Isolation and Exploration China and Japan Isolation and Exploration

Hongwu The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 The Rise of the Ming The First Ming Emperor was a peasant’s son Hongwu He commanded a rebel army in 1368 that drove the Mongols out of China Ruled from Nanjing Reforms: Restore agricultural lands Encouraged fish farming and commercial crops, increased rice production and improved irrigation Erase all traces of the Mongols Encouraged a return to Confucian standards Restored the merit-based civil service examination system

Yonglo Took over after his father’s death in 1398 Kept most of his father’s reforms, but moved the capitol to Beijing Beijing: The Forbidden City: Took 14 years to build Surrounded by 35’ tall walls Commoners and foreigners were forbidden to enter 1405 – Launched the first of 7 voyages Partially to impress the world, and partially to expand China’s Tribute system

The Voyages of Zheng He Zheng He Was a Chinese Muslim Admiral who led all 7 of the voyages Everything about these journeys was large, the size of the ships, number of the ships, and the distance travelled Travelled from Southeast Asia to Eastern Africa Anywhere from 40 to 300 Ships Largest treasure ships were 400 feet long (Columbus’ largest ship was 85’) Up to 27,000 men Brought gifts to show how superior China was and 16 countries sent tribute in return

A return to isolation Macao Canton Ningbo In 1433 The Chinese stopped Zheng He’s Exploration In order to keep outside influence to a minimum, only the government was allowed to trade and only through 3 coastal cities Macao Canton Ningbo In reality, many merchant’s smuggled goods to waiting Europeans Some industries grew rapidly such as silk making and ceramics China didn’t become highly industrial however, for 2 reasons First, China’s economy was geared towards agriculture and taxes on agriculture were low Second, The idea of commerce offended Chinese Confucian beliefs because merchants were “supporting foreigners and robbery”

Manchus Found the Qing Dynasty The Ming dynasty began to fall apart by 1600 Primarily because of ineffective leaders, corrupt officials, and a bankrupt government To the Northeast of the great wall was the area called Manchuria This was home of the Manchus In 1644 they attacked and destroyed the Ming Empire After they captured Beijing, they took a Chinese name for their dynasty Qing Pronounced Chihng They would rule for 260 years and expand the boundaries to include Taiwan, Mongolia and Tibet

China under the Qing Dynasty The people of China first resisted the Qing, but slowly came to accept them after they restored Chinese prosperity and upheld Chinese traditions Kangxi Became emperor in 1661 and ruled for 60 years Reduced expenses and lowered taxes Offered government positions to scholars and artists Learned about science, technology, medicine, and mathematics Qian-long Kangxi’s grandson who ruled from 1736 to 1795 Kept up the reforms of Kangxi, and continued to work on the problems that China faced

Continued Isolation Including: Trading only at special ports The Chinese believed that they were the center of the universe, and had been for 2000 years This meant that if any Europeans wanted trade with China, they’d have to follow Chinese Rules Including: Trading only at special ports Paying Tribute Performing the Kowtow The Dutch did all these things and they were accepted as trading partners For this, they returned to Europe with: Porcelain Silk And the hot, new trade item: Tea

The British: Lord George Macartney Korea The British also wanted to increase trade with China but didn’t like the rules Lord George Macartney The British sent Lord Macartney with a letter from King George III to Qian-long Basically, they were demanding better trade agreements including the acceptance of British goods Macartney refused to kowtow, and Qian-long refused the British demands Korea Korea had been conquered by the Manchu in 1636, and became a mirror of what was going on in China

Life in Ming and Qing China Most Chinese families farmed the land for hundreds of years. During the Qing Dynasty fertilizer and irrigation use increased Farmers grew rice, corn, and sweet potatoes Better food production led to a population explosion Families favored sons over daughters because only sons could perform vital religious rituals and only sons would raise their children in their parents homes, guaranteeing a work force Consequently, female children were sometimes killed Women did supervise education, control family finances, and work in the fields, some even worked as midwives or textile workers

New Feudalism under Strong Leaders JAPAN New Feudalism under Strong Leaders The Sengoku – warring states period from 1467-1568 Samurai Seized power in old feudal estates. They then offered protection in return for loyalty They soon became known as Daimyo Which means great name. They became feudal lords Under this system, the emperor in Kyoto lost all his power and the Daimyo became the ruling class Daimyo built fortified cities and fought each other for territory using samurai and foot soldiers

Powerful New Leaders Restore Order Oda Nobunaga Wanted to take control of the entire country and he did so by capturing Kyoto in 1568 In 1575 3000 soldiers under Nobunaga’s command destroyed a force of Samurai cavalry When he failed to unite the country and one of his generals turned on him, he committed seppuku, or ritual suicide Toyotomi Hideyoshi Was a follower of Nobunaga and he continued the unification By 1590 Hideyoshi controlled most of the country 1592 he began a long distance campaign to invade Korea that ended in a loss, with his death, in 1598

The Tokugawa shogunate Tokugawa Ieyasu Succeeded in Unifying Japan in 1600 Defeated enemies at Battle of Sekigahara Became Shogun, or sole ruler Moved the capital to Edo (Later Tokyo) Even though he had unified the country, Ieyashu had to control the daimyo To do this he made them spend every other year in Edo and leave their families behind when they went back to their villages

Life in Tokugawa Japan Merchants Powerless Emperor Figurehead Shogun Daimyo Local Warlords Like European nobles Shogun Holds all the real power Emperor Figurehead Powerless Society was very structured Merchants Considered lowest class of citizen Peasants (Farmers) and Artisans 80% of Population Farmers are ideal but pay the highest taxes Samurai (usually)Landless warriors Equivalent to European knights

By the 1700s Japan was becoming more urban, with Edo becoming the largest city in the world with more than 1,000,000 people This led to more jobs for people, especially women Worked in entertainment, textiles and publishing Most stayed at home, worked the fields, managed her household, and cared for children, as well as obeying their husbands without question

Culture in Tokugawa Japan Samurai attended dramas, that focused on tragedy and the courage of ancient warriors Noh Fiction became popular People began reading Haiku which is a 5-7-5 syllable poem of 3 lines Tabi ni yande Yume wa Kareno O Kakemeguru It presents images instead of ideas On a Journey, ailing My dreams roam about Over a withered moor Matsuo Basho Kabuki Kabuki was a form of theater that was done as skits of modern life. All the roles were played by men, even those of women Used elaborate makeup, costume, and movement

Contact Between Europe and Japan The Portuguese 1534 - The Japanese met the Portuguese when they washed up after a shipwreck They start bringing unfamiliar items to Japan such as Clocks Eyeglasses Tobacco firearms Merchants wanted these items for their markets Daimyo were also interested in these items, particularly musket and cannon It didn’t take long for the Japanese to begin manufacturing their own weapons Led to huge changes in warfare. Samurai tended to favor the sword and were slaughtered by musket fire

Christian missionaries in Japan At first, the Japanese didn’t mind the missionaries because they associated them with the merchants and their goods BUT The missionaries were there to convert the Japanese By 1600 over 300,000 Japanese had been converted to Christianity Missionaries success upset Tokugawa Ieyasu for a number of reasons 1. Missionaries were undermining traditional Japanese beliefs 2. They started getting involved in local politics They were helping the Portuguese take land at gunpoint 3.

Ieyasu didn’t do anything at first, because he needed the Portuguese for trade In 1612 he banned Christianity and began getting rid of all Christians in Japan Repression of Christians continued even after Tokugawa died Finally came to a head in 1637 when an unhappy Samurai led 30,000 peasants in rebellion The Shogun was so angry he removed or killed all Christians and forced all Japanese people to show that they were faithful to Buddhism This was all part of a policy trying to control and limit foreign ideas in Japan

The Closing of Japan Only the port of Nagasaki remained open to trade The Shogun finally realized that he could get rid of Missionaries and Merchants Japan was closed by 1639 Only the port of Nagasaki remained open to trade The Japanese were forbidden to leave