Life was very difficult for the Mongols during the Qing Dynasty. Why didn't they resist?

According to China’s sixth census, the number of Mongolians is 6.5 million, and the number of Mongolians in Inner Mongolia is 4.22 million. They are the ninth largest ethnic minority in our country. Like people of all ethnic groups, Mongolians The population increased significantly after the founding of New China in 1949. But before that, the Mongolian population experienced long-term stagnation or even regression during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. In the early years of the Qing Dynasty, the Mongolian population according to various ministries was about 2.16 million. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, only 1.71 million people remained. You must know that at the same stage, the Central Plains region was experiencing a rapid population growth, while at the same time the Mongolian Plateau was experiencing a population decline trend.

Tibetan Buddhism has a long history of spreading on the Mongolian Plateau. As early as the middle of the 13th century, Mongolians began to come into contact with Tibetan Buddhism. Although it was widely spread among the royal family and upper class society, it has not completely changed. Mongolian shamanistic beliefs as a whole. During the Anda Khan period in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism, known as the Yellow Sect, spread widely in Mongolia for the second time. Unlike the first time when it only spread among nobles, this time it spread over a large area and there were no dead ends. Tibetan Buddhism has since become the only legal religion, while traditional shamanism has become an illegal religion.

In the Qing Dynasty, Tibetan Buddhism received the attention of the Qing court. When dealing with the Mongolian palaces, Tibetan Buddhism became an important carrier of communication. Construction projects were carried out in Chengde and other places, and religious temples could be seen everywhere. Emperor Qianlong It is believed that this dynasty maintains the Yellow Sect,

the reason is that many Mongolians have converted to it, and it is a way to show respect and follow the customs...because the teachings are not easy to change the customs, making it easy for people to understand and follow.

By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, the number of lamas in Mongolia reached as many as 250,000. During the Guangxu period, the number of living Buddhas alone reached 243. The number of lamas accounted for 40% of the total adult male population of Mongolia. to 50%, and the Chahar and Xilingol regions have exceeded 60%. The number of Buddhist temples in Inner Mongolia has exceeded 800, with an average of 20 per banner, and some banners even have 60. Such a large group of lamas is not only detrimental to the normal marriage of ethnic groups, but also seriously squeezes out the labor force and places a lot of burden on the middle and lower class Mongolian herders.

In addition to social and religious factors, economic factors are also important reasons restricting the growth of the Mongolian population. Although the low-yield lifestyle of nomadic herding has been relaxed, it still accounts for a considerable proportion. The relatively cold climate also makes Mongolia's pastoral economy more vulnerable at this stage. Since the lama class mentioned above enjoys a relatively high living security, on average they receive at least twenty or thirty taels of silver per year, which is basically the same income level as the Eight Banners soldiers who were going to fight on the battlefield at that time. Supporting such a large number of high-income groups has had a serious impact on the local economy of Mongolia. According to statistics, Mongolia needs to pay a total of 12.5 million taels of silver to support lamas every year. On average, each herdsman household has to bear 8 taels of silver every year. Silver left and right.

In stark contrast to the poor life of the middle- and lower-class Mongolian herdsmen, lamas in Mongolia continued to hold large-scale tea-making activities in Tibet during the Qing Dynasty. Out of devout faith, the most extravagant trip to Tibet consumed a total of 10,800 war horses, 5.34 million sheep, and 540,000 dans of millet. This trip to Tibet to make tea will undoubtedly bring a lot of wealth to the Mongolian plateau. It was transported to Tibet, causing a shortage of materials in Mongolia. For example, the Chahar area had 3 million livestock during the Kangxi period, but by the end of the Qing Dynasty there were only 390,000, a total shrinkage of nine-tenths.