1618 – 1683 · Qing Dynasty vs Ming Dynasty vs Manchu
Jurchen cavalry overthrew the Ming Dynasty, establishing the Qing and China's final imperial regime.
The Jurchen, a forest people organized by Nurhaci and Hong Taiji, invaded Ming-held territory from the 1610s onward. The Ming, distracted by Manchu invasions and internal rebellions (Li Zicheng's peasant revolt, 1644), crumbled. When Li Zicheng took Beijing, the Ming called on Jurchen general Dorgon for aid. Dorgon's Qing armies defeated Li and then consolidated control southward over two decades. The Kangxi Emperor's long reign (1661-1722) stabilized Qing rule and suppressed the Three Feudatories Rebellion (1673-1681). Zheng Chenggong and his heirs held Taiwan until 1662.
The conquest established the Qing Dynasty as China's final imperial power, lasting to 1912. Qing territorial expansion encompassed Xinjiang, Tibet, and Mongolia. The conquest created a multi-ethnic empire ruled by a Jurchen minority that gradually assimilated Han institutions. The Qing's 'China' became the template for modern Chinese national borders.
Redirecting…