China Last 3 Dynasties Beijing Yuan Dynasty 1271

China

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

Yuan Dynasty (1271 -1368) • Mongolian • The Yuan dynasty was the khanate established by Kublai Khan, yet he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty

Ming Dynasty (1368 -1644) • Ming Government – Chinese attempt to eliminate Mongol cultural influence by emphasizing Chinese traditions – Reestablished Confucian bureaucracy – Revived civil service exams – Reopened imperial academies – Moved capital to Beijing • Built the Forbidden City – Expanded into Central Asia & Manchuria

Forbidden City Courtyard

The gate to the Forbidden City – Built 1406 -1420 • Consists of 980 buildings – Home of the emperors, now controlled by the Palace Museum

Ming Dynasty

Ming Economy • New American crops expanded agriculture – Sweet potato, maize, peanuts – Led to rapid population growth • Went from 100 million in 1500 to 225 million by 1750 • Population growth aided manufacturing by keeping wages low – Limited need for labor saving devices • Launched expeditions into the Indian Ocean – Zheng He voyages • Limited trade with Europeans to Macao & Canton • “the Silver Sink” or “Silver Drain”

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, Southeast Asia, and even West Asia and Africa

Zheng He’s expeditions

Zheng He vs. Columbus

Ming and Qing Dynasties

Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644)

Ming Society • Strengthened traditional Chinese values – Filial piety – Extended family system • Emphasized loyalty to family – Females remained subordinate • Footbinding continued • Female infanticide was not uncommon • Widows were discouraged from remarrying & widow suicide was often encouraged – Confucian-based social hierarchy

Ming Culture • Promoted Neo-Confucianism • Emphasized Chinese tradition • Literature – Monkey, the Water Margin, etc. • Pottery • Strengthened the Great Wall • Encouraged soldiers to move to frontier by giving free land

Fall of the Ming Dynasty • Internal economic collapse – Flow of silver and Ming tax policies • • • Disruption of trade Extravagant lifestyle of the imperial family Declining efficiency of the government A series of famines in the early century Peasant revolts External invasions – Manchu invaders easily defeated Ming dynasty • Establish the Qing dynasty (1644 -1912)

Mandate of Heaven

Qing Dynasty 1644 -1912 • Manchurian chief united tribes into Manchu and captured Mongolia and Korea • 1644 captured Beijing -adopted Chinese culture -tried to keep Manchu distinct -required all Chinese men to wear hair tied in a queue as sign of submission to Manchu

Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1661– 1722) • The Manchus forced the Russians to abandon their fort at Albazin, located along the Manchurian border on the Amur River. • In 1689 a treaty was concluded with Russia at Nerchinsk demarcating the northern extent of the Manchurian boundary at the Argun River.

Yongzheng (reigned 1722– 35) Qianlong (reigned 1735– 96) Under the two emperors commerce continued to thrive, handicraft industries prospered, and Roman Catholic missionaries were tolerated and employed as astronomers and artists. In addition, painting, printmaking, and porcelain manufacturing flourished.

Emperor & Macartney (1793)

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

Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1912) • Ming dynasty fell in 1644 amid peasant uprisings and Manchu invasion • Manchu and Han Chinese

Ming and Qing Emperors