When the American republic was in its infancy in the immediate aftermath of the Revolutionary War, China was at its height as the largest, wealthiest, and most populous country on earth. The Qing dynasty (1644–1911) extended the territorial reach of the Celestial Kingdom to its greatest extent since China first became a unified kingdom in 221 BCE. Under the Qianlong Emperor (1735–1796), the Chinese economy represented 40 percent of global GDP, despite the fact that relatively little of China’s wealth was derived from external trade.
China at it's largest
