History revisited: what the isolationist Qing dynasty tells us about Xi Jinping’s China

Manchu men, from the group that ruled China during the Qing dynasty, circa 1901. Photograph: Granger/Historical Picture Archive/Alamy

At the height of the Qing dynasty, the Chinese empire was one of the great powers of the world. Its territory spanned all the way to Inner Asia and its economic prosperity and military might was the envy of the world.

But despite its success, rampant corruption, weak governance, internal revolts and foreign invasion led to the decline of its national power and its eventual collapse. The beginning of the 20th century would mark the end of China’s centuries-long dynasties, ruled over by emperors.