Critical

Qing Conquest of Ming

Manchu conquest that replaced the Ming with the Qing and consolidated a new imperial order in China.

Timeline
1618-1683
Duration
66 years
Region
East Asia
Record
Static archive

Historical overview

Overview adapted from a Wikipedia summary and stored locally on May 11, 2026.

The transition from Ming to Qing, also known as the Manchu conquest of China or Ming-Qing transition, was a decades-long period of conflict between the Qing dynasty, established by the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan in Manchuria, and the Ming dynasty in China proper and later in South China. Various other regional or temporary powers were also involved in this conflict, such as the short-lived Shun dynasty. In 1618, before the start of the Qing conquest, Nurhaci, the leader of the Aisin Gioro clan, commissioned a document titled the Seven Grievances, in which he listed seven complaints against the Ming, before launching a rebellion against them. Many of the grievances concerned conflicts with the Yehe, a major Manchu clan, and the Ming's favoritism toward the Yehe at the expense of other Manchu clans. Nurhaci's demand that the Ming pay tribute to address the Seven Grievances was effectively a declaration of war, as the Ming were unwilling to pay money to a former vassal. Shortly thereafter, Nurhaci began to rebel against the Ming in Liaoning, a region in southern Manchuria.

Theater countries

ChinaTaiwan

Actors

Later Jin/QingMing dynastySouthern MingZheng forces

Tags

dynastic-warstate-formationchina

Border context

1600-1648historical border era

Confessional empires and Westphalia

The Holy Roman Empire, Habsburg Spain, the Ottoman frontier and Dutch independence wars define a fragmented early-modern map.

Borders are dynastic and imperial rather than nation-state based. The Westphalian settlement formalizes new state autonomy after 1648.
1649-1699historical border era

Dynastic frontier wars

Bourbon, Habsburg, Ottoman, Qing and Commonwealth frontiers shift through dynastic wars and imperial consolidation.

Ottoman-Habsburg borders move back after Vienna. Qing rule consolidates over China and Taiwan.

Navigation