Transcript Chapter 26 The Qianlong Emperor (reigned 1735-1796) Tradition and Change in East Asia The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)     Ming (“Brilliant”) dynasty comes to power after Mongol Yuan dynasty driven.

Chapter 26
The Qianlong
Emperor
(reigned
1735-1796)
Tradition and Change
in East Asia
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The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
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Ming (“Brilliant”) dynasty comes to power
after Mongol Yuan dynasty driven out
Founded by Emperor Hongwu (r. 13681398)
Used traveling officials called mandarins and
large number of eunuchs to maintain control
Emperor Yongle (r. 1403-1424) experiments
with sea expeditions under Admiral Zheng
He, moves capital north to Beijing to deter
Mongol attacks
Hongwu Emperor
Yongle Emperor, also
known as Zhu Di
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Ming China, 1368-1644
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The Great Wall
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Origins before fourth century B.C.E., with ruins
from Qin dynasty in third century B.C.E.
The current wall dates from the Ming period,
mostly rebuilt in the fifteenth to sixteenth century
1,550 miles, and between 33 and 49 feet high
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As many as 25,000 guard towers were constructed
Barracks for housing soldiers
Protected against Mongol raids, and later Manchu raids
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The Great Wall of China
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Eradicating the Mongol Past
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Ming emperors encourage abandonment of
Mongol names, dress
Support study of Confucian classics
Restoration of old form of government
bureaucracy with the renewal of the civil service
examinations
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Ming Decline
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In the sixteenth century, maritime pirates harm coastal trade
and hurt China economically
The Ming navy and government are unable to respond
effectively
Emperors secluded in Forbidden City, the palace compound in
Beijing, and increasingly lose touch with the outside
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Hedonists: Many emperors begin top pursue their own pleasure
rather than to state affairs
Emperor Wanli (r. 1572-1620): In the last twenty years of his
rule, he abandons governance, leaving it to the imperial eunuchs.
He ignores the increasing threat of Manchu raids from the north.
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Ming Collapse
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Famine, peasant rebellions become more
frequent in the early seventeenth century
Chinese peasant rebels take Beijing in
1644; the last Ming emperor,
Chongzhen, commits suicide
A Ming general fighting the rebels makes
an alliance with Manchu fighters, who
enter from the north and retake city
Manchus refuse to allow reestablishment
of Ming dynasty
Establish Qing (“Pure”) Dynasty,
installing Shunzhi as ruler of China
Shunzhi Emperor, the first Qing
emperor to reign over China
(1644 – 1661)
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The Qing Empire, 1644-1911
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The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
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Manchus originally pastoral nomads, north of Great Wall
Chieftain Nurhaci (r. 1616-1626) unifies tribes into state,
develops laws, and strong military
Establishes control over Korea, Mongolia, China
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War with remaining Ming loyalists last until 1680
Support from many Chinese who were fed up with
Ming corruption
Manchus forbid intermarriage with Han
Chinese and the study of Manchu language
by non-Manchus; force Manchu hairstyles
on Han men as sign of loyalty
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Emperor Kangxi (r. 1661-1722)
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Consolidates Qing rule, defeating
last Ming resistance
Confucian scholar, poet
Military Conquests: island of
Taiwan, Tibet, skirmished with the
Russian empire to establish western
border, and crushed a Mongol revolt
Persuaded Ming scholar-bureaucrats
to support the Qing
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Emperor Qianlong (r. 1736-1795)
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Grandson of Kangxi
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Rule was the height of the power and
prestige of the Qing dynasty
Great prosperity, tax collection
cancelled on several occasions
Pacified the western frontier—
Mongols, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, etc.—but
failed to conquer Burma and Vietnam to
the south, but made them “vassal states” Young Qianlong at the beginning of
his reign (1737) painted by the
Stepped down from the throne in 1795 Italian Jesuit, Giuseppe
Castiglione.
so as not to reign longer than his
grandfather, Kangxi, out of filial respect
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The “Son of Heaven”
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Ming, Qing emperors were considered quasidivine, with the title “Son of Heaven”
Hundreds of concubines and thousands of eunuch
servants served within the “Forbidden City” in
Beijing
Clothing designs and name characters of the
emperors were forbidden to rest of population
The kowtow: three bows, nine head-knocks
(British ambassador in 1793 refuses to perform)
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The Forbidden City
Hall of Heavenly Purity, which
served as the emperor’s quarters
and then the audience hall during
the Qing Dynasty
Forbidden City as viewed from a
hill to the north
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The Forbidden City
Map of the inner Beijing
city walls, including the
Forbidden City
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The Scholar-Bureaucrats
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Ran government on a day-to-day basis
Graduates from intense civil service examinations
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Open only to men
Curriculum: Confucian classics, calligraphy, poetry,
essay writing
Also: history, literature
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The Civil Service Examinations
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First used in the Sui dynasty in 605 C.E., used in a
limited way in the Tang (618-907), and used on a
broader scale during the Song (960-1269)
District, provincial, and metropolitan levels
Only 300 allowed to pass at highest level
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Multiple attempts common
Students expected to bring bedding, chamber pots for
three-day uninterrupted examinations
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Students searched for printed materials before entering
private cells
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Examination System and Society
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Ferocious competition
Qing dynasty: One million degree holders
compete for 20,000 government positions
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Remainder turn to teaching, tutoring positions
Some corruption, cheating
Advantage for wealthy classes: hiring private
tutors, etc.
But open to all males, tremendous opportunity for
social mobility
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The Patriarchal Family
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Filial piety understood as duty of child to parent
on the familial level, and then the individual to
emperor on the societal and political level
Eldest son favored; birth order accords status in
families
Clan-based authority groups augment government
services
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Gender Relations
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Males receive preferential status
Economic factor: girls join husband’s family
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Widows strongly encouraged not to remarry
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Infanticide of girls common
Chaste widows honored with ceremonial arches
celebrating their devotion to dead husbands
Men control divorce
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Grounds: from infidelity to talking too much
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Foot Binding
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Origins in Song dynasty (960-1279 CE)
Linen strips bind and deform female child’s feet
Perceived aesthetic value
Statement of social status and/or expectations
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Commoners might bind feet of especially pretty girls to
enhance marriage prospects
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Binding Feet
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Population Growth and Economic
Development
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Only 11 percent of China arable
Intense, garden-style agriculture necessary
American food crops introduced in seventeenth
century
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Maize, sweet potatoes, peanuts
Rebellion and war reduce population in
seventeenth century
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Deaths offset by nutrition from American crops
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Chinese Population Growth
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Foreign Trade
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Silk, porcelain, tea, lacquerware
Chinese in turn import relatively little
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Spices, animal skins, woolen textiles, and silver
European traders pay for Chinese goods with
silver bullion from Americas
After Emperor Yongle’s early maritime
expeditions (1405-1433), Ming dynasty abandons
large-scale maritime trade plans
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Trade in Southeast Asia
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Chinese merchants continue to be active in
southeast Asia, especially Manila
Extensive dealings with Dutch VOC with the silk
trade until the wars between Ming and Manchus
disrupt it
Chinese warlord and Ming loyalist, Koxinga,
destroys VOC trading station on Formosa (now
Taiwan) in 1662, and hopes to use Formosa as a
base to restore the Ming (also tries to conquer the
Philippines)
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Government and Technology
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During Tang and Song dynasties (seventh to
thirteenth century), China is a world leader in
technology
Stagnates during Ming and Qing dynasties
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European cannons purchased, based on early Chinese
invention of gunpowder
Government suppressed technological
advancement, fearing social instability would
result
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Mass labor over productivity
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Classes in Chinese Society
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Privileged classes
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Working classes
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Scholar-bureaucrats, gentry
Distinctive clothing with ranks
Immunity from some legal proceedings, taxes, labor service
Peasants, artisans/workers, merchants
Confucian doctrine gives greatest status to peasants
Merchant activity not actively supported
Lower classes
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Military, beggars, slaves
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Neo-Confucianism
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Version of Confucian thought promoted by Zhu Xi
(1130-1200 C.E.)
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Education at various levels promoted
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Confucian morality with Buddhist logic
Hanlin Academy in Beijing dictates official interpretation of the
Confucian classics, and thus sets standards of evaluation of
imperial exams
Provincial schools
Compilation of massive Yongle Encyclopedia during
early Ming (1403-1408)
Development of popular novels as well: Dream of the Red
Chamber (published 1791) a hugely popular romance
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Christianity in China
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Nestorian and Roman Catholic
Christians had presence in China
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Disappeared with plague and social
chaos of fourteenth century
Jesuits return under Matteo Ricci
(1552-1610), attempt to convert
Ming Emperor Wanli
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Mastered Chinese before first visit in
1601
Brought western mechanical technology
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Matteo Ricci
Prisms, harpsichords, clocks
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Confucianism and Christianity
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Argued that Christianity was consistent with
Confucianism
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Yet few converts in China
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Differences due to neo-Confucian distortions
Approximately 200,000 mid-eighteenth century, about 0.08
percent of population
Christian absolutism difficult for Chinese to accept
Franciscans and Dominicans convince pope that
Jesuits compromising Christianity with Chinese
traditions (e.g. ancestor worship)
Emperor Kangxi bans Christian preaching in China
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The Unification of Japan
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Shoguns rule Japan, twelfth to sixteenth century
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Large landholders with private armies
Emperor merely a figurehead
Constant civil war: sixteenth century sengoku, “country
at war”
Tokugawa Ieyasu (r. 1600-1616)
establishes military government
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Bakufu: “tent government”
Establishes Tokugawa dynasty
(1600-1867)
Tokugawa Ieyasu
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Tokugawa Japan, 1600-1867
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Control of Daimyo (“Great Names”)
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Approximately 260 powerful territorial lords
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From capital Edo (Tokyo), shogun requires “alternate
attendance”: daimyo forced to spend every other year
at court
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Independent militaries, judiciaries, schools, foreign
relations, etc.
Controlled marriage, socializing of daimyo families
Beginning 1630s, shoguns restrict foreign relations
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Travel, import of books forbidden
Policy strictly maintained for 200 years
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Economic Growth in Japan
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End of civil conflict contributes to prosperity
New crop strains and irrigation systems improve
agricultural production
Yet population growth moderate, unlike many
other places in the world
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Contraception, late marriage, abortion
Infanticide: “thinning out the rice shoots”; typical
method was to smother a baby’s mouth and nose with
wet paper
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Population Growth
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30
25
20
Millions
15
10
5
0
1600
1700
1850
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Social Change
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End of civil disturbances create massive
unemployment of daimyo, samurai warriors
Encouraged to join bureaucracy, scholarship
Many declined to poverty, creating a source of
social instability
Wealthy urban merchant classes develop from
trade activity; they become dominant in society
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Neo-Confucianism in Japan
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Chinese cultural influence extends through
Tokugawa period
Chinese language essential to curriculum
Zhu Xi and neo-Confucianism remains popular
“Native learning” also popular in eighteenth
century
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Folk traditions
Shintoism: worship of spirits, called kami
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Floating Worlds (ukiyo)
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New merchant class develops a new urban culture
expressed in entertainment and pleasure industries
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Ihara Saikaku (1642-1693), The Life of a Man Who
Lived for Love: novel that describes the mores of the
new urban merchant class; about a member of this new
class’s sexual adventures from age 8 to 61.
Marked contrast to solemn bakufu leadership
Kabuki theatre, men playing women’s roles
Bunraku puppet theatre
Geisha districts
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Floating Worlds (ukiyo)
Kabuki actor
dressed as a
samurai
character
Traditional
Geisha makeup and
hairstyle
Bunraku puppet
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Christianity in Japan
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Jesuit Francis Xavier in Japan, 1549
Remarkable success among daimyo
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Government backlash
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Daimyo also hoping to establish trade relations with
Europeans
Fear of foreign intrusion
Confucians, Buddhists resent Christian absolutism
Anti-Christian campaign 1587-1639 restricts
Christianity, executes staunch Christians
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Sometimes by crucifixion
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Persecution of Catholics
Twenty-six Christians crucified in Nagasaki in 1597 during the
shogun’s crackdown
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Dutch Learning
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Dutch presence at Nagasaki principal route for Japanese
understanding of the world
Before ban on foreign books lifted (1720), Japanese scholars
study Dutch to approach European science, medicine, and art
Dutch ship approaching the
Dutch island trading post on
the artificial island of Dejima
in Nagasaki harbor
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