The East Asian World1400 CE – 1800 CE

China – Ming Dynasty

• Ming overthrew the Mongols in 1368

• Lasted until 1644

• China extended its rule into Mongolia & Central Asia

• Ming rulers used a central bureaucracy – Set up nationwide school system

– Renovated the Grand Canal

• 1406- Began construction of capitol city at Beijing; moved there in 1421

• Zheng He – went on a series of seven voyages of exploration between 1405-1433– Visited India & Africa

– After emperor died, the voyages were halted• Confucian view of trading was that it was an

unworthy activity

First Contacts with the West

• 1514 – Portuguese arrive off coast of China– Portuguese were expelled from

Guangzhou (Canton) for poor behavior (the Chinese saw the Portuguese as barbarians)

– Portuguese remained in Macao

• Portuguese traders brought missionaries with them; this impacted China more than trade– Exchanged books, inventions, etc.

Fall of the Ming Dynasty

• Ming Dynasty began its decline in the late 16th century

• Weak rulers led to government corruption

• High taxes caused peasant unrest

• Poor weather created lower crop yields

• In 1630, an epidemic caused great loss of life

• Peasants revolted; led by Li Zichengu, the peasants occupied Beijing– The emperor committed suicide

Qing Dynasty• The Manchus, from north of the Great

Wall (Manchuria) took the peasant revolt as an opportunity to take over China– They defeated the peasant army and started

the Qing dynasty

• Chinese were resistant to Manchu rule; were forced to adopt styles of dress & hairstyles of Manchus to prove their loyalty

• Rebels against Manchus seized Taiwan

• Qing dynasty eventually adopted the Chinese political system– Emperors pacified the country

– Corrected serious social and economic problems

– Restored peace & prosperity

• The Qing tried to preserve their unique identity– Until this point, they were defined as

legally different from the rest of China

– Manchus made up 1% of the population

• Qing used Chinese people to make up large percentage of the bureaucracy rather than try to run all of it themselves

• Kangxi (1661-1722) is considered the greatest emperor in Chinese history– Calmed unrest in north and west China

– He was patron of arts & letters

– He was tolerant of Christians

Westerners in China• Qianlong- 1736-1795 – was also considered a great emperor, but

signs of internal problems showed up during his reign

• His court was corrupt, which led to higher taxes and civil unrest

• The peasants revolted once again in 1796; called the White Lotus Rebellion, it lasted until 1804

• The dynasty was declining as Europeans arrived looking for trading opportunities– Qing emperors confined all traders to Guanzhou; they could only live there from

October to March• They dealt with a small number of Chinese officials

– British rebelled against this system and demanded access to additional Chinese cities;

– The British travelled to Beijing to pursue more trading opportunities and were soundly rejected

Chinese Society

• From 1500 to 1800, China was a primarily agricultural society (85% of Chinese people were farmers)

• The economy changed dramatically in the same time period:– Population grew from less than 80 million to more than 300 million by the

late 1700s– Improvements in the food supply helped population growth– Population growth meant less land available for families; the government

limited the amount of land owned by the wealthy– Shortages of land in rural areas led to unrest and revolts– Dramatic changes in manufacturing, especially as trade increased among

the Chinese provinces– Manufactured silk, porcelain, cotton goods, and other products

• Europeans marveled at the Chinese printing industry, which led to a large book supply and low prices on books

Chinese Economics

• China did not develop commercial capitalism - private business based on profit – of Europe

• Chinese merchants and manufacturers were not as independent as European merchants and manufacturers; instead, the government controlled trade and manufacturing

• Many Chinese looked down on trade and manufacturing as inferior to farming

• The government levied heavy taxes on manufacturing and trade, but low taxes on farming

• Because trade was so limited, there was no opportunity for merchants, tradesmen, and manufacturers to grow into a wealthy middle class

Daily Life in China

Family Life

• Chinese society was organized around the family

• Expected to provide for everyone’s needs, including education, support of children, and care of the elderly

• Family was expected to sacrifice individual desires to benefit the family

• Extended families: as many as three or four generations lived under one roof

• Clan – related families linked through elders; helped wealthier families take care of poor relatives

Role of Women

• Women were considered inferior to men

• Only males could have a formal education & pursue government jobs

• Women could not divorce or inherit property

• Men could take a second wife if first wife was no longer satisfactory or did not produce sons

• Footbinding was practiced; bound feet became a status symbol; only women who worked in the field or had an occupation did not bind their feet

Cultural Developments in China

• Chinese novels became popular; the first realistic social novel, The Golden Lotus was written in China; it depicts the corrupt life of a wealthy landlord who manipulates those around him

• The Dream of the Red Chamber, written in 1791, is considered China’s most popular novel; it tells the story of two young people caught in financial and moral disintegration of a powerful Chinese clan

• Ming & Qing Art – The Imperial City (Beijing) was built during this time period and is considered a prime example of Chinese architecture– Porcelain was also a popular art form; it was collected by Europeans

throughout this period

Japan Unified• After the 15th century, Japan was in chaos;

Daimyos still held their families together and warred with others over land and power

• Three men helped unify Japan:– Oda Nobunaga – seized the imperial capital of

Kyoto; he consolidated his rule throughout central Japan

– Toyotomi Hideyoshi – reigned in Osaka; by 1590 he persuaded most of the daimyos of the islands to accept his authority

– Tokugawa Ieyasu – became the daimyo of Edo (Tokyo) and took control of Japan; he took the title of Shogun in 1603• He completed the reunification of Japan; Tokugawa

shoguns remained in power until 1868; this long period of Tokugawa rule was known as the “Great Peace.” Tokugawa Ieyasu

Europeans in Japan

• The first Europeans began to arrive in Japan in 1543 (the Portuguese).

• At first, visitors were welcomed; the Portuguese stopped regularly in Japan for trade– Weapons, eyeglass, and tobacco were popular with the Japanese

– The Daimyos purchased firearms to help them defend their territory

• The first Jesuit missionary, Francis Xavier arrived in 1549; he converted several daimyo– The Jesuits destroyed ancient Japanese shrines after converting many Japanese to

Christianity; the destruction of the shrines was very unpopular among the Japanese• In 1587, Hideyoshi issued an edict prohibiting Christian activities within his lands • Hideyoshi’s edict was not strictly enforced and the Jesuits kept up their activities this changed under

Tokugawa, who expelled all the missionaries from Japan and then persecuted Christians in Japan• After removing all the Jesuits, Tokugawa expelled the European merchants; only a small Dutch

community in Nagasaki was allowed to remain in Japan; their ships could dock in the Nagasaki harbor once per year and could only remain for three months

Tokugawa Rule

• Tokugawa rulers set out to establish control of the feudal system that had governed Japan for over 300 years– The state was divided into about 250 territories, called hans

– Each han was ruled by a daimyo who were able to support themselves independently from taxes on their lands• In reality, the daimyos were controlled by the Tokugawa shogun through the

hostage system– The hostage system was a method for the shogun to control the daimyo; the daimyo were

required to maintain two residences: one on the han, and one in the court where the shogun was located; when the daimyo went back to the han or was absent from his residence at court, his family was required to stay in the court

– The local daimyo eventually ceased to be a warrior class; instead they became managers of the lands of the daimyo

– The shogun was able to control each daimyo by holding the families hostage in his royal court

Economic Changes• Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, trade and industry began to flourish;

the cities of Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka grew rapidly

• By 1750, Edo had a population of over a million people and was one of the largest cities in the world– Banking flourished and paper money became the normal medium of

exchange in business transactions

– A Japanese merchant class emerged and began to play a significant role in the Japanese nation

– Peasants were dramatically affected by high taxes; many were forced to become tenant farmers, instead of owning their own lands; there were several peasant revolts against high taxes

Social Changes• Japan’s system was very rigid during the Tokugawa Shogunate– There were four main classes: warriors, peasants, artisans, and merchants.

– Intermarriage between the classes was forbidden

– The Emperor and Imperial court families were at the top of the social structure• The warrior class came next; it was composed of the shogun, daimyo, samurai, and ronin; the shogun was

supreme below the emperor; the local daimyo received land and rice in exchange for military service; samurai received rice from the daimyo in exchange for their service; the ronin were warriors without masters who travelled the country seeking employment

• Beneath the warriors were the peasants; they held a privileged position in society but were often poor• The Merchant class distributed food and essential goods ; they were at the bottom of the pyramid because

they profited off the labor of others• At the very bottom of the social pyramid were the eta, who were outcasts; the Tokugawa regulated their

residence, dress, and hairstyles

• Women were restricted in Tokugawa Japan: Male head of households had authority over women’s property, marriage and divorce; women’s rights were severely restricted– Among commoners, women were also restricted; parents arranged marriages and a wife was

expected to move in with her husband’s family; a wife who did not meet expectations would be divorced• In the peasant class, women were often expected to work in the fields

Tokugawa Culture

• Literature became popular during the Tokugawa period; urban fiction, novels, and poetry were the most popular genres

• Kabuki theater developed during this period; Kabuki emphasized dramatic gestures, action, and music– Women were forbidden from appearing on

stage

• Architecture developed, partially as a result of the shogun’s requirement that daimyo’s also have a residence at court; fabulous houses and mansions were built to accommodate daimyo families

• Europe had some influence on the Japanese; they studied Western medicine, astronomy, language, and art