ABSTRACT
The last chinese dynasty, the Ch'ing Dynasty, was founded by a Tungus people, the descendants of the Jurchen who had ruled North China earlier under the name of Chin. The system of bureaucratic control developed throughout imperial history reached its greatest refinement under the Ch'ing. The Ming Dynasty collapsed for the same cyclical reasons that had brought about the fall of previous dynasties, Chinese or foreign: corruption and weakness at the court, famine and rebellion in the country. The Manchus were in an ideal position geographically to prepare for the conquest of China. Manchuria was a frontier area par excellence. Under Emperor Ch'ien-lung the Manchu Dynasty reached its greatest glory in terms of territorial expansion and domestic prosperity. By the nineteenth century the Ch'ing Dynasty was in decline. The height of Ch'ing success under Emperor Ch'ien-lung had also marked the turning point in the dynastic cycle.
