In modern textbooks, the reason for China's backwardness in modern times is often attributed to the policy of closing the country to the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, in reality, this view does not fully consider the historical truth, especially the evaluation of the Ming Dynasty is somewhat one-sided. China's modern backwardness has more to do with the rule of the Qing Dynasty and less to do with the Ming Dynasty.
The development of science and technology is a pluralistic process, and the East and the West have their own advantages at different times. For example, the Western astronomical calendar was introduced to China through Arabia, and the Yuan Dynasty mastered the Hijri calendar. At the same time, Chinese technologies such as papermaking, compass, gunpowder, and printing also spread to the West through Arabia, promoting the germination of Western science.
If you want to criticize the backwardness of the Ming Dynasty, it can be said that the Ming Dynasty restricted the private Xi of astronomy among the people, which led to the decline of traditional astronomy, indirectly affected the development of ancient Chinese mathematics, and caused considerable damage to the entire Chinese science. However, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, with the introduction of Western astronomy, China's advanced intellectuals began to absorb Western scientific and technological achievements, and compiled the Chongzhen Almanac represented by Xu Guangqi.
During this period, a number of Western scientific works, including Euclid's Geometry, entered China, showing that China was almost on par with the West in terms of technology and theory in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, or even more advanced.
The Western missionary Matteo Ricci recorded in his memoirs that the gentry of the Ming Empire were extremely interested in the advanced theoretical knowledge of the West, and almost everyone wanted to learn Xi. In contrast, it was clear that Western society at that time was still far behind China in comparison. Despite being in the same feudal phase, China is more inclusive, not restricted by religion, and is also in the embryonic stage of capitalism. If China had been able to continue to develop at that time, it was entirely possible to maintain its leading position.
Even after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, China still had the world's leading smelting technology. When the Portuguese arrived in China with firearms, China succeeded in replicating and forging a more powerful redcoat cannon than its Western contemporaries. In addition, in the construction of large ships, the Ming Dynasty has long maintained a technological leadership over the West. It was not until the West completed its colonization of the Americas that a fleet comparable to Zheng He's fleet was formed. For 276 years, the Ming Dynasty had great de facto control over the South China Sea and even the Pacific Islands.
On the military side, the Ming Dynasty created the world's first horse-drawn artillery unit, while the Western horse-drawn artillery unit did not appear until the Napoleonic period. The Ming Dynasty also had mines, fire dragons similar to modern torpedoes, and divine fire crows, all of which were stronger than the West at the same time.
All this fully demonstrates the strong scientific and technological level of China during the Ming Dynasty. However, all this came to an end under the rule of the Qing Dynasty.
Historically, the advanced often replaced the backward, and civilization often prevailed over barbarism. However, in the Qing Dynasty, this law was reversed. What the Qing Dynasty represented was not the advanced productive forces and relations of production, but the most reactionary and decadent class of big landlords.
Part of the reason why the Qing Dynasty was able to defeat the Dashun regime was because Dashun was not corrupt. Li Zicheng has always remembered his original intention of fighting the gentry and taking care of the peasants. However, after his invasion of Beijing, he did not take into account the interests of the former Ming courtiers and gentry, which eventually led to their collusion with the Manchu regime outside the Guan, so that the fruits of victory were stolen by the Manchus.
After the Qing army entered the customs, on the one hand, it completed the reform from slavery to feudalism by plundering resources, and on the other hand, it destroyed any new forces that did not suit its own interests by iron-blooded means. However, this transformation strangled China's embryonic capitalism, regressed China's feudal tenant system into serfdom, and pushed people and land to the extreme.
At the same time, Western capitalism was booming and science and technology were advancing rapidly, while under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, China entered the restoration of slavery.
In the fierce internal struggle of the three regimes of Nanming, Dashun and Daxi, China's already budding capitalism and peasant representatives failed to unite and were quickly defeated by the alliance of slave owners and feudal landlords.
The Manchu Eight Banners Iron Cavalry showed its brutal nature as it moved south. In the Jiangnan region, where capitalism was booming at that time, the Manchu Eight Banners Iron Cavalry committed heinous crimes such as the "Ten Days in Yangzhou" and the "Three Massacres in Jiading". Their pursuit led to the tragic destruction of agricultural areas, and the situation of "no complete county, no perfect county, no perfect family, no perfect family". The large ** of the Eight Banners has caused a sharp reduction in the labor force in the originally mature agricultural areas, and some areas have even returned to the primitive agricultural method of slash-and-burn farming. The sharp decline in population has also led to the tragic loss of existing technological technology and advanced science and technology, and China's traditional science and technology have been completely destroyed.
What is even more serious is that in the face of the import of Western scientific and technological achievements, the Qing Dynasty has adopted a severe crackdown attitude. They are extremely resistant to the development of firearms, and even lack motivation for equipment innovation. In addition, the Qing rulers were frightened by the advanced technology and ** held by the Han people, fearing that technological progress would pose a threat to their rule.
Kangxi even led Western missionaries to carry out large-scale and accurate measurements of China's territory, but the data obtained did not make a substantial contribution to China's development, but instead became the data for the invasion of China by Western powers two hundred years later**.
In general, the Qing Dynasty was actually the "Middle Ages" of China. This regime has been backward since its inception, and its backwardness has deepened over time. The ignorance of the Chinese people in modern times is not the norm in Chinese history, but was deliberately imposed by the rulers of the Qing Dynasty. Their rule is downright reactionary and has brought great suffering to the people of all ethnic groups in China.
Looking back at history, we can imagine what brilliant achievements China might have made in the Age of Discovery in the late Ming Dynasty if it had developed at a normal pace. History cannot be assumed, but what we can do is to learn from it, remember history, cherish the present, and look forward to the future.
This article provides an in-depth analysis of the technological development of the Ming and Qing dynasties and the changes under the rule of the Qing dynasty, revealing a neglected aspect of China's recent history. The author gives an objective evaluation of the scientific and technological progress of the Ming Dynasty, pointing out its acceptance and absorption of Western scientific knowledge in the last period, as well as its positive impact on the level of Chinese science and technology. This meticulous historical investigation and in-depth analysis of historical events is commendable.
Of particular interest is the depiction of the stagnation of scientific and technological development under the Qing dynasty. The article mentions the Qing Dynasty's resistance and suppression of new technologies, as well as its fear of advanced and scientific knowledge, which is one of the lesser-represented aspects of Chinese history. The Qing Dynasty not only failed to inherit the scientific and technological traditions of the Ming Dynasty, but also hindered the development of science and technology, which is of great significance for our understanding of the trajectory of Chinese history.
In addition, the article provides a detailed description of the policies of the Qing rulers and their impact on the development of society. The policies of the Qing Dynasty led to the regression of Chinese society and the stagnation of scientific and technological development, which had a profound impact on China's modern history. The brutal behavior of the Eight Banners Iron Cavalry and its resistance to advanced technology have caused China to lose many valuable scientific and technological achievements and cultural heritage, which is a great regret in China's modern development history.
Overall, this article provides an in-depth analysis and description of the scientific and technological development, social changes, and historical trends under the rule of the Qing dynasty in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It highlights the period of discontinuity in China's history and the tortuous course of scientific and technological development, and reminds us to pay attention to the lessons of history and cherish the opportunities of the present in order to look forward to a better future.
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