China from 1450 to 1550

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China from 1450 to 1550

The Ming dynasty was founded by Zhu Yuan Zhang in the year 1368 and Nanjing , which was situated on the banks of the Yangtze River , was the capital city . Zhu , who hailed from the peasant class , was one of the most tyrannical rulers of china . He had established a system of administration in which the chief counselor was the leader of a secretariat . Zhu , who was also known as Hongwu , suspected the counselor

br of treason and accordingly , in 1380 he dissolved all executive posts in the secretariat . During his entire thirty year regime , Hongwu belittled and mercilessly executed officials whom he suspected (Clunas

In 1402 Yongle seized the throne and significantly enlarged China 's territory he also shifted the capital to Beijing (Ming . He died in 1424 and the subsequent Ming emperors were weak administrators , which resulted in invasions throughout the sixteenth century . The southeastern coast was invaded by Japanese pirates and the Mongols continuously raided the Ming Empire 's northern bs . Despite these conflicts , the Ming emperors strived hard to reinstate China 's supremacy in East Asia The Chinese considered their emperor to be a divine personality who was above humans . They insisted upon foreign rulers to honor their emperor and implement the Chinese calendar . Foreign rulers were also expected to send emissaries with tributes to China 's capital . In acknowledgement of their tribute , the Chinese presented valuable gifts to foreign envoys Moreover , foreign traders were permitted to sell their goods in the official market places in China (China

During this period , Chinese products like copper coins , silk , tea and porcelain were exported to foreign countries and at the same time horses , spices and other goods were introduced into China . In to maintain a monopoly on foreign trade and to prevent the Chinese from being attracted towards foreign cultures , the Ming emperors did not permit the Chinese to travel abroad . There was also a ban on unauthorized trading between foreigners and Chinese (Clunas . However these restrictions were unable to prevent the Chinese from trading with foreigners and a there was a thriving market in smuggled goods in China in the middle of fifteenth century . As the Ming dynasty was coming to an end , several Chinese emigrated and settled in Southeast Asia and Japan (Lew

In the year 1514 European traders entered China . However , by that time the Portuguese had been firmly ensconced in southern India and Malacca and they realized that trading with China would be more lucrative . The obstacle to their avaricious plans was the opinion of the Ming emperors who considered Portuguese traders to be smugglers and pirates and did not permit them to land in China . The Portuguese however captured Macao the Chinese coast city by the year 1557 . Later the Spanish traders engaged in illicit trading along the Chinese coast . By 1624 , the Dutch East India Company representatives , subsequent to failed negotiations with Chinese , tried to capture Macao from the Portuguese settlers However , they failed to achieve that goal , but managed to capture Taiwan 's coastal cities . The Dutch settlers initiated measures to develop mainland trade points in the Fujian and Zhejiang provinces of China and the British regiment with five ships penetrated into Guangzhou province and traded their goods in 1637 (Clunas After the successful settlement of traders in Chinese coastal cities Christian missionaries entered into the fray . A faction of the Roman Catholic , Jesuits , integrated themselves with Chinese culture and became friendly with the local Chinese . They showed respect for Chinese customs and managed to change the opinions of Chinese with regard to foreign cultures . Matteo Ricci , the famous Jesuit missionary learned the Chinese language and followed the teachings of Confucius . Jesuits established communities in most cities of China and built a church in Beijing they attended the Ming court and worked as astronomers Subsequently , some of the court members converted to Christianity Subsequently , European scholarly literature , scientific advancements and Christian religious studies were published in the Chinese language (Clunas

The Ming government controlled education and forced students to study Zhu Xi 's explanations of the Confucian teachings . Afterwards independent scholars interpreted Chinese theology in various ways and Wang Yangming a scholar refused to consider Zhu Xi 's interpretations of divinity and started teaching that wisdom could only be attained through the inner knowledge of individuals (Clunas

There was no division of society into scholars , farmers , artisans and merchants during the Ming dynasty . The only bifurcation of society during that period was as scholars and illiterates . The first born or eldest child did not have the right to inherit the family 's property and the children born to a concubine had the same legal status as those born to the legal wife (Clunas

Between 960 to 1279 , the Song dynasty ruled China and during this period technical advancement transpired . The Ming dynasty did nothing to enhance this technical advancement nevertheless , during the Ming era the manufacture of porcelain at Jingdezhen was at its zenith . Huge kilns were constructed in to produce enough porcelain pieces to cater to the needs of the whole of China . Yellow imperial bowls , red monochrome vases and richly decorated enamel coated ceramic vessels and utensils were famous products of those times . The traditional blue and white artifacts were the inspiration for the Dutch delftware . Porcelain vessels and jars of the Ming period are much sought after even today by connoisseurs all over the world . Certain symbols on these porcelain items depict the patronage of a particular emperor . In addition , cotton cultivation and weaving were at their peak during the Ming dynasty in the delta of the Yangtze River . Moreover , silk constituted an important industry in that region (Clunas

Wang Yangming the famous philosopher propounded the theory of subjectivism . His teachings included the extreme types of this philosophy and they teach that individuals are their own masters . He was criticized by other Chinese philosophers as his teachings encouraged people to disobey the imperial legislations . Even today , Wang 's teachings are much acclaimed by scholarly people . The essence of his teachings is that individuals have to act first and think of the consequences afterwards (Clunas

The Ming dynasty restored tranquility to China . The suffering caused by the devastating conquests of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane had subsided and European invasions in the Asian seas had been controlled by the stringent attitude of the Ming emperors . The battles between the Chinese and the Europeans were local and did not extend to the entire region . In 1557 , the Portuguese were given permission to live in Macao and they were granted civil rights . As a requiting measure the Portuguese paid annual rent . The alien nation 's developments did not attract the Chinese , who remained introspective and developed on the strength of their own efforts . The Ming rulers ruled China for two hundred and seventy - six years and during that time the entire nation maintained uniformity in all aspects (Clunas

Works Cited

"China " 2007 . Encyclopaedia Britannica . 4 October 2007 br

Clunas , Craig , et al "China " In Microsoft (R ) Student 2008 [DVD] Redmond , WA : Microsoft Corporation , 2007

Lew , Alan A "Overseas Chinese and Compatriots in China 's Tourism Development " 1995 . 4 October 2007 br

"Ming " 2004 . The Columbia Encyclopedia . 4 October 2007 br

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