The Qing was accused of destroying traditional Han culture by forcing Han to wear their hair in a queue in the Manchu style. It was blamed for suppressing Chinese science, causing China to be transformed from the world's premiere power to a poor, backwards nation. The people of the Eight Banners lived off government pensions unlike the general Han civilian population. In the broadest sense, an anti-Qing activist was anyone who engaged in anti-Manchu direct action. When the Qing dynasty invaded the Ming dynasty β in , Muslim Ming loyalists in Gansu led by Muslim leaders Milayin [1] and Ding Guodong led a revolt in against the Qing during the Milayin rebellion in order to drive the Qing out and restore the Ming Prince of Yanchang Zhu Shichuan to the throne as the emperor.
The Ming loyalist general Zheng Chenggong , better known by his title Koxinga, led a military movement to oppose the Qing dynasty from to He established the Kingdom of Tungning on the island of Taiwan.
Joseon Korea operated within the Ming tributary system and had a strong alliance with the Ming during the Japanese invasions of Korea β This put Joseon in a dilemma when both Nurhaci and the Ming requested support.
Gwanghaegun of Joseon tried to maintain neutrality, but most of his officials opposed him for not supporting the Ming, a longstanding ally. In King Gwanghaegun was deposed and replaced by King Injo r. Reversing his predecessor's foreign policy, the new king decided to support the Ming openly, but a rebellion led by military commander Yi Gwal erupted in and wrecked Joseon's military defenses in the north.
Even after the rebellion had been suppressed, King Injo had to devote military forces to ensure the stability of the capital, leaving fewer soldiers to defend the northern borders. The Manchus invaded Korea twice, in and , eventually forcing Joseon to sever its ties with the Ming and instead to become a tributary of the Manchus. However, popular opposition to the Manchus remained in Korea.
