DOCUMENT-BASED QUESTION:
QING CHINA WESTWARD EXPANSION
DIRECTIONS
The following question is based on the accompanying documents. (The documents have
been edited for the purpose of this exercise). The question is designed to test your ability to
work with and understand historical documents. Write an essay that:

Has relevant thesis and supports that thesis with evidence from the documents.

Uses all or all but one of the documents.

Analyzes the documents by grouping them in as many appropriate ways as possible and
does not simply summarize the documents individually.

Takes into account both the sources of the documents and the authors’ points of view.
ESSAY PROMPT
Based on the documents, analyze the policies used by the Chinese to expand their control of
Central Asia during the 17th through 19th centuries.
What types of additional documentation would help access the success and permanence of
the Chinese expansion into Central Eurasia?
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
In the early 17th century, the Manchus, a pastoral nomadic people from Manchuria,
established the last Chinese imperial dynasty. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Qing
Empire (Manchu Dynasty) expanded to unprecedented size. Over the course of several
centuries China annexed Mongolia, Xianjiang, Zungharia, Qinghai, and Tibet. And unlike
previous Chinese dynasties, the Qing intended to remain permanently in the area. In the
process, the Qing formed the first modern Chinese state.
Copyright @ 2007 by Paul William Philp
John Paul II High School
DOCUMENT 1
The Kangxi Emperor, Qing China, 1682, an entry from his personal journal about
his campaign against the Mongols
“I note that Mongols beyond the borders have always resisted China. From the Han,
Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties they have harmed us. No dynasty until ours has
exerted authority over Mongolia and made them submit in their hearts. Using troops
is cruel; the ruler does it only if necessary. It is like using needles on a person with
illness; we do not inflict pain for no reason on the skin. Ruling is like this: in times of
disorder we need force, in times of peace and order we use pacification. Since ancient
times those who loved distant expeditions caused losses to the country’s spirit. So I
value most not creating trouble.”
DOCUMENT 2
Chinese Governor Song Yun of Xinjiang, describing his policies towards the sons of
nomadic military units who had not inherited their fathers’ military position, 1804
“At first, the land was state property, cultivated collectively so as to instruct the
men in cultivation. But this led to laziness, so the land was divided (and given as
private property). Now each is not paid allowances from the treasury but provides
for himself. Formerly they feared that if they worked hard on the land, their
salaries would be cut; now that this new system has been explained, they work
hard.”
DOCUMENT 3
Qishiyi, Manchu low ranking official in charge of grain supply in Turkestan, from
his Record of Things Seen and Heard in the Western Regions, 1777
“The creation of states, the continuation of families, their rise and fall, life and
death, is solely determined by human character. Thus, because of the Zunghar’s
power, their people became wealthy; because of their courage, their territory
expanded; because higher and lower in remote regions were on harmonious terms,
they combined forces and expanded to cause trouble in all directions. In their
defeat, the Heavenly (Chinese Manchu) troops came west cutting down the
diseased; they exterminated one million people of ten thousand li of territory on one
or two years, and there was almost no one left. How could it be merely that heaven
repressed their race? It was because the usurping rebels followed each other; their
wills scattered, they could not unite.”
Copyright @ 2007 by Paul William Philp
John Paul II High School
DOCUMENT 4
Qing Chinese and Zunghar (Oirat Mongols) Trade, 1739 – 1754:
Trade Established by Diplomatic Agreement during Qianlong Emperor’s Reign
NUMBER OF
OFFICIAL
MISSIONS
HUMBER OF
TRADERS
GOODS
4-Year Oirat Diplomatic Missions to Beijing
15
519
Camels, horses, sheep, grapes, sal ammoniac,
antelope horns, hides, skins
Boiled Tea Oirat Diplomatic Missions to Tibet (Mongols’ Religious Center)
3
912
Cattle, sheep, horses, camels, sal ammoniac,
horns, grades, hides, skins
Oirat Permitted Border Trade in Two Official Market Towns
5
972
Cattle, horses, sheep, camels
Source: Official Qing-Zunghar Trade Recorded in Beijing Annals
DOCUMENT 5
Qianlong Emperor, comments in his book, On the Lamas, 1691
“The Yellow Religion (Buddhism) both outside and inside the empire is ruled by
both the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Erdeni and all the Mongols follow them
wholeheartedly. Therefore, to develop the Yellow Religion is a measure to win over
the Mongols. The consequences of this policy should be patronized. This is not to
honor vainly or to flatter the Tibetan monks as happened in the Yuan Dynasty.”
DOCUMENT 6
Types of Qing Cultivators and Colonists Settled in Ili, Xianjiang (Turkestan), 1768
Population
Land (mou)
Taranchi
(Turks)
Military
(Mongol)
Civilian
(Chinese)
Banner
(Manchu)
Criminal
(Mixed)
Total
30,415
180,000
2,500
50,000
1,085
66,211
5,073
40,584
117
1,611
39, 190
338,406
Copyright @ 2007 by Paul William Philp
John Paul II High School
DOCUMENT 7
Ming Chinese Frontier Commander supervising the Ordos Region, his report to the
court explaining why his district continually encountered trouble, 1577; suggested
policies implemented by Qing Dynasty
“The whole Ordos population amounts to several tens of thousands of people; but
because they are divided into 42 branches, each of them consists of not more than 23,000 and in some instances only 1,000 to 2,000 people. In dealing with them, their
forces must be divided and the tribute, which is brought by them, should be
accepted. But those who are expressing their submission earlier, should be
graciously received and rewarded, while the others must be turned away. During
these procedures it is indispensable to be ready for war at any moment, in order
that they all realize the strength of China.”
DOCUMENT 8
Recorded Comments of the Shuh-Chih Emperor during Council Debate with
Chinese Officials about runaway and fugitive bondservants in Manchuria, 1656
“Therefore we have no choice but to establish severe laws. This may work a
hardship on the Chinese, but if we do not crack down, the concealers will become
more brazen and the fugitives will multiply. Then who will be our servants? How
will we survive? Is there no concern for Manchu hardship? Emperors of previous
dynasties generally ruled only the Chinese, but I rule both Manchu and Chinese
and must ensure that each group gets its due.”
DOCUMENT 9
Yao His-kuang, a Manchu official responsible for policy in Mongolia, from his
book, a Rustic Opinion on Mongolian Policy, 1908
“The rule of our dynasty over the Mongols is to establish more feudal units, to
divide their power, to honor Buddhism, to control their birth rate, and this to half
the disaster of the Xiong-nu and Uighur (Turks). The art is really marvelous.”
Copyright @ 2007 by Paul William Philp
John Paul II High School
DOCUMENT 10
The reply of the Dalai Lama, official political leader of Tibet and the religious
leader of both the Tibetans and Mongols, to the Manchu emperor, 1672
“There has always existed a relationship of religious patronage between the Qing
(Manchu) Emperor and the Dalai Lama. Your father the Shun-chih emperor was
particularly kind and gracious to me when I visited China, and I have always
prayed for the peace and prosperity of your country. However, I do not think
Tibetan soldiers would be very effective in China as they are not accustomed to
fighting in your climate. The Mongols are excellent fighters, but they are difficult
to control and you might find them more of a liability than an asset. Both the
Mongols and Tibetans are unaccustomed to the heat and might easily succumb to
the smallpox now raging in China. There, I do not think they would be of much
assistance to you and feel it would be unwise to send them to China.”
Copyright @ 2007 by Paul William Philp
John Paul II High School
FOOTNOTES
1. Peter C. Perdue, China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap of Harvard University Press, 2005), 200.
2. Perdue, China Marches West, 347.
3. Perdue, China Marches West, 484.
4. Perdue, China Marches West, 259 - 261.
5. Sechin Jagchid, Essays In Mongolian Studies, (Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University,
1988), 136.
6. Perdue, China Marches West, 352.
7. Thomas J. Barfield, The Perilous Frontier, Nomadic Empires and China (Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Basil Blackwell, 1989), 247.
8. Barfield, The Perilous Frontier, 271.
9. Jarchid, Essays in Mongolian Studies, 136 – 139.
10. Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa, Tibet, A Political History (New Haven, Connecticut: Yale
University Press, 1967, 1973), 120 – 121.
Copyright @ 2007 by Paul William Philp
John Paul II High School