The Great Qing Empire

A Western scholar once said, “The two outstanding figures from ancient China who interest the West most are Genghis Khan and Nurhaci.” Nurhaci ushered in a new era in the history of Chinese civilization. The Qing Empire he laid the foundations for became the world’s most prosperous empire during the High Qing era under the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors. As the founder of the Qing Empire, Nurhaci sowed the seeds of the “High Qing” and passed down the genes of the “declining late Qing.”