early ming china: 1368-1500. china and the ming dynasty restoration of ethnic chinese rule under the...
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Early Ming China: 1368-1500
China and the Ming Dynasty
• Restoration of ethnic Chinese rule under the Ming Dynasty (after Yuan dynasty Mongol rule) (1368-1644)– Largest population of any civilization of the time– Renewed agricultural/commercial growth– Europeans use New World bullion to pay for goods– High degree of technology– Large numbers of skilled engineers and artisans– Centralized bureaucracy
China and the Ming Dynasty-Hongwu
Zhu Yuanzhang declares himself the Hongwu Emperor First Ming Emperor Hongwu=“Vast
Military” Wants to rid China of
all traces of the “barbarian” Mongols Mongol dress was
discarded Mongol names were
dropped Mongol palaces were
destroyed
China and the Ming Dynasty-Hongwu
• Return of the Scholar-Gentry– Somewhat suspicious of this class because of his Peasant
upbringings– Scholars versed in Confucian classics were appointed to
high positions in government– Civil Service Examination system was reinstated
• Abolished the position of chief minister • Instituted Public beatings for bureaucrats found
guilty of corruption and incompetence
China and the Ming Dynasty-Hongwu
• Hongwu exiled all potential rivals to the throne to estates in the provinces– Forbade them to be involved in political affairs
China and the Ming Dynasty-Hongwu
• Introduced measures to improve lives of peasants
• Public works projects• Unoccupied land would become the tax-
exempt property of those who cleared and cultivated it
China and the Ming Dynasty
• Women: subordinate to men as per Confucianism.– Played role in Hongwu’s court– Hundreds/Thousands of women would wait at the
palace to be seen by the emperor as one of his concubines
– Status was defined as to their ability to bear male children
Ming China
• Territory controlled was not as expansive as in the T’ang Dynasty
• Commercial and Population boom began in the Song Dynasty was continued
• Spanish and Portuguese mercantile contacts imports crops from the New World– From the Andes highlands– Maize, sweet potatoes,
peanuts• Grown on inferior soil with
little irrigation
– Cultivation spread quickly through marginal areas
Ming China
85
120
300
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
1300 1600 1800
Population(inmillions)
• Food crop importation is key to hedging famine amongst HUGE population growth
Ming China
Commercial growth: Advanced handicraft industries▪ Silk textiles▪ Tea▪ Fine ceramics
Balance of trade was VERY MUCH in China’s favor Arab, Asian, and now European traders arrive at Macao
and Canton These are the only two places where Europeans were allowed to
do business in Ming China
Ming China
Merchants make lots of money in this trade Taxes paid to
scholar-gentry (bribes, too)
Merchants invested more in land
Ming prosperity was reflected in the fine arts
Development of Chinese literature (the Novel)
Ming China
• Between 1405 and 1423 China launched a series of impressive expeditions at Sea– During Yunglo’s reign
• Went to Southeast Asian kingdoms, Persia, southern Arabia, East Africa
Ming China
• Zhenghe’s expeditions– 62 ships (4 for De Gama, 3 for Columbus)– 28,000 sailors, merchants, soldiers– 400 foot long, 190 foot wide ships– China had the capacity to expand at least a
century before the Europeans rounded the Cape of Good Hope.
Zheng He
Ming China
• After 1400, China aims to LIMIT China’s overseas commerce– Ming war fleet dramatically declines
• As the Chinese shut themselves in, the Europeans were irresistibly drawn to the Middle Kingdom for converts.– Some scholars show interest in Christianity, but
never took a real hold on the court, or the people.
Ming China-Decline• Highly centralized, absolutist structure developed by Hongwu
and continued by Yunglo could not be continued.– Official corruption– Isolation of weak rulers– Public works projects fall into disrepair.– Floods, droughts, famine afflict the land
• Increased foreign threats, mostly by the Manchu• The last emperor of the Ming, Chongzhen, commits suicide as
the walls of the Forbidden City are scaled by rebels…the Dynasty ends in 1644.
Elsewhere in Asia…
1200-1500
Korea, Mongols, and Koryo
• Leaders initially resisted Mongol invasions but gave up in 1258 when king of Koryo surrendered and joined his family to the Mongols by marriage.
• Koryo kings fell under the influence of the Mongols.
Profit
• Korea profited from exchange with the Yuan in which new technologies were introduced. Some examples include:– Cotton– Astronomy– Gunpowder– Calendar making– Celestial clocks
Collapse and Rise
• Koryo collapsed shortly after the fall of the Yuan.
• Replaced by Yi dynasty.• Yi reestablished local identity and restored the
status of Confucian scholarship.• Maintained Mongol administrative practices
and institutions.
Korean Military Technology
• Patrol ships with mounted cannons• Gunpowder arrow-launchers• Armored ships