1. China Limits European Contact

2. Effects of European Exploration
Exploration created trade opportunities (=profits)
Asia was the new source of wealth.
Europe wanted access to China and Japan

3. Ming Dynasty Hongwu Reforms: erase Mongol impact Drove the Mongols
1st Ming emperor.
Reforms:
restore farm land destroyed
erase Mongol impact
FUN FACT: The Ming capital was moved from Beijing (Yuan Capital) to Nanjing and then back to Beijing
The Mongols had defiled the city and it was rebuilt.

4. Hongwu Returned Confucian moral standards.
Restored the merit-based exam system.

5. Later Rule of Hongwu Ruthless tyrant Paranoid
suspected plots against him
murdered thousands of officials
He was succeeded by his son, Yonglo (yung-lu).

6. Yonglo moved capital to Beijing. Know as the Forbidden City
Fun Fact: built a great palace complex to symbolize his power and might
It took 14 years to construct.
Know as the Forbidden City
commoners/foreigners were not allowed inside
Take a Tour (CLICK ME)

9. Exploration Under Yonglo
1405
Launched the first of 7 voyages of exploration (not for settlement)
Before Europe!
Wanted to impress outsiders

10. Exploration Under Yonglo
Voyages of Zheng He
Chinese Muslim admiral named
Led all 7 voyages.
Everything about them was
LARGE –
distance,
fleet size,
ship size.

12. Voyages of Zheng He His voyages included: Crew over 27,000
(sailors, soldiers, carpenters, interpreters, accountants, doctors, & religious leaders)
Fleet included
fighting ships
storage vessels
treasure ships

13. Voyages of Zheng He Everywhere he
Distributed silver/silk to show Chinese superiority.
Scholars felt voyages were a waste of resources
After the 7th voyage in 1433
China withdrew/isolation.

14. China’s Isolation To minimize outside influence
only the govt. was allowed to conduct foreign trade.
Impact:
Smuggling became common

15. Impacts of China’s Isolation
Manufacturing/commerce increased
Lack of industrialization (agricultural)
Taxes
Agricultural goods = low
Manufactured goods/imports = high

16. The Qing Dynasty 1600s Ming dynasty was weakening
Overpowered by the Manchus
From north of the Great Wall
Established the Qing Dynasty

18. The Qing Dynasty Lasted appx 260 years Expanded territory:
Taiwan, Mongolia, and Tibet.
Seen as outsiders
Eventually accepted because:
Kept many Chinese beliefs
Kept social structures.

19. The Qing Dynasty Established Kangxi (kahng-shee) safety prosperity
Most powerful emperor

21. Kangxi Emperor Ruled for 60+ years. Reforms
Reduced government expenses
Lowered taxes
Put scholars in govt
Allowed Jesuit missionaries
Brought knowledge of European science, medicine, and math.

22. Manchus Continue Isolation
Foreign countries wanted to trade
Forced to follow Chinese rules
Only trade at special ports (Canton & Macao)
Paying taxes.
Dutch accepted Chinese restrictions
They were the preferred partner for China

23. Manchus Continue Isolation
Great Britain also wanted access
They didn’t like the restrictions
The Chinese refused Britain’s request.
Emperor declared that China was self-sufficient and didn’t need British goods.
Eventually this causes a conflict known as the Opium Wars

25. Manchus Continue Isolation
Europeans would continue to chip away at China’s trade restrictions until the empire began to crack.
By the early 1800s, European pressure forced China to open to foreign trade and influence.