Ming ChinaChapter 19

The Mongols

Hongwu

• Drives the Mongols out of China (1368)

• Thus, creating the Ming Dynasty in China

• He was the first Ming Ruler

Ming under Hongwu• Restored agricultural lands

destroyed by war (increased rice production and irrigation)

• Promoted growing commercial crops such as sugar cane and cotton

• Encouraged the return of Confucian moral standards

• Restored the merit-based civil service exam

Yonglo

• Hongwu’s son• Ruled after his father’s

death in 1398• Moved the capital city

to Beijing, China (still capital today)

• Very interested in the outside world and exploration

Zeng He

• In 1405, well before European exploration, Yonglo, launched the first of seven voyages

• Zeng He, a Chinese Muslim Admiral, led all seven voyages

• These voyages were massive! Everything about them was large!

Distance Traveled: All throughout Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa

Size of Fleets: 40 to 300 ships sailed in each expedition

• Fighting ships, storage vessels, and treasure ships…

• Crews reached over 27,000 men strong on some voyages

Size of Ships: Treasure Ships were over 400 feet long

Zeng He’s Treasure Ship compared to Columbus’s Santa Maria

China’s Superiority

• Everywhere Zeng He went he distributed gifts (silver and silk) to show Chinese superiority

• Many countries bought into China’s power…literally, and began to pay tribute to China

• After the seventh voyage in 1433, China withdrew into isolation

China Limits Trade

To keep outside influenceto a minimum, the Mingkept foreign trade to aminimum…1. Only the government was

to conduct foreign trade2. Foreign trade could only

take place in three ports: Canton, Macao, and Ningbo

Macao in 1870

Cheating the System

• Silk and Porcelain, though, were smuggled out of the country by merchants and into the hands of European merchants

• Manufacturing and Commerce grew rapidly throughout China

China did not become highly industrialized…

1. Commerce offended China’s Confucian beliefs2. China’s economic policies had always favored

farming and agriculture(Taxes on agriculture stayed low while taxes on

manufacturing sky rocketed)

Missionaries

• Christian missionaries also accompanied these traders to China

• They brought Christianity, obviously, but also European science and technology, such as the clock

Matteo Ricci

• First missionary to have an impact in China (Italian Jesuit)

• He gained special favor in the Ming Court due to his intelligence and fluency in Chinese

• Still many opposed European and Christian presence

Fall of the Ming

• The Ming Dynasty had lasted over 200 years…• However, in 1644, the Manchus came from

the Northeast over the Great Wall of China and invaded the Ming

The Manchus took over Beijing and started the Qing Dynasty in China

• The Qing continued this idea of isolationism• They only traded with certain people and at

certain ports

Kangxi

• Became emperor in 1661 and ruled for 60 some odd years

• He reduced gov’t expenses and lowered taxes

• He was a scholar and patron of the arts

• Offered intellectuals gov’t positions

The Dutch and Qing

• The Dutch were masters of Indian Ocean trade

• They established good relations with the Qing

• The Dutch accepted China’s restrictions as well as paid tribute to the Qing

• They also took part in the “kowtow” ritual

The Dutch and Qing

• Silk and Porcelain would be the main goods the Dutch took back to Europe

• However, by 1800, 80 percent of the goods they brought back to Europe would be tea

Great Britain and Qing

• Great Britain was also interested in trading with China

• They did not like the restrictions though

• In 1793, King George III delivered a letter to Qian-long

• Asked for better trading arrangements

1st Half of Class

You are one of King George’s advisors.

Write a letter to Qian-long asking him to allow you (Great Britain) to trade with China.

Mention why you want to trade with them. What do you have to offer them? What do you want from them?

2nd Half of Class

You are an advisor to Qian-long.

You are going to respond to the letter from Great Britain you receive.

You decide whether you want to open up trade with them or not. Why? Why not?

Qian-long Responded:

“There is nothing we lack, as your principal envoy and other have themselves observed. We have never set as much store on strange or ingenious objects, nor do we need any more of your country’s manufactures.”

Qing Thriving• During the Qing, the use

of fertilizer and irrigation increased

• Farmers continued growing rice but also grew corn and sweet potatoes from the Americas

• Increased food production and better health

Qing Families

• Chinese families preferred sons over daughters

• Only sons could perform vital religious rituals

• Sons looked over their parents later in life

• Females were not as valued and often killed

Women in Qing

• Women did have responsibilities though

• They worked in the fields as well as managed the household– Educated children– Managed finances