What if the Qing Dynasty Reunited Today?

The Qing Dynasty, or the Qing Empire as some people like to call it, was one of the most famous Chinese Dynasties in all of history and at its territorial height in 1820, just at the beginning of the European Age of Exploration, it controlled more than 1/3 of the whole world's population and was one of the most powerful empires at the time. Despite this, gradually as time went on, the Qing Dynasty eventually fell under the influence of many European countries in the region such as the British, the French and the Germans, weakening its power.  Furthermore, in 1894, the Japanese Empire began an invasion of the Chinese-influenced Korea, which also weakened the dynasty's power. However,  in 1911, a revolution attempting to overthrow the Imperial dynasty finally succeeded, marking the end of the Imperial Qing Dynasty and resulted in the beginning of the Republic of China.

But what if it reunited today?

As always, the first thing we would need to think about the Qing Dynasty if it reunited today would be about its population, land and the cities within in it.

For starters, a total of 15 different modern-day countries would lose all or some of their territory to the new emerging country: Afghanistan, India, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Taiwan, Tajikistan and Vietnam, all of which would be located in Asia. (Note: This does not include the Vassal States of the empire). 

Due to so many very large countries making the empire up, its land area would also be absolutely gargantuan, much bigger than most other countries today even. To be exact, the dynasty would cover 14.7 Million Sq Km (5.68 Million Sq mi) - about 1/10 of the Earth's whole land area - and would be the 2nd largest country in the world only behind Russia. It would be well ahead of many other huge countries like Canada (9.984 Million Sq km) and the US (9.372 Million Sq Km). Despite this, China would absolutely dominate this land area and everything else we will cover, accounting for 66% of the Qing's whole area.

The population of the new country would also be gargantuan, standing at 1.52 Billion thanks to China's sweltering population, alone, of 1.45 Billion. This would easily be enough to make it the most populous country in the world, well ahead of India (1.406 Billion) and more than 4x the population that that of the US'. The population density of the empire wouldn't be that high, however, at only 103/km² but this would vary a lot between different parts of the empire. For example, the east coast of China has a density of roughly 400/km², whereas the Mongolian part of the empire only has a density of 2/km².

Choosing a capital city for the Qing Dynasty would be very easy to decide on as its historic capital was Beijing, which is also the capital of China and still a bustling urban-area today. Although, Beijing would be the capital, this wouldn't be the biggest city in its borders. Instead, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen urban area would be by far the biggest, doubling Beijing's population with a huge 47,600,000.

In addition to the powerhouse of an empire's huge population and land, it would also have a very large economy. In total, its Nominal GDP would stand at a whopping $20.822 Trillion, which would be enough to also place it in 2nd place, just behind the US ($25.346 Trillion). This would also place it ahead of many other countries with very large economies such as Japan ($4.912 Trillion), Germany ($4.256 Trillion) and India ($3.534 Trillion). (Note: If you notice the figures of other countries changing, it just means that it is the most recent GDP. So an amount for the UK in blogs made in 2021 will have a different figure to ones made in 2022). Obviously, China would also dominate this GDP, accounting for over 95% of the entire amount.

The GDP Per Capita of the Qing Dynasty would be quite average, being slightly above the Global Average of $10,949, but still not too high, however. Standing at $13,698, this would place the empire in 82nd place, in terms of Nominal GDP Per Capita, ahead of Montserrat ($13,523) and Malaysia ($13,268), but behind Palau ($13,706) and the Maldives ($14,078).

As well as all of this, the empire would be placed in a very strategic and lucky position to be as most products in the world are manufactured in China, which would mean that the dynasty would inherit a gargantuan manufacturing industry to help its economy.

The next thing we would need to think about a reunited Qing Dynasty is the demographics of its people - particularly its religious and ethnic groups in this section.

First, we begin with its Religious groups, which would be very interesting to talk about. Chinese Folk Religion, would overwhelmingly be the most followed religion in the empire with a huge 1.16 Billion people - 66% - adhering to it. Buddhism would be the next, at 15%, while Taoism would make up another 10% of the population. Other minor religions such as Islam, Christianity and Hinduism would also be present, making up 3.3%, 3.2% and 2% respectively. The final 0.5% of the population would be a mix of various other religions with tiny following.

Now focusing on Ethnic Groups now, Han Chinese would be by far the largest ethnic group in the whole empire, with 86% of the population identifying as that. However, many other small ethnicities would also be present within its borders like Tibetan, Fukien Taiwanese, Uyghurs and Mongols but just making up a tiny percentage. Including these 4 ethnic groups, the final 14% of the empire's population would be a mix of many small ethnicities in its borders.

The languages that would be spoken in a reunited Qing Dynasty would also be very diverse. Despite this, Mandarin Chinese would be the most spoken language in its borders making up a clear majority of 67%. After this, however, this is where it gets very diverse. Cantonese would be next, with a big drop down to 6% of the population. All Wu variants, including Shanghainese would collectively make up 5%, while Uyghur speakers would represent about 1%.The final 21% of the population would be a mix of hundreds of other languages with a tiny speaking. This would also include various indigenous languages.

The official language of the empire would most likely be Mandarin Chinese as that would be the language that most people within its borders can speak. Other additional languages like Taiwanese or Cantonese may also become official languages as well but this is unlikely as only a small percentage of the population would speak them.

The final thing we need to cover about the Qing Dynasty if it reunited today is its military power.

Starting with its manpower, the empire would have a huge 2,367,700 troops, which is just a slight addition to the China's troops but would still nonetheless easily be the largest force in the world. It would be well ahead of even India (1,455,550 troops) and the United States (1,388,100 troops). However, despite how large this military is already, it would also possess another 2,982,000 troops placed in reserves, which would bring its army to a huge total of 5,349,700.

The budget to fund this military would also be very large, standing at $304 Billion, even in the triple digits. This would be the 2nd highest budget in the world, ahead of many others such as India ($76.6 Billion) and the United Kingdom ($68.4 Billion), but still well behind the United States ($801 Billion).

To further add to its immense power, the Qing Dynasty would also be in possession of a large stockpile of Nuclear weapons, inheriting all of China’s nukes (About 350 warheads). What the new country would do with these bombs of mass destruction and whether it would act defensively or aggressively, though, would both be unclear.