Originally Posted by
FeilongZ
I studied Microbiology in college, but I also took a lot of Western civilization courses and a few in Japanese history.
I do not have a good of knowledge in China's history, but I will give it a try.
Credits go to Wikipedia and Quora.
Based on historical contexts and some readings,
I propose the following reasons why pro-Ming and anti-Qing dynasty:
1.
The Ming Dynasty was considered to be the last Han Chinese dynasty before the arrival of the Qing Dynasty.
Since approximately 90% of Chinese were of Han ethnicity, support for a restoration of the Ming Dynasty was definitely greater than the Qing Dynasty.
Furthermore, under the Qing Dynasty, the Han Chinese were somewhat oppressed and were forced to wear pigtails, which was a sign of humiliation against the Han.
2.
The last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Puyi, was considered a Japanese puppet , and he collaborated with Imperial Japan against China. He governed the Japanese client state of Manchukuo.
Therefore, the Qing officials were viewed as weak and also traitors who fought against China.
3.
Most Chinese people believe that it was the Qing’s Dynasties fault for bringing down the Celestial Empire of China and bring humiliation towards the Chinese civilization. They often blame Qing for not modernizing quicker and for signing the unequal treaties with the Western Powers and Japan.
Even though, from my point of view, it was the Ming Dynasty who laid the foundation for those humiliating events centuries later.
For example, in 1860, during the Second Opium War in China and in retaliation for the torture and execution of almost twenty European and Indian prisoners, James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin from Great Britain ordered the destruction of the Old Summer Palace in Beijing, an architectural wonder with immeasurable collections of artworks and historic antiques, and as result inflicting invaluable loss of cultural heritage toward the Chinese.
The Summer Palace's destruction in 1860 by the order of High Commissioner to China, James Bruce and his triumphant entry to the center of Beijing, and his procession symbolized British and Western domination and Chinese humiliation were some of the low points during the Qing dynasty.
Subsequently, the High Commisser of China compelled the Qing dynasty officials to sign the Convention of Peking, which added Kowloon Peninsula to the British crown colony of Hong Kong.
All in all, I think national pride/patriotism and Western humiliation were the leading reasons of why many Chinese were hoping to revert to the Ming dynasty.