The Textual Time Machine: Truth, Facts, and the Shuowen, 1770–1932

Modern histories of the Qing dynasty often divide it into two periods: “High Qing” and “Late Qing.” The first—a period of sociopolitical success, splendor, territorial expansion, and a general Pax Manchurica maintained by the three great emperors (Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong); the second—a period of social unrest, rebellions, Western intrusions, successive failures, and deterioration of social, economic, and political institutions. It is no coincidence that the authoritative Cambridge History of China series divided Qing history into two, with the year 1800 serving as a dividing line.