It is weird how the Qing dynasty was considered to be an alien dynasty because the rulers were Manchus but the legacy they had left behind is more far-reaching than many other previous dynasties ruled by the Han people. For example, the Qipao that we have learnt to associate with traditional Chinese clothing was actually a modification of Manchu's clothings. The many TV dramas that are being made which depicts life in imperial China seem to like the Qing dynasty alot too. Emperors like Kangxi, Qianlong and Yongzheng are constantly characterised in those dramas, increasing people's awareness of them but not the historical background of that period of time. I bet if you go around asking people how many Emperors of China they could name, it would not be more than 6. The huge size of China today is also due to the Manchus' territorial expansion during the Qing dynasty, incorporating many borderlands which were previously never under the Chinese control. In this sense, how could we possibly justify the notion that the Qing dynasty was an alien dynasty? I would even say that it is gradually becoming the epitome of the Chinese culture and civilisation.
