THE EAST ASIAN WORLDChapter 20

LESSON 1—THE MING AND QING DYNASTIES

• The Ming Dynasty will last from 1369-1644.• Under Ming emperors, China extended its rule into Mongolia

and central Asia.• The Ming strengthened the Great Wall and made peace with

nomadic tribes that had fought with them for centuries.• The Ming used the civil service exam to run an effective

government.• The Ming truly began a new era of greatness in Chinese

history.

THE MING DYNASTY

• In 1406, Young Le began building the Imperial City in Beijing.• He moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing.• The Imperial City was created to convey power and

prestige.• It is an immense complex of palaces and temples

surrounded by 6 ½ miles of walls.• Because it was off limits to commoners, it was known as

the Forbidden City.

• Zheng He made several voyages from 1405-1433. The first voyage had 62 ships and nearly 28,000 men.• Voyages went to India and East Africa.• In 1514, a Portuguese fleet arrived in China, the first

Europeans seen since Marco Polo.• More important than trade was the exchange of ideas

between the two cultures.• Both sides benefited from this cultural exchange.

• Europeans brought clocks and eyeglasses to China.• Christian missionaries were impressed with the writings of

Confucius, the printing and availability of books, and Chinese architecture.• In the late 16th century, the Ming Dynasty began to

decline amidst unrest and a peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng.• The last Ming emperor committed suicide in 1644.

• The Manchus, a farming and hunting people who lived northeast of the Great Wall in what is today Manchuria, will conquer China and begin the Qing Dynasty.• Qing means “pure” and will remain in power until 1911.

The Great Wall is the only man made object visible from outer space.

THE QING DYNASTY

• The Qing helped to restore peace and prosperity.• Kangxi is probably the greatest of the

emperors from 1661-1722. He took charge of the government while still in his teens and ruled for 61 years!

“One act of negligence may cause sorrow all through the country, and one moment of negligence may result in trouble for thousands of generations.”—Kangxi

• He signed a treaty with the Russians to stop advancement further into China and established trade between the two countries.• Kangxi was very tolerant of Christian missionaries who

brought Christianity in from Europe converting about 300,000 Chinese.• Later emperors would not be so tolerant of Christianity.

EUROPEANS IN CHINA, 380

• The Qing dynasty began to decline just as Europe was seeking more trade in the early 19th century.• They greatly limited trade with the British and the Russians

and the people began to revolt.• Great Britain has a trade deficit—importing more than you

are exporting—with China mainly due to large quantities of tea and porcelain which where in high demand in Britain.• Emperors continued to block British goods from entering

China.

THE REUNIFICATION OF JAPANLESSON 2, 384

• At the end of the 15th century, Japan was in chaos.• Daimyo—heads of noble families—controlled lands and

warred with their neighbors.• The process of unification began in the late 16th century

with three powerful leaders showing the way.• As these three were unifying Japan, the first Europeans

began to arrive. Trade began with Portugal and in the beginning, visitors were welcomed.

• At first, the Japanese were fascinated by clocks, tobacco, eyeglasses, and other European goods.• Jesuit missionaries began to convert Japanese to

Christianity but were halted after the Jesuits destroyed local shrines.• In 1587, Christianity was banned in Japan.

Japanese women enjoying tea while studying Christianity.

THE TOKUGAWA ERA, 385

• Prior to the Tokugawa, many upper-class Japanese, influence by the writings of Confucius, had considered trade and industry beneath them.• Under Tokugawa rulers, trade began to flourish.• Emperors controlled the daimyo though a hostage system.• The family of a daimyo lord was forced to stay at their

residence in the capital whenever the lord was absent from it.• This was to insure loyalty to the shogun—military general.

• Tokugawa rule brought about a long period of peace known as the “Great Peace.”• Many samurai, no longer needed

for war, became managers on the daimyo’s land.• By 1750, the city of Edo (modern

day Tokyo) had a population of 1M and was one of the largest cities in the world.

• Banking flourished and paper money became the norm for business transactions.• Businesses grew and a new merchant class developed.• Most peasants, suffered from declining profits and rising

taxes.• The four main classes were warriors, peasants, artisans,

and merchants. Intermarriage between classes was forbidden.• Most peasants grew rice and were very poor.

• Artisans made such items as swords and wood products.• At the bottom of the social class were the eta—the

outcast class whose way of life was strictly regulated by the Tokugawa.

Where they lived, how they dressed, and even how they could wear their hair was all regulated.• Based on Confucian doctrine, the rights of women were

restricted. Male heads of household had broad authority over property, marriage, and divorce.

A peasant throws himself to the ground in front of a samurai, from the Library of Congress

LITERATURE AND ARTS, 386

• Ihara Saikaku was the most famous urban fiction writer. Her greatest novel, Five Women Who Loved Love, tells of a search for love by five women.

LESSON 3THE KINGDOMS OF KOREA AND

SOUTHEAST ASIA, 388

• The Yi dynasty of Korea, began in 1392, was one of the world’s longest lasting dynasties; it lasted over 500 years.• They patterned their society after the Chinese.• The Korean alphabet, Hangul, is different from Japanese

and Chinese language in that it does not use symbols.• Korean Hangul is phonetically based.

• Chinese and Japanese invasions will weaken Korea in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.• Internal conflicts within the royal court also weakened the

dynasty.• In response to numerous outside attacks, Korean rulers

sought to limit contact with foreign countries by keeping themselves isolated.• Due to its isolationist practices, Korea received the name

“Hermit Kingdom.”

• Southeast Asia had four main types of governments.

1. Buddhist Kings2. Javanese Kings3. Islamic Sultans4. Vietnamese Emperors

Javanese PrincesBuddhist King

Islamic SultanVietnamese

Emperor

EUROPEANS AND THE SPICE TRADE 391

• Since ancient times, spices had been highly valued.• They were used in flavorings, medicines, and as food

preservers.• European countries competed to find a sea route to the

Indies. Portugal found that gateway.• When Vasco de Gama and his crew came ashore in 1498,

they shouted “For Christ and Spices!”The most sought after spices were ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

• Portugal soon seized the Moluccas, known to Europeans as the Spice Islands.• The Portuguese lacked the military and financial

resources to control broad areas.• They set up small settlements and used them as trading

posts for spices.• The situation changed with the arrival of the Dutch and

the English who were much better financed.

• Beginning in the early 1600s, the Dutch began to push the Portuguese out of the spice trade.• The Dutch will eventually drive most of the English out

and dominate most ports throughout the Indian Ocean.