THE MING DYNASTY

Rebuilding China

ZHU YUANZHANG In 1368, a rebellion led by a warlord

named Zhu Yuanzhang brought an end to the Yuan Empire

Zhu Yuanzhang went on to establish one of the longest-lasting and most famous dynasties in Chinese history: the Ming (1368-1644)

Before becoming a rebel leader, Zhu Yuanzhang had been a soldier, a thief, and a priest

After his victory in 1368, he renamed himself Hung-wu (“vastly martial”)

He ruled until 1403 when his son, Yongle (Yung-lo, 1403-1424) or “perpetual happiness” took the throne

Both father and son proved effective at rebuilding China and repairing the damage done by the stress and warfare of the early 1300s

THE MING DYNASTY OF CHINA Abroad, Ming China expanded its

borders It also forged alliances with the

Vietnamese states of Annam and Champa, as well as the Yi kingdom in Korea

The Ming retained and expanded the tributary system that Khubilai Khan had created

Under this system, many states in East and Southeast Asia were forced to pay tribute to the Ming

When the Mongol warlord Timur attacked China in the late 1300s, he was decisively repelled

Not only was the Ming army large and effective, the Ming navy was too

During the late 1300s and early 1400s, the Ming emperors used the navy as an instrument of diplomacy and intimidation

From 1405 to 1433, the Chinese admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) made seven long voyages to Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and India, then as far west as the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the East African coast

ZHENG HE Zheng He forced fifty nations

and city-states to pay tribute to China, established trade relations with many others, and gained a large amount of knowledge about the outside world

Had the Ming chosen to continue this tradition of naval excellence, China might well have initiated a wave of exploration and colonization similar to the one that made the Europeans wealthy and powerful in the late 1400s, 1500s, and onward

After the reign of Yongle, however, the Ming rulers lost interest in the outside world, and expeditions such as Zheng He’s ceased

CENTRALIZING CHINA At home, the Ming dynasty recentralized the

country Hung-wu and Yongle were able to rebuild the

economy and restore trade relations with China’s neighbors and even countries farther afield

During their reigns, the Chinese population rebounded, reaching – then surpassing – its pre-1300 level of approximately 100 million

Although few of the Ming emperors were politically or militarily active as Hung-wu or Yongle, the Ming state remained in place for centuries, until 1644

Yet by 1450, its might was at a peak

MING ART AND CULTURE Culturally, the Ming years remain

famous as a time of artistic grandeur and intellectual dynamism

Confucianism was restored to its place of prominence, rejoining Buddhism as a guiding force in Chinese philosophy and religion

Some of the greatest works of classical Chinese literature appeared, including a new form of writing, the novel (one example is The Golden Lotus, a story about a wicked landowner who mistreats those around him)

Ming artisans produced some of the most exquisite glassware, pottery, ceramics, and especially, porcelain that the world had ever seen

It is no accident that the word china is synonymous with fine dishware

Another major art form was scroll painting

Chinese painters depicted landscapes, historical scenes, and human and animal figures in exquisite fashion on long, vertical scrolls of silk and paper

THE FORBIDDEN CITY It was also under the Ming that Beijing

was transformed into a breathtakingly magnificent capital for the imperial family

Although a southern capital was established in Nanjing, Beijing remained paramount

Yongle began construction of what is still called the Forbidden City: an imperial residence, fortress, government complex at the heart of Beijing

Surrounded by moats and great vermillion walls, the Forbidden City houses acres of courtyards, gardens, and palaces

It still serves as an important seat of Chinese government

Forged from hundreds of thousands of timbers felled in the remote corners of the empire, and massive stones dragged across ice from the frozen north, Emperor Yongle marshalled a million workers to his vision for a palace

At 180 acres and with 9000 rooms, the Forbidden City remains the greatest palace on Earth

For five centuries, what went on behind its blood red walls was forbidden to all but the intimate court of the Emperor

A CHANGE IN GLOBAL POLITICS

While the Ming dynasty represented cultural grandeur and elegance, a major change was taking place that not even the Chinese were aware of

Despite their cultural advancement and tightly-knit societies, China was beginning to slip in terms of the international balance of power

China was losing the scientific and technological advantages it possessed during the period between 1000 and 1450

The power shift, which resulted from a certain stagnation on the part of China, would leave it vulnerable to foreign influence and domination during the 1800s

In 1450, the Ming dynasty was almost a century old

As mentioned earlier, from its foundation in 1368 to the early 1400s, Ming China had been a politically dynamic and militarily active state, conquering neighbors and exploring faraway lands

Ming China was economically prosperous

Its population grew steadily during the late 1300s and 1400s, recovering from the wars and diseases of the late Yuan period

Although Ming China remained powerful during the 1500s and 1600s, its principal strengths during these years were cultural

The Ming artistic and intellectual achievements were impressive: literary masterpieces, fine porcelain (“china”), architecture, and the revival of Confucianism

But foreigners from the West would begin to change world history

And these foreigners would often begin their travels with a compass, an instrument which had originally been invented in China

THE EUROPEANS During the Ming period, the

first European explorers began to arrive in China

As Portuguese traders and captains arrived in Southeast Asia and colonized parts of it, they established commercial ties with the Ming

The Spanish arrived later China was too large and

powerful for the Portuguese or Spanish to conquer, but both nations established embassies and trading houses there

CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES Accompanying European

traders and travelers were frequently Catholic missionaries

Among the most famous were Francis Xavier, who worked in China during the 1540s and 1550s, and Matteo Ricci, who was there in the 1590s and early 1600s

Matteo Ricci was an Italian Jesuit missionary who introduced Christian teaching to the Chinese empire

He lived in China for nearly 30 years and was a pioneer in the attempt at mutual comprehension between China and the West

By adopting the language and culture of the country, he gained entrance to the interior of China, which was normally closed to foreigners

Ricci was a Jesuit, an order of the Catholic Church that was known for its missionary spirit and scientific research as well as voyages to the Americas and Asia

When Ricci arrived, China was still closed to outsiders; but the missionary strategy of the Jesuits had undergone modification

Great stress was put on the importance of learning the Chinese language and of acquiring knowledge of the culture

Previously, missionaries had attempted to impose Western customs and the use of the Latin language in religious rites

Ricci also produced a remarkable map of the world, the “Great Map of Ten Thousand Countries,” which showed the Chinese intelligentsia China’s geographical relation to the rest of the world

Ricci became a close friend of the Confucian scholar Qu Taisu

Ricci taught him the rudiments of mathematics, receiving in return an introduction into the circles of the mandarins (high civil or military officials of the Chinese empire) and of the Confucian scholars

Noting that Ricci wore the habit of a Buddhist monk (which he had adopted upon entering China), Qu suggested that it would be better to dress as a Chinese scholar, a suggestion that Ricci followed immediately

Eventually, the emperor allowed Ricci to move to Beijing, and he dedicated the rest of his life to its people, teaching them science and preaching the gospel

The secret of Ricci’s success was his ability to go beyond cultural barriers and befriend men of other cultures

His remark about his friend Feng Yingjing brings out well the spirit of this great missionary: “He treated the affairs of our fathers as if they were his own and our fathers in turn treated his as if they were ours.”

DECLINE AND COLLAPSE Yet by the 1600s, the Ming

dynasty was in decline The late Ming rulers were

weak and allowed the government to decentralize, then unravel

In addition, the Portuguese and Spanish traded with silver from North and South America, and the sudden, massive influx of precious metal triggered inflation (rising prices), then economic breakdown

At the same time, agricultural yields shrank (perhaps because of a worsening of soil quality or a general cooling of the climate)

And the population was growing more quickly than the land’s ability to support it

Finally, revolution and war drove the Ming to collapse

Serious military threats came from Central Asia, Mongolia, and Manchuria

The cost of defending China’s long borders drained the economy, leaving the country open to attack

A massive peasant revolt, which lasted from 1636 to 1644, toppled the Ming dynasty

The last Ming emperor, Chung-cheng, committed suicide, after first having tried to kill his family

But the victory of the peasant rebellion was short-lived

Within a few weeks of Chung-cheng’s death, enemies from the north, the Manchus, swept into northern China, took Beijing, and established a new dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the last dynasty of China