Historical Developments

Imperial expansion relied on the increased use of gunpowder, cannons, and armed trade to establish large empires in both hemispheres.

Land empires included the Manchu in Central and East Asia; the Mughal in South and Central Asia; the Ottoman in Southern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa; and the Safavids in the Middle East.

Recruitment and use of bureaucratic elites, as well as the development of military professionals, became more common among rulers who wanted to maintain centralized control over their populations and resources.

Rulers used tribute collection, tax farming, and innovative tax-collection systems to generate revenue in order to forward state power and expansion.

Tax-collection systems:

• Mughal zamindar tax collection

• Ottoman tax farming

• Mexica tribute lists

• Ming practice of collecting taxes in hard currency

Mongols in China

• Conquered by Mongols in 1230s and originally ruled by Ogodei

• Established the Yuan Dynasty

• Kublai Khan created an oppressive tax-farming system instead of the traditional fixed-rate method of taxation

• Also brought benefits: secure trade routes, exchange of experts between east and west, transmission of skills, ideas, information

• Made Beijing their capital

  • Eastern terminus of caravan routes

  • Began the Forbidden City

• Established social hierarchy where Mongols were at the top, followed by Central Asians, Middle Easterners, Northern Chinese, and finally Southern Chinese

The Cosmopolitan Yuan Dynasty

• Some Confucian scholars were involved in the government, but they were largely displaced by Mongols who appointed merchants and outsiders with government positions

  • For example, a Muslim governor from Central Asia (Sayyid Ajall Shams al-Din) was placed in charge of a Chinese province

• Persian, Arab, and Uighur administrators staffed the offices of taxation and finance

• Muslim scholars worked at calendar-making and astronomy

Economy in the Yuan

• Merchants (previously despised by Confucian elites and scholars) were a privileged group under Mongol rule

• Civil service exam lost importance

• Elite families turned to new professions and opportunities since government positions were no longer available to them

• Led to business and merchant class boom

• Agricultural base was damaged by war, over taxation, and passage of armies

• Tried to use paper money but there was little faith in the system

Fall of the Yuan

• 1340s, fights among Mongol princes broke out

• In 1368 a charismatic Chinese leader (Zhu Yuanzhang) also known as the Hongwu Emperor destroyed the Yuan Empire and brought China under the control of the new Ming Dynasty

• Many Mongols, as well as Muslims, Jews, and Christians, remained in China

• Many other Mongols returned to Mongolia and welcomed back refugees from the Yuan collapse

• Ming did not dominate all the Mongols, but participated with the remaining tribes using the tribute system

• Some become a continued threat along the Ming borders

Ming Dynasty China

• Chinese culture & civilization had been disrupted by a century of Mongol rule

• Population had been reduced by the plague

• Early decades of Ming Dynasty = efforts to eliminate all signs of foreign rule (i.e. Mongol names and dress) while promoting Confucian learning based on models from the Han, Tang, and Song dynasties

• Emperor Yongle (reigned 1402-1422) sought to compile all previous writing on history, geography, ethics, government, and more

• China was looking to its past for inspiration and guidance

Ming China

• Initially moved capital to Nanjing (“southern capital”) on the Yangzi River

• Used Confucianism to legitimize his rule

• Initially, ended all relations with Central Asia and the Middle East

• Imposed strict limits on imports and foreign visitors

• Silver replaced paper money (not a good choice)

• Emperor Yongle (1403-1424) moved capital back to Beijing

  • Added to the Forbidden Palace, making it what it is today

Political Power in Ming Dynasty China

• Reestablished the civil service examination system that had been neglected under Mongol rule

• Created highly centralized government

• Power concentrated in the hands of the emperor while a cadre of eunuchs (castrated men) personally loyal to the emperor  exercised great authority

• Restored millions of acres of land to cultivation of crops

• Built canals, reservoirs, and irrigation works & planting a billion trees to reforest China

• Under Yongle, the economy rebounded & international and domestic trade flourished = population growth

• During 15th century, China had recovered and was the best-governed and most prosperous of the world’s major civilizations

Ming Dynasty Porcelain

• One of the best-known products of Ming technological advance was porcelain

• Created “Ming ware” a blue-on-white style developed in the 1400s from Indian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern motifs

• Also known for: furniture, lacquered screens, and silk

Did You Know…

• Emperor Yongle oversaw the construction of the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, a historical site located on the south bank of the Yangtze.

• Sometimes considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World

• The tower was built with white porcelain bricks that were said to reflect the sun's rays during the day, and at night as many as 140 lamps were hung from the building to illuminate the tower.

• Glazes and stoneware were worked into the porcelain and created a mixture of green, yellow, brown and white designs on the sides of the tower, including animals, flowers and landscapes.

• It was mostly destroyed in the 19th century during the course of the Taiping Rebellion.

Ming China & Maritime Expeditions

• Since 11th century, Chinese sailors and traders had been a major presence in the South China Sea and in Southeast Asian port cities

• Emperor Yongle launched an enormous fleet in 1405 which participated in seven expeditions in 28 years

• Captained by the Muslim eunuch Zheng He (Jung Huh)

• 300 ships, crew of 27,000

• Visited ports in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, India, Arabia, and East Africa

• Wanted to enroll distant peoples into the Chinese tribute system where they presented tribute, performed the required rituals of submission, and received gifts in return as well as titles and trading opportunities

• Zheng He’s expeditions were officially described as “bringing order to the world”

• Also: established Chinese power & prestige in the Indian Ocean while exerting Chinese control over foreign trade in the region

• Part of China’s legacy of utilizing the tribute system as part of their foreign policy

• Chinese DID NOT:

  • Seek to conquer new territories

  • Establish Chinese settlements

  • Desire to spread their culture

Decline of the Ming

• Problems defending borders

  • Nomadic groups successful forays across Great Wall

• Weak emperors

  • Corruption (particularly among the long-resented eunuchs)

  • Court factions bickering for the emperor's favor

• Peasant rebellions

• Manchurians (foreign nomads from beyond the Great Wall) won the Mandate of Heaven

  • Renamed empire the Qing (pure) Dynasty

  • Not Han Chinese

  • Manchus (considered “barbarians” from the north)

• Founded and maintained a new era for China

An Abrupt End to Maritime Exploration

• After 1433 Chinese authorities stopped such expeditions and allowed the expensive fleet to deteriorate in the ports

• Partly because of the death of Emperor Yongle who had been the patron of the enterprise

• Many high-ranking officials had seen the voyages as a waste of resources because they thought of China as being self-sufficient, requiring little help or assistance from the outside world.

• Saw expeditions as the hobby of eunuchs, who government officials despised

• Saw real threats as coming from the north where nomadic barbarians still troubled the borders

The Qing Dynasty

• Manchu gained control of Beijing and began campaign to conquer rest of Ming territory

• By late 18th century China reached largest size in history; largest country in the world

  • Transition from Ming to Qing not as difficult as transitions between dynasties in earlier periods

    • Manchu had been close to Chinese civilization and had adapted many Chinese customs and attitudes

    • Some gave their support to Manchu in taking over government

Political Organization

• Qing encouraged separation between Manchu and Chinese

  • Highest posts filled by Manchu

  • Confucian scholar-gentry kept most positions in bureaucracy

• Manchu rulers wanted to preserve ethnic identity

  • Forbade intermarriage (between Han Chinese and Manchus)

  • Chinese men forced to shave front of heads and grow queue as a sign of submission to dynasty

• Civil service exams became more competitive with tests given on district, provincial, and metropolitan levels

• State tightly controlled at center; Son of Heaven  view clearly in place

• Emperor led secluded but privileged life in Forbidden City

• “Theatre state” apparent

  • Sumptuous palace and customs

  • Emperor’s clothing

  • Kowtow (bowing/deference shown during tribute)

• Manchu dynasty strengthened by two strong emperors

• Kangxi and Qianlong

• Together rule spanned 130 years

• Cemented prosperous, powerful, culturally rich empire

• Both sophisticated Confucian scholars

• Managed Chinese economy efficiently

  • Kangxi a talented military leader

  • Qianlong brought such prosperity that he cancelled tax collections four times

• Late 18th C china a well-organized empire; its influence firmly established in most parts of east Asia

Economic and Social Characteristics

• Prosperity based upon

  • Agriculture; high yields from new methods

  • Rice, wheat, millet

  • New foods from Americas

    • Maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts raised on soil not appropriate for previous crops

    • New foods sustained rapid increase in population

• Population outpaced food supply but not evident before 1750

  • Population growth supported by trade and influx of American silver

  • Chinese workers produced silk, porcelain, and tea

• New silver supplies generally helped Chinese economy

• Patriarchal society

  • Control over women probably increase late Ming to Qing

  • Confucian ideals strong

• Preference for male children clear (only males could take civil service exam which could boost family status)

• Women encouraged to commit suicide after husbands died

  • Foot binding popular

  • Women could not divorce husbands

  • Men could put wives aside for disobedience or adultery

• High status of scholar bureaucrats

  • Distinctive clothing

  • Income from government service

  • Lived in urban areas

  • Owned land that brought additional income

• Below gentry were peasants, artisans, and merchants

  • Merchants with the lowest status since peasants more worthy; considered honest work

  • Merchants did not create any tangible products

• Lower classes often called ‘mean people’ which included slaves, indentured servants, and beggars

Cultural Influences

• Beyond Neoconfucianism a rich cultural life emerged in philosophy, literature, and history

• Emperors supported printing and distribution of materials

  • Yongle sponsored Yongle’s Encyclopedia

  • Kangxi’s Collection of Books

• Popular novels circulated two often best know to novels are the Book of the Golden Lotus and the Dream of the Red Chamber

• Porcelain became major art form during Ming and Qing

  • Vases, decorative bowls, painted scrolls and screens in demand

  • Prices rose and production increased

  • Prosperous Chinese also filled homes with goods; many items did not go to international trade

• By 1700’s many Chinese could read and children went to to schools and academies

  • Calligraphy, painting, and poetry more prized than math and science

• Members of the scholar-gentry led refined, comfortable lives

The Kangxi Dictionary

The Kangxi Dictionary was the standard Chinese dictionary during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Kangxi Emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty ordered its compilation in 1710. It used the earlier Zihui system of 214 radicals, today known as 214 Kangxi radicals, and was published in 1716. The dictionary is named after the Emperor's era name.

The dictionary contains more than 47,000 characters, though some 40% of them are graphic variants. In addition, there are rare or archaic characters, some of which are attested only once. Fewer than a quarter of the characters it contains are now in common use.

Issues with Trade

• From the Crusades onward, Western elites had become used to increasing consumption of Asian luxury products, including spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, silks, sugar, perfumes, and jewels.

• In exchange for luxury items, Europeans mainly had cruder goods to offer: wool, tin, copper, honey, and salt

• The resulting unfavorable balance of trade had to be made up in gold, but western Europe had only a limited supply

• By 1400, the constant drain to Asia was creating a gold famine that threatened the whole European economy with collapse

• Until . . . . . . the Spanish discover silver in the New World (but that’s for Unit 4)