Qing Empire

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Revision as of 11:58, 12 October 2008

大清國
Dà Qīngguó
Empire of the Great Qing

Flag of the Qing Empire
Anthem Gong Jin'ou
Official Language	Chinese
Capital	Beijing
Emperor	Pu Yi (era name: Xuantong)
Prime Minister of the Imperial Council	Xu Shichang
Establishment - Establishment of the Qing Empire	1616
Re-Establishment - German restoration of the Qing Empire	February, 2 1927
Government	Autocratic monarchy
Currency	Yuan
Area	circa 312,685 km²
Population	circa 65,700,900

The Empire of China, or officially Empire of the Great Qing (Pinyin: 大清國), or better known as Qing China (to distinguish it from the other factions in China) is a country in Far Eastern Asia. It is bordered to the north by Mongolia, the Fengtien Republic (under Japanese control), and the German enclave of Tangshan; to the east by the German enclave of Qingdao and the Yellow Sea; to the south by the Legation Cities and the Allgemeine Ostasiatische Gesellschaft; and to the west by the Shangqing Tianguo-controlled area and the Xibei San Ma warlords' demesne.

The Qing Dynasty of Manchurian origin ruled the Empire of China from 1644, date of the conquest of Chian proper by the Manchu Aisin-Goro clan, to 1911, year of the Republican Xinhai Revolution that deposed Emperor Pu Yi. The Qing era coincided for China with the highly representative reigns of Kangxi and Cixi, but also with an increased isolation of China and the rise of European colonialism, reaching his peak with the Boxer Rebellion. After the 1911 Revolution, the Chinese Republic soon collapsed into anarchy, where power was divided between numerous warlords, until the 1926 German intervention. On February, 2 1927 (beginning of the Fire Rabbit Year), the Qing Empire was restored under the present system: an autocratic monarchy of divine right, centered on the Emperor's person and his orders transmission through a small Imperial Council. Even though the Empire of China stands as the only official power in China, it's still the shadow of its former self: much of the economic and military powers are monopolized by the Allgemeine Ostasiatische Gesellschaft, and puritan revolts is spreading in Chinese campaigns.

History

After the proclamation of the Chinese Republic by Sun Yat-Sen in 1911 and the separation of numerous provinces throughout China, the Qing dynasty, installed in 1644 by the Manchu clan Aisin-Goro was removed a year later by the Imperial Edict of Empress Dowager Longyu bringing the abdication of the Child Emperor, Pu Yi, then six years old; he stayed as the former Emperor of China, installed in the Forbidden City at the expense of the Chinese Republic, before being expelled by one of the numerous warlords who shattered China during this era. The Chinese Republic stood despite anarchy and some anecdotal events as short-lived Empire of general Yuan Shikai (1916) and a twelve days-long recrowning of Pu Yi by warlord Zhang Xun (1917).

In the 20's, German Chancellor von Tirpitz, fearing that a Chinese Civil War would bring instability in Asia, decided of an intervention in China. In a few months, German colonial armies controlled Eastern China and divided the country in two zones : the south under administration of German companies, the north under a restored Qing Empire ruled by collaborationist native politicians. They reinstalled Pu Yi as Xuantong Huangdi (Emperor Xuantong), his 1908's crowning era name. The Qing Empire is now a shadow of its former self: it lost its dignity as an independent country, its economy is in the hands of the German trusts, and even its legitimacy is disputed, challenged by Zhang Tianran's Shangqing Tianguo and his puritan revolters.

Fall of the early Qing Empire

On the death of the Emperor Guangxu and his aunt Empress Dowager Cixi on November 1908, China was already about to collapse. The despotic and corrupted rule of Empress Dowager Cixi, beginning after the bloodbaths of the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion, froze any chance of reforms and let the European powers and Japan dismembering with impunity the Middle Kingdom and intervening freely in its internal policy, as during the 1901 intervention against the Boxer Rebellion. After the death of the Emperor, his three-years-old nephew Pu Yi succeeded him, with the regency ensured by his father, Zaifeng, the 2nd Prince Chun. The regent tried to enhance reforms for a more modern constitutional monarchy, eventually removing the powerful general Yuan Shikai from all his positions. However, on October, 10 1911, a military uprising broke out in Wuchang, where an anti-Qing plot within army units had been unveiled: the revolt quickly began to spread throughout China. The republican leader, Sun Yat-Sen, quickly came back from exile to lead the revolution: on December, 29 1911, the provinces which had declared their independance from the Qing Empire elected Sun as the provisional President of the Republic of China, officially proclaiming the Republic on January, 1 1912. Meanwhile, Yuan Shikai, who had been recalled by the powerless regency to lead the army, agreed to recognize the Republic and forced the Empress Dowager Longyu to sign the abdication papers on behalf of the Emperor, Pu Yi.

Years of anarchy

Restoration

Politics

The Chinese Imperial Council

Emperor: Xuantong Emperor (born 7 February 1906)

Prime Minister: Xu Shichang (born 20 October 1855)

Minister of Foreign Affairs: Wang Zuanxu (born 2 June 1885)

Minister of War and Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Imperial Air Service: Fu Zuoyi (born 2 June 1895)

Minister of Security: Qu Yangke

Minister of Special Intelligence: Shang Zhen (born 1887)

Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Imperial Army: Wu Peifu (born 22 April 1874)

Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Imperial Navy: Otto Ciliax (born 30 October 1891)

Military

Culture