How Did The Ming Dynasty Contribute To The Rise Of Qing Dynasty

One of the significantly apparent reasons contributing to the rise of Qing dynasty is undoubtedly the most blatant cause of Ming’s fall - the Emperors themselves. As a matter of fact, during the latter years of Ming reign, constituting to its downfall were the dynamic characteristics of its Emperors. Initially playing the role of an active administrator and military leader, Wanli Emperor became disconnected and this mere act of inattention led to a disastrous abuse of power by officials, and finally resulting in an obstacle-free path for invasion from the north. Wanli Emperor was referred to as “an indolent hedonist whose ineffectiveness led directly to the fall of Ming in 1644” in the New York Times (Melvin, 2011). Whilst the emperors starting the era of Qing were completely absorbed into their duties not only from the outset, but throughout the hindmost stages of Qing reign. Emperor Yongzheng was known to be a strict follower of “fairness in terms of reward and punishment” (Hays, 2016). The preceding emperor - Kangxi Emperor,

During Qing reign, the Chinese government was known to be a form of an integrated bureaucracy as “political power flowed from the top to the bottom through a series of hierarchically ordered positions that extended down to the county level, where a local magistrate headed a county office, called the yamen”, which was perspicuously exceptional on the grounds that the positions acquired by officials were not consequences of hereditary aristocracy. The system of meritocracy is the catalyst of unified administration. In the course of China being ruled by Qing, the notion of meritocracy was widely embraced and admired. The bureaucratic officials being the best and brigh literati was a crucial outcome since the positions were not merely taken by aristocrats inherently. Hence, the emergence of government of ‘Elite Commoners’