History 381: Asian Experience
The West in Asia
The West Arrives in Asia
Independent Development
• Relative value and awareness of trade networks in
classical Europe, the Arabic peninsula, and
Monsoon Asia
The Portuguese in Asia
• Columbus; Portugal and the open seas
• Portuguese shipbuilding and navigation
• Naval warfare
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Motives for Expansion
• Western views of Muslims as the “enemy”
• Middle Eastern control of trade; Henry the
Navigator
– Voyages of Exploration
 Portuguese explorers; the influence of Marco Polo;
early Portuguese contacts with India
– The Portuguese Commercial Empire
 The Portuguese in Goa; Portuguese military dominance
at sea; Magellen; the colonies of Spain and Portugal;
Asian women and Western men
The Spanish in the Philippines
• The flow of silver to Asia, New World crops
• loose Spanish control in the Philippines
• missionary work
Trading Bases in Asia
• African bases along the sea routes to Asia;
Europe’s limited role in the spice trade; European
traders working Asian markets; Europeans on the
periphery; Portuguese and the rest of the
commercial network along the sea lanes; the rise of
Dutch and British influence and decline of
Portuguese control; the legacy of Portugal
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“Christians and Spices”
• The Spanish and Portuguese missionary thrust; the
slaughter of Asian “heathens”; Albuquerque; the
Counter-Reformation in Europe and the Jesuits in
Asia; the Guangzhou trade
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Matteo Ricci: Mission to the Ming Court
• Ricci’s background; an accomplished man of
learning; his move north to Beijing and acceptance
at court; the adaptation of Ricci’s message to
China; Chinese interest in Western science and
technology; controversy and expulsion; feedback
and renewed Western interest in China
The Russian Advance in Asia
• Russian advances into Siberia; Chinese-Russian
clashes; the Treaty of Nerchinsk (1689); Chinese
disdain for the “sea barbarians” and high regard for
the Russians
Japan’s Christian Century
• Japanese curiosity and acceptance of Western
things; inter-Christian contentions and
governmental concern; persecution; the limits of
foreign control; minimal European impact and
success; European dominance at sea; the
uncivilized nature of European sailors; Asian
disinterest in Europe
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The Dutch in Asia
• The Dutch challenge to Portuguese dominance in
Asia; van Linschoten and Dutch expeditions to
Asia; Dutch victories; Dutch interest in trade; The
Dutch East India Company and its monopoly of
the Asian trade; the Dutch Indies and Holland’s
sphere of influence; Coen in Batavia (Jakarta);
harsh dealings with rivals and lawbreakers; the
slow rise of Dutch administration; Dutch
regulation and manipulation of production
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The English in Seventeenth-Century India
• Thomas Best and the defeat of the Portuguese
• Portuguese Jesuit intrigue against the English at
court
• Mughal cooperation
• Roe and English interest in Bengal
The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644
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Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
– Founded by Zhu Yuanzhang who overthrew
Mongols
– Inaugurated new era of greatness in china
– Extended rule over Mongolia and Central Asia
– Strengthened Great Wall
– Korea made tributary
– Returned to traditional Confucian institutions
 Six ministries at top
 Civil service exams
 Divide empire into provinces, districts, counties
– Population had doubled
Scholars taking the civil service exam
The civil service examinations of
the Qing dynasty tested
candidates’ knowledge of the
Confucian canon: rituals, history,
poetry, cosmology--all believed to
provide the basis for a moral life-and calligraphy.
By the eighteenth century, the
system was under attack because
it failed to select the ablest
scholars, the number of
candidates had not increased in
proportion to population, degrees
were sold to the rich, and
frequently even successful
candidates could not find
positions.
The Great Wall north of Beijing
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China at its Apex
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Zhenghe
– Chinese admiral.
– In 1405 led fleet of ships into
Indian Ocean.
– Large fleet with 28,000 sailors.
– Sent to find information as well as
goods.
– Brought increase in knowledge of
outside world.
– Brought massive profits.
– Voyages ended with death of
Emperor Yongle (1402-1424) who
had sent them.
– Marks turning inward of China
and focus on agriculture.
Navigation techniques of Zheng-He
The navigational techniques that
Zheng He and his crew used were
well established and tested, as
this manual Wubei zhi (records
of military preparations), 1621,
shows.
Ships were precisely guided by
reference to the Pole Star, and
the routes to India, the Middle
East, and East Africa were well
known.
The manual underscores that
Zheng He's mission was not to
explore but to carry out political
and, if possible, economic
mandates.
First Contacts with the West
 China’s view of Europeans
Portuguese arrival, 1514, Macao
– Problems with the Portuguese
– Portuguese and trade
 Jesuit missionaries
– Parallels between Christian and
Confucian concepts

First Contacts with the West
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Jesuit missionaries
– Brought ideas into China
– Highly educated
– Tried to draw parallels between Christian
and Confucian concepts
– Reported back on China to Europe which
sparked curiosity
Ming Brought to Earth
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Decline in the 16th century due to a series of weak
rulers
Internal problems
– Economic
 Inflation from foreign silver
 English and Dutch disrupted silver trade
– Agricultural
 Crop yields fall with “little ice age”
Frontier
– Manchus
Peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng (Li Tzu-ch’eng,
1604-1651)
– Occupied Beijing in 1644
– Manchus conquer Beijing and create new
dynasty with the name Qing (Ch’ing, or Pure)
The Greatness of the Qing
(1644-1911)
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Chinese to adopt Manchu dress and
hairstyles
Manchus adopt Chinese conditions
Kangxi (1661-1722)
– Greatest ruler in Chinese history
probably
– Gained throne at age 7
– He was diligent, politically astute
and strong character
– Ruled for sixty years
– Quieted northwestern frontier
– Made dynasty acceptable to
population
– Patron of arts
– Tolerant toward Christians and
allowed missionaries
The Greatness of the Qing

Qing Politics
– Retained Ming political system
– Devotion to the principles of Confucianism
– Manchus made only 2 percent of the population
 Manchu nobles’ privileges
 Bannermen
 Ethnic Chinese cannot settle in Manchuria
The Qing Empire
The Qing dynasty from 1644 to 1912 generally continued the political
and social order of the previous Ming dynasty.
China on the Eve of the Western Onslaught
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Corruption
– White Lotus Rebellion, 1796-1804
Russian traders in Manchuria
– Refused tributary status
– Treaty of Nerchinsk, 1689
England replaced Portugal as the dominant European trader in Asia
– First trading post at Canton, 1699
– Qing licensed Chinese traders
– Large amounts of silver to pay for Chinese goods
– Mission under Lord Macartney, 1793 failed in negotiating with
China the British requests to:
 the relaxation of the restrictions on trade between Britain and
China
 the acquisition by Britain of "a small unfortified island near
Chusan for the residence of English traders, storage of goods,
and outfitting of ships"
 the establishment of a permanent British embassy in Beijing
Qianlong Emperor at Archery Contest
During the sixty-year reign of the Qianlong emperor, China became the world's richest and most
populous nation. Executed by the Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione, whose portraits and
panoramas combine Chinese composition with Western perspective and coloration, this painting of
the emperor at an archery contest--with elegant garden, stately uniforms of the attendants, and
dignified image of the emperor--suggests the formal ritual of the imperial court. Castiglione was a
special favorite of the emperor, who also supported Jesuit architects and designers.
Canton

Canton (modern Guangzhou)
– Chinese limited European trading to this city
– Emperor licensed a few Chinese companies to
handle all of the trade
– Eventually confined Europeans to island just
outside the city
– Europeans could only reside there part of the year
– This system of limiting trade came to be known as
the “Canton System”
Daily Life in Qing China
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The family
– Center of society was joint family where 3 or 4
generations lived together
– Sons brought wives to live with family
– Not always enough land to support large families
however
– Labor intensive agricultural society needed large
families for labor
– Sons very prized
– Oldest male was head of family
– Arranged marriages
– Father expected to provide for family and treat them
with respect and compassion
Tokugawa Japan
Tokugawa Japan
Japan’s Basic Geography
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The Land:
– 4 main islands:
Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu
– Some 1000 small islands in the Pacific
– 145,834 square miles (the size of Montana)
– 72% of it is of hills and mountains, 20% land arable, with a
population of 123 million
The Climate:
– Two weather systems:
 Monsoon air & Japan Current from the south
 Siberia air & Okhotsk Current from the north
– Most populous area around Yamato plain: 35 parallel where
four seasons are distinct, with 215 growing days & plenty
rainfall
Rice Culture & Mainland Connection
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Rice as main staple food: 55%
of cereal acreage is rice
paddies, labor intensive &
group identity
Seafood as main source for
protein: sushi as typical
Japanese food
Two main plains: Kanto
(Tokyo) & Kinai /Yamato
(Kyoto, Osaka)
Tsushima Strait: 115 miles to
Korea (Dover, 21 miles)
– The “borrowing culture”
Environment and Psyche
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500 plus volcanoes, which produce 1500 earthquakes
per year
– Cause: submarine trench of 6 miles below water &
mountains of 2 miles above water
– 21 major earthquakes since 1596 (above 1000
casualties in each)
Typhoons from the ocean
The psychological impact: attitude toward nature,
death, and each other -> Shintoism
Shintoism
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Shintoism is a Japanese religion that came from
the indigenous people of the country. Beginning
in the late fourth century B.C. It has no founder
or doctrine. The beliefs of this religion center on
being one with nature. Members of the Shinto
belief worship the kami, who include native
deities (including emperors and heroes), spirits of
nature, and mythical objects.
Tokugawa Japan
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The Three Great Unifiers
– Oda Nobunaga (1568-1582)
– Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1582-1598)
– Tokugawa Ieyasu (1598-1616)
Tokugawa Japan

Oda Nobunaga (1568-1582)
– Son of a samurai and military commander
– Seized capital at Kyoto and put shogun under his
control
– Brutal, he planned to put all of central plains under
his control
– Killed by one of his generals in 1582
Tokugawa Japan
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Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1582-1598)
– Farmer's son who worked way up through ranks
– Capital at Osaka and slowly extended power
outward
– By 1590 most of daimyo accepted his authority
– Created national currency
– Still had to work with local daimyos
– Carried out sword hunts to remove arms from
countryside
– In 1587 banished Christianity from his domains,
although later relented
Tokugawa Japan
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Tokugawa Ieyasu (1598-1616)
– Daimyo of Edo which is modern Tokyo
– Filled leadership vacuum after Hideyoshi's death
– Claimed title of shogun in 1603
– Created longest lasting of the shogunates (to 1868)
– Completed centralization of authority
– 1612 evicted all missionaries
The Tokugawa “Great Peace”
Ruled through a coalition of daimyo (great
lord) and a council of elders
 State divided into territories, han
 Social system
– Changes with samurai system (warrior
class)
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Samurai
– Became less important under Tokugawa shogunate
– Daimyo protected own interests by depriving many
samurai of land rights
– Many became salaried officials
– Those who tilled the land reclassified as
commoners
– Could still wear swords
– Ceased to be a warrior class and many lived in
towns
– Often did not make enough revenue from rice
lands, so fell into debt
– Others released from servitude to lord and became
“masterless” Samurai (Ronin)
 Sometimes plotted against officials
Tokugawa Japan
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Opening to the West
– Portuguese arrive in 1543, begin trading
– Visitors welcome at first, but later are
suspected of political interference
– Portuguese Jesuits
 Francis Xavier
– Spanish Franciscans
– Expulsion of all missionaries
– Prohibited foreign trade
– Dutch at island of Hirado at Nagasaki
Tokugawa Japan
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Nagasaki harbor
– After 1612 only remaining location open to
Europeans
– Small Dutch community permitted to
engage in limited trade
– Ships could dock once a year and inspection
could remain for 2-3 months
Seeds of Capitalism
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Bakufu
– Coalition of daimyo and council of elders
– Tokugawa ruled through it
– Set national policy on behalf of emperor
– Shogun’s own domain included about onequarter of the nation as well as three big cities
of Edo, Kyoto and Osaka
– Nation divided into domains and ruled by
daimyo
– Daimyo forced to maintain two households and
leave families at Edo as hostages
– Size of samurai class limited
Tokugawa Culture
Status of women in Japan
– Became somewhat more restricted under
Tokugawa
– Samurai class women very restricted
 Had to submit at pain of death
– Males often took concubines or homosexual
lovers
– Females must remain chaste
– Some became accomplished artists
Tokugawa Culture
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Common women
– Marriages arranged
– Could be divorced by husband
– More equal than in upper classes
– Valued as childbearers
– Both sexes worked in fields
– Co-education in villages
Korea: The Hermit Kingdom
 Followed the Chinese model
Yangban (aristocratic class)
 Chonmin (slaves)
 Development of phonetic alphabet, hangul
 Growing economy
 Attempts to keep Korea isolated
– Japanese invasion
– Manchu invasion
– Relatively untouched by Europeans
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Korea: The Hermit Kingdom
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Yi dynasty
– Patterned after Chinese model
– Founded by military commander Yi Song Gye
in late fourteenth century
– New capital at Seoul
– Accepted tribute status with China
– Adopted Chinese culture and systems
– Used civil service exams
– Restricted entry into bureaucracy
Korea to 1900
Korean Culture
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Chonmin
– Korean class of slaves
– Worked on government plantations
– Or served in certain occupations considered
beneath dignity of other classes
Korean Culture
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Hangul
– Korean spoken language
– In fifteenth century a phonetic alphabet
was created for writing it
– Used primarily as teaching device
– Eventually became popular for publishing
Confucianism And Christianity
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The premise of Confucian teachings is centered around
the idea of Jen or the virtue of humanity.
– To accomplish this, five relationships must be honored:
 ruler and minister
 father and son
 husband and wife
 elder and younger brother
 friend and friend
Confucius felt that love and respect for authority was a
key to a perfect society.
 Christianity also preaches a divine, brotherly love.
 Modern Christianity seeks to discover a rational
understanding of the person as did Confucius.
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