The national power of Qing dynasty at its early stage was relatively strong. Thus in 1650 when Russia invaded the northeastern area, the Qing government was able to firmly counterattack, defeated the Russian army and forcing it to sign the "Sino-Russian Nibuchu treaty ". This act not only defended national territory, but also helped to realize peace between the Chinese and the Russians. But towards the late Qing, because of the Opium War, the Sino-Japanese war, Sino-French War, the war of the Combined forces and the the signing of more than 1800 unequal treaties, China fell into a semi-colony and semi-feudal society, step by step.

Culture, Science and Technology:

Quite a few thinkers with rudimentary democratic ideology and materialist trends of thought emerged in the early Qing Dynasty, the most famous being Gu Yanwu, Huang Zongxi and Wang Fuzhi. Social and economic progress and the introduction of Western scientific and technological knowledge also helped promote the development of the natural sciences in China, notably astronomy, calendrical systems and mathematics, in which outstanding achievements were made. New Methods of Xiao'en by astronomer Wang Xichan improved upon certain methods of calculation in astronomy, and mathematician Ming Antu was the first to study by analytic methods. Famous works by outstanding novelists and dramatists such as Strange Tales from Liaozhai, The Scholars, A Dream of Red Mansions and Peach-Blossom Fan are still being avidly read today. In the fine arts, diverse schools of painting appeared and with it a large number of celebrated painters. The handicraft industry turned out numerous superb and colorful works. Voluminous encyclopedic works such as the Encyclopedia of Ancient and Modern Books, Complete Library in Four Divisions and Twenty-Four Dynastic Histories were compiled under the auspices of the government by Ji Xiaolan.

Above courtesy of China-Window.com.
Picture: Portrait of Gu Yanwu