Late Ming Early Qing Hong Wu Emperor Kangxi




















- Slides: 20

Late Ming & Early Qing Hong Wu Emperor Kangxi Emperor

I. Late Ming (1500 -1644) 1. Early Ming: drive out Mongols in 1368…revive civil service exam 2. Chinese products in demand throughout Eurasia - allowed trade only in Macao & Canton - merchants gain wealth, buy land - book printing; patron of arts - Zheng He expeditions

A. Ming Economy/Society 1. transformed global economy with assembly-line production of “china” (blue & white porcelain) -tons of silver flowed in from Japan & the Americas causing high inflation -challenged traditional Confucian values

Porcelain Production


2. elite lived in urban centers: created novels, opera, poetry, & painting 3. rural areas: natural disasters, ENV problems, famine, corruption, peasant revolts 4. Japanese invasion (1592 -98): government brought in Manchu troops but instead Manchus seized power in 1644 (Qing dynasty)

B. Trade & Missionaries 1. Chinese trade 2 nd to spice trade (SE Asia) for Europeans 2. Portuguese (1544) established trade rights at Macao 3. Spain conducted trade from the Philippines 4. Dutch (VOC) carried favor with Chinese (acknowledged supremacy of emperor & the kowtow) 5. Jesuit missionaries (Matteo Ricci) brought European science and technology

The Kowtow

II. Qing Dynasty (1644 -1912) 1. Emperor Kangxi: period of economic, military, & cultural achievements. - fixed roads, resettled rural areas, & encouraged foreign trade 2. Qing & Russians began rivalry to control Pacific coast 3. Kangxi expelled Jesuit missionaries

Manchu hair style Pigtail hairstyle was forced on all males as a sign of loyalty by the ethnic Han Chinese and the penalty for not having it was execution. The hair on the front of the head was shaved above the temples every ten days and the rest of the hair braided into a long ponytail.

Qing Empire

A. Qing Influence in Europe 1. Qing introduced early form of small pox vaccine in Europe 2. wealthy Europeans demanded Chinese goods (silk, porcelain, tea, wallpaper) 3. French philosophers admired Chinese emperors as “benevolent despots”

B. The Canton System 1. Qing had strict control over trade & permitted only one port foreign trade: Canton 2. tea: major export to Europe, Middle East, & Russia 3. Canton system worked until late 1700 s when British worried about a trade deficit with China - England had NO product the Chinese wanted

C. Tea Diplomacy 1. Macartney Mission or “Tea Diplomacy”: - British ambassador Lord Macartney met with Emperor Qianlong - wanted to open up more ports - Macartney refused to kowtow… 2. Russians, Dutch, & French all failed at diplomacy

Lord Macartney bowing…not kowtowing


D. Population & Social Stress 1. population tripled due to crops imported from Africa & Americas 2. corn & sweet potatoes led to ENV problems due to need for more land 3. demand for building materials: deforestation 4. 1, 000 year old Grand Canal became useless…

5. natural disasters & famine led to rebellion - peasants migrated to cities 6. Qing twice size as Ming, 3 x pop, but same amount of officials…


Chinese Dynasties Shang Zhou Qin Han Sui Tang Song Yuan (Mongols) Ming Qing Republic Mao & Deng