1450-1750
1. What are people doing in this painting?
Irrigating and cultivating rice
2. Why did the artist choose this subject to paint?
Rice is/was Asia’s most important food—the scene was
familiar to the artist
• Rice is a primary food
crop in East/South Asia
• Asia produces 90%
• Planted in flooded
fields called “paddies”
• Need heavy rainfall
XIA DYNASTY
• c. 2000 – 1700 B.C.E.
• Supposedly founded by Yu the Great
• Based on legend – may not have existed
1368-1644
Established by Emperor Hongwu
• Tried to remove all signs of Mongol rule
• Centralized power and established direct rule by the emperor
- Used eunuchs (sterile men who couldn’t produce a family
to challenge the emperor’s dynasty
-- Used Mandarins = emissaries sent out to enforce
government policies
• Reestablished Civil Service system based on Confucian
values to ensure scholar-gentry bureaucracy based on ability—
not friends or social standing
continued
• China completed the Great Wall in
the Ming period
• Response to previous Mongol
invasions
• Successfully protected China from
outside invaders
• The only time that invaders got
beyond the wall and invaded was
when China was experiencing
internal problems
How long is the Great Wall of China?
How many miles is it across the Atlantic Ocean from New
York to Paris?
4,160 miles (6,693 km.)
New York
3,610 miles (5,808 km)
Paris
If the Great Wall were placed on the United States with one
end at Boston, how far across the country would it extend? Past San Francisco
How far is it between San Francisco and Boston?
San Francisco
3,095 miles (4, 980 km.)
Boston
The Altar of Heaven is part of the Temple of Heaven, or Tian
Tan, built during the Ming dynasty in Beijing, China. The red
walls and gold detailing are typical of Ming architecture.
continued
• Increased commercial activity + population increase led to
economic expansion
• New food groups from the Americas (maize &
peanuts) were suitable for Chinese cultivation
• Increased food
=
population increase
• Rebuilt irrigation systems = agricultural surplus
• Promoted manufacturing: silk, cotton, and porcelain
• The silk trade was its most profitable = China protected the
secret of silkmaking for many centuries
• Demanded tribute from surrounding states
Columbian Exchange
• European conquest of
the new world brought
changes on all sides
• Movement of goods and
ideas from each side is
called the Columbian
Exchange
• 3 most important crops
to Asia:
 Maize
 Sweet Potatoes
 Peanuts
• New crops improved diet
and increased
populations worldwide
continued
• Demand for Chinese goods = overseas trade
expanded
• European, Asian, and Muslim traders traded in
China’s main port cities
• Chinese merchant class grew in wealth and power
continued
Established a national tax
- All taxes had to be paid in silver
- Tribute states paid in silver also
- Global implications = huge demand for silver
- Silver was shipped from the Americas & Japan
- Japan & the Americas made huge profits
Between 1405-1433, China launched huge, statesponsored trading expeditions to southern Asian and
beyond
Enormous fleets
• huge fleets = 62 ships, 28,000 men
• brought back unimaginable wealth to China
Admiral Zheng He
commanded the fleets
• Muslim from western
China
• Well suited to deal
with Muslims on
southeast Asian trade
routes
• resented by Confucian
bureaucrats
• Traveled to Southeast Asia, Ceylon, India, the
Persian Gulf, Arabia, and the East African coast
• Established tributary relationships
• Technologically advanced fleets and armies could
face any adversary
•Traded porcelain and silk from China
• Luxury gifts (tributes) he received from the
countries he visited included exotic African animals
that were added to the Ming Dynasty’s zoo
• Zheng He’s voyages demonstrated China’s ability to
be a military, political, and economic power in the
Indian Ocean
• Chinese vessels dwarfed European ships
• Europeans were no match for Chinese ships
Chinese ships =
440 feet;
Columbus’ ship
= 75 feet
• China canceled the fleets in 1433
• The Ming government didn’t trust Zheng He
• Feared Mongolian attacks from the north
• Used the money to strengthen defense and agriculture
• The government destroyed his nautical charts
• Zheng He’s ships fell into disrepair
• China’s withdrawal from world trade unintentionally
cleared the way for European expansion and domination
of world trade
• The revival of civil service exams encouraged the creation of
an extensive scholar-bureaucrat class, responsible for
governing the empire
• Restoration of Confucian traditions encouraged the
subordination of women
• women were more tightly controlled in many ways
• widows were strongly discouraged from remarrying
• foot binding was increasingly popular = even in the lower
classes
Literature
• Yongle Encyclopedia = a collection of Chinese
philosophy, literature, and history
• Chinese novels became more popular
- The Golden Lotus = describes a wicked
landowner who mistreats people aroun him
• Increased literacy
Art
Exquisite glassware =
porcelain
-China is
synonymous with
dishware
Scroll painting =
depicted landscapes,
historical events, and
nature
Matteo Ricci
• A Jesuit Scholar
• In the 1500’s he traveled to the Ming court
• Represents Western attempts to spread Christianity to East Asia
• Christian missionaries tried to win the support of Chinese emperors
• Missionaries brought new scientific and mathematical knowledge to
the imperial court
• Example = the Chinese liked the mechanical clock
• Ming emperors welcomed most missionaries
• Christian missionaries gained only a few converts – generally, they
were unsuccessful
What’s
wrong with
#6 on this
map?
Abraham Ortelius Map, 1570
It shows
New
Guinea
too close
to South
America
Matteo Ricci showed a similar map to the Chinese. The
map significantly influenced Chinese cartography.
• To appeal to the
Chinese, Ricci
converted Ortelius’
map
• Ricci placed
China and the
Pacific Ocean in
the center
• Ricci hoped to
show that Europe’s
God, like their
maps, was
superior to
Chinese deities
#6 = eliminates the South Sea
• Located in modern-day
Beijing
• Capital of the Ming and Qing
Empires
• The imperial family, royal
concubines, and court eunuchs
lived in the Inner Court
• Grandeur and size of the
palace reflects the empire’s
power & authority
Early Ming China (1368-1400’s)
-Politically dynamic
-Militarily active, conquered territories &
established tribute states
-Economically prosperous
-Population grew
-Impressive cultural achievements: literary
masterpieces, fine porcelain, architecture, &
the revival of Confucianism
Factors that led to the Ming’s decline:
1. Climate change
2. Nomadic invasions
3. Pirates
4. Decline of the Silk Road
5. Inept rulers
6. Western European Influence
In the 1600’s, a broad climate change swept Europe
& China = colder weather
• seriously affected agricultural production
• caused health issues/deaths
Population continued to grow
• The land couldn’t support the people = famine
in China
• Led to widespread peasant revolts
Nomadic Invasions
• Tibet helped the Mongols reemerge as a regional
power
• Mongols gave the Tibetan leader the title of Dalai
Lama = “universal teacher” of Tibetan Buddhism
• The Ming sent armies in response to a Japanese
attack against Korea, a Chinese tributary state.
** Greatest threat Manchus = tribe from the
Northeast (Manchuria)
Pirates
Chinese and Japanese
pirates attacked Chinese
ships entering/leaving
Chinese ports
Decline of the Silk Road
• The Silk Road declined in importance
• New technologies and European control = more seabased trade
• Land-based trade declined
‘s Collapse
Inept Rulers
• Emperors isolated themselves in the
Forbidden City with their luxuries
• Ignored the people’s hardships =
starvation, cold weather (crop failures), and
inability to pay taxes
• 1636-1644 = Massive peasant revolt
• 1644, a rebel army under Li Zicheng
captured Beijing
• Emperor Chongzhen hung himself = end
of the Ming Dynasty
Western European Influence
• 1600’s were a period of rapid decline
• 1st Europeans (Portuguese) arrived
• Spanish, Dutch, English arrived later
• China was too large and powerful to conquer
• Europeans used their sea power to control trade
and to force concessions from China
• Jesuit missionaries tried to convert Chinese
peoples to Christianity
Western European Influence
• Spain & Portugal provided the most silver to China from Europe
- In the 1600’s, the English & Dutch raided Spanish galleons
- The raids weakened Spanish & Portuguese economic power
globally
• In 1639, Tokugawa Japan stopped most of its European trade =
halted another source of silver from flowing into China
• These events caused a dramatic spike in the value of silver
• Made it virtually impossible for most tribute states & provinces to
pay their taxes
• Triggered worldwide inflation = economic shutdown
1644-1911
• Peasant revolts were shortlived
• Manchus from
northeastern China
(Manchuria) attacked
• Manchus were less than 5%
Chinese population
Created a new social system
• Chinese subjects had to wear
certain clothing
• Tie their hair into long braids
= queues
• Males had to shave their
foreheads: “lose your hair or
lose your head”
• Form of subjugation
• Forbade intermarriage between
Manchus & Chinese
• Illegal for Chinese to learn the
Manchurian language
• Gunpowder empire = an empire who uses
firearms to conquer territories and maintain
control; mastery of naval and land-based siege
cannons were particularly effective
• Qing used cannons effectively against the
Mongols
• Marked the end of any serious nomadic threat
on the inner Asian frontiers
• Strong Military leaders
• Ruled under the Mandate of
Heaven
• Empire stretched from
Manchuria to the island of
Formosa (Taiwan)
• Controlled Mongolia, Tibet,
Nepal, Burma, Vietnam, and much
of Central Asia
• Negotiated an acceptable
boundary with Russia
2 important emperors
• Kangxi (1661-1722)
-1 of the greatest Chinese
monarchs
- skilled general
- patronized the arts &
education
- Confucian scholar & poet
2 important emperors
• Qianlong (1735-1795)
- Last intelligent, dynamic, Qing
emperor
- Strengthened China’s borders
- Fostered economic growth
- So prosperous, he canceled taxes for
awhile because the government didn’t
need them
- promoted education & culture
- Cao Xuequin’s Dream of the Red
Chamber was a tragedy about 2 young
lovers caught up in a wealthy &
powerful clan’s decline
• Full-scale trade with Europeans
• Qing maintained a regulation of foreign trade
• Limited trade to only 1 city = Guangzhou
(Canton)
• Important Chinese exports = tea, silk, &
porcelain
• Few imports were allowed = highly favorable
balance of trade
Read “Mission to China” on page 484 in Glencoe
“ You, O King, are so inclined toward our civilization
that you have sent a special envoy across the seas…to
present your native products as an expression of your
thoughtfulness…As a matter of fact, the virtue and
prestige of the Celestial Dynasty having spread far
and wide, the kings of the myriad nations come by
land and sea with all sorts of precious things.
Consequently, there is nothing we lack, as your
principal envoy and others have themselves observed.
We have never set much store on strange or ingenious
objects, nor do we need any more of your country’s
manufactures.”
Emperor Qianlong, 1793
1. How did Emperor Qianlong react
to King George III’s letter?
2. How did the English respond to the
Emperor’s statement?
3. What were the implications of
China’s “closed country” policy?
• Limited foreign cultural & economic contact
• Tried to prevent Chinese desire of foreign imports
• Suspicious of outside influences
• Banned Christianity in 1724
• Believed China was superior = center of the world
• They called themselves “The Middle Kingdom”
• Viewed Europeans as barbarians
• Like the Ming era, the population grew faster than the
economy
• 1799, the Chinese population was 300 million; 400 million
by the end of the 1800’s
• Poverty rose
• Chinese were slipping technologically, scientifically, and as a
global power
• 1800’s, China weakened internally
• Deluded by its own grandeur & past accomplishments, Qing
leadership did little to modernize China
• Europeans forced many economic privileges & concessions
out of China
• Qianlong was the last great Chinese emperor
• Incompetent rulers followed
• Government was riddled with corruption
• Border defense became too costly
• Several peasant revolts broke out
• 1796-1804 = White Lotus Rebellion took
years to suppress
• China was still too strong to conquer
• Still enjoyed an enormous advantage in its balance
of trade
• Europeans demanded silk, tea, porcelain & paid in
silver
• Europeans could only trade in a small number of
ports
• Limited European imports
• Europeans paid in silver bullion
• Europeans had stronger navies, better
weapons, and more effective armies
• 1700’s, the Chinese were using opium on a
small scale
• 1820’s, the British East India Company began
flooding China with opium grown in
northeastern India
• Opium became very popular in China
• The British East India Company made
enormous profits
• Reversed the balance of trade shifted in
Britain’s favor
• Silver bullion flowed out of China rapidly
• France, Portugal, & the U.S. sold opium to
China also
• Britain controlled 80% of the opium trade
• The Qing govt made opium illegal
• Opium addiction decreased economic
productivity
• Millions of workers & farmers were too
incapacitated to work
• Govt arrested dealers, seized opium
supplies, & intercepted drug boats
“The foreigners have brought us a disease which
will dry up our bones, a worm that gnaws at our
hearts, a ruin to our families and persons. It
means the destruction of the soul of our nation.”
Qing government official
Barron’s AP World History, p 274)
• 1839, the Chinese navy blockaded Guangzhou (Canton)
• Sparked the 1st Opium War between Britain & China
• The British won
• Treaty of Nanking
- China paid for the cost of the war & the destroyed opium
- Chinese opened 5 ports to foreign trade
- lowered tariffs on British goods
- granted Britain extraterritorial rights to areas in China where the
British worked & lived = British law was supreme in these areas
- Hong Kong was given to Britain
• More conflicts
• Future treaties legalized the
opium trade, opened more
ports to foreign trade, &
granted greater powers to
the Europeans, Americans, &
Russians
• Several extraterritorial
territories were established
along the Chinese coast
Spheres of influence
• area of economic influence/control
• established in China in the 19th Century
• allowed foreigners to take advantage of a
weakened China & to seize control of their
tributary states (example, France took Vietnam in
1885)
• eventually Western powers gained exclusive
trading rights in China
• Chinese nationalism increased in response to
Western influence
• Serious internal problems erupted
in the late Qing dynasty
• 1850-1864, The Taiping Rebellion =
the most costliest and the most
devastating civil war in world
history
What was the
deadliest war?
WWII
• 20-30 million dead
• 2nd deadliest war in world history
• Increased unrest & Chinese
nationalism
• Hong Xiuquan, a Cantonese clerk started the uprising--he failed the
civil service exam
• Hong Xiuquan believed that he was destined to create a taiping =
“heavenly kingdom of supreme peace”
• Appealed to 1000s of ordinary Chinese people
• Protested the high taxes, absolute Qing rule, and “foreign” Manchu rule
• New vision of China
- Redistribution of land
- public education
- women’s rights
• An American mercenary, Frederick Townsend Ward, and a British general,
Charles “Chinese” Gordon helped crush the rebellion
• The Taiping Rebellion left China in ruins
• The Qing lost several tribute states (Tibet, the
Gobi Desert, Chinese Turkestan)
• Between 1878-1904, the dowager (wealthy &
powerful widow) Empress Cixi ruled through her
nephew
 Opposed to modernization
 Oppressive rule
 Opposed all reform – arrested her nephew &
executed leaders of the 100 Days’ Reform and
• 1895 Japan defeated China in the Sino-Japanese War
• U.S. Open Door Policy
- All Western nations gained = access to Chinese markets
- Increased foreign control in China
• 1800’s-1900’s: Foreign missionary activity in creased
- Catholic & Protestant missionaries spread Christianity,
Western languages and culture
- Interfered and eroded Chinese culture
- Brought scientific & technological knowledge
- Treated diseases & injuries with modern medicines
- Helped eliminate footbinding
• In 1900, China suffered a
major drought
• High urban unemployment
& crop failures
• Caused widespread anger
with foreign influence
• Boxer Rebellion = a revolt
led by many rebel leaders who
were “boxers” or martial arts
experts
• Rebels attacked foreign
residents and embassies
• Combined foreign army
crushed the rebellion and
burned several Chinese
temples
• Westerners forced the
Qing to pay a heavy
financial penalty
• 1905, Empress Cixi
created a commission to
decide if they should write
a constitution
• Local assemblies were
formed
• Planned to elect national
assemblies in 1910
• Reform efforts were too late
• Chinese youths opposed Manchu
rule
• Sun-Yat Sen = “Father of
Modern China”
• Formed the Revolutionary
Alliance; 3 ideas called the
“People’s Principles”
 Nationalism = oppose Manchu
rule
 Democracy
 People’s Livelihood
• 1911, the Qing Dynasty collapsed
• 1912, Sun Yat-sen was elected president of the Chinese
Republic
• His party was called the Nationalist Party = Kuomintang
• 1st time in Chinese history = A Chinese politician elected by
the people ruled China, not by foreign conquest or dynastic
rule
• The republic was short-lived
• Sun Yat-sen was forced to step down in 1912
• 1912-1948, China was in chaos
• 1949 = Communist government established
Dynasty Song
(Sung to the tune of Fr’er Jacques)
Shang, Zhou, Qin Han (Shang, Jo, Chin Han)
Shang, Zhou, Qin Han
Sui, Tang, Song (Swe, Tong, Soong)
Sui, Tang, Song
Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic (You-an, Ming, Ching, Republic)
Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic
Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-dong)
Deng Xiaoping (Deng Shao-ping)