1. II. Ming to Qing

2. Those were the days, my friend….
Zheng He
Yongle

3. The Manchurians are coming!

4. Fall of Ming and Rise of Qing
Sizong
vs. Manchu warrior
Oh, for a big, sturdy tree…

5. Reasons for Ming’s Decline
Climate change
Colder climate frustrated peasants & led to rebellions
Nomadic Invasions
Mongols from the west
Japanese attacked Korea (tribute state)
Pirates
Both Chinese & Japanese
Decline of Silk Road
More trade now conducted by Europeans by sea
Inept Rulers
Hidden away in the Forbidden City

6. Famine
Early half of the 17th century, famines became common in northern China - unusual dry and cold weather that shortened the growing season- Little Ice Age

7. Revolts against the empire
Li Zicheng
one of the major figures in the rebellion that brought down the Ming Dynasty China
proclaimed himself "The Roaming King".
Zhang Xianzhong
ex-soldier and rival to Li nicknamed Yellow Tiger
conquered Sichuan Province in the middle of the 17th century.

8. Matteo Ricci
Jesuit missionary who made a positive impression on Ming China
Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi in the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements published in 1607.

9. Map of the Far East by Matteo Ricci in 1602.
Painting of Matteo Ricci - wearing "Chinese scholar" robe

10. Manchu/Qing Dynasty Video one Manchu are descendants of the Jurchens.
Kangxi, ruler of the Qing Dynasty ( )
Spoke Chinese, Manchu, & Mongolian
Ordered end to contact with Christians
KangXi dictionary is basis for modern Chinese.
Verbiest helped write a new guide to astronomy

11. Qing Rule Ruled by Mandate of Heaven
Forbade marriage between Manchu & Chinese
Outlawed Chinese from learning Manchu
Required Chinese men to shave heads & wear queues
Established “Canton” system

12. Emperor Qianlong Ruled 1736-1796
Video
Empire was so prosperous he cancelled taxes on several occasions
Ming had been very corrupt
Manchus were accepted by the Chinese people as legitimate rulers.
Literary Inquisition
2,000 anti-Manchu titles destroyed and many scholars punished

13. Arrival of the West: Canton system - Europeans should only trade in Canton China was considered despotic Became increasingly isolated as Russia turned west towards Europe
Video

14. Dream of the Red Chamber
Written by Cao Xueqin, an aristocrat
From his own bitter, personal experiences, Cao created a tragic love story
It is a detailed description of aristocratic life in Qing China
Dream of the Red Chamber is seen as the zenith of Chinese classical
fiction, although the novel as it survived was incomplete and later
completed by another author.

15. Art – the Four Wangs! Imitation of Ming style was encouraged.
Large-scale landscapes, flower-and-bird compositions, and figural narratives were particularly favored as images that would glorify the new dynasty

16. Decline of the Qing
“High Equilibrium Trap”- new resources & technologies but too may people
Population explosion (no epidemics, internal peace and food from America)
Empire too large to control- Grand Canal silts up, deforestation
Corrupt Merit System for Confucian scholars
Video

17. “cheating underwear” helped destroy the Confucian based merit system!

18. What could have happened!
China could have become a great colonial power and could have led the world economically BUT
Europe had advantages
New World resources
Excess population → Americas
Joint stock companies
State backing of trading companies
Competition between nations drove economic success