flags (or Banners) military-social system, which strategically divided all Manchu families on the battle field, and which also became the basic military structure of the Qing Dynasty. In 1616 (the forty-fourth year Reign of Wangli, Emperor of Ming), Nurhaci founded the “Great Jin” 大金 government in today’s Liaoning province. After Nurbaci’s death in 1626, his son Huangtaiji succeeded in power, and renamed his political entity as “Qing”; he also renamed his Clan to “Nvzheng” “Man”, which later was called “Manzhou”, (also known as “Manchu”). 

In 1644, Li Zhicheng, a rebel leader, led an uprising that sacked the Forbidden City, and overthrew the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzheng.  With the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzheng committed suicide in the imperial garden, where he hanged himself from a tree. Ming General Wu Sangui, who was situated at the Shanhaiguan Gate, would eventually contribute to the fall of the Ming Dynasty by forming an alliance with the Manchus, and negotiating with their troops. The Qing military ultimately stormed into the Forbidden City ending the rebel army’s occupation. The Qing Dynasty would be the last imperial dynasty to rule in Chinese history. 

The third emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the first to reside in the Forbidden City and rule over China, was Shunzhi emperor, the son of Huangtaiji. Emperor Shuizhi’s son, Kangxi, succeeded the throne in 1662 at the age of 8, thus beginning his 61 year reign.  Kangxi, who was the fourth Qing emperor (the second resided in the Forbidden City) to rule over China (1661-1722), is considered the greatest ruler in China’s history.  Kangxi’s son, Yongzheng (16 years in power) was considered a hard-working ruler, and his grandson Qinglong ruled for 60 years plus 3 years in retirement. These rulers have been historically recognized as the three Great Emperors in Chinese history. 

The royal family of the Qing Dynasty are not Han Chinese, like those of the Ming Dynasty, but are descendants of the Manchu - Nvzheng Clan. They had their own language and writing, as well as distinct cultural traits and costumes. Manchu nobles and ruling elite adopted Han culture and teachings, and at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Manchu language was still widely spoken. In the official documentation of the Qing Dynasty, both languages, the writings of Han and Manchu, were equally used. 

Today, Manchu is one of the five major ethnic groups (along with Mongol, Tibetan, Hui Islam, and Uyghur) in China.  Each group has retained their own language (both spoken and written). The ROM has a set of coins minted in the Qing’s official foundry, which show some characters in both Han and Manchu writing.

During the course of my research, I have come to believe that the colonial use of “Mandarin” has something to do with the spoken language during the Qing dynasty.  However, I need to find out more.