The manchus are a non-Chinese people from the northeastern region of China called Manchuria, which now accupies the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. The Muchu language is related to Mongolian and other of the Turkic family.
In the middle of the seventeenth century, the ming tent, and the country was torn by rebellions. The Manchus, aided by some Chinese rebels disguested by the Ming regime, seized the opportunity to launch an invasion of China.
The conquest of China by the Manchuwas successful, and in 1644 they occupied Baijing and set up a new dynasty called Qing. The Manchus compelled all Chinese men to adopt the Manchu hairstyle of a shaved forehead with a long pingtail in the back (braided). Manchu woman sis not bind their feel, and new rulers tried, unsuccessfully, to make Chimese woman abandon this ancient practice.
The early Qing emperors, notably Kanxi and Qianlong, were vigorous and able. During their reigns, China enjoyed a long period of prosperity and stability. But as with other dynasties, the later emperors became indolent and decadent. Power fell inyo yhr hands of eunuchs, dowager empresses, and scheming courtiers.
Durning the nieteenth and early twentieth centuries, China suffered a series of humiliating defeats at the hands of foreign powers, most notably during the Opium Wars, the Taiping Rebellion, and the Boxer Rebellion. Britain, America, France, Germany, Russia and Japan tried to carve up China, as they had done after Africa and much of Southest Asia.
In 1911, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was finally toppled and republic set up, although it was a republic mostly in name only. For some twenty years, China remained torn apart from actions, with warloads ruling some of the territories almost like independent kings. Gradally, two dominant groups emerged: the Kuomintang, later called the Nationalists, and the Communists.
Japan became a forve in Manchuria and wanted to exploit its rich natural resources. In 1932, the Japanese set up the puppet state of Manchukuo, with the deposed Manchu emperor, Pu Yi, as it's head. In 1937, Japan began its invasion of the whole China.
With the defeat of Japan in the Second World War, China regained its sovereighty. After the Communists took control of the country in 1949, the three provinces of Manchuria became an integral part of the People's Republic of China/ Although there are few pure Manchus Left, some woman wore robes open in front and held together with a wide sash, somewhat like a kimono. The Slinky is of Manchu origin. Called a cheongsam by the Cantonese and by foreigners, it is still called qi pqo, "Manchu Gown," by most mainland Chinese.
This is just a Review of Chinese history. Next chapter is the Story. Please Review (no flames please D)