Before you get started
East Asia is a frequent choice for compare and contrast
and change-over-time questions on the national exam.
This chapter discusses changing political structure,
social organization, economic development, and
religious tradition in China and Japan.
The Quest for Political Stability
When the Yuan Dynasty came to an end in 1368, the
Ming and then the Qing rulers went to great lengths to
erase all remains of the Mongol cultural elements and
to restore Chinese tradition.
They built a powerful imperial state, revived and
staffed the civil service system with Confucian
scholars, and promoted Confucian social precepts.
Produced a deeply conservative government.
Successful for more than 500 years.
Quest for Political Stability
The Ming Dynasty
Ming actually means “Brilliance”
Hongwu – Founder of the Ming dynasty who hoped to return
China to traditional forms of Chinese government after 300
years of Mongol rule.
Relied on the mandarins (travelling government officials) and
eunuchs (court officials who acted in the name of the courts)
Promoted all things Chinese, revived Confucian ideals, and
eradicated most leftover Mongol influences
Rebuilt and extended the Great Wall and other defenses to
protect against Mongols and other Northern Invaders
Eventually, internal disunity caused their fall in 1644 and the
invading manchus (Qing) gained control
The Quest for Political Stability
The Qing Dynasty
Manchus – Began as pastoral nomads in a region of
China north of Korea, frequently traded and clashed
with the Chinese since the Qin dynasty.
United under the leadership of Nurhaci in the early
seventeenth century and defeated the Ming Dynasty
(1644).
Conquering Manchus were careful to preserve their own
ethnic and cultural identity.
Example – Outlawed intermarriage between Manchu and
Chinese, enforced Manchu hairstyles, etc.
Eventually drew to a close in the early twentieth century for
many of the same internal reasons as the Ming Dynasty.
The Quest for Political Stability
The Son of Heaven and the Scholar-Bureaucrats
“Son of Heaven” – Chinese belief that the emperors of
the Ming and following dynasties were designated by
heaven to rule.
They lived very sheltered and protected lives
Scholar-gentry
Most of the governing affairs of China were left to well
educated men who had passed a series of extremely difficult
exams.
Economic and Social Changes
While the Ming and Qing emperors succeeded in their
goal of restoring and maintaining Chinese traditional
hierarchy and patriarchy, they could not prevent the
impact of new food crops from abroad and the impact
of global trade on the Chinese economy which
produced great wealth, urban growth, and an ensuing
boom in population.
Economic and Social Change
The Patriarchal Family
Chinese families hierarchal and authoritarian
Duty to one’s father or oldest male emphasized
Filial Piety (Duty to one’s family) emphasized
Women
Far less opportunities than males
Expected to be subservient and quiet
Infanticide
Footbinding
Ritual suicide following a husband’s death
Economic and Social Change
Population Growth and Economic Development
Introduction of American food crops obtained by
Europeans led to more stable food sources and large
population growth.
China began restricting trade significantly during the
Ming and Qing dynasties.
Also developed a resistance to technology innovations
fearing that it may lead to insurrection.
Initially it was successful, but in the end China suffered
because of this.
Economic and Social Change
Gentry, Commoners, Soldiers and Mean People
TOP of Social Hierarchy -Emperor and his family
Then, Scholar-bureaucrats and gentry
Then, Commoners (artisans, workers, peasants,
merchants)
BOTTOM of Social Hierarchy – Soldiers and “mean
people” (slaves, etc)
The Confucian Tradition and New
Cultural Influences
Although Confucian traditions remained, changing
demographics and rising urban populations
encouraged the development of new cultural patterns:
urban culture and European traditions.
Neo-Confucianism and Pulp Fiction
Neo-Confucianism – Combination of the moral, ethical,
and political values of Confucianism with the logical
rigor and intellectual power of Buddhism.
Became very popular in the Ming and Qing dynasties
because of its emphasis on filial piety, self-discipline,
and obedience.
The Confucian Tradition and New
Cultural Influences
The Return of Christianity to China
The plague and the collapse of the Yuan dynasty
virtually wiped Christianity away from China.
Returned in the sixteenth century with Catholic and
Jesuit missionaries who attempted unsuccessfully to
convert large numbers of Chinese to Christianity.
Unintended consequence of the European missionary
attempts was that Europe became more exposed to
China.
The Unification of Japan
After nearly four centuries of civil disorder, political
unification emerged in Japan in the late sixteenth and
early seventeenth centuries.
Like their Chinese neighbors, Japanese shoguns would
promote the idea of traditional values to lay the
foundation for long-term political and social stability,
but ultimately be unable to withstand foreign
influences or restrict commercial interactions.
The Unification of Japan
The Tokugawa Shogunate
Shoguns – Military governors who actually ruled Japan
through a series of retainers who supplied them with
military support in exchange for political rights and
landed estates.
By the sixteenth century the Tokugawa Shogunate
emerged as the dominant shogun (after a civil war)
Worried about European influence, the Tokugawa
attempted to maintain political stability by enforcing
strict isolationist policies.
Unsuccessful in fully achieving isolation.
The Unification of Japan
Economic and Social Change
New crop strains, improved water control and irrigation,
and the use of fertilizer resulted in dramatically
increasing rice yields.
Neo Confucianism was the official ideology of the
Tokugawa, although many held onto the Shinto beliefs
fearing the outside influence of China
City life changed (teahouses, theaters, etc) and cities
experienced significant middle class growth as a result.
The Unification of Japan
Christianity and Dutch Learning
Tokugawa shogunate implemented harsh anti-Christian
campaigns when Christianity started to gain converts in
Japan.
Fear that European Christianity to disrupt stability and by the
end of the seventeenth century tens of thousands of Japanese
Christians had been tortured and killed under Tokugawa
policies.
Dutch
As trade with the Dutch continued European influences in
art, medicine, technology and astronomy started to trickle
into Japanese culture by the mid-eighteenth century.
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