Qing dynasty · 1661-1799

The High Qing: Kangxi to Qianlong

Under Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong the Qing became the largest and richest state in Asia, and its population roughly doubled. Students explore the empire at its height and why Qianlong told a British envoy in 1793 that China needed nothing from Britain.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1783 to AD 1793
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Under Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong the Qing became the largest and richest state in Asia, and its population roughly doubled. Students explore the empire at its height and why Qianlong told a British envoy in 1793 that China needed nothing from Britain.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe the growth of the Qing Empire under Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong.
  • Explain how the Qing ruled an empire of many peoples.
  • Explain why the Qing limited trade with Europeans, using the Canton system and the Macartney mission.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1783

The Qing at its height

Open the map in 1783 and find the Qing Empire. Compare it with the Ming Empire in 1600. Which large regions did the Qing add to the north and west?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1750

Tea for Russia

Turn on Trade Routes and find the Kyakhta Tea Road running north from Beijing to the Russian border. What did China sell along it, and why would Russians want it?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1793

One port for Europeans

Zoom in on Guangzhou (Canton). From 1757 European traders were only allowed to trade here. Why might the Qing want to keep foreign merchants in one port?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Kangxi ruled for 61 years. What are the advantages and dangers of one ruler staying in power so long?
  2. The Qing were Manchus ruling Chinese, Mongols, Tibetans and Uyghurs. How do you rule an empire of so many peoples?
  3. China's population roughly doubled during the 1700s. What problems might that cause later?
  4. Qianlong told the British envoy Macartney that China had no need of British goods. Was he right in 1793?
  5. Qianlong's scholars copied thousands of books into one great collection, but also banned and destroyed books they judged disloyal. What does that tell us about power and knowledge?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Rule History as Catherine the Great, who ruled Russia while Qianlong ruled China, along the same long border. Let students take turns ruling. Then discuss: how did two huge land empires deal with each other through treaties and trade?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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