The Ming Dynasty Rebuilding China - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

The Ming Dynasty

Rebuilding ChinaSlide2

Zhu Yuanzhang

In 1368, a rebellion led by a warlord named Zhu Yuanzhang brought an end to the Yuan Empire

Zhu Yuanzhang went on to establish one of the longest-lasting and most famous dynasties in Chinese history: the Ming (1368-1644)Before becoming a rebel leader, Zhu Yuanzhang had been a soldier, a thief, and a priest

After his victory in 1368, he renamed himself Hung-wu (“vastly martial”)Slide3

He ruled until 1403 when his son

, Yongle (Yung-lo, 1403-1424) or “perpetual happiness” took the throneBoth father and son proved effective at rebuilding China and repairing the damage done by the stress and warfare of the early 1300sSlide4

The Ming Dynasty of China

Abroad, Ming China expanded its bordersIt also forged alliances with the Vietnamese states of Annam and Champa, as well as the Yi kingdom in Korea

The Ming retained and expanded the tributary system that Khubilai Khan had createdUnder this system, many states in East and Southeast Asia were forced to pay tribute to the MingSlide5

When the Mongol warlord Timur attacked China in the late 1300s, he was decisively repelled

Not only was the Ming army large and effective, the Ming navy was tooDuring the late 1300s and early 1400s, the Ming emperors used the navy as an instrument of diplomacy and intimidationFrom 1405 to 1433, the Chinese admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) made seven long voyages to Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and India, then as far west as the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the East African coastSlide6

Zheng He

Zheng He forced fifty nations and city-states to pay tribute to China, established trade relations with many others, and gained a large amount of knowledge about the outside world

Had the Ming chosen to continue this tradition of naval excellence, China might well have initiated a wave of exploration and colonization similar to the one that made the Europeans wealthy and powerful in the late 1400s, 1500s, and onwardSlide7

After the reign of Yongle, however, the Ming rulers lost interest in the outside world, and expeditions such as Zheng He’s ceasedSlide8

Centralizing China

At home, the Ming dynasty recentralized the countryHung-wu and Yongle were able to rebuild the economy and restore trade relations with China’s neighbors and even countries farther afield

During their reigns, the Chinese population rebounded, reaching – then surpassing – its pre-1300 level of approximately 100 millionSlide9

Although few of the Ming emperors were politically or militarily active as Hung-wu or Yongle, the Ming state remained in place for centuries, until 1644

Yet by 1450, its might was at a peakSlide10

Ming Art and Culture

Culturally, the Ming years remain famous as a time of artistic grandeur and intellectual dynamism

Confucianism was restored to its place of prominence, rejoining Buddhism as a guiding force in Chinese philosophy and religionSome of the greatest works of classical Chinese literature appeared, including a new form of writing, the novel (one example is The Golden Lotus, a story about a wicked landowner who mistreats those around him)Slide11

Ming artisans produced some of the most exquisite glassware, pottery, ceramics, and especially, porcelain that the world had ever seen

It is no accident that the word china is synonymous with fine dishwareSlide12

Another major art form was scroll paintingChinese painters depicted landscapes, historical scenes, and human and animal figures in exquisite fashion on long, vertical scrolls of silk and paperSlide13

The Forbidden City

It was also under the Ming that Beijing was transformed into a breathtakingly magnificent capital for the imperial family

Although a southern capital was established in Nanjing, Beijing remained paramountYongle began construction of what is still called the Forbidden City: an imperial residence, fortress, government complex at the heart of BeijingSlide14

Surrounded by moats and great vermillion walls, the Forbidden City houses acres of courtyards, gardens, and palaces

It still serves as an important seat of Chinese governmentSlide15

Forged from hundreds of thousands of timbers felled in the remote corners of

the empire, and massive stones dragged across ice from the frozen north, Emperor Yongle marshalled a million workers to his vision for a palace

At 180 acres and with 9000 rooms, the Forbidden City remains the greatest palace on EarthFor

five centuries, what went on behind its blood red walls was forbidden to all but the intimate court of the EmperorSlide16

A Change in Global Politics

While the Ming dynasty represented cultural grandeur and elegance, a major change was taking place that not even the Chinese were aware of

Despite their cultural advancement and tightly-knit societies, China was beginning to slip in terms of the international balance of power Slide17

China was losing the scientific and technological advantages it possessed during the period between 1000 and 1450

The power shift, which resulted from a certain stagnation on the part of China, would leave it vulnerable to foreign influence and domination during the 1800sSlide18

In 1450, the Ming dynasty was almost a century oldAs mentioned earlier, from its foundation in 1368 to the early 1400s, Ming China had been a politically dynamic and militarily active state, conquering neighbors and exploring faraway lands

Ming China was economically prosperousIts population grew steadily during the late 1300s and 1400s, recovering from the wars and diseases of the late Yuan periodSlide19

Although Ming China remained powerful during the 1500s and 1600s, its principal strengths during these years were cultural

The Ming artistic and intellectual achievements were impressive: literary masterpieces, fine porcelain (“china”), architecture, and the revival of ConfucianismBut foreigners from the West would begin to change world historyAnd these foreigners would often begin their travels with a compass, an instrument which had originally been invented in ChinaSlide20

The Europeans

During the Ming period, the first European explorers began to arrive in ChinaAs Portuguese traders and captains arrived in Southeast Asia and colonized parts of it, they established commercial ties with the Ming

The Spanish arrived laterChina was too large and powerful for the Portuguese or Spanish to conquer, but both nations established embassies and trading houses thereSlide21

Catholic Missionaries

Accompanying European traders and travelers were frequently Catholic missionariesAmong the most famous were Francis Xavier, who worked in China during the 1540s and 1550s, and Matteo Ricci, who was there in the 1590s and early 1600sSlide22

Matteo Ricci was an Italian

Jesuit missionary who introduced Christian teaching to the Chinese empireHe lived in China

for nearly 30 years and was a pioneer in the attempt at mutual comprehension between China and the WestBy adopting the language and culture of the country, he gained entrance to the interior of China, which was normally closed to

foreignersSlide23

Ricci was a Jesuit, an order of the Catholic Church that was

known for its missionary spirit and scientific research as well as voyages to the Americas and Asia

When Ricci arrived, China was still closed to outsiders; but the missionary strategy of the Jesuits had undergone modificationGreat stress was put on the importance of learning the Chinese language and of acquiring knowledge of the

culturePreviously, missionaries had attempted to impose Western customs and the use of the Latin language in religious

ritesSlide24

Ricci also produced a remarkable

map of the world, the “Great Map of Ten Thousand Countries,” which showed the Chinese intelligentsia China’s geographical relation to the rest of the worldRicci became a close

friend of the Confucian scholar Qu TaisuRicci taught him the rudiments of mathematics, receiving in return an introduction into the circles of the mandarins (high civil or military officials of the Chinese empire) and of the Confucian

scholarsSlide25

Noting that Ricci wore the habit of a Buddhist monk (which he had adopted upon entering China), Qu suggested that it would be better to dress as a Chinese scholar, a suggestion that Ricci followed

immediatelyEventually, the emperor allowed Ricci to move to Beijing

, and he dedicated the rest of his life to its people, teaching them science and preaching the gospelSlide26

The secret of Ricci’s success was his ability to go beyond cultural barriers and befriend men of

other culturesHis remark about his friend Feng Yingjing brings out well the spirit of this great missionary: “He treated the affairs of our fathers as if they were his own and our fathers in turn treated his as if they were ours.”Slide27

Decline and Collapse

Yet by the 1600s, the Ming dynasty was in declineThe late Ming rulers were weak and allowed the government to decentralize, then unravel

In addition, the Portuguese and Spanish traded with silver from North and South America, and the sudden, massive influx of precious metal triggered inflation (rising prices), then economic breakdownSlide28

At the same time, agricultural yields shrank (perhaps because of a worsening of soil quality or a general cooling of the climate)

And the population was growing more quickly than the land’s ability to support itSlide29

Finally, revolution and war drove the Ming to collapse

Serious military threats came from Central Asia, Mongolia, and ManchuriaThe cost of defending China’s long borders drained the economy, leaving the country open to attackA massive peasant revolt, which lasted from 1636 to 1644, toppled the Ming dynasty

The last Ming emperor, Chung-cheng, committed suicide, after first having tried to kill his familySlide30

But the victory of the peasant rebellion was short-lived

Within a few weeks of Chung-cheng’s death, enemies from the north, the Manchus, swept into northern China, took Beijing, and established a new dynasty, the Qing dynasty, the last dynasty of China