Ming and Manchu Dynasties

World History - Libertyville High School

Founding of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)• Ethnic Han Chinese overthrew

Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty in 1368• First Emperor = Hongwu (r. 1368-

1398) focused on centralizing power to himself & recovery from Mongol rule– Rebuilt irrigation systems– Developed courier system

throughout empire– Est. secret police to spy, suppress

dissent• Courier routes became major

trade, agricultural corridors that spurred internal economy

Early Ming Dynasty

• Hongwu also ordered maintenance and expansion of Great Wall– Stone facing, towers

added– Wall lengthened

• Standing army of over one million soldiers established

Ming Government

• Capital moved to Beijing in 1403 under Emperor Yongle, the grandson of Hongwu

• Built the “Forbidden City” (residence of emperor and family)

• Ordered construction and exploration of Treasure Fleets

Treasure Fleet Voyages• Massive fleets commissioned to

embark on exploration, trade, diplomatic missions– Ships were massive– Fleets had up to 37,000 sailors,

soldiers, diplomats• Zhenghe (1371-1433), trusted

advisor to Emperor, put in charge• Made a total of seven voyages, as

far away as East African coastline– Re-established trade contacts– Also demanded tribute from states

visited

Decline and Fall of Ming

• Emperor Wanli (1572-1620)– Began as capable emperor– Became tired of politics, war

after major conflict from 1595-1603 vs. Korea, Japan (China won)

– Withdrew to Forbidden City– Relied on eunuchs to run

government• Civil service lost power relative

to imperial eunuchs• Eunuchs effectively became

rulers of China• Corruption, abuses increased

“Closing” of Ming China to Outsiders• Ming became pre-occupied

with land threats from North, West and Korea and Japanese to Northeast

• Saw selves as superior to rest of world

• Edicts of emperors limited foreigners and their imports to one Chinese city, Canton

• Continued export trade, but that trade dwindled in 1700s

Fall of Ming• Economic disaster

– Ming had converted to silver as coinage, replacing paper money

– Ming got lots of silver through international trade• Sources included Japan, South

America, Africa, India– Disruption of international silver

supplies in 1630s caused inflation, debasement of currency

• Famine & drought occurred (loss of MOH)

• Invasion by Manchu (northern nomads) overthrew Ming in 1644

Manchu (Qing) Dynasty (1644-1912)

• Last dynasty of Chinese history– At height, Qing dynasty

covered 5 million square miles with over 200 million citizens

• Manchu – Jurchen nomads – seized control of China and completed conquest by 1683

• Continued most policies of traditional Chinese government– Civil service bureaucracy– Maintenance of Great Wall

Qing Dynasty

• Pre-occupied with controlling huge empire

• Biggest challenges– Exploding population put strain

on food supply– Economic stagnation– Internal unrest (religious, social

causes)– Dealing with natural disasters

(1887 Yellow River flood = 900k-2 million dead)

• All of these factors, together, kept Qing emperors focused inward during 17-1800s

“Foreign Devils” and Qing

• 19th century saw Qing engage with rest of the world– Europeans were militarily

and technologically superior– Europeans forced their way

into Chinese markets– After 1867, Japanese

advanced technologically past the Chinese