East Asia Under the Ming & Qing Dynasties

Flashcards about East Asia under the Ming and Qing Dynasties

What empires dominated East Asia during the Early Modern Period?

The land-based empire of China, under the Ming and Qing dynasties, dominated the region, but the island empire of Japan under the Shogunates also played an important role.

How was the Ming Dynasty established?

Following the overthrow of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, a Chinese peasant leader proclaimed himself founder of a new Ming Dynasty, returning the native Han Chinese to political power.

What was the Cefeng System?

A loose framework by which neighboring states submitted to China by paying tribute, becoming tributary states, while retaining almost complete autonomy.

What was the Imperial Administration of the Ming Dynasty like?

An expansive bureaucracy of Confucian bureaucrats who administered the empire through a complex, multi-tiered system of governors and provinces.

Who was the Senior Grand Secretary?

An appointed bureaucrat who coordinated on behalf of the emperor the Six Ministries.

What did the Six Ministries handle?

Separate departments handled matters relating to state employees, taxation, religion, war, law, and infrastructure.

Who were the Court Eunuchs?

Castrated men tending the emperor and his wives, who bureaucrats relied on for access to the monarch.

What was the dominant belief system of the Ming Dynasty?

Confucianism returned to dominance, with Taoists also receiving patronage, while Buddhism weakened.

What was China's role in the world economy at the beginning of the Early Modern Period?

China occupied the center of the world economy, producing valuable finished goods.

What goods did merchants seek from Ming China?

Silk, porcelain, and tea.

What were Sycees?

Large irregular silver bars used in China.

What did the Single Whip Law mandate?

The Chinese had to pay their taxes to the emperor in hard silver.

What is a Silver Standard?

A monetary system in which a weight of silver is the fundamental basis of value.

What was the Haijin policy?

An isolationist policy in which the government banned most Chinese merchants from trading abroad by sea and restricted foreign traders to trade in a small number of specific port cities.

What led to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty's fiscal system?

Peasants lacked the silver to pay taxes, leading to rebellions.

How did the Ming Dynasty end?

The last Ming emperor hanged himself when rebels broke into Beijing.

Who were the Manchus?

A settled people group on the borders of the steppes who combined Chinese administrative techniques with their own native practices.

What was the Banner System?

Organized the army into elite units based on ethnic backgrounds.

When did the Qing Dynasty rule in China?

From 1644 to 1912.

What policies did the Qing continue from the Ming Dynasty?

The Qing maintained the Confucian bureaucracy, but required that half of all bureaucrats be Manchu.

What changes did the Qing make to the government?

The Qing abolished the Senior Grand Secretary position and replaced it with an imperial council.

What was the Great Clearance?

Evacuating large areas of the Chinese coastline in response to piracy.

What was the Tifayifu law?

Required all adult Han Chinese men to adopt Manchu hairstyles.

What hairstyle did the Tifayifu mandate?

To shave the front of the head and wear the remaining hair in a long braid called a queue.

What is Shinto?

A combination of the worship of kami, spirits often connected to nature, with the traditions of Buddhist monasticism.

Who was the Shogun?

A powerful military figure who exercised real political power.

Who were the Daimyos?

Lords who ruled over regions in exchange for military service.

Who were the Samurai?

Powerful warriors who followed a special warrior code.

How was the Tokugawa Shogunate established?

A series of powerful daimyos armed their forces with gunpowder weapons and reunified the country.

What was the Tokugawa Shogunate?

The centralized state of Early Modern Japan.

What policies did the Tokugawa Shogunate adopt to secure control over Japan?

Paying salaries to the samurai, instituting the Edo Society, and implementing the Alternate Attendance System.

What was the Edo Society?

A strict class system.

What was the Alternate Attendance System?

Every noble had to spend every other year at court in Edo.

What was Sakoku?

The shogun prevented the non-noble Japanese from traveling abroad and barred foreigners from visiting the country.

Why did the Qing hegemony seem deceptive?

The Qing would not take the steps necessary to keep pace with developments on the other side of the globe.