Genghis Khan Born: 1162, Died: August 18, 1227,

“I am the punishment of God...If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szxPar0BcMo

Yuan Dynasty 1271 - 1368

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hr_PNoCZXg4

Marco Polo

Kublai Khan

Mandate of Heaven

The last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese is described as, “One of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human

history"

The Hongwu Emperor was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China.

Hongwu means "vastly martial“.

Hung-Wu threw the Mongols out.

One of the two Emperors of ancient China who came from

peasant background, he claimed the Mandate of

Heaven and established the Ming Dynasty in 1368.

The Hongwu Emperor

17 July 1402 – 12 August 1424Yongle Emperor

Between 1406 and 1420, he directed the construction of the Forbidden City. He was also responsible for the Porcelain tower of Nanjing, considered one of the wonders of the world before its destruction by the Taiping rebels in 1856. After a painfully long construction time (1407–1420), the Forbidden City was finally completed and became a capital city for the next 500 years.

Porcelain Tower of Nanjing

The Yongle Encyclopedia was a Chinese compilation commissioned by Emperor Yongle in 1403 and completed by

1408. It was the world's largest known general encyclopedia for 600 years, and one of the earliest.

The Ming began exporting porcelain around the world on an unprecedented scale.

The Ming Tombs

The Sacred Road is lined with 18 pairs of stone human figures and animals.

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is also called the Palace Museum

At the beginning of the fifteenth century AD, the third Ming Emperor, Yongle created one of the most dazzling architectural masterpieces in the world. Forbidden City, the Imperial Palace complex in Beijing, contains hundreds of buildings and some 9,000 rooms. It served the

emperors of China from 1421 to 1911.

Yellow is the color of the

Emperor. Thus almost all roofs

in the Forbidden City bear yellow

glazed tiles.

N

The throne in the Hall of Preserving Harmony

Female

Male

a god riding a phoenix (or a rooster), the first animal, leads the flock. Behind the god, come a qilin, a phoenix, a lion, and other figures. It is believed that the immortal god has super vision and hearing so he can perceive evil spirits from far away and then lead the beasts to fend them off.

The dragon as the symbol of the emperor and dragons show up in many parts of the Forbidden City.

Yuyuan Gardens

Behai Park

Eunichs: (Castrated Males)

• Often originated from the lower levels of society. • Families would sometimes decide to have some boys castrated and then presented to the court as a gift.• The eunuchs protected the palace women. • Eunuchs also tended to the Emperor's daily needs which could otherwise only be

handled by consorts and female servants. • They served as handymen for repairs and maintenance around royal palace.• It was believed that Eunuchs were less prone to get involved in corruption or strive for

individual wealth and power. (so went the theory).

The eunuchs in Ming were only accountable to the Emperor, which gave them exceptional powers beyond the regular legal system. The Yongle emperor trusted them with important government missions and, in 1420, established the much hated and feared "Eastern Depot", a eunuch agency operating like secret police. The ED spied on military- and civil officials and even on the royal family. They operated beyond the legal system and were known for indiscriminate imprisonment and torture, and 'mysterious' deaths. While they were tasked with eliminating many internal enemies of the state, their lack of accountability allowed for personal vendettas based on fabricated evidence. Eunuchs even began to issue edicts of appointments on their own, effectively selling off titles and positions, which allowed plunder of the prefectures.

Keeping their severed "treasure parts" in a jar and prizing them as proof of their devotion to their master, the 3,000 eunuchs at Yongle's court were his most trusted lackeys.

From 1405 until 1433 Zheng He led seven ocean expeditions for the Ming

emperor that are unmatched in world history in size and

scope.

Zheng He was born in 1371 to a Muslim family in the

southwest. At ten years old he was captured by soldiers sent there by the first Ming emperor intent on subduing the south. Like many other

young boys captured, he was made a Eunuch.

Over sixty of the three hundred seventeen ships on his first voyage were enormous "Treasure Ships," sailing vessels over 440 feet long, 165 feet wide, with several stories, nine masts and twelve sails, and luxurious staterooms complete with balconies. The likes of these ships had never before been seen in the world, and it would not be until World War I that such an armada would be assembled again.

Because the Yongle emperor wanted to impress Ming power upon the world and show off Chinas resources and importance, he gave orders to build a huge show fleet of ships to go out into the world to open trade and bring back ambassadors.

Double hulls divided into separate watertight compartments saved ships from sinking if rammed, but it also offered a method of carrying water for passengers

and animals, as well as tanks for keeping fish catches fresh.

What was even more impressive about these voyages was that they were done with hundreds of vessels at a time. There were 1681 ships in total in the Ming fleet, with tens of thousands of sailors and other

passengers. Besides the treasure ships, there were water transport ships, troop ships, horse and livestock ships… even ships with live fruit trees, vegetables, etc. It was a massive operation that impressed every

country and port they sailed into.

The Ming Dynasty had reached a peak of naval technology unsurpassed in the world. They meant to establish China’s superiority and by offering generous and extravagant gifts with the intention of bringing back ambassadors from nearly every country they visited. These ambassadors would have to Kowtow to

the Emperor and subjugate themselves to open up trade.

A particular cobalt pigment was brought back from Persia to create that unique blue and white porcelain that became the calling card of the Ming.

On May 9th, 1421, lightning struck three great ceremonial halls in the Forbidden City, namely the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserved Harmony. The fires reduced the halls to ashes, spread to the treasury and apartments, killing a large number of men and women. Even the imperial throne was burnt to cinders. Many wondered if the Emperor was losing the Mandate of Heaven.

An African Giraffe brought back by the Treasure Ships was

taken to be the auspicious, mythical

creature Gilin.

The Emperor was in danger of loosing the Mandate of Heaven, when…

In the decades after Zheng He's last voyage, state-sponsored naval efforts declined dramatically. In a conspiracy seeking to eliminate memories of the voyages, Imperial Confucian

officials minimized the importance of Zheng He and his expeditions throughout the many dynastic histories they

compiled, destroying most of the records.

China Turns Inward

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocUIzwMPbx4&noredirect=1

1763 Chinese map of the world, claiming to be a reproduction of a 1418 map made from Zheng He's voyages. Lui Gang stated he discovered it in 2005 but it is disputed as a possible forgery.

Martin Waldseemüller published his map of the Americas and the Pacific in 1507, twelve years before Magellan set sail. In 1515, four years before Magellan sailed, Johannes Schöner also published a map that showed the straits of Magellan he is said to have “discovered.”

Mandate of Heaven

Time was up for the Ming. Corruption, natural disasters and popular uprisings took their toll on the Ming, but it was the invading Manchu rebellion that did the Ming Empire in.

As the Manchu invaded, someone opened the gates for the marauding rebels.

The Chongzhen Emperor hung himself rather than face them.

The End of the MING

Qing Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty fell in 1644.

The Manchu then formed the last Dynasty of China,

the Qing.

EmperorKangxi

Macau