Hong Taiji named the Great Qing dynasty in 1636. There are competing explanations on the meaning of Qīng (lit. "clear" or "pure"). The name may have been selected in reaction to the name of the Ming dynasty (

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Formation of the Manchu state
The Qing dynasty was founded not by Han Chinese, who constitute the majority of the Chinese population, but by

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The early Qing emperors adopted the bureaucratic structures and institutions from the preceding Ming dynasty but split rule between

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Population growth and mobility
The most significant facts of early and mid-Qing social history was growth in population, population density, and mobility. The population in 1700, according to widely accepted estimates, was roughly 150 million,

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By the end of the 17th century, the Chinese economy had recovered from the devastation caused by the wars in which the Ming dynasty

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Chinese scholars, court academies, and local officials carried on late Ming dynasty strengths in astronomy, mathematics, and geography, as well as technologies in ceramics, metallurgy, water transport, printing. Contrary to stereotypes in some Western writing, 16th and

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The Qing dynasty was established by conquest and maintained by armed force. The founding emperors personally organized and led the armies, and the continued cultural and political legitimacy of the dynasty depended on the ability to defend the country from

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