After the fall of the Ming dynasty in the 16th century, China, which had been a great scientific innovator up until that point, suddenly stalled and became a recluse kingdom. This eventually led to it being utterly demolished by the UK, and later the rest of Europe and Japan in the 19th century, not recovering until the mid-20th century or so.
Why did we see this relatively sudden stall in technological advancement under the Qing?
This is a variant of the “Needham Question” or “Needham Problem,” “the Needham Paradox": "Why didn't the Chinese beat Europeans to the Scientific Revolution?"
it is difficult to gauge how far behind was the Qing dynasty, around the same time as the American Revolution, the Qing armies has lots of firearms (muskets) and cannons. Some reliable sources state that the quantity of firearms and cannons made it more than a match for most European armies. But then again, Qing never had the ability to set up overseas colonies in the Americas like most European powers did.
A popular theory is that the Qing were inward-thinking; they blocked off overseas trade and cultural arrogance made them unwilling to accept foreign ideas.
I used to be a big proponent of this theory but not anymore.
After reviewing many facts, I am convinced that China didn't stall at all; in fact, it was progressing at the same normal pace it always had for over a 1500 years. It was Europe, specifically western and central Europe, that suddenly accelerated.