Qing poetry

The dynasty was founded by the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan in contemporary Northeastern China, under the rule of Nurhaci, a former vassal of the Ming emperors.

By 1635, Nurhaci's son Hong Taiji could claim they constituted a single and united Manchu people and eventually they seized control of Beijing and overthrew Li Zicheng's short-lived Shun dynasty, completing their conquest of China around 1683 under the Kangxi Emperor.

[2] In addition to those identified primarily as poets, such as Wang Shizhen, Nara Singde (Nalan Xingdei), and Zhao Yi, many figures known for their contributions in other fields wrote memorable poetry, such as the philosopher Gu Yanwu.

[3] The fresh poetic voice of Yuan Mei has won wide appeal, as have the long narrative poems by Wu Jiaji.

[5] The challenge for researchers grew as even more people became poets and even more poems were preserved, including (with Yuan Mei's encouragement) more poetry by women.