The Qing dynasty (1644-1911) was the last dynasty of the Chinese Empire, and the only one which has come into close contact with Europe. First this contact was established through Catholic missionaries and, after 1842, through diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations which were forced upon the empire by Europe. For this reason the Qing Empire has to a certain degree become the incarnation of "old" China in Western consciousness. Nevertheless, China under Manchu rule substantially differed in many ways from China under previous dynasties.

The Jurchen tribes, who lived scatte…