Ming and Qing Dynasties

Mandate of Heaven

The right to rule is granted by Heaven. There is only one Heaven therefore there can be only one ruler.

The right to rule is based on the virtue of the ruler. The right to rule is not limited to one dynasty.

Last 3 Dynasties (Beijing)

• Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)– Mongolian– north of China proper

• Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)– Han Chinese

• Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)– Manchu– northeast of China proper

Confucian culture

• modern concept of political nation state

• Chinese defined by Confucian culture

• Civil service exam (605-1905)– social mobility– reward diligence, discipline, and willpower, but

not talent or innovation

• law of avoidance

• “sum of social relationships”

Social hierarchy and mobility

• scholar-officials, farmers, artisans, and merchants

• scholar-official-landlord– learning, political power, and economic wealth

• local elite (gentry) and lineage

• lack of work ethic– literati’s long gown– foot-binding for women

Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644)

China’s Tributary System• Traditional system for managing foreign

relations

• The ``Central Kingdom” worldview

• Ming dynasty had the most extensive tributary system– tributes from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast

Asia, and even West Asia and Africa

Zheng He’s fleet (1405 - 1433)

• Over 300 ships & 20,000 men

• trade and commerce

• Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa

Zheng He’s expeditions

European Ships Seek Out China

• High Grade Blue and White Porcelain (“China”

• Silk• Cotton • Tea• Literature and Art

flourished

Ming Collapse

• “Little Ice Age”- Agricultural distress and famine

• Ming did not want to advance the economy

• Corruption rampant

Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912)• Ming dynasty fell in 1644 amid peasant

uprisings, Japanese invasion, and Manchu invasion

• Manchu and Han Chinese

Ming and Qing Emperors

Kangxi: child Emperor in 1662, died in 1722. His rule was highlighted by expansion and great stability

Tea and Diplomacy

• Controlled trade: Europeans could only trade at Canton

• English had not found a product to sell to China (fearful after loss of American colonies) a good market to sell into! (Lots of people!)

• Silver paid for tea an other goods- why?

Situation:

• Macartney Mission: GB’s desire to trade with the Qing

• China and Macartney unfamiliar with customs

• On Emperor Qianlong’s 80th birthday Macartney refuse to kowtow, but bowed on one knee, was he would to George III

• Qianlong welcomed him, but refuse to alter the Canton trading arrangement (frustration with the Qing)

Emperor & Macartney (1793)

Population and Social Stress

• Under the Qing, China’s population grows 3x its size in 1500 (350million in the late 1700s, 2x population of all of Europe)

• Problems of population growth?

• 2x the size of the Ming, but the same number of officials