Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty (led by Zhu) rids China of the Mongols and lasts from 1368 – 1644

Strong central gvt Confucian principles Reinstates civil service exam Energizes and emphasizes Chinese

culture to erase Mongol influence

Zheng He Chinese navigator in the

early 1400s Traveled to SE Asia, Indian

Ocean and East Africa (100 yrs before Europeans do)

Chinese govt suddenly bans the building of seagoing ships in 1433 (when Zheng He dies), Zheng He’s fleets rot away and China turns inward

Confucian Scholars actually burn records of his journeys State considered the

expeditions “silly” and a waste of resources

Columbus v. Zheng He

What might have happened if the Chinese spent the 15th and 16th centuries exploring?

Ming dynasty declines through the 16th centuryState still concerned about Mongols,

revamping the Great Wall 1600’s – famines, plummeting economy,

peasant revolts 1644 – Ming emperor invites Qing

warriors from Manchuria to quell a peasant uprising, but oust the emperor instead.

Qing (Manchu) Dynasty from 1644 - 1914

Manchus Obsessed with remaining ethnically

elite (only 3% of the population) Ban marriage of Manchu’s and

Chinese Chinese forbidden to learn Manchu

language Need the best and brightest of the

ethnic Chinese to help run the gvt – so competition on the civil service exam intensifies (the Manchu’s don’t care about class)

Qing Dynasty Will grow to

include Taiwan and parts of Mongolia, central Asia and Tibet

Tributary states – Burma, Nepal, and Vietnam

Isolationism Continue to focus inward Focus only stretches as far as tributary

states Fierce protectors of culture – ban

Christianity in 1724 Trade is restricted to only one city and is

regulated by the government Silver streaming into Chinese economy

Japan 1542 – Portuguese established trade, missionaries poured in 300,000 or so Japanese converted to Christianity 1100s-1500s – era of feudalistic heirarchies Era of daimyos (territorial lords) pledging allegiance to the shogun

(military overlord) 1500s Civil War breaks out, several warlords emerge and dominate

the different Japanese Islands Toyotomi Hideyoshi – general, gains power, unifies Japan in

1590 Dreams of expanding the empire, attacks Korea

1592 and 1597: Korea vs. Japan

Hideyoshi attacks Korea Korean Admiral Yi Sun-shin has his

70 foot “turtle boat” Iron covering, looks like a turtle,

has holes for oars and cannons Sinks hundreds of Japanese

vessels, even though the Japanese have the musket from the Portuguese

Admiral Yi dies in the attacks, but the Japanese don’t attack again until the 1910s

(Japanese invade Manchuria during this time too, but will have to withdraw after losing most of their navy)

Tokugawa Ieyasu After Hideyoshi’s death,

daimyo’s meet under Tokugawa Ieyasu and create the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1603

1603-1867 Bakufu (tent gov’t, implied only

temporary gov’t replacement of the emperor’s pwr)

Claims personal ownership to all the lands

Institutes rigid social class, (its Confucian met caste) Warrior Farmer Artisan merchant **No Social mobility

Edo Period Tokugawa moves capital from Heian (Kyoto) to

Edo (Tokyo) Reversal in attitudes toward Western influence

Christians are persecuted, missionaries expelled 1580s – missionaries voted off the island 1590s – persecution of converts/missionaries begins 1614 – banned the faith

○ Kicked off the island, hunted down and killed○ Rebellions persist, Christianity becomes and

underground faith National Seclusion Policy – Japanese prohibited

from traveling abroad and from receiving visitors to Japan Only exceptions – Korea, China, and Netherlands

(Dutch and Nagasaki)

Rationale for Isolation

Spain in the Philippines England and Portuguese hassling China When Portuguese come into Japan to

negotiate, Japanese kill them on the spot

Isolation is good for the Arts

Buddhism and Shinto still influence culture

Kabuki theatre Bunraku (puppet plays) Haiku Scrolls, wood-block prints and

paintings

South and Southeast Asia Portuguese spearhead exploration, Dutch

follow suit Port/Span are zealous missionaries,

Brit/Dutch not nearly as zealous Conversions difficult in S and SE Asia…

why?Islam has existed for 1000 yearsHindu ideas and rituals have existed for over

2000 yearsAreas of success?

○ Philippines

Effects of Europe on Asia Set up some bases that are new, more

powerful, wealthy port cities New trade routes Muslim Trade centers start to decline in

value Introduce sea warfare Diffusion causes

New food from Americas to enter AsiaSilver from Americas pours into AsiaEuropeans get malaria and dysentary

Asian Reactions Some empires are just too strong and too

populated Cultures are too established China and Japan just aren’t interested

Missionaries containedLimited trading contactsChina stopped trading and allowed Europe to take

over “global” (and now actually global) trade Because of isolation…

Asia does not keep up with EuropeansAfter 4000 years of technological superiority,

European technology surpass Asian technologyFateful, consequential, critical time in historyBut…does Europe still dominate?