The Period of Further Development of the Unitary Multi-ethnic Country and the Decline of Feudal Society - Ming and Qing Dynasties

The decline of the Chinese feudal society occurred during the period of Ming and Qing dynasties, from the 14th to the 19th centuries. Ming Dynasty lasted over 280 years from its establishment by Zhu Yuanzhang in Nanjing in 1368 to when Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself on the Coal Hill of Beijing in 1644. The early reign of Qing Dynasty lasted over 190 years from Emperor Shunzhi's entry into Beijing in 1644 to the outbreak of the Opium War in 1840. In Ming Dynasty, there was a closer integration of the many ethnic groups that composed China. In the first half of the dynasty, the economy developed rapidly, and society was prosperous. Admiral Zheng He made seven long-distance voyages to the countries in the Western Seas to promote friendly relations with foreign countries. The reign of emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong of Qing Dynasty are reagarded as a golden age, in which Chinese created enormous material and spiritual wealth, and there emerged great numbers of statesmen, thinkers, strategists, explorers and scientists. They wrote a glorious page on Chinese history.

During this period, the whole world developed rapidly, as economic and cultural contacts between the East and the West became more and more frequent with the opening of new navagation routes making the world much closer. The growth of capitalism appeared in some cities along the miditerranean coast of Europe during 14th and 15th centuries. The Bourgeois Revolution broke out successively in Britain, USA and France during 17th and 18th centuries. World history had entered a new period. The developing countries in the west had entered the mature stage of the Industrial Revolution, and capitalism developed rapidly. However, China was left behind during this phase of history. Although the beginnings of capitalism had appeared at the end of Ming Dynasty, restrictions imposed by the feudal political system hampered the development of productivity and commerce, causing the feudal society to decline. With the draggling of the develpment of Chinese society and the coming aggression by Western colonialists, the Chinese feudal rulers were forced to change their attitude to the outside world. They changed from opening intercourse to a closed-door policy, making the gap between China and the western countries bigger and bigger.