and cities were drawn away from the dreary life of the garrison and
practicing martial arts of dubious value in peacetime to the more interesting
urban Chinese culture. By the late eighteenth century the Qianlong emperor
was concerned not only over the loss of Manchu culture but of the Manchu
language as well–this despite the Qianlong emperor succeeding in the
decades-long struggle begun by his grandfather to destroy the Zunghar
Mongols. But perhaps he understood on some level that the great success
of the Qing army and its banner cavalry against the Zunghars was really the
end of an era.
The Western powers had increased their presence in China from mission-
aries to merchants over the course of the Qing Dynasty. Western merchants
initially paid for Chinese goods like silk, tea, or porcelain with silver bullion.
Indeed, at various points, as much as half of all the silver taken by Europeans
from the New World went to China. This was a cause for concern among
European governments and merchants, as they believed, based upon their
prevailing economic theory, that the drain of silver was seriously harming the
states exporting bullion. A substitute was found in opium, which the British
were able to produce in India in large quantities. It was then the Chinese
government’s turn to be concerned about the effects of European trade.
Opium caused immediate and obvious problems among the Qing population
and was very difficult to interdict. The British, who were the most prominent
power and major source for opium in the beginning, refused to enforce Qing
government prohibitions on the drug, or to restrict their merchants. When
the Qing governmentfinally acted, seizing the opium of British merchants
and destroying it, the British went to war to receive compensation.
The Opium War ( 1839 – 42 ) revealed both the power of European arms
and deep problems in the Qing state. Manchu bannermen and Manchu
leadership were completely ineffective infighting the British. Chinese sol-
diers were no better, though some Manchu and Chinese soldiers who fought
bravely were simply overwhelmed by the advances in European weaponry.
The old way offighting, in terms of weaponry and tactics, had to change if
the Qing were to fend off the Europeans. Changing military practice was
difficult, particularly since changes in the military structure of the dynasty
directly affected the entire social and political structure of Manchu rule.
Manchu identity was tied to a particular martial arts practice, horse archery,
which European military practice now rendered obsolete. It was less identity
threatening to convert Chinese troops to the new military system, but that
ran the risk of empowering the Chinese.
The advent of European military practice in China marked a sharp break
with the previous milieu for Chinese martial arts. A traditional Chinese army
188 The Qing Dynasty