Transcript CHAPTER 15: The Muslim Empires

CHAPTER 16:
The East Asian World
SECTION ONE – China at its Height
The BIG Idea:
IDEAS, BELIEFS AND VALUES
China preferred to keep its
culture free of European
influences.
THE MING DYNASTY
• In 1368 the Mongol dynasty in
China was overthrown.
• The leader of the new dynasty took
the title Ming Hong Wu, and that
marked the beginning of the Ming
Dynasty, which lasted until 1644.
• Accomplishments of the Ming
Emperors:
– China expanded its rule into
Mongolia and central Asia.
– China strengthened the Great Wall.
– Efficient government and a
nationwide education system.
– New crops caused greater farm
production.
– Renovations to the Grand Canal.
TRANSITION OF POWER
• After Ming Hong Wu died in 1398,
his son Yong Le became emperor.
• One of Yong Le’s greatest
accomplishments was construction
of the Imperial City in Beijing.
• In 1421 after construction had
reached a certain point, Yong Le
moved the capital from Nanjing to
Beijing.
THE VOYAGES OF ZHENG HE
• Yong Le is also remembered for
sending a series of naval voyages
into the Indian Ocean.
• Led by Zheng He, seven voyages
were made between 1405 and 1433,
bring back items that were unknown
in China including Giraffes from
Africa.
THE VOYAGES OF ZHENG HE
• The voyages led to profits for China
but they upset many traditionalists.
• Some of the traditionalists were
followers of Confucianism and
viewed trading and working as a
merchant was an inferior occupation.
• Shortly after Yong Le’s death the
voyages were stopped.
• In 1514 a Portuguese fleet of ships
arrived off the coast of China. It was
the first direct contact between China
and Europe since Marco Polo.
• The Portuguese had little impact on
trade, but they did influence culture
as trading ships also brought
Catholic Jesuit missionaries, who
attempted to convert Chinese to
Christianity.
FALL OF THE MING DYNASTY
• During the late 16th century, several
problems caused the downfall of the
Mind Dynasty:
• Internal power struggles caused
weak emperors to be put in place.
• High taxes made peasants unhappy.
• An epidemic in the 1630’s caused a
large population decline.
FALL OF THE MING DYNASTY
• The suffering caused by the
epidemic helped spark a peasant
revolt led by Li Zicheng.
• By 1644 Li Zicheng had taken the
capital city of Beijing, causing the
last Ming Emperors to commit
suicide by hanging himself from a
tree in the palace gardens.
• The overthrow of the Ming Dynasty
created an opportunity for the
Manchus to take power.
• The Manchus were farming and
hunting people from Manchuria,
which is the extreme North-East
part of China.
• The Manchus conquered Beijing
and declared themselves the new
dynasty, the Qing.
THE QING DYNASTY
• The Qing maintained the Ming political
system but faced one major problem:
as Manchus, the Qing rulers were
culturally different from those who they
ruled. The Qing dealt with this in two
ways:
First, The Qing defined
themselves as legally different
from the Chinese to help
preserve their separate identity.
THE QING DYNASTY
Second, The Qing kept the
Chinese happy by giving them
many good jobs in Government.
• Kangxi who ruled from 1661 to 1722
was perhaps the greatest ruler of either
the Ming or Qing dynasties.
• He came to power as a teenager and
ruled for 61 years, constantly afraid to
let his people down
• Under Kangxi the Chinese were
very tolerant of Christians. Over
300,000 Chinese converted to
Christianity.
• Unfortunately, problems arose
between the Christian groups and
although Kangxi tried to resolve the
fighting but was unsuccessful.
• Leaders after Kangxi were not as
tolerant of Christians.
• Qianlong, who ruled after Kangxi’s
death, was another great emperor.
• During the time of Quinglong,
China’s population was growing
quickly, which caused a shortage of
food and a peasant revolt known as
the White Lotus Rebellion (17961804) which was very expensive for
the Qing Dynasty to defeat, and
indirectly weakened China.
• Around the same time that the Qing
Dynasty was weakening, Europeans
were demanding access to more
trade with China.
• Up until that point, the Qing had
confined European traders to staying
in one area and only from October
through March.
• The British especially wanted to
trade more with the Chinese.
• The British wanted to increase their
trade with the Chinese because they
were importing more Chinese goods
than they were exporting and that
gave them a negative trade balance.
• Qianlong however, did not seem to
care what the British wanted, saying
that China had no need for British
goods, and closing trade even more
to Europe.
FOCUS QUESTION – Chapter 16.1
• How might China’s policy of
restricting contact with the west have
affected the Chinese Empire?
?
CHAPTER 16:
CHINESE SOCIETY AND CULTURE
SECTION TWO
The BIG Idea:
IDEAS, BELIEFS AND VALUES
Chinese Society was
organized around the
family.
Economic Changes
• Between 1500 and 1800 China
remained a agricultural society.
Despite the fact that 85% of
Chinese were farmers, China was
changing.
• One of the biggest changes was
population growth from 80 Million
in 1390 to 300 Million by 1800.
Economic Changes
• The rapid population growth led to
a shortage of land, which in some
cases led to unrest and revolts.
• Another affect of population
growth was an increase in
manufacturing and increased
trade.
Economic Changes
• Despite the growth of trade and
manufacturing, China did not
develop the kind of commercial
capitalism that was emerging in
Europe.
• Commercial capitalism is
defined as a network of private
businesses based on profit.
Economic Changes
• Some key differences between
China and Europe prevented the
spread of commercial capitalism:
– Merchants and manufactures were
not as independent as in Europe and
had to follow more laws
–Trading was seen by some as an
inferior career, and high taxes were
set on traders.
Society and the Role of Women
• Chinese Society was organized
around the family.
• Family was expected to provide for
its members needs including;
education of children, support of
unmarried daughters and care of
the elderly. All members were
expected to sacrifice for their family.
• Families in Qind China were
orgainzed into extended families,
where as many as four generations
lived in the same home.
• When sons married, their wives
moved in with the extended family,
and unmarried daughters and
grandparents also stayed at home,
especially since Chinese society
held great respect for its elders.
• Beyond the extended family was
the clan, which consisted of dozens
of, or even hundreds of related
families.
• These families were linked by the
clan council of elders and common
social and religious activities.
• Clans made it possible for wealthier
Chinese families to help poorer
relatives.
WOMEN IN CHINA
• Women in China were considered
inferior to men.
• Only males could have formal
education, and wives could not
divorce their husband or inherit
property.
• Husbands could also take more
than wife in this period of China’s
history.
FOOT BINDING
• Another feature of Chinese society
was foot binding. It is believed that
foot binding started with wealthy
Chinese and later spread to lower
classes. Bound feet, although painful,
were seen as a status symbol.
• It is estimated that somewhere
between 50% and 66% of women had
bound feet.
FOOT BINDING
• Foot binding was
very painful, and
many peasant
families did not
take place
because it
required women
to be carried
since they could
not walk.