The success of the Qing dynasty in maintaining the old order proves a liability when the empire is confronted with growing challenges from seafaring Western powers.

The centuries of peace and self-satisfaction dating back to Ming times have encouraged little change in the attitudes of the ruling elite.

The imperial Neo-Confucian scholars accept as axiomatic the cultural superiority of Chinese civilization and the position of the empire at the hub of their perceived world.

To question this assumption, to suggest innovation, or to promote the adoption of foreign ideas wis viewed as tantamount to heresy.

Imperial purges deal severely with those who deviate from orthodoxy.