Chapter 17: Asia in Transition

Ming Foreign Policy• Chinese were the most • Skilled sailors in the world.

• Build large sturdy ships called • Junks: Some were more than 400 feet long.

• Ming emperor financed • A fleet that sailed across Indian Ocean• Fleet reached the Arabian Peninsula• Chinese had ability to become a great seafaring power.

• Ming emperors had little interest in • Sea power or foreign trade

• Stopped financing expeditions.

Attitudes toward Trade• After defeating Mongols, Ming emperors tried• To rid China of all Mongol influences.

• Wanted China to be as great as they were during the • Han, Tang, and Sung dynasties.

• Ming emperors• Restore Confucianism as official philosophy of the government.

• Divides society into four classes.

Four Classes under Confucianism• Scholar-Gentry• Highly literate class helped staff royal bureaucracy.

• Farmers• Produce food and paid taxes that supported empire

• Artisans• Made beautiful useful objects.

• Merchants• Bottom of social order• Sold objects that peasants and artisans produced.

• In the minds of the emperor, foreign trade:• Did not bring enough benefits to China to make it worthwhile.

Northern Frontier• Focused their efforts on the• Long northern land frontier

• To protect frontier, Ming strengthened• The Great Wall of China

• Encouraged soldiers to move to frontier zone by offering• Free land to families

• Also encouraged peasants and city dwellers to move there.• Prevent Nomadic tribes from uniting from the North.• Required constant• Attention • Great deal of money

Founding the Qing Dynasty• Located in:• Manchuria to northeast of China.

• Chieftain named:• Nurhachi unifies many tribes into single people called Manchu• Nurhachi son captured eastern Mongolia and Korea• Declared beginning of the Qing Dynasty.

• Captured• Beijing and ruled China until 1912.• Outsiders capture China again even with Ming efforts.

• Emperors were not • Chinese• Adopted Chinese culture and ruled with traditional techniques.• Husan-Yeh: Qing ruler emperor that adopted techniuqes.

• Chinese men wore hair tied in • Queue (tail)• Symbolized submission to Manchu rule.

Economy• Lower Yangtze region became a center for • Weaving of cotton cloth.

• Transported goods along• Canals, coastal waterways, and rivers.

• Sent goods to Central Asia and Russia such as• Tea and silk by caravan

• Chinese cities continued to grow. • Relied on merchants to supply• Clothing, food, and other goods to city dwellers.

• Farmers grew rice, wheat, and tea but planted new crops:• Peanuts, sweet potatoes (poor man’s food), tobacco (introduced

by America).

Popular Culture and Society• Wealth of urban people led to popular culture• City people read• Novels and plays in common everyday language.• Old tales about bandits and corrupt officials in novels.• Portrayed Chinese society and family life.

• Scholars had studied ancient writings:• Phiology: the history of literature and language. • Scholars began to organize a manuscript library.

• Society was based solely on the famly. • Each person had a role in life. • Ex: Father/head of house. Daughter married/lived with new

family.

Decline of Qing Dynasty• Growing population placed increasing pressure in government:• Corruption at court and government became widespread.

• Demanded bribes in return for government services. • Farmers found it difficult to support:

• Their families and themselves.• Disastrous floods and famine in parts of China• Led to peasant rebellion• Leading the rebellion was a White Lotus Society called

• White Lotus Rebellion• Qing Dynasty survived rebellion, but clearly declined.

China and Europeans

The Portuguese

• Able to build trade ties with China. • Allowed Portuguese to establish trading station in:• Macao

• Arrived on Portuguese ships• Jesuit missionaries: used knowledge of astronomy to gain

admission. Emperor liked the help of fixing Chinese calendar.• Appointed missionaries in official positions. • Allowed missionaries to convert officials to Christianity.

• Jesuit power aroused:• Jealousy and concern among Chinese leaders.• Qing rulers became suspicious and turned against them. • Emperors denounced Christianity as anti-Confucian.

The British

• Established a trading post in:• Guangzhou

• Came to China to buy • Silk and tea (became the land of tea drinkers).

• British East India Company• Monopolized the new trade in Chinese teas. • Company agreed to Chinese restrictions.

• Could only dock at Guangzhou• Company representatives were required to stay in Guangzhou

outside city walls.

• New Ideas about trade and sale of opium damaged trade relations.

Free Trade Ideas• Supporters of free trade argued that government:• Should not restrict or interfere with international trade.

• Traders who did not work for British East India Company resented:• Company’s monopoly on the tea trade.

• British government becomes involved in debate because:• Hoped to gain additional overseas markets.

• British officials ask Chinese • to open more ports for their ships.• Efforts failed and led to British East India Company’s abolishment.

Opium Trade

• Expansion of tea trade• British East India Company paid for:• Purchases with cotton from India. • Chinese demand for cotton=same• British demand for tea=kept rising• Company found a drug to exchange for tea called

• Opium

• Problem?• Opium addictions spread throughout China• Huge trade imbalance grew, with more silver going out than

coming in. • Demanded opium trade stop• All opium cargo be turned over to them.

Opium War• When Chinese tried to stop trade:• War broke out

• Conflict between China and Britain known as the:• Opium War

• Chinese army and navies no match compared to Britain. • Qing officials agree to negotiate with British officials. • Treaty of Nanjing• China gave island of Hong Kong to British. • Opened five ports to British trade (Fixed low tariff).• Subjects in ports governed by British laws and courts. • Extraterritoriality

• Foreigners must follow laws of their home country instead of laws of country they live in.

More Concessions

• Unequal treaties• Chinese signed treaties under the pressure of defeat and fear of

further invasion. • Benefits went to foreign powers.• Gained little from them.

• Another war, Another British win, another unequal treaty.• Opened additional ports along Yangtze River• Chinese had to allow British Embassy in Beijing. • Chinese govt. had to protect Christian missionaries and their

converts in China. • Other countries also opened embassies in Beijing.

Rebellions

• Hong Xiuquan• Influenced by Christian teachings• Said he was younger brother of Jesus• Influenced a new dynasty and attracted many followers.

• Taiping Rebellion• Millions of people were killed• Cities and farmlands destroyed

• All revolts weakened the Qing Dynasty.

Tokugawa Shoguns in Japan

Founding the Tokugawa Shogunate

• Ashikaga family became involved in dispute over selection of shogun.

• Leads to 100 years of bitter, widespread, and almost constant warfare in Japan.

Oda Nobunaga• Rise to power as:• Minor Daimyo

• Through conquests and alliances• Captured city of Kyoto.• Strengthened his power in Central Japan.

• Before defeating his rivals, vassals attacked him

Toyotomi Hideyoshi• Successor of Nobunaga• Established capital at • Edo, which is now the city of Tokyo

• Crushed his defeated rivals• Allowed some 250-260 to:• Keep their private lands. • He was prepared to expand or reduce the size of their territories.

• The Tokugawa family would keep the title of shogun for:• More than 250 years.

• Established a government• Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa Rule

• Political system was a cross between• Feudalism and a central monarchy

• Daimyo governed as an:• Almost absolute ruler• Local peasants paid taxes to support daimyo and supporters:

• Such as the samurai

• Military Power: considerable influence over the daimyo.• Daimyo had to spend every other year in Edo leaving:• Their families as hostages • Led to having two residents

• One in Edo and one in the provinces.• Living in Edo drained

• Financial resources • Made warriors into courtiers.

Foreign Contact

The Portuguese in Japan• Brought two items new to Japan:• Muskets and Christianity• Some samurai did not approve of musket because:

• Violated traditional fighting ethic (Skill).• Jesuits:

• Concentrated on converting the Daimyo to Christianity.• Missionaries converted 300,000 Japanese to Christianity.

Closing the Century• Shoguns saw Christianity as a threat• Taught loyalty to power other than Tokugawa• Made Portuguese missionaries to leave country• Dutch traders accepted trade relationship with Tokugawa.• Togugawa banned overseas trade.• Prohibited from traveling abroad.

Social Class

• Warrior class filled the same role as scholar-gentry in China.• Samurai stood at the top of Japanese social order.

• Person’s social class was determined by:• Birth/son followed occupations of fathers.

• Samurai stood at top of social order • Peasants, artisans, and merchants followed

• Shoguns established schools to prepare:• Samurai for peacetime roles• Low ranking samurai-low rank official• High ranking samurai-high rank official

Change in Culture• Internal trade expanded• Specialization in certain crops in certain parts of country• Cities grew in size

End of Japan’s Isolation• President Fillmore sent Commodore • Matthew Perry and powerful navy force to Japan.• Perry was to negotiate treaty that would:

• Guarantee safety of U.S. sailors and open Japanese ports to US trade.• Shogun agreed to negotiate when Perry returned the next year.

• Treaty of Kanagawa• Open two ports that led Americans to obtain:

• Fuel, shelter, and supplies• Led to trade among the two nations.

• Within two years, Japan signed similar treaties with:• Great Britain, Netherlands, and Russia.

• Consulates were established• Diplomatic offices headed by consuls.

• US and Japan signed new treaty• Exchange ministers • Allowed foreign residence in Edo and Osaka