How did they rule so successfully?

     The Qing dynasty is famous for the ability its early emperors (especially Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong especially) had to integrate the Manchu people into Chinese society, win the support of the Chinese, and yet still maintain a culturally superior attitude towards the Chinese, evident in the Qing prohibition of Manchu/Chinese integrated marriages, and the special hairstyle that Chinese men were forced to wear. The Qing also created a boundary between Manchuria and China – a line of willows next to a ditch. Chinese were not permitted to live on the Manchu side of this line.

            So, if the Manchu were so separatist, how did they stay in power? The Manchu might have been unwilling to allow Chinese to become Manchu, but they weren’t afraid of integrating the government, and they knew that to govern the Chinese, they would have to think like Chinese. Therefore, the Chinese kept the same sort of government that had been governing China for ages – a Confucianist Imperial system. The Manchu emphasized respect for authority figures and the welfare of the state in the same way recent dynasties had done. This held the state together, as many Chinese and many Manchus would rather die than lose face in a Confucianist society – thus they supported the Qing.

            The Qing emperors had a lot of foresight when it came to keeping power. They came up with some very creative measures that made a lot of sense. For example, Imperial princes were kept in Beijing so that they didn’t acquire land and start to get too uppity. Chinese troops were used only against bandits and as postal road protection. This way, they wouldn’t be trained to rebel. For over half the dynasty, the Qing avoided allowing empresses and/or eunuchs to rule. Any system dominated by such people was also inevitably dominated by gossip.

            The Qing also allowed the Chinese to think they still had some say over what happened to their country – and for all practical purposes, the Chinese actually did have quite a bit of influence. The Qing created a dual appointment system where a Chinese person and a Manchu person staffed every position. The Manchu had ultimate authority, but the Chinese person did most of the work. Plus, there were not enough Manchus in the country to run the rural areas. Chinese people often were appointed alone to these positions and supervised from elsewhere. The Qing kept the examination system in place to decide who received positions, so they found the best of the best to fill their bureaucracy. The bureaucracy was extremely large because of this, but the Qing managed this by keeping close tabs on their regional governors, and the Qing Emperors kept a direct hand in many affairs.

            The governmental institution that had the most power beside the emperor was the Office of Military finance. Foreigners called in the Grand Council, which is probably a more accurate name. This was a group of trusted officials that acted as the main advisory body for the emperor. It had about seven members at any given time that were on the board until the emperor decided that they weren’t. The Council used a very informal decision making process, making it extremely effective.

            Other systems the Qing put in place to run the country were the Imperial Household Department, the Ministry of Dependencies, and the Board of Rites. The Imperial Household Department had a monopoly on many trades, and was first started to counteract the corrupt power of the eunuchs. Later on in the dynasty this Department becomes corrupt as well. The Ministry of Dependencies dealt with the various dependant states the Qing was associated with. It encouraged the disunity of the Mongols through religion so that the Qing could control them easily.  The Qing emperors were very skilled at using religion and philosophy to distract people or justify the Qing reign (as they did with Confucianism). The Board of Rites was an organization created solely for the purpose of handling tributes from tribute states like Korea and Vietnam.