A Bit on the Yuan Dynasty, But More on the Ming and Qing

DynastiesWorld Civilizations

The Yuan Dynasty

• Mongol dynasty (first foreign rule) – Led by Kublai Khan

• Grew dynasty outside of China (Korea & parts of SE Asia)

• Highest positions in gov’t given to Mongols

• Marco Polo traveled China for 17 years = European interest in China

The Yuan Dynasty Cont’d

• Time of stability

• Extensive trade w/ Europe– Glass, hides,

clothes, silver, cotton, & carpets

• Ended w/ death of Khan

The Ming Dynasty(1368-1644)

• Zhu Yuanzhang, a former Buddhist monk, led the overthrow of the Yuan dynasty.

• New law codes were harsher (public whippings).

The Ming Dynasty, cont.

• The old civil service examination system was restored, with even stricter tests.

• Free land in the north was offered to farmers who would move there and protect the north from invasion.

• With strong rulers and a prosperous economy, this was a relatively peaceful time for China.

The Ming Dynasty, cont.

• Zhang He led explorations to Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and eastern Africa.

• Later explorations were halted by the government, who saw no benefit to trade.

The Ming Dynasty, cont.

• Ming rulers built the lavish Forbidden City in Beijing as the emperor’s residence.

• The Ming dynasty was weakened by corruption and overspending, leading to conquest by the Manchus.

Forbidden City• “Forbidden”-no one could

enter w/out emperor’s permission

• Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 square meters.

• http://www.chinavista.com/beijing/gugong/map.html

The Qing (Manchu) Dynasty(1644-1911)

• The Manchus attempted to adopt Chinese customs, but did impose some of their own on China.

• Chinese men worked in the government, but the highest positions belonged to Manchus.

• The military was mostly made up of Manchus.

The Qing Dynasty, cont.

• Early Qing emperors reduced taxes, began public works projects and extended China’s territory.

• The economy remained mostly agricultural (3/4 of people lived in rural areas).

• Silk production and domestic trade were also significant.

The Qing Dynasty, cont.

• European contacts were reluctantly developed.

• Portuguese sailors were originally denied trading rights.

• The Portuguese built a trading base at Macao in the 1600s.

The Qing Dynasty, cont.

• Christian missionaries followed, and impressed the Chinese with their scientific knowledge.

• They were forced to leave in the 1700s without making China a Christian nation.

The Qing Dynasty, cont.

• The Qing began a slow decline in the 1700s due to misuse of taxes and peasant rebellions.

• The Opium War & Treaty of Nanjing demonstrate weakening of the dynasty

• In the Taiping Rebellion of 1850, Chinese Christians tried to replace the Qing with a “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace.”

• It was unsuccessful, but the Qing was now vulnerable to European imperialism.