S06: Sorcery Scare
Misinformation and China
January 16, 2026
Ming and the Little Ice Age
- Emperor Chongzhen (1611-1644), 17th and last emperor of Ming, faced severe drought and famine during his early reign.
- Manchuria experienced harsh cold, driving the Jurchens south for both wealth and survival.
- Famines began in 1632, worsening with locust infestations in 1635 and full-scale drought by 1637.
- The Ming endured seven years of extreme drought, leading to desperate conditions by 1640.
Map of Manchuria
Rise of the Manchus
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1636 | Qing dynasty announced |
| 1644 | Manchus took Beijing |
| 1662-1723 | Reign of Kangxi |
| 1724-1735 | Yongzheng reign |
| 1736-1796 | Qianlong reign |
Hong Taiji: Creating a Universal Empire
- He created the Board for the Administration of Outlying Regions for Mongol and Tibetan affairs and was recognized by the Dalai Lama as Manjushri-Great Emperor.
- He conducted civil service exams in 1633, 1638, and 1641 in Chinese, Mongolian, and Manchu, differing from the Chinese system.
Discuss: Manchu Identity
Qing Rulers Promoting and Preserving Manchu Identity (1635–1850)
- Why did the Qing emperors emphasize Manchu identity? What is the “Manchu way”?
- Are pro-Manchu sentiments implicitly anti–Han Chinese? What is the relationship between Han Chinese and the Manchu?
Qing’s Adaptive Governance
- The Qing dynasty was highly adaptive, creating specific policies for major cultural and linguistic regions they governed.
- While the former Ming territory was significant in the Manchu empire, Qing emperors implemented region-specific policies for Mongolia, Manchuria, Tibet, and Xinjiang.
Winning the Han Chinese
- Hànjūn (漢軍): A hereditary Chinese warrior class serving the Qing dynasty within the Hànjūn Eight Banners.
- Unlike Manchus, who fought primarily on horseback, Hànjūn soldiers specialized in firearms, using muskets and artillery for sieges and difficult terrain.
- The first Han artillery corps was formed in 1631, followed by the Eight Hànjūn Banners in 1642.
Prosperous Age
- Tripling of population – 150 million to 450 million – while maintaining size of bureaucracy
- Resurgence in the arts and sciences: Vernacular novels, drama, publishing
- New overseas trade: Porcelain and tea
China Marches West
Expansion of Qing Empire
China Marches West
Territorial Expansion of the Qing
Map of Qing China vs. PRC
Emperor Qianlong
- The Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799) was the sixth emperor of the Qing dynasty.
- He reigned officially from 1735 until his abdication in 1796, making him one of the longest-reigning and longest-lived monarchs in history.
- He was an ambitious military leader, conducting campaigns in Inner Asia, Burma, Nepal, and Vietnam, and suppressed rebellions in Jinchuan and Taiwan.
- Domestically, Qianlong was a major patron of the arts and a prolific writer.
- He sponsored the compilation of the Siku Quanshu, the largest collection of Chinese history, while also overseeing literary inquisitions that suppressed around 3,100 works.
Qianlong: Son of Heaven vs. Universal ruler
Pageantry, Propaganda, and Power: Images of Qing Imperial Rule
- Artist: Giuseppe Castiglione (Jesuit painter), 1688-1766
- Appointed and appreciated by Qianlong Emperor
- Adapted European painting style to Chinese themes and taste
- Legacy: a new school of painting combining Chinese and Western methods
- Articulated idea of universal monarchy to hold together multiethnic empire
Imperial Examination system
- Open to all males of registered households
- By Ming and Qing dynasties, primary vehicle for selecting officials
- Test of refined literacy in Confucian classics: Eight-legged essays
- Morality based governance
Voltaire: Sinophile Philosopher
- “the wisest and best governed country in the world”
- “the most extended and best governed kingdom of the world”
- Confucius as sage who “deemed too highly of his character as a legislator for mankind”
Meritocracy and Its Myths
Narrow ladder of success:
- 2% adult male population with “gentry” status
- Most of them from top 10% socio-economic class
County Magistrate
Main responsibilities:
- Tax collection and labor
- Law and judicial functions
- Education and moral leadership
- Drought, famine, disaster relief
Government by sub-bureaucracy
- non-official clerical personnel
- personal secretarial staff
- local elite
- appointed village headmen
“Heaven is high and the emperor is far away”
How should the emperor deal with:
- local government autonomy
- reference corruption (and collusion) of local officials or lawlessness
Palace Memorial
- In the Ming dynasty, officials used memorials for official and private matters, which required lengthy cabinet reviews before reaching the emperor.
- Delays and leaks led Emperor Kangxi to create a private communication channel for trusted officials.
- This allowed direct reporting of local events, establishing palace memorials as an intelligence network for the emperor.
- Officials wrote and sealed their memorials, delivered by trusted confidants to the Forbidden City.
- This system improved confidentiality and efficiency, keeping emperors informed about military and official matters.
- It started in the Kangxi period, expanded under Yongzheng, and became institutionalized during Qianlong’s reign.
Discuss: Soul Stealers
Cutting the queue, 1912
- What happened?
- Who were the soul-stealers?
- What did Qianlong Emperor do, and why?
Montseqieu on China
From the very nature of things, a bad administration is here immediately punished. The want of subsistence, in so populous a country, produces sudden disorders. The reason why the redress of abuses, in other countries, is attended with such difficulty, is, because their effects are not immediately felt; the prince is not informed in so sudden and sensible a manner as in China.
China is therefore a despotic state, whose principle is fear.
China model, according to the Economist
