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Towards the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was constantly being bullied by foreign powers..

If there were capable Emperors in the Qing Dynasty at that time, like Kangxi, Yongzheng, or Tang Taizong etc in charge of the Qing Dynasty, do you think they will be able to salvage the situation and revive the Qing Dynasty?

[galvatron prime]

Towards at the end of Qing Dynasty ,China was not bully by 1 nation but 8 nations also know as 8 Nation alliance ,Japan ,Austria-Hungary ,Russia Tsar empire ,Britian ,France ,Germany ,Italy and United States same as today G-8 , only Canada replace Austria-Hungary in G-8 .

With the likeS of Kangxi they shall Hold the foreign power but not for long ,they need to ally with them ,Japan is a weak nation before Meiji ,they take a smart work by ally with World Power ,China problem is they alway think they civilasation are the best ,Japan in other hand willing to learn from other .

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galvatron, on Jun 18 2007, 08:56 AM, said:

Towards at the end of Qing Dynasty ,China was not bully by 1 nation but 8 nations also know as 8 Nation alliance ,Japan ,Austria-Hungary ,Russia Tsar empire ,Britian ,France ,Germany ,Italy and United States same as today G-8 , only Canada replace Austria-Hungary in G-8 .

With the likeS of Kangxi they shall Hold the foreign power but not for long ,they need to ally with them ,Japan is a weak nation before Meiji ,they take a smart work by ally with World Power ,China problem is they alway think they civilasation are the best ,Japan in other hand willing to learn from other .

I am of the opinion that a capable emperor like Kangxi will be able to lead the Qing Dynasty to being strong again, just like how Japan became a strong country from a weak country.

Kangxi surely understands the importance of allying with world power and learning from them.

The problem with Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong reign is that when they were emperor, their dynasty was strong which makes him and his ministers think that their civilastion is the best.

If he was born towards the end of Qing Dynasty, he will have realised the need to learn from western powers, which was what Emperor Guangxu realised too..

If Guangxu could understand such a simple principle, than Kangxi will be able to understand it too. If kangxi could not understand such a simple principle than he is not fit to be called a great emperor.

[wan sui yeh]

Throughout China's Imperial History, once a dynasty begin to experience a decline like that in late Ching, then there is usually little chance to reinvigorate the dynasty as the whole system by that time has already begun to breakdown. In Ching's case the situation is even more dire as the CHina then was being threathen not only internally (as in the fall of all former dynasties) but was also being threathen externally by foreign powers. Whats more challenging to the CHing rulers, is the fact that CHina being so inward looking for the past 5 centuries was no longer the epitome of the civilised world. THe Ching rulers and their subjects were unable to swallow their pride and accept the ralities of the situation. THe 19th century is already an age which the confucian learned rulers are not able to cope and the saving of their dynasty will only be made possible through redical reforms. These radical reforms however were not taken since it thereathen the old order and hence the rulers decided to mantain this old order for as long as they can in the expense of the long term survival of the dynasty. Even if Kang Xi, Qianloong or Yong Zheng is on the throne at that tumultous age, their confucain background and training will leave them ill equipped to reform the dire situation. Chinese Emperors are known for their insistence on chinese superiority even at the face of outright inferiority to the west , and hence their arrogance will prevent progress and development. COnclusion, is China has became a victim of her own past cultural superiority in the past becoming an ancient nation whose rulers still stubbornly look from the past for solutions in a decading situation that requires forward looking dynamic reforms. In other words CHing is bound to fail as the madate of heaven has been inevitably shifted from the Aixinjueluo clan.

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wan sui yeh, on Jun 25 2007, 03:10 AM, said:

THe 19th century is already an age which the confucian learned rulers are not able to cope and the saving of their dynasty will only be made possible through redical reforms. These radical reforms however were not taken since it thereathen the old order and hence the rulers decided to mantain this old order for as long as they can in the expense of the long term survival of the dynasty. Even if Kang Xi, Qianloong or Yong Zheng is on the throne at that tumultous age, their confucain background and training will leave them ill equipped to reform the dire situation. Chinese Emperors are known for their insistence on chinese superiority even at the face of outright inferiority to the west , and hence their arrogance will prevent progress and development. COnclusion, is China has became a victim of her own past cultural superiority in the past becoming an ancient nation whose rulers still stubbornly look from the past for solutions in a decading situation that requires forward looking dynamic reforms. In other words CHing is bound to fail as the madate of heaven has been inevitably shifted from the Aixinjueluo clan.

Well, in the beginning of Qing, during the reign of Kang Qian Sheng Shi, China was still superior to the western powers.

This is because the western powers only became more powerful after their industrial revolution(IR) matured. The IR only began during Yongzheng's reign. It did not happen during Kangxi reign as such Kangxi did not know what the heck is IR and the important of it.

If Kangxi was the Emperor of the later Qing, I believe that he just like Guangxu will have seen the power of IR and how they needed to learn from the western powers.

During Yongzheng reign, the (IR) just began in the western countries. However, since it was only the beginning of the IR, the effects that it had on strengthing the western powers was not obvious to Yongzheng and Qianlong. Espically for Yongzheng, who was so busy working hard and so tired from implementing reforms to strengthen his empire that I believe he did not have the time or energy to go and find out about whats happening to other parts of the world.

For Qianlong, his reign made China the richest country in the world which makes him blind to the advantage that the IR is generating for western powers.

As such, I believe that if it was Yongzheng or Qianlong who was the emperor of the late Qing, they will also know the importance of learning from the west.

Take a look form another perspective- If people like Li Hongzhang, Zeng Guofan knew the importance of learning from the western powers, than surely Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong will understand it too.