The+Quest+for+Political+Stability;+The+Qing+Dynasty+and+The+Son+of+Heaven+(727-731)

=**The Quest for Political Stability; The Qing Dynasty and The Son of Heaven (727-731)** =

__The Manchus__
 * -After the Ming Dynasty fell the Manchus came into Machuria in China.**
 * -They claimed a new dynasty called the Qing (pure) dynasty.**
 * -The Qing dynasty ruled China from 1644 to 1911.**
 * -Their ancestors traded with China since the Qin dynasty.**
 * -Sometimes clashed with their neighbors over land and resources.**
 * -Nurhaci, reigned from 1616 to 1626, unified Manchu tribes in a centeralized state, organized a powerful military and promulgated a code of laws.**
 * -The Manchu army captured Korea and Mongolia, espelled Ming garrisons in Muchuris, and had small state invasions in China.**
 * In 1664 they seized Beijing**
 * in the 1680's they consolidated their hold through the empire**
 * Manchus preserved their own ethnic and cultural identity.**

__**Kangxi and His Reign**__ __**Qianlong and His Reign**__
 * -Kangxi was a Confucian scholar and and enlightened ruler.**
 * -He occasionally composed poems.**
 * -Organized flood control and irrigation projects.**
 * He applied Confucian philosophy into his governing (DL)**
 * He took care of the welfare of his subjects (DL)**
 * He conquered Taiwan which is where the Ming loyalists had retreated to after being expelled.**
 * He helped project chinese influence into central asia.**
 * His grandson was Qianlong who continued his expansion of influence.**
 * Vietnam, Burma, Nepal also came under Qing control.**
 * -He was a sophisticated man.**
 * -He wrote more than 100,000 poems.**
 * -Qianlong canceled tax collections on 4 seperate occasions.**
 * His reign marked height of the dynasty.**
 * At the end of his rule he spent less time ruling and more focusing on his favorite eunuchs.**
 * This led to his successors continued this practice and casued great problems within the dynasty.**

__**The Son of Heaven**__
 * -The emporer was not quite a god, but was considered more than mortal.**
 * -Chinese tradition said that the "Son of Heaven" had heavenly powers to maintain order on earth.**
 * -Lived in the Forbidden City, and had a privileged life.**
 * -His daily activities were careful performances in inspections, banquets, audiences, and other offical duties.**
 * Subjects needed to do kowtow, 3 kneelings and 9 head knockings, to the emperor**
 * Emporers had 1000's of eunuchs looking after their needs.**
 * Even minor offenses to an emporer could have severe punishments.**

__**The Scholar-Bureacurats**__ Were only open to males.
 * -They were well educated and highly literate.**
 * -Earned academic degrees by passing civil service examinations.**
 * -Exam preparations started at an early age.**
 * To become one, some had memorized several thousands of character by the age of 12 (DL)**
 * They govern the day to day affairs of the kingdom (DL)**

__**Civil Service Examinations**__ Exams lasted 3 days and 2 nights all spent writing the 8 legged essays. __**The Examination System and Chinses Society**__
 * -Exams had many tests administered at the district, provinceial and metropolitan levels.**
 * -Took in a certian amount to take the exam.**
 * -Candidates had to bring their own supplies to the exams.**
 * -The candidates were searched for other materials and they got their identities verified.**
 * Some examinees even died during the tests (DL)**
 * There were no other requirement besides being male to take the exam (DL)**
 * There was no communication between candidates.**
 * -Competition was hard.**
 * -In the Qing dynasty their were 1 million degree holders and they compted for 20,000 civil services.**
 * -If they only passed the district exam then they had fewer bureaucratic emploment opprotunites.**
 * -If they passed the metropolitan exam then they could look foward to powerful positons.**
 * -BE**
 * It made it possible for people to go up in social class (DL)**
 * Those who didn't get bureaucratic jobs became local school teachers, tutors.**
 * exam system encouraged the pursuit of education.**
 * the exams guarenteed confucian classics and neo confucianism would be at the heart of the education system.**