CHAPTER 16:The East Asian World

SECTION ONE – China at its Height

The BIG Idea:

IDEAS, BELIEFS AND VALUES

China preferred to keep its culture free of European

influences.

THE MING DYNASTY

• In 1368 the Mongol dynasty in China was overthrown.

• The leader of the new dynasty took the title Ming Hong Wu, and that marked the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, which lasted until 1644.

• Accomplishments of the Ming Emperors:– China expanded its rule into

Mongolia and central Asia.

– China strengthened the Great Wall.

– Efficient government and a nationwide education system.

– New crops caused greater farm production.

– Renovations to the Grand Canal.

TRANSITION OF POWER• After Ming Hong Wu died in 1398,

his son Yong Le became emperor.

• One of Yong Le’s greatest accomplishments was construction of the Imperial City in Beijing.

• In 1421 after construction had reached a certain point, Yong Le moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing.

• Yong Le is also remembered for sending a series of naval voyages into the Indian Ocean.

• Led by Zheng He, seven voyages were made between 1405 and 1433, bring back items that were unknown in China including Giraffes from Africa.

THE VOYAGES OF ZHENG HE

THE VOYAGES OF ZHENG HE

• The voyages led to profits for China but they upset many traditionalists.

• Some of the traditionalists were followers of Confucianism and viewed trading and working as a merchant was an inferior occupation.

• Shortly after Yong Le’s death the voyages were stopped.

• In 1514 a Portuguese fleet of ships arrived off the coast of China. It was the first direct contact between China and Europe since Marco Polo.

• The Portuguese had little impact on trade, but they did influence culture as trading ships also brought Catholic Jesuit missionaries, who attempted to convert Chinese to Christianity.

• During the late 16th century, several problems caused the downfall of the Mind Dynasty:

FALL OF THE MING DYNASTY

• Internal power struggles caused weak emperors to be put in place.

• High taxes made peasants unhappy.

• An epidemic in the 1630’s caused a large population decline.

• The suffering caused by the epidemic helped spark a peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng.

• By 1644 Li Zicheng had taken the capital city of Beijing, causing the last Ming Emperors to commit suicide by hanging himself from a tree in the palace gardens.

FALL OF THE MING DYNASTY

• The overthrow of the Ming Dynasty created an opportunity for the Manchus to take power.

• The Manchus were farming and hunting people from Manchuria, which is the extreme North-East part of China.

• The Manchus conquered Beijing and declared themselves the new dynasty, the Qing.

• The Qing maintained the Ming political system but faced one major problem: as Manchus, the Qing rulers were culturally different from those who they ruled. The Qing dealt with this in two ways:

THE QING DYNASTY

First, The Qing defined themselves as legally different from the Chinese to help preserve their separate identity.

• Kangxi who ruled from 1661 to 1722 was perhaps the greatest ruler of either the Ming or Qing dynasties.

• He came to power as a teenager and ruled for 61 years, constantly afraid to let his people down

THE QING DYNASTY

Second, The Qing kept the Chinese happy by giving them many good jobs in Government.

• Under Kangxi the Chinese were very tolerant of Christians. Over 300,000 Chinese converted to Christianity.

• Unfortunately, problems arose between the Christian groups and although Kangxi tried to resolve the fighting but was unsuccessful.

• Leaders after Kangxi were not as tolerant of Christians.

• Qianlong, who ruled after Kangxi’s death, was another great emperor.

• During the time of Quinglong, China’s population was growing quickly, which caused a shortage of food and a peasant revolt known as the White Lotus Rebellion (1796-1804) which was very expensive for the Qing Dynasty to defeat, and indirectly weakened China.

• Around the same time that the Qing Dynasty was weakening, Europeans were demanding access to more trade with China.

• Up until that point, the Qing had confined European traders to staying in one area and only from October through March.

• The British especially wanted to trade more with the Chinese.

• The British wanted to increase their trade with the Chinese because they were importing more Chinese goods than they were exporting and that gave them a negative trade balance.

• Qianlong however, did not seem to care what the British wanted, saying that China had no need for British goods, and closing trade even more to Europe.

• How might China’s policy of restricting contact with the west have affected the Chinese Empire?

FOCUS QUESTION – Chapter 16.1

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CHAPTER 16:CHINESE SOCIETY AND CULTURE

SECTION TWO

The BIG Idea:

IDEAS, BELIEFS AND VALUES

Chinese Society was organized around the family.

Economic Changes

• Between 1500 and 1800 China remained a agricultural society. Despite the fact that 85% of Chinese were farmers, China was changing.

• One of the biggest changes was population growth from 80 Million in 1390 to 300 Million by 1800.

Economic Changes

• The rapid population growth led to a shortage of land, which in some cases led to unrest and revolts.

• Another affect of population growth was an increase in manufacturing and increased trade.

Economic Changes

• Despite the growth of trade and manufacturing, China did not develop the kind of commercial capitalism that was emerging in Europe.

• Commercial capitalism is defined as a network of private businesses based on profit.

Economic Changes

• Some key differences between China and Europe prevented the spread of commercial capitalism:– Merchants and manufactures were

not as independent as in Europe and had to follow more laws

–Trading was seen by some as an inferior career, and high taxes were set on traders.

• Chinese Society was organized around the family.

• Family was expected to provide for its members needs including; education of children, support of unmarried daughters and care of the elderly. All members were expected to sacrifice for their family.

Society and the Role of Women

• Families in Qind China were orgainzed into extended families, where as many as four generations lived in the same home.

• When sons married, their wives moved in with the extended family, and unmarried daughters and grandparents also stayed at home, especially since Chinese society held great respect for its elders.

• Beyond the extended family was the clan, which consisted of dozens of, or even hundreds of related families.

• These families were linked by the clan council of elders and common social and religious activities.

• Clans made it possible for wealthier Chinese families to help poorer relatives.

• Women in China were considered inferior to men. • Only males could have formal education, and wives could not divorce their

husband or inherit property. • Husbands could also take more than wife in this period of China’s history.

WOMEN IN CHINA

• Another feature of Chinese society was foot binding. It is believed that foot binding started with wealthy Chinese and later spread to lower classes. Bound feet, although painful, were seen as a status symbol.

• It is estimated that somewhere between 50% and 66% of women had bound feet.

FOOT BINDING

• Foot binding was very painful, and many peasant families did not take place because it required women to be carried since they could not walk.

FOOT BINDING