The last imperial dynasty of China, founded by the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan in 1644 and ruling for 268 years until its collapse in 1912. At its height, the Qing Empire was the largest state in Chinese history and among the most populous on Earth, controlling a territory that included present-day China, Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang — a multiethnic empire whose legacies of conquest, assimilation, and frontier management shape contemporary China.
The Qing Dynasty ruled China for 268 years — longer than the entire history of the United States to date. It governed more people than any other state on Earth for most of that period. It conquered territories that remain part of China today. And it collapsed in 1912 as one of the most dramatic reversals in political history, a superpower that had dominated Asia reduced within two generations to a semi-colonial dependency. Understanding what the Qing built, and why it fell, is essential to understanding what China is now.