The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an
imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
-led
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...
. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the
Han people
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive var ...
, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by
Li Zicheng
Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-li ...
(who established the short-lived
Shun dynasty
The Shun dynasty (), officially the Great Shun (), was a short-lived Chinese dynasty that existed during the Ming–Qing transition. The dynasty was founded in Xi'an on 8 February 1644, the first day of the lunar year, by Li Zicheng, the leade ...
), numerous
rump regimes ruled by remnants of the
Ming imperial family—collectively called the
Southern Ming
The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun force ...
—survived until 1662.
The Ming dynasty's founder, the
Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities ordered in a rigid, immobile system that would guarantee and support a permanent class of soldiers for his dynasty:
the empire's standing army exceeded one million troops and the
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
's dockyards in Nanjing were the largest in the world. He also took great care breaking the power of the
court eunuchs and unrelated magnates,
enfeoffing
In the Middle Ages, especially under the European feudal system, feoffment or enfeoffment was the deed by which a person was given land in exchange for a pledge of service. This mechanism was later used to avoid restrictions on the passage of ti ...
his many sons throughout China and attempting to guide these princes through the ''
Huang-Ming Zuxun
The ''Huang-Ming Zuxun'' (''Instructions of the Ancestor of the August Ming'') were admonitions left by the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Chinese Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an im ...
'', a set of published dynastic instructions. This failed when his teenage successor, the
Jianwen Emperor
The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (), was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402. The era name of his reign, Jianwen, means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp chan ...
, attempted to curtail his uncles' power, prompting the
Jingnan campaign, an uprising that placed the Prince of Yan upon the throne as the
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.
Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
in 1402. The Yongle Emperor established Yan as a secondary capital and renamed it
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, constructed the
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrifi ...
, and restored the
Grand Canal and the primacy of the
imperial examinations in official appointments. He rewarded his eunuch supporters and employed them as a counterweight against the Confucian
scholar-bureaucrats
The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class.
Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...
. One,
Zheng He
Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...
, led seven enormous
voyages of exploration into the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
as far as Arabia and the eastern coasts of Africa.
The rise of new emperors and new factions diminished such extravagances; the capture of the
Emperor Yingzong of Ming
Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in ...
during the 1449
Tumu Crisis
The Crisis of the Tumu Fortress (), also known as the Tumu Crisis (; mn, Тумугийн тулалдаан), or the Jisi Incident (), was a frontier conflict between the Northern Yuan and Ming dynasties. The Oirat ruler of the Northern Yuan, ...
ended them completely. The imperial navy was allowed to fall into disrepair while
forced labor
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...
constructed the Liaodong palisade and connected and fortified the
Great Wall
The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups ...
into its modern form. Wide-ranging censuses of the entire empire were conducted decennially, but the desire to avoid labor and taxes and the difficulty of storing and reviewing the enormous archives at Nanjing hampered accurate figures.
Estimates for the late-Ming population vary from 160 to 200 million, but necessary revenues were squeezed out of smaller and smaller numbers of farmers as more disappeared from the official records or "donated" their lands to tax-exempt eunuchs or temples.
''
Haijin
The Haijin () or sea ban was a series of related isolationist policies in China restricting private maritime trading and coastal settlement during most of the Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty. Despite official proclamations the Ming policy was ...
'' laws intended to protect the coasts from
"Japanese" pirates instead turned many into smugglers and pirates themselves.
By the 16th century, however, the
expansion of European trade – albeit restricted to islands near
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
such as
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
– spread the
Columbian Exchange of crops, plants, and animals into China, introducing
chili pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s to
Sichuan cuisine and highly productive
maize
Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...
and
potatoes, which diminished famines and spurred population growth. The growth of
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, and
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
trade created new demand for Chinese products and produced a massive influx of
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
and
American silver. This abundance of specie remonetized the Ming economy, whose
paper
Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distrib ...
money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...
had suffered repeated
hyperinflation
In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimize their holdings in that currency as t ...
and was no longer trusted. While traditional Confucians opposed such a prominent role for commerce and the newly rich it created, the
heterodoxy introduced by
Wang Yangming
Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese calligrapher, general, philosopher, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty ...
permitted a more accommodating attitude.
Zhang Juzheng
Zhang Juzheng (; 26 May 1525 – 9 July 1582), courtesy name Shuda (), pseudonym Taiyue (), was a Chinese politician who served as Senior Grand Secretary () in the late Ming dynasty during the reigns of the Longqing and Wanli emperors. He rep ...
's initially successful reforms proved devastating when a slowdown in agriculture produced by the
Little Ice Age joined changes in Japanese and Spanish policy that quickly cut off the supply of silver now necessary for farmers to be able to pay their taxes. Combined with crop failure, floods, and
epidemic
An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time.
Epidemics of infectious ...
, the dynasty collapsed in 1644 as Li Zicheng's forces entered Beijing, albeit Li's forces were defeated shortly afterward by the Manchu-led
Eight Banner armies of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
.
History
Founding
Revolt and rebel rivalry
The
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
-led
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...
(1271–1368) ruled before the establishment of the Ming dynasty. Explanations for the demise of the Yuan include institutionalized ethnic discrimination against
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...
that stirred resentment and rebellion, overtaxation of areas hard-hit by
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...
, and massive flooding of the
Yellow River
The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...
as a result of the abandonment of irrigation projects. Consequently, agriculture and the economy were in shambles, and rebellion broke out among the hundreds of thousands of peasants called upon to work on repairing the dykes of the Yellow River. A number of Han Chinese groups revolted, including the
Red Turbans in 1351. The Red Turbans were affiliated with the
White Lotus
The White Lotus () is a syncretic religious and political movement which forecasts the imminent advent of the "King of Light" (), i.e., the future Buddha Maitreya. As White Lotus sects developed, they appealed to many Han Chinese who found sola ...
, a
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
secret society.
Zhu Yuanzhang
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...
was a penniless peasant and Buddhist monk who joined the Red Turbans in 1352; he soon gained a reputation after marrying the foster daughter of a rebel commander. In 1356, Zhu's rebel force captured the city of
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
, which he would later establish as the capital of the Ming dynasty.
With the
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...
crumbling, competing rebel groups began fighting for control of the country and thus the right to
establish a new dynasty. In 1363, Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated his archrival and leader of the rebel Han faction,
Chen Youliang
Chen Youliang (陳友諒; 1320 – 3 October 1363For those cross-referencing the Mingshi, in the old Chinese calendar 至正二十三年 refers to the year 1363 CE, 七月二十日 refers to 8月29日 or 29 August, and 八月二十六日 r ...
, in the
Battle of Lake Poyang
The Battle of Lake Poyang () was a naval conflict which took place (30 August – 4 October 1363) between the rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang during the Red Turban Rebellion which led to the fall of the Yuan dynasty. Chen Youlia ...
, arguably the
largest naval battle in history
The "largest naval battle in history" is a disputed title between adherents of varying criteria which include the numbers of personnel and/or vessels involved in the naval battle, the total displacement of the vessels involved and sometimes the s ...
. Known for its ambitious use of
fire ships
A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...
, Zhu's force of 200,000 Ming sailors were able to defeat a Han rebel force over triple their size, claimed to be 650,000-strong. The victory destroyed the last opposing rebel faction, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang in uncontested control of the bountiful
Yangtze River Valley and cementing his power in the south. After the dynastic head of the Red Turbans suspiciously died in 1367 while a guest of Zhu, there was no one left who was remotely capable of contesting his march to the throne, and he made his imperial ambitions known by sending an army toward the Yuan capital
Dadu (present-day
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
) in 1368. The last Yuan emperor fled north to the upper capital
Shangdu
Shangdu (, ), also known as Xanadu (; Mongolian: ''Šandu''), was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty of China before Kublai decided to move his throne to the former Jin dynasty capital of Zhōngdū () which was renamed Khanbaliq ( pre ...
, and Zhu declared the founding of the Ming dynasty after razing the Yuan palaces in Dadu to the ground; the city was renamed Beiping in the same year. Zhu Yuanzhang took Hongwu, or "Vastly Martial", as his
era name
A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin ''regnum'' meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of ...
.
Reign of the Hongwu Emperor
![A Seated Portrait of Ming Emperor Taizu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/A_Seated_Portrait_of_Ming_Emperor_Taizu.jpg)
Hongwu made an immediate effort to rebuild state infrastructure. He built a long
wall around Nanjing, as well as new palaces and government halls. The ''
History of Ming
The ''History of Ming'' or the ''Ming History'' (''Míng Shǐ'') is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It ...
'' states that as early as 1364 Zhu Yuanzhang had begun drafting a new
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...
law code, the ''Da Ming Lü'', which was completed by 1397 and repeated certain clauses found in the old
Tang Code
The ''Tang Code'' () was a penal code that was established and used during the Tang Dynasty in China. Supplemented by civil statutes and regulations, it became the basis for later dynastic codes not only in China but elsewhere in East Asia. The Cod ...
of 653. Hongwu organized a military system known as the ''weisuo'', which was similar to the
''fubing'' system of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
(618–907).
In 1380 Hongwu had the Chancellor
Hu Weiyong
Hu Weiyong (; died 1380) was a Chinese politician and the last chancellor of the Ming dynasty, from 1373 to 1380. Hu was a main member of Huaixi meritorious group. He was later accused of attempting to rebel and was thus executed by the Hongwu Em ...
executed upon suspicion of a conspiracy plot to overthrow him; after that Hongwu abolished the
Chancellery and assumed this role as chief executive and emperor, a precedent mostly followed throughout the Ming period. With a growing suspicion of his ministers and subjects, Hongwu established the
Jinyiwei
The Embroidered Uniform Guard () was the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China. The guard was founded by the Hongwu Emperor in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards. In 1369 it became an imperial milit ...
, a network of
secret police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of ...
drawn from his own palace guard. Some 100,000 people were executed in a series of purges during his rule.
The Hongwu emperor issued many edicts forbidding Mongol practices and proclaiming his intention to purify China of barbarian influence. However, he also sought to use the Yuan legacy to legitimize his authority in China and other areas ruled by the Yuan. He continued policies of the Yuan dynasty such as continued request for Korean concubines and eunuchs, Mongol-style hereditary military institutions, Mongol-style clothing and hats, promoting archery and horseback riding, and having large numbers of Mongols serve in the Ming military. Until the late 16th century Mongols still constituted one-in-three officers serving in capital forces like the
Embroidered Uniform Guard, and other peoples such as
Jurchens
Jurchen (Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They lived in the northeast of China, later known as Manch ...
were also prominent. He frequently wrote to Mongol, Japanese, Korean, Jurchen, Tibetan, and Southwest frontier rulers offering advice on their governmental and dynastic policy, and insisted on leaders from these regions visiting the Ming capital for audiences. He resettled 100,000 Mongols into his territory, with many serving as guards in the capital. The emperor also strongly advertised the hospitality and role granted to Chinggisid nobles in his court.
Zhu Yuanzhang insisted that he was not a rebel, and he attempted to justify his conquest of the other rebel warlords by claiming that he was a Yuan subject and had been divinely-appointed to restore order by crushing rebels. Most Chinese elites did not view the Yuan's Mongol ethnicity as grounds to resist or reject it. Zhu emphasised that he was not conquering territory from the Yuan dynasty but rather from the rebel warlords. He used this line of argument to attempt to persuade Yuan loyalists to join his cause. The Ming used the tribute they received from former Yuan vassals as proof that the Ming had taken over the Yuan's legitimacy. Tribute missions were regularly celebrated with music and dance in the Ming court.
South-Western frontier
Hui Muslim troops settled in
Changde
Changde ( ) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. In addition to the urban districts, Changde also administers the county-level city of Jinshi and six counties. Changde is adjacent to Dongt ...
,
Hunan
Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi ...
, after serving the Ming in campaigns against aboriginal tribes. In 1381, the Ming dynasty annexed the areas of the southwest that had once been part of the
Kingdom of Dali
The Dali Kingdom, also known as the Dali State (; Bai: Dablit Guaif), was a state situated in modern Yunnan province, China from 937 until 1253. In 1253, it was conquered by the Mongols but members of its former ruling dynasty continued to a ...
following the successful effort by Hui Muslim Ming armies to defeat
Yuan-loyalist Mongol and Hui Muslim troops holding out in Yunnan province. The
Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
troops under General
Mu Ying
Mu Ying (1345–1392) was a Chinese military general and politician during the Ming dynasty, and an adopted son of its founder, the Hongwu Emperor.
When the Ming dynasty emerged, the Hongwu Emperor's military officers who served under him were gi ...
, who was appointed Governor of Yunnan, were resettled in the region as part of a colonization effort. By the end of the 14th century, some 200,000 military colonists settled some 2,000,000 ''mu'' (350,000 acres) of land in what is now
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
and
Guizhou
Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to the ...
. Roughly half a million more Chinese settlers came in later periods; these migrations caused a major shift in the ethnic make-up of the region, since formerly more than half of the population were non-Han peoples. Resentment over such massive changes in population and the resulting government presence and policies sparked more
Miao Miao may refer to:
* Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China
* Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages
* Miao (Unicode ...
and
Yao revolts in 1464 to 1466, which were crushed by an army of 30,000 Ming troops (including 1,000 Mongols) joining the 160,000 local
Guangxi. After the scholar and philosopher
Wang Yangming
Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese calligrapher, general, philosopher, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty ...
(1472–1529) suppressed another rebellion in the region, he advocated single, unitary administration of Chinese and indigenous ethnic groups in order to bring about
sinification
Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...
of the local peoples.
Campaign in the North-East
![Chemin de ronde muraille long](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Chemin_de_ronde_muraille_long.JPG)
After the overthrow of the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
Yuan dynasty
The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fift ...
by the Ming dynasty in 1368, Manchuria remained under control of the Mongols of the
Northern Yuan dynasty
The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen-led Later Ji ...
based in
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
.
Naghachu Naghachu ( mn, Naγaču, script=Latn; ; d. 1388), also written as Nahacu, was an ethnic Mongol leader and general of the Northern Yuan in Manchuria, which was under Liaoyang province of the former Yuan dynasty. Originally a Yuan official, he had wo ...
, a former Yuan official and a
Uriankhai
Uriankhai ( traditional Mongolian: , Mongolian Cyrillic: урианхай; sah, урааҥхай; zh, t=烏梁海, s=乌梁海, p=Wūliánghǎi), Uriankhan (, урианхан) or Uriankhat (, урианхад), is a term of address appli ...
general of the Northern Yuan dynasty, won hegemony over the Mongol tribes in Manchuria (
Liaoyang province
Manchuria under Yuan rule refers to the Yuan dynasty's rule over Manchuria, corresponding to modern Northeast China and Outer Manchuria (including Sakhalin), from 1271 to 1368. Mongol rule over Manchuria was established after the Mongol Empire's ...
of the former Yuan dynasty). He grew strong in the northeast, with forces large enough (numbering hundreds of thousands) to threaten invasion of the newly founded Ming dynasty in order to restore the Mongols to power in China. The Ming decided to defeat him instead of waiting for the Mongols to attack. In 1387 the Ming sent
a military campaign to attack Naghachu, which concluded with the surrender of Naghachu and Ming conquest of Manchuria.
The early Ming court could not, and did not, aspire to the control imposed upon the
Jurchens
Jurchen (Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They lived in the northeast of China, later known as Manch ...
in Manchuria by the Mongols, yet it created a norm of organization that would ultimately serve as the main instrument for the relations with peoples along the northeast frontiers. By the end of the Hongwu reign, the essentials of a policy toward the Jurchens had taken shape. Most of the inhabitants of Manchuria, except for the
Wild Jurchens
The Wild Jurchens () or Haidong Jurchens () were a group of the Jurchens as identified by the Ming Dynasty. They were the northernmost group of the Jurchen people (the other being the Jianzhou Jurchens and Haixi Jurchens). In the 14th century, th ...
, were at peace with China. In 1409, under the Yongle Emperor, the Ming Dynasty established the
Nurgan Regional Military Commission
The Nurgan Regional Military Commission () was a Chinese administrative seat established in Manchuria during the Ming dynasty, located on the banks of the Amur River, about 100 km from the sea, at Nurgan city (modern Tyr, Russia). Nurgan ...
on the banks of the
Amur River, and
Yishiha
Yishiha (; also Išiqa or Isiha; Jurchen: ) (fl. 1409–1451) was a Jurchen eunuch of the Ming dynasty of China. He served the Ming emperors who commissioned several expeditions down the Songhua and Amur Rivers during the period of Ming rule of ...
, a eunuch of
Haixi Jurchen origin, was ordered to lead an expedition to the mouth of the Amur to pacify the Wild Jurchens. After the death of Yongle Emperor, the Nurgan Regional Military Commission was abolished in 1435, and the Ming court ceased to have substantial activities there, although the guards continued to exist in Manchuria. Throughout its existence, the Ming established a total of 384 guards (衛, ''wei'') and 24 battalions (所, ''suo'') in Manchuria, but these were probably only nominal offices and did not necessarily imply political control. By the late Ming period, Ming's political presence in Manchuria has declined significantly.
Relations with Tibet
The ''
Mingshi
The ''History of Ming'' or the ''Ming History'' (''Míng Shǐ'') is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It ...
'' – the official history of the Ming dynasty compiled by the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
in 1739 – states that the Ming established itinerant commanderies overseeing Tibetan administration while also renewing titles of ex-Yuan dynasty officials from
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...
and conferring new princely titles on leaders of
Tibetan Buddhist sects.
However, Turrell V. Wylie states that
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
in the ''Mingshi'' in favor of bolstering the Ming emperor's prestige and reputation at all costs obfuscates the nuanced history of Sino-Tibetan relations during the Ming era.
Modern scholars debate whether the Ming dynasty had
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
over Tibet. Some believe it was a relationship of loose
suzerainty that was largely cut off when the
Jiajing Emperor
The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu Youyuan (1476–1519), Prince of Xing, w ...
(r. 1521–67) persecuted Buddhism in favor of
Daoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
at court. Others argue that the significant religious nature of the relationship with Tibetan lamas is underrepresented in modern scholarship. Others note the Ming need for Central Asian horses and the need to maintain the
tea-horse trade.
The Ming sporadically sent armed forays into Tibet during the 14th century, which the Tibetans successfully resisted. Several scholars point out that unlike the preceding Mongols, the Ming dynasty did not garrison permanent troops in Tibet. The
Wanli Emperor
The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was th ...
(r. 1572–1620) attempted to reestablish Sino-Tibetan relations in the wake of a
Mongol-Tibetan alliance initiated in 1578, an alliance which affected the foreign policy of the subsequent Manchu
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
(1644–1912) in their support for the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...
of the
Yellow Hat sect.
By the late 16th century, the Mongols proved to be successful armed protectors of the Yellow Hat Dalai Lama after their increasing presence in the
Amdo
Amdo ( am˥˥.to˥˥ ) is one of the three traditional Tibetan regions, the others being U-Tsang in the west and Kham in the east. Ngari (including former Guge kingdom) in the north-west was incorporated into Ü-Tsang. Amdo is also the ...
region, culminating in the
conquest of Tibet by
Güshi Khan
Güshi Khan (1582 – 14 January 1655; ) was a Khoshut prince and founder of the Khoshut Khanate, who supplanted the Tumed descendants of Altan Khan as the main benefactor of the Dalai Lama and the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1637, Güshi ...
(1582–1655) in 1642, establishing the
Khoshut Khanate
The Khoshut Khanate was a Mongol Oirat khanate based on the Tibetan Plateau from 1642 to 1717. Based in modern Qinghai, it was founded by Güshi Khan in 1642 after defeating the opponents of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. The r ...
.
Reign of the Yongle Emperor
Rise to power
![Portrait assis de l'empereur Ming Chengzu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Portrait_assis_de_l%27empereur_Ming_Chengzu.jpg)
The
Hongwu Emperor specified his grandson Zhu Yunwen as his successor, and he assumed the throne as the
Jianwen Emperor
The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (), was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402. The era name of his reign, Jianwen, means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp chan ...
(r. 1398–1402) after Hongwu's death in 1398. The most powerful of Hongwu's sons, Zhu Di, then the militarily mighty disagreed with this, and soon a political showdown erupted between him and his nephew Jianwen. After Jianwen arrested many of Zhu Di's associates, Zhu Di plotted a rebellion that sparked a
three-year civil war. Under the pretext of rescuing the young Jianwen from corrupting officials, Zhu Di personally led forces in the revolt; the palace in Nanjing was burned to the ground, along with Jianwen himself, his wife, mother, and courtiers. Zhu Di assumed the throne as the
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.
Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
(r. 1402–24); his reign is universally viewed by scholars as a "second founding" of the Ming dynasty since he reversed many of his father's policies.
New capital and foreign engagement
Yongle demoted Nanjing to a secondary capital and in 1403 announced the new capital of China was to be at his power base in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. Construction of a new city there lasted from 1407 to 1420, employing hundreds of thousands of workers daily. At the center was the political node of the
Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
, and at the center of this was the
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City () is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the Zhongshan Park, the sacrifi ...
, the palatial residence of the emperor and his family. By 1553, the Outer City was added to the south, which brought the overall size of Beijing to .
![Noel 2005 Pékin tombeaux Ming voie des âmes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Noel_2005_P%C3%A9kin_tombeaux_Ming_voie_des_%C3%A2mes.jpg)
Beginning in 1405, the Yongle Emperor entrusted his favored
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...
commander
Zheng He
Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...
(1371–1433) as the admiral for a gigantic new fleet of ships designated for international
tributary missions. Among the kingdoms visited by Zheng He, Yongle proclaimed the
Kingdom of Cochin
The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy wa ...
to be its protectorate.
The Chinese had
sent diplomatic missions over land since the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
(202 BCE – 220 CE) and engaged in
private overseas trade, but these missions were unprecedented in grandeur and scale. To service seven different tributary voyages, the Nanjing shipyards constructed two thousand vessels from 1403 to 1419, including
treasure ships measuring 112 m (370 ft) to 134 m (440 ft) in length and 45 m (150 ft) to 54 m (180 ft) in width.
Yongle used
woodblock printing
Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of textile printing, printing on textiles and later paper. Each page o ...
to spread Chinese culture. He also
used the military to expand China's borders. This included the
brief occupation of Vietnam, from the initial invasion in 1406 until the Ming withdrawal in 1427 as a result of protracted
guerrilla warfare led by
Lê Lợi
Lê Lợi (, Chữ Hán: 黎利; c. 10 September 1384/1385 – 5 October 1433), also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương (平定王; "Prince of Pacification"), was a Vietnam ...
, the founder of the Vietnamese
Lê dynasty.
Tumu Crisis and the Ming Mongols
![Tribute Giraffe with Attendant](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Tribute_Giraffe_with_Attendant.jpg)
The
Oirat leader
Esen Tayisi
Esen ( mn, Эсэн; Mongol script: ; ), (?–1454) was a powerful Oirat taishi and the ''de facto'' ruler of the Northern Yuan dynasty between 12 September 1453 and 1454. He is best known for capturing the Emperor Yingzong of Ming in 1450 in t ...
launched an invasion into Ming China in July 1449. The chief eunuch
Wang Zhen encouraged the
Zhengtong Emperor
Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in ...
(r. 1435–49) to lead a force personally to face the Oirats after a recent Ming defeat; the emperor left the capital and put his half-brother
Zhu Qiyu
The Jingtai Emperor (21 September 1428 – 14 March 1457), born Zhu Qiyu, was the seventh Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1449 to 1457. The second son of the Xuande Emperor, he was selected in 1449 to succeed his elder brother Emper ...
in charge of affairs as temporary regent. On 8 September, Esen routed Zhengtong's army, and Zhengtong was captured – an event known as the
Tumu Crisis
The Crisis of the Tumu Fortress (), also known as the Tumu Crisis (; mn, Тумугийн тулалдаан), or the Jisi Incident (), was a frontier conflict between the Northern Yuan and Ming dynasties. The Oirat ruler of the Northern Yuan, ...
. The Oirats held the Zhengtong Emperor for ransom. However, this scheme was foiled once the emperor's younger brother assumed the throne under the era name
Jingtai (r. 1449–57); the Oirats were also repelled once the Jingtai Emperor's confidant and defense minister
Yu Qian
Yu Qian (; 1398–1457), courtesy name Tingyi, art name Jie'an, was a Chinese official who served under the Ming dynasty.
Biography
Yu Qian was born in Qiantang County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang. He started his career in the Ming civil service after o ...
(1398–1457) gained control of the Ming armed forces. Holding the Zhengtong Emperor in captivity was a useless bargaining chip for the Oirats as long as another sat on his throne, so they released him back into Ming China. The former emperor was placed under house arrest in the palace until the coup against the Jingtai Emperor in 1457 known as the "Wresting the Gate Incident". The former emperor retook the throne under the new era name
Tianshun (r. 1457–64).
Tianshun proved to be a troubled time and Mongol forces within the Ming military structure continued to be problematic. On 7 August 1461, the Chinese general Cao Qin and his Ming troops of Mongol descent
staged a coup against the Tianshun Emperor out of fear of being next on his purge-list of those who aided him in the Wresting the Gate Incident. Cao's rebel force managed to set fire to the western and eastern gates of the
Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
(doused by rain during the battle) and killed several leading ministers before his forces were finally cornered and he was forced to commit suicide.
While the
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.
Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
had staged
five major offensives north of the
Great Wall
The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups ...
against the Mongols and the Oirats, the constant threat of Oirat incursions prompted the Ming authorities to fortify the Great Wall from the late 15th century to the 16th century; nevertheless, John Fairbank notes that "it proved to be a futile military gesture but vividly expressed China's siege mentality." Yet the Great Wall was not meant to be a purely defensive fortification; its towers functioned rather as a series of lit beacons and signalling stations to allow rapid warning to friendly units of advancing enemy troops.
Decline
Reign of the Wanli Emperor
![Wanli-Emperor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Wanli-Emperor.jpg)
The financial drain of the
Imjin War
The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The river i ...
in Korea against the Japanese was one of the many problems – fiscal or other – facing Ming China during the reign of the
Wanli Emperor
The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was th ...
(1572–1620). In the beginning of his reign, Wanli surrounded himself with able advisors and made a conscientious effort to handle state affairs. His Grand Secretary
Zhang Juzheng
Zhang Juzheng (; 26 May 1525 – 9 July 1582), courtesy name Shuda (), pseudonym Taiyue (), was a Chinese politician who served as Senior Grand Secretary () in the late Ming dynasty during the reigns of the Longqing and Wanli emperors. He rep ...
(1572–82) built up an effective network of alliances with senior officials. However, there was no one after him skilled enough to maintain the stability of these alliances; officials soon banded together in opposing political factions. Over time Wanli grew tired of court affairs and frequent political quarreling amongst his ministers, preferring to stay behind the walls of the Forbidden City and out of his officials' sight. Scholar-officials lost prominence in administration as eunuchs became intermediaries between the aloof emperor and his officials; any senior official who wanted to discuss state matters had to persuade powerful eunuchs with a bribe simply to have his demands or message relayed to the emperor. The
Bozhou rebellion
The Bozhou rebellion () was a Miao uprising that occurred in Guizhou and spread to Sichuan and Huguang between 1589 and 1600 during the Ming dynasty.
Events
In 1589, the Bozhou Tusi region (Zunyi, Guizhou) erupted into inter-tribal warfare ...
by the
Chiefdom of Bozhou
The Chiefdom of Bozhou (), ruled by the Yang clan, was an autonomous ''Tusi'' chiefdom established by Yang Duan () during the Tang dynasty. After he conquered the Bozhou Prefecture (centred on modern Zunyi) from the Nanzhao Kingdom, Yang Duan was ...
was going on in southwestern China at the same time as the Imjin War.
Role of eunuchs
![Porcelain tea cups from the reign of the Tianqi Emperor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Porcelain_tea_cups_from_the_reign_of_the_Tianqi_Emperor.jpg)
The Hongwu Emperor forbade eunuchs to learn how to read or engage in politics. Whether or not these restrictions were carried out with absolute success in his reign, eunuchs during the Yongle Emperor's reign (1402–1424) and afterwards managed huge imperial workshops, commanded armies, and participated in matters of appointment and promotion of officials. Yongle put 75 eunuchs in charge of foreign policy; they traveled frequently to vassal states including Annam, Mongolia, the Ryukyu Islands, and Tibet and less frequently to farther-flung places like Japan and Nepal. In the later 15th century, however, eunuch envoys generally only traveled to Korea.
The eunuchs developed their own bureaucracy that was organized parallel to but was not subject to the civil service bureaucracy. Although there were several dictatorial eunuchs throughout the Ming, such as
Wang Zhen, Wang Zhi, and
Liu Jin
Liu Jin (; 28 February 1451 – 25 August 1510) was a powerful Ming dynasty Chinese eunuch during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor.
Liu was famous for being one of the most influential officials in Chinese history. For some time, Liu was the em ...
, excessive tyrannical eunuch power did not become evident until the 1590s when the
Wanli Emperor
The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was th ...
increased their rights over the civil bureaucracy and granted them power to collect provincial taxes.
The eunuch
Wei Zhongxian
Wei Zhongxian (1568 – December 12, 1627), born Wei Si (魏四), was a Chinese court eunuch who lived in the late Ming dynasty. As a eunuch he used the name Li Jinzhong (李进忠). He is considered by most historians as the most notorious eunuc ...
(1568–1627) dominated the court of the
Tianqi Emperor
The Tianqi Emperor (23 December 1605 – 30 September 1627), personal name Zhu Youjiao (), was the 16th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1620 to 1627. He was the eldest son of the Taichang Emperor and a elder brother of the Chongzhe ...
(r. 1620–1627) and had his political rivals tortured to death, mostly the vocal critics from the faction of the
Donglin Society. He ordered temples built in his honor throughout the Ming Empire, and built personal palaces created with funds allocated for building the previous emperor's tombs. His friends and family gained important positions without qualifications. Wei also published a historical work lambasting and belittling his political opponents. The instability at court came right as natural calamity, pestilence, rebellion, and foreign invasion came to a peak. The
Chongzhen Emperor
The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源),''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德 ...
(r. 1627–44) had Wei dismissed from court, which led to Wei's suicide shortly after.
The eunuchs built their own social structure, providing and gaining support to their birth clans. Instead of fathers promoting sons, it was a matter of uncles promoting nephews.
The Heishanhui Society in Peking sponsored the temple that conducted rituals for worshiping the memory of Gang Tie, a powerful eunuch of the Yuan dynasty. The Temple became an influential base for highly placed eunuchs, and continued in a somewhat diminished role during the Qing dynasty.
Economic breakdown and natural disasters
![Ch'iu Ying 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Ch%27iu_Ying_001.jpg)
During the last years of the Wanli era and those of his two successors, an economic crisis developed that was centered on a sudden widespread lack of the empire's chief medium of exchange: silver.
The Portuguese first
established trade with China in 1516, trading Japanese silver for Chinese silk, and after some
initial hostilities gained consent from the Ming court in 1557 to settle
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
as their permanent trade base in China. Their role in providing silver was gradually surpassed by
the Spanish, while even
the Dutch challenged them for control of this trade.
Philip IV of Spain
Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered ...
(r. 1621–1665) began cracking down on illegal smuggling of silver from
New Spain and
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
across the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
through the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
towards China, in favor of
shipping American-mined silver through Spanish ports. In 1639 the new
Tokugawa regime of Japan shut down most of its foreign trade with European powers, cutting off another source of silver coming into China. These events occurring at roughly the same time caused a dramatic spike in the value of silver and made paying taxes nearly impossible for most provinces. People began hoarding precious silver as there was progressively less of it, forcing the ratio of the value of copper to silver into a steep decline. In the 1630s a string of one thousand
copper coins
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
equaled an ounce of silver; by 1640 that sum could fetch half an ounce; and, by 1643 only one-third of an ounce. For peasants this meant economic disaster, since they paid taxes in silver while conducting local trade and crop sales in copper. Recent historians have debated the validity of the theory that silver shortages caused the downfall of the Ming dynasty.
Famines became common in northern China in the early 17th century because of unusually dry and cold weather that shortened the growing season – effects of a larger ecological event now known as the
Little Ice Age. Famine, alongside tax increases, widespread military desertions, a declining relief system, and natural disasters such as flooding and inability of the government to properly manage irrigation and flood-control projects caused widespread loss of life and normal civility. The central government, starved of resources, could do very little to mitigate the effects of these calamities. Making matters worse, a widespread epidemic, the
Great Plague of 1633–1644, spread across China from Zhejiang to Henan, killing an unknown but large number of people. The deadliest earthquake of all time, the
Shaanxi earthquake of 1556, occurred during the
Jiajing Emperor
The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu Youyuan (1476–1519), Prince of Xing, w ...
's reign, killing approximately 830,000 people.
Fall of the Ming
Rise of the Manchus
![Shanhaiguan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Shanhaiguan.jpg)
A
Jurchen tribal leader named Nurhaci (r. 1616–26), starting with just a small tribe, rapidly gained control over all the
Manchurian tribes. He offered to lead his armies to support Ming and
Joseon armies against the
Japanese invasions of Korea
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
in the 1590s. Ming officials declined the offer, but granted him honorific titles. Recognizing the weakness of Ming authority north of their border, he consolidated power by co-opting or conquering his Chinese, Jurchen, and Mongol neighbors. In 1616 he declared himself
Khan and established the
Later Jin dynasty as successor to the
Jurchen Jin dynasty. In 1618 he demanded tribute from the Ming to redress "
Seven Grievances
The ''Seven Grievances'' (Manchu: ''nadan koro''; ) was a manifesto announced by Nurhaci, khan of the Later Jin, on the thirteenth day of the fourth lunar month in the third year of the ''Tianming'' () era of his reign; 7 May 1618. It effectiv ...
."
In 1636, Nurhaci's son
Hong Taiji renamed his dynasty the "
Great Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
" at
Mukden
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu name Mukden, is a major Chinese sub-provincial city and the provincial capital of Liaoning province. Located in central-north Liaoning, it is the prov ...
, which had been made their capital in 1625. Hong Taiji also adopted the Chinese imperial title ''
huangdi'', declared the
Chongde ("Revering Virtue") era, and changed the ethnic name of his people from "Jurchen" to "
Manchu". In 1638 Banner Armies defeated and conquered Joseon 100,000 troops in the
Second Manchu invasion of Korea
The Qing invasion of Joseon (Korean: Byeongja Horan) occurred in the winter of 1636 when the newly-established Qing dynasty invaded the Joseon dynasty, establishing the former's status as the hegemon in the Imperial Chinese Tributary System a ...
. Shortly after, the Koreans renounced their long-held loyalty to the Ming dynasty.
Rebellion, invasion, collapse
A peasant soldier named
Li Zicheng
Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-li ...
mutinied with his fellow soldiers in western Shaanxi in the early 1630s after the Ming government failed to ship much-needed supplies there. In 1634 he was captured by a Ming general and released only on the terms that he return to service. The agreement soon broke down when a local magistrate had thirty-six of his fellow rebels executed; Li's troops retaliated by killing the officials and continued to lead a rebellion based in Rongyang, central
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
province by 1635. By the 1640s, an ex-soldier and rival to Li –
Zhang Xianzhong
Zhang Xianzhong (张献忠 or Chang Hsien-chung; 18 September 1606 – 2 January 1647), nickname Huanghu (literally 'Yellow Tiger'), was a Chinese peasant leader who led a peasant revolt from Yan'an wei, Shaanxi (today Yulin, Shaanxi province) ...
(1606–1647) – had created a firm rebel base in
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese pro ...
,
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...
, while Li's center of power was in
Hubei
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The ...
with extended influence over Shaanxi and Henan.
In 1640, masses of Chinese peasants who were starving, unable to pay their taxes, and no longer in fear of the frequently defeated Chinese army, began to form into huge bands of rebels. The Chinese military, caught between fruitless efforts to defeat the Manchu raiders from the north and huge peasant revolts in the provinces, essentially fell apart. Unpaid and unfed, the army was defeated by Li Zicheng – now self-styled as the Prince of
Shun – and deserted the capital without much of a fight. On 25 April 1644, Beijing fell to a rebel army led by Li Zicheng when the city gates were opened by rebel allies from within. During the turmoil,
Chongzhen
Chongzhen () (5 February 1628 – 25 April 1644) was the era name of the Chongzhen Emperor, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Chongzhen was also the Ming dynasty's final era name.
Comparison table
Other eras contemporaneous with ...
, the last Ming emperor, accompanied only by a eunuch servant, hanged himself
on a tree in the imperial garden right outside the Forbidden City.
[Spence, 25.]
![Ming Chongzhen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Ming_Chongzhen.jpg)
Seizing opportunity, the
Eight Banners
The Eight Banners (in Manchu: ''jakūn gūsa'', ) were administrative and military divisions under the Later Jin and Qing dynasties of China into which all Manchu households were placed. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but the ...
crossed the
Great Wall
The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups ...
after the Ming border general
Wu Sangui (1612–1678) opened the gates at
Shanhai Pass. This occurred shortly after he learned about the fate of the capital and an army of Li Zicheng marching towards him; weighing his options of alliance, he decided to side with the Manchus. The Eight Banners under the Manchu Prince
Dorgon
Dorgon (, ; 17 November 1612 – 31 December 1650), was a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty. Born in the House of Aisin-Gioro as the 14th son of Nurhaci (the founder of the Later Jin dynasty, predecessor of the Qing dynast ...
(1612–1650) and Wu Sangui approached Beijing after the army sent by Li was destroyed at
Shanhaiguan
Shanhai Pass or Shanhaiguan () is one of the major passes in the Great Wall of China, being the easternmost stronghold along the Ming Great Wall, and commands the narrowest choke point in the Liaoxi Corridor. It is located in Shanhaiguan Di ...
; the Prince of Shun's army fled the capital on the fourth of June. On 6 June, the Manchus and Wu entered the capital and proclaimed the young
Shunzhi Emperor ruler of China. After being forced out of
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
by the Qing, chased along the
Han River to
Wuchang
Wuchang forms part of the urban core of and is one of 13 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the ri ...
, and finally along the northern border of
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
province, Li Zicheng died there in the summer of 1645, thus ending the
Shun dynasty
The Shun dynasty (), officially the Great Shun (), was a short-lived Chinese dynasty that existed during the Ming–Qing transition. The dynasty was founded in Xi'an on 8 February 1644, the first day of the lunar year, by Li Zicheng, the leade ...
. One report says his death was a suicide; another states that he was beaten to death by peasants after he was caught stealing their food.
Despite the loss of Beijing and the death of the emperor, the Ming were not yet totally destroyed. Nanjing, Fujian, Guangdong, Shanxi, and Yunnan were all strongholds of Ming resistance. However, there were several pretenders for the Ming throne, and their forces were divided. These scattered Ming remnants in southern China after 1644 were collectively designated by 19th-century historians as the
Southern Ming
The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun force ...
. Each bastion of resistance was individually defeated by the Qing until 1662, when the last Southern Ming emperor,
Zhu Youlang
The Yongli Emperor (; 1623–1662; reigned 18 November 1646 – 1 June 1662), personal name Zhu Youlang, was a royal member to the imperial family of Ming dynasty, and the fourth and last commonly recognised emperor of the Southern Ming, reign ...
, the Yongli Emperor, was captured and executed. Despite the Ming defeat, smaller loyalist movements continued until the proclamation of the
Republic of China.
Government
Province, prefecture, subprefecture, county
![Ming divisions](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Ming_divisions.png)
Described as "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history" by
Edwin O. Reischauer,
John K. Fairbank and
Albert M. Craig, the Ming emperors took over the provincial administration system of the Yuan dynasty, and the thirteen Ming provinces are the precursors of the modern provinces. Throughout the Song dynasty, the largest political division was the
circuit (''lu'' 路). However, after the
Jurchen invasion in 1127, the Song court established four semi-autonomous regional command systems based on territorial and military units, with a detached service secretariat that would become the provincial administrations of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Copied on the Yuan model, the Ming provincial bureaucracy contained three commissions: one civil, one military, and one for surveillance. Below the level of the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
(''sheng'' 省) were
prefectures
A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
(''fu'' 府) operating under a prefect (''zhifu'' 知府), followed by
subprefectures (''zhou'' 州) under a subprefect. The lowest unit was the
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
(''xian'' 縣), overseen by a magistrate. Besides the provinces, there were also two large areas that belonged to no province, but were metropolitan areas (''jing'' 京) attached to Nanjing and Beijing.
Institutions and bureaus
Institutional trends
![Gugong](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Gugong.jpg)
Departing from the main central administrative system generally known as the
Three Departments and Six Ministries
The Three Departments and Six Ministries () system was the primary administrative structure in imperial China from the Sui dynasty (581–618) to the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). It was also used by Balhae (698–926) and Goryeo (918–1392) an ...
system,
which was instituted by various dynasties since late
Han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
(202 BCE – 220 CE), the Ming administration had only one department, the Secretariat, that controlled the six ministries. Following the execution of the
Chancellor Hu Weiyong in 1380, the Hongwu Emperor abolished the Secretariat, the
Censorate
The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC).
The Censorate was a highly effective agency during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). During the M ...
, and the Chief Military Commission and personally took charge of the Six Ministries and the regional Five Military Commissions. Thus a whole level of administration was cut out and only partially rebuilt by subsequent rulers. The
Grand Secretariat
The Grand Secretariat (; Manchu: ''dorgi yamun'') was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the o ...
, at the beginning a secretarial institution that assisted the emperor with administrative paperwork, was instituted, but without employing grand counselors, or
chancellors.
The Hongwu Emperor sent his heir apparent to Shaanxi in 1391 to "tour and soothe" (''xunfu'') the region; in 1421 the Yongle Emperor commissioned 26 officials to travel the empire and uphold similar investigatory and patrimonial duties. By 1430 these ''xunfu'' assignments became institutionalized as "
grand coordinators". Hence, the Censorate was reinstalled and first staffed with investigating censors, later with censors-in-chief. By 1453, the grand coordinators were granted the title vice censor-in-chief or assistant censor-in-chief and were allowed direct access to the emperor. As in prior dynasties, the provincial administrations were monitored by a travelling inspector from the Censorate. Censors had the power to impeach officials on an irregular basis, unlike the senior officials who were to do so only in triennial evaluations of junior officials.
Although decentralization of state power within the provinces occurred in the early Ming, the trend of central government officials delegated to the provinces as virtual provincial governors began in the 1420s. By the late Ming dynasty, there were central government officials delegated to two or more provinces as supreme commanders and viceroys, a system which reined in the power and influence of the military by the civil establishment.
Grand Secretariat and Six Ministries
![Portrait of Jiang Shunfu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Portrait_of_Jiang_Shunfu.jpg)
Governmental institutions in China conformed to a similar pattern for some two thousand years, but each dynasty installed special offices and bureaus, reflecting its own particular interests. The Ming administration utilized
Grand Secretaries to assist the emperor, handling paperwork under the reign of the
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.
Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
and later appointed as top officials of agencies and Grand Preceptor, a top-ranking, non-functional civil service post, under the
Hongxi Emperor
The Hongxi Emperor (16 August 1378 – 29 May 1425), personal name Zhu Gaochi (朱高熾), was the fourth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1424 to 1425. He succeeded his father, the Yongle Emperor, in 1424. His era name "Hongxi" means ...
(r. 1424–25). The Grand Secretariat drew its members from the
Hanlin Academy and were considered part of the imperial authority, not the ministerial one (hence being at odds with both the emperor and ministers at times). The Secretariat operated as a coordinating agency, whereas the Six Ministries
Personnel,
Revenue
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods and services related to the primary operations of the business.
Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some companies receive reven ...
,
Rites
Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, abbreviated as RITES Ltd, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Indian Railways, Ministry of Railways, Government of India. It is an engineering consultancy corporation, specializing in the field ...
,
War
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
,
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
, and
Public Works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
were direct administrative organs of the state:
# The
Ministry of Personnel
The Ministry of Personnel was one of the Six Ministries under the Department of State Affairs in imperial China, Korea, and Vietnam.
Functions
Under the Ming, the Ministry of Personnel was in charge of civil appointments, merit ratings, promotio ...
was in charge of appointments, merit ratings, promotions, and demotions of officials, as well as granting of honorific titles.
# The
Ministry of Revenue was in charge of gathering census data, collecting taxes, and handling state revenues, while there were two offices of currency that were subordinate to it.
# The
Ministry of Rites
The Ministry or Board of Rites was one of the Six Ministries of government in late imperial China. It was part of the imperial Chinese government from the Tang (7th century) until the 1911 Xinhai Revolution. Along with religious rituals and cour ...
was in charge of state ceremonies, rituals, and sacrifices; it also oversaw registers for Buddhist and Daoist priesthoods and even the reception of envoys from tributary states.
# The
Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to:
* Ministry of War (imperial China) (c.600–1912)
* Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946)
* Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919)
* Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999)
* Ministry of War (Estoni ...
was in charge of the appointments, promotions, and demotions of military officers, the maintenance of military installations, equipment, and weapons, as well as the courier system.
# The
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
was in charge of judicial and penal processes, but had no supervisory role over the Censorate or the Grand Court of Revision.
# The
Ministry of Public Works
This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure.
See also
* Public works
* Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...
had charge of government construction projects, hiring of artisans and laborers for temporary service, manufacturing government equipment, the maintenance of roads and canals, standardization of weights and measures, and the gathering of resources from the countryside.
Bureaus and offices for the imperial household
![Ming coinage 14th 17th century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Ming_coinage_14th_17th_century.jpg)
The imperial household was staffed almost entirely by eunuchs and ladies with their own bureaus. Female servants were organized into the Bureau of Palace Attendance, Bureau of Ceremonies, Bureau of Apparel, Bureau of Foodstuffs, Bureau of the Bedchamber, Bureau of Handicrafts, and Office of Staff Surveillance. Starting in the 1420s, eunuchs began taking over these ladies' positions until only the Bureau of Apparel with its four subsidiary offices remained. Hongwu had his eunuchs organized into the Directorate of Palace Attendants, but as eunuch power at court increased, so did their administrative offices, with eventual twelve directorates, four offices, and eight bureaus. The dynasty had a vast imperial household, staffed with thousands of eunuchs, who were headed by the Directorate of Palace Attendants. The eunuchs were divided into different directorates in charge of staff surveillance, ceremonial rites, food, utensils, documents, stables, seals, apparel, and so on. The offices were in charge of providing fuel, music, paper, and baths. The bureaus were in charge of weapons, silverwork, laundering, headgear, bronze work, textile manufacture, wineries, and gardens. At times, the most influential eunuch in the Directorate of Ceremonial acted as a ''de facto'' dictator over the state.
Although the imperial household was staffed mostly by eunuchs and palace ladies, there was a civil service office called the Seal Office, which cooperated with eunuch agencies in maintaining imperial seals, tallies, and stamps. There were also civil service offices to oversee the affairs of imperial princes.
Personnel
Scholar-officials
![Ming-Beamtenprüfungen1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Ming-Beamtenpr%C3%BCfungen1.jpg)
The Hongwu emperor from 1373 to 1384 staffed his bureaus with officials gathered through recommendations only. After that the scholar-officials who populated the many ranks of bureaucracy were recruited through a rigorous
examination system
A standardized test is a test that is administered and scored in a consistent, or "standard", manner. Standardized tests are designed in such a way that the questions and interpretations are consistent and are administered and scored in a predete ...
that was initially established by the
Sui dynasty (581–618). Theoretically the system of exams allowed anyone to join the ranks of imperial officials (although it was frowned upon for merchants to join); in reality the time and funding needed to support the study in preparation for the exam generally limited participants to those already coming from the landholding class. However, the government did exact provincial quotas while drafting officials. This was an effort to curb monopolization of power by landholding gentry who came from the most prosperous regions, where education was the most advanced. The expansion of the
printing industry since Song times enhanced the spread of knowledge and number of potential exam candidates throughout the provinces. For young schoolchildren there were printed multiplication tables and primers for elementary vocabulary; for adult examination candidates there were mass-produced, inexpensive volumes of Confucian classics and successful examination answers.
As in earlier periods, the focus of the examination was classical Confucian texts, while the bulk of test material centered on the
Four Books
The Four Books and Five Classics () are the authoritative books of Confucianism, written in China before 300 BCE. The Four Books and the Five Classics are the most important classics of Chinese Confucianism.
Four Books
The Four Books () are C ...
outlined by
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...
in the 12th century. Ming era examinations were perhaps more difficult to pass since the 1487 requirement of completing the "
eight-legged essay
The eight-legged essay ()
was a style of essay in imperial examinations during the Ming and Qing dynasties in China. The eight-legged essay was needed for those candidates in these civil service tests to show their merits for government service, ...
", a departure from basing essays off progressing literary trends. The exams increased in difficulty as the student progressed from the local level, and appropriate titles were accordingly awarded successful applicants. Officials were classified in nine hierarchic grades, each grade divided into two degrees, with ranging salaries (nominally paid in piculs of rice) according to their rank. While provincial graduates who were appointed to office were immediately assigned to low-ranking posts like the county graduates, those who passed the palace examination were awarded a ''jinshi'' ('presented scholar') degree and assured a high-level position. In 276 years of Ming rule and ninety palace examinations, the number of doctoral degrees granted by passing the palace examinations was 24,874. Ebrey states that "there were only two to four thousand of these ''jinshi'' at any given time, on the order of one out of 10,000 adult males." This was in comparison to the 100,000 ''shengyuan'' ('government students'), the lowest tier of graduates, by the 16th century.
The maximum tenure in office was nine years, but every three years officials were graded on their performance by senior officials. If they were graded as superior then they were promoted, if graded adequate then they retained their ranks, and if graded inadequate they were demoted one rank. In extreme cases, officials would be dismissed or punished. Only capital officials of grade 4 and above were exempt from the scrutiny of recorded evaluation, although they were expected to confess any of their faults. There were over 4,000 school instructors in county and prefectural schools who were subject to evaluations every nine years. The Chief Instructor on the prefectural level was classified as equal to a second-grade county graduate. The Supervisorate of Imperial Instruction oversaw the education of the heir apparent to the throne; this office was headed by a Grand Supervisor of Instruction, who was ranked as first class of grade three.
Historians debate whether the examination system expanded or contracted upward social mobility. On the one hand, the exams were graded without regard to a candidate's social background, and were theoretically open to everyone. In actual practice, the successful candidates had years of a very expensive, sophisticated tutoring of the sort that wealthy gentry families specialized in providing their talented sons. In practice, 90 percent of the population was ineligible due to lack of education, but the upper 10 percent had equal chances for moving to the top. To be successful young men had to have extensive, expensive training in classical Chinese, the use of Mandarin in spoken conversation, calligraphy, and had to master the intricate poetic requirements of the eight-legged essay. Not only did the traditional gentry dominated the system, they also learned that conservatism and resistance to new ideas was the path to success. For centuries critics had pointed out these problems, but the examination system only became more abstract and less relevant to the needs of China. The consensus of scholars is that the eight-legged essay can be blamed as a major cause of "China's cultural stagnation and economic backwardness." However Benjamin Ellman argues there were some positive features, since the essay form was capable of fostering “abstract thinking, persuasiveness, and prosodic form” and that its elaborate structure discouraged a wandering, unfocused narrative”.
Lesser functionaries
![Ming Emperor Xuande playing Golf](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Ming_Emperor_Xuande_playing_Golf.jpg)
Scholar-officials who entered civil service through examinations acted as executive officials to a much larger body of non-ranked personnel called lesser functionaries. They outnumbered officials by four to one; Charles Hucker estimates that they were perhaps as many as 100,000 throughout the empire. These lesser functionaries performed clerical and technical tasks for government agencies. Yet they should not be confused with lowly lictors, runners, and bearers; lesser functionaries were given periodic merit evaluations like officials and after nine years of service might be accepted into a low civil service rank. The one great advantage of the lesser functionaries over officials was that officials were periodically rotated and assigned to different regional posts and had to rely on the good service and cooperation of the local lesser functionaries.
Eunuchs, princes, and generals
![Detail of The Emperor's Approach, Xuande period](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Detail_of_The_Emperor%27s_Approach%2C_Xuande_period.jpg)
Eunuchs gained unprecedented power over state affairs during the Ming dynasty. One of the most effective means of control was the secret service stationed in what was called the Eastern Depot at the beginning of the dynasty, later the Western Depot. This secret service was overseen by the Directorate of Ceremonial, hence this state organ's often totalitarian affiliation. Eunuchs had ranks that were equivalent to civil service ranks, only theirs had four grades instead of nine.
Descendants of the first Ming emperor were made princes and given (typically nominal) military commands, annual stipends, and large estates. The title used was "king" (, ''wáng'') but – unlike the princes in the
Han
Han may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group.
** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...
and
Jin dynasties – these estates were not
feudatories
A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. ...
, the princes did not serve any administrative function, and they partook in military affairs only during the reigns of the first two emperors. The
rebellion of the Prince of Yan was justified in part as upholding the rights of the princes, but once the
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.
Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
was enthroned, he continued his nephew's policy of disarming his brothers and moved their fiefs away from the militarized northern border. Although princes served no organ of state administration, the princes, consorts of the imperial princesses, and ennobled relatives did staff the
Imperial Clan Court
The Imperial Clan Court or Court of the Imperial Clan was an institution responsible for all matters pertaining to the imperial family under the Ming and Qing dynasties of imperial China. This institution also existed under the Nguyễn dynasty o ...
, which supervised the imperial genealogy.
Like scholar-officials, military generals were ranked in a hierarchic grading system and were given merit evaluations every five years (as opposed to three years for officials). However, military officers had less prestige than officials. This was due to their hereditary service (instead of solely merit-based) and Confucian values that dictated those who chose the profession of violence (wu) over the cultured pursuits of knowledge (wen). Although seen as less prestigious, military officers were not excluded from taking civil service examinations, and after 1478 the military even held their own examinations to test military skills. In addition to taking over the established bureaucratic structure from the Yuan period, the Ming emperors established the new post of the travelling military inspector. In the early half of the dynasty, men of noble lineage dominated the higher ranks of military office; this trend was reversed during the latter half of the dynasty as men from more humble origins eventually displaced them.
Society and culture
Literature and arts
Literature
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
,
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
,
poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
,
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...
, and
Chinese opera of various types flourished during the Ming dynasty, especially in the economically prosperous lower Yangzi valley. Although short fiction had been popular as far back as the Tang dynasty (618–907), and the works of contemporaneous authors such as Xu Guangqi, Xu Xiake, and Song Yingxing were often technical and encyclopedic, the most striking literary development was the vernacular novel. While the gentry elite were educated enough to fully comprehend the language of
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning
"literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning
"literar ...
, those with rudimentary education – such as women in educated families, merchants, and shop clerks – became a large potential audience for literature and performing arts that employed
Vernacular Chinese
Written vernacular Chinese, also known as Baihua () or Huawen (), is the forms of written Chinese based on the varieties of Chinese spoken throughout China, in contrast to Classical Chinese, the written standard used during imperial China up t ...
. Literati scholars edited or developed
major Chinese novels into mature form in this period, such as ''
Water Margin
''Water Margin'' (''Shuihu zhuan'') is one of the earliest Chinese novels written in vernacular Mandarin, and is attributed to Shi Nai'an. It is also translated as ''Outlaws of the Marsh'' and ''All Men Are Brothers''.
The story, which is ...
'' and ''
Journey to the West
''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popul ...
''. ''
Jin Ping Mei
''Jin Ping Mei'' () — translated into English as ''The Plum in the Golden Vase'' or ''The Golden Lotus'' — is a Chinese novel of manners composed in vernacular Chinese during the latter half of the 16th century during the late Ming dynasty ...
'', published in 1610, although incorporating earlier material, marks the trend toward independent composition and concern with psychology. In the later years of the dynasty,
Feng Menglong
Feng Menglong (1574–1646), courtesy names Youlong (), Gongyu (), Ziyou (), or Eryou (), was a Chinese historian, novelist, and poet of the late Ming Dynasty. He was born in Changzhou County, now part of Suzhou, in Jiangsu Province.
Life
Fe ...
and
Ling Mengchu innovated with vernacular short fiction. Theater scripts were equally imaginative. The most famous, ''
The Peony Pavilion ''The Peony Pavilion'' ( zh, t=牡丹亭, s=牡丹亭, p=Mǔdān tíng, w=Mu-tan t'ing), also named ''The Return of Soul at the Peony Pavilion'', is a romantic tragicomedy play written by dramatist Tang Xianzu in 1598. The plot was drawn from the ...
'', was written by
Tang Xianzu
Tang Xianzu (; September 24, 1550 – July 29, 1616), courtesy name Yireng (), was a Chinese playwright of the Ming Dynasty.
Biography
Tang was a native of Linchuan, Jiangxi and his career as an official consisted principally of low-leve ...
(1550–1616), with its first performance at the
Pavilion of Prince Teng
The Pavilion of Prince Teng () is a building in the North West of the city of Nanchang, in Jiangxi province, China, on the east bank of the Gan River and is one of the Three Great Towers of southern China. The other two are the Yueyang Tower an ...
in 1598.
Informal essay and travel writing was another highlight.
Xu Xiake
Xu Xiake (, January 5, 1587 – March 8, 1641), born Xu Hongzu (), courtesy name Zhenzhi (), was a Chinese travel writer and geographer of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery ...
(1587–1641), a
travel literature
The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs.
One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern pe ...
author, published his ''Travel Diaries'' in 404,000 written
characters
Character or Characters may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk
* ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...
, with information on everything from local
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...
to
mineralogy. The first reference to the publishing of private newspapers in Beijing was in 1582; by 1638 the ''
Peking Gazette
The ''Peking Gazette'' was an official bulletin published with changing frequency in Beijing until 1912, when the Qing dynasty fell and Republican China was born. The translated name, as it is known to Western sources, comes from Ming dynasty-era ...
'' switched from using
woodblock print
Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of printing on textiles and later paper. Each page or image is create ...
to
movable type
Movable type (US English; moveable type in British English) is the system and technology of printing and typography that uses movable components to reproduce the elements of a document (usually individual alphanumeric characters or punctuation m ...
printing. The new literary field of the moral guide to business ethics was developed during the late Ming period, for the readership of the merchant class.
![Mingdynasty](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Mingdynasty.jpg)
In contrast to Xu Xiake, who focused on technical aspects in his travel literature, the Chinese poet and official
Yuan Hongdao (1568–1610) used travel literature to express his desires for individualism as well as autonomy from and frustration with Confucian court politics. Yuan desired to free himself from the ethical compromises that were inseparable from the career of a scholar-official. This anti-official sentiment in Yuan's travel literature and poetry was actually following in the tradition of the Song dynasty poet and official
Su Shi
Su Shi (; 8 January 1037 – 24 August 1101), courtesy name Zizhan (), art name Dongpo (), was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, gastronomer, pharmacologist, poet, politician, and travel writer during the Song dynasty. A major personality of ...
(1037–1101). Yuan Hongdao and his two brothers, Yuan Zongdao (1560–1600) and
Yuan Zhongdao
Yuan Zhongdao (袁中道, Wade-Giles ''Yüan Chung-tao''; 1570–1624) was a Chinese poet, essayist, travel diarist and official was born in Kung-an in Hu-kuang.
History
He shares his fame with two other brothers, Yuan Zongdao (1560–1 ...
(1570–1623), were the founders of the Gong'an School of letters. This highly individualistic school of poetry and prose was criticized by the Confucian establishment for its association with intense sensual lyricism, which was also apparent in Ming vernacular novels such as the ''Jin Ping Mei''. Yet even gentry and scholar-officials were affected by the new popular romantic literature, seeking courtesans as soulmates to re-enact the heroic love stories that arranged marriages often could not provide or accommodate.
![Chen Hongshou, leaf album painting](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Chen_Hongshou%2C_leaf_album_painting.jpg)
Famous painters included
Ni Zan
Ni Zan (; 1301–1374) was a Chinese painter during the Yuan and early Ming periods. Along with Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, and Wang Meng, he is considered to be one of the Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty.
Life
Ni Zan was born into a wealth ...
and
Dong Qichang
Dong Qichang (; courtesy name Xuanzai (玄宰); 1555–1636), was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, politician, and art theorist of the later period of the Ming dynasty.
Life as a scholar and calligrapher
Dong Qichang was a native of Hua Ting (l ...
, as well as the
Four Masters of the Ming dynasty
The Four Masters of the Ming dynasty () are a traditional grouping in Chinese art history of four famous Chinese painters that lived during the Ming dynasty. The group consists of Shen Zhou (1427–1509), Wen Zhengming (1470–1559), Tang Yin (1 ...
,
Shen Zhou
Shen Zhou (, 1427–1509), courtesy names Qi'nan () and Shitian (), was a Chinese painting, Chinese painter in the Ming dynasty. He lived during the post-transition period of the Yuan conquest of the Ming. Luckily, his family worked closely with ...
,
Tang Yin,
Wen Zhengming
Wen Zhengming (28 November 1470 – 1559), born Wen Bi, was a Chinese painter, calligrapher, and poet during the Ming dynasty. He was regarded as one of the Four Masters of Ming painting.
Biography
Wen Zhengming was born Wen Bi near present-day ...
, and
Qiu Ying
Qiu Ying (; 1494 – 1552)Cihai page 211. was a Chinese painter of the Ming dynasty who specialised in the ''gongbi'' brush technique.
Early life
Qiu Ying's courtesy name was Shifu (), and his art name was Shizhou (). He was born to a peasan ...
. They drew upon the techniques, styles, and complexity in painting achieved by their Song and Yuan predecessors, but added techniques and styles. Well-known Ming artists could make a living simply by painting due to the high prices they demanded for their artworks and the great demand by the highly cultured community to collect precious works of art. The artist Qiu Ying was once paid 2.8 kg (100 oz) of silver to paint a long handscroll for the eightieth birthday celebration of the mother of a wealthy patron. Renowned artists often gathered an entourage of followers, some who were amateurs who painted while pursuing an official career and others who were full-time painters.
The period was also renowned for ceramics and porcelains. The major production center for porcelain was the
imperial kilns at Jingdezhen in
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
province, most famous in the period for
blue and white porcelain, but also producing other styles. The
Dehua porcelain factories in
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
catered to European tastes by creating
Chinese export porcelain
Chinese export porcelain includes a wide range of Chinese porcelain that was made (almost) exclusively for export to Europe and later to North America between the 16th and the 20th century. Whether wares made for non-Western markets are covered b ...
by the late 16th century. Individual potters also became known, such as
He Chaozong
He Chaozong () was a celebrated early 17th-century Chinese potter. He Chaozong fashioned mainly Buddhist white porcelain statuary in the tradition of the Dehua kilns in Fujian Province, known in the west as Blanc-de-Chine. Little documentary ev ...
, who became famous in the early 17th century for his style of
white porcelain sculpture. In ''The Ceramic Trade in Asia'', Chuimei Ho estimates that about 16% of late Ming era Chinese ceramic exports were sent to Europe, while the rest were destined for Japan and South East Asia.
Carved designs in lacquerware and designs glazed onto
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
wares displayed intricate scenes similar in complexity to those in painting. These items could be found in the homes of the wealthy, alongside embroidered silks and wares in
jade, ivory, and
cloisonné
Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...
. The houses of the rich were also furnished with rosewood furniture and feathery
latticework. The writing materials in a scholar's private study, including elaborately carved brush holders made of stone or wood, were designed and arranged ritually to give an aesthetic appeal.
Connoisseurship in the late Ming period centered on these items of refined artistic taste, which provided work for art dealers and even underground scammers who themselves made imitations and false attributions. The Jesuit
Matteo Ricci while staying in Nanjing wrote that Chinese scam artists were ingenious at making forgeries and huge profits. However, there were guides to help the wary new connoisseur;
Liu Tong
Liu Tong (, c. 1593–1637) was a Chinese politician and writer from Macheng in Huanggang. He was a figure in the Ming Dynasty's Jingling school () of Chinese prose literature in contrast to the Gongan school () and the well known Yuan Hongdao ...
(died 1637) wrote a book printed in 1635 that told his readers how to spot fake and authentic pieces of art. He revealed that a
Xuande era (1426–1435) bronze work could be authenticated by judging its sheen; porcelain wares from the Yongle era (1402–1424) could be judged authentic by their thickness.
Religion
![SFEC BritMus Asia 021](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/SFEC_BritMus_Asia_021.JPG)
The dominant religious beliefs during the Ming dynasty were the various forms of
Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
and the
Three Teachings
In Chinese philosophy, the ''three teachings'' (; vi, tam giáo, Chữ Hán: 三教) are Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, considered as a harmonious aggregate. Literary references to the "three teachings" by prominent Chinese scholars date ba ...
–
Confucianism
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...
,
Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
, and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
. The
Yuan-supported
Tibetan lamas fell from favor, and the early Ming emperors particularly favored Taoism, granting its practitioners many positions in the state's ritual offices.
The Hongwu Emperor curtailed the cosmopolitan culture of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, and the prolific Prince of Ning
Zhu Quan
Zhu Quan (; 27 May 1378 – 12 October 1448), the Prince of Ning (), was a Chinese historian, military commander, musician, and playwright. He was the 17th son of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty. During his life, he served as a mili ...
even composed one encyclopedia attacking Buddhism as a foreign "mourning cult", deleterious to the state, and another encyclopedia that subsequently joined the
Taoist canon
Daozang (), meaning 'Taoist Canon', consists of around 1,400 texts that were collected (after the '' Daodejing'' and '' Zhuangzi'' and Liezi which are the core Taoist texts). They were collected by Taoist monks of the period in an attempt to b ...
.
The Yongle emperor and later emperors strongly patronised Tibetan Buddhism by supporting construction, printing of sutras, ceremonies etc., to seek legitimacy among foreign audiences. Yongle tried to portray himself as a Buddhist ideal king, a cakravartin. There is evidence that this portrayal was successful in persuading foreign audiences.
Islam was also well-established throughout China, with a history said to have begun with
Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas
, image = File:Saad ibn Abi Waqqas Masjid an-Nabawi Calligraphy.png
, alt =
, caption = His name in Arabic calligraphy
, birth_date =
, death_date =
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia
, death_place ...
during the Tang dynasty and strong official support
during the Yuan. Although the Ming
sharply curtailed this support, there were still several prominent Muslim figures early on, including the Yongle Emperor's powerful eunuch
Zheng He
Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...
. The Hongwu Emperor's generals Chang Yuqun,
Lan Yu, Ding Dexing, and
Mu Ying
Mu Ying (1345–1392) was a Chinese military general and politician during the Ming dynasty, and an adopted son of its founder, the Hongwu Emperor.
When the Ming dynasty emerged, the Hongwu Emperor's military officers who served under him were gi ...
have also been identified as Muslim by Hui scholars, though this is doubted by non-Muslim sources. Regardless, the presence of Muslims in the armies that drove the Mongols northwards caused a gradual shift in the Chinese perception of Muslims, transitioning from "foreigners" to "familiar strangers". Mongol and Central Asian
Semu
Semu () is the name of a caste established by the Yuan dynasty. The 31 Semu categories referred to people who came from Central and West Asia. They had come to serve the Yuan dynasty by enfranchising under the dominant Mongol caste. The Semu were ...
Muslim women and men were required by
Ming Code to marry Han Chinese after the first Ming Emperor
Hongwu
Hongwu () (23 January 1368 – 5 February 1399) was the era name of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty of China. Hongwu was also the Ming dynasty's first era name.
Comparison table
Other eras contemporaneous with Hongwu
* C ...
passed the law in Article 122.
The Hongwu Emperor wrote a
a 100 character praise of Islam and the prophet Muhammad. The Ming Emperors strongly sponsored the construction of mosques and granted generous liberties for the practice of Islam.
![He Chaozong 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/He_Chaozong_1.JPG)
The advent of the Ming was initially devastating to Christianity: in his first year, the
Hongwu Emperor declared the eighty-year-old
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
missions among the Yuan heterodox and illegal. The centuries-old
Church of the East in China
The Church of the East (also known as the Nestorian Church) historically had a presence in China during two periods: first from the 7th through the 10th century in the Tang dynasty, when it was known as ''Jingjiao'' ( zh, t=景教, w=Ching3-chiao ...
also disappeared. During the later Ming a new wave of Christian missionaries arrived – particularly
Jesuits
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders = ...
– who employed new western science and technology in their arguments for conversion. They were educated in Chinese language and culture at
St. Paul's College on
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
after its founding in 1579. The most influential was
Matteo Ricci, whose "
Map of the Myriad Countries of the World" upended
traditional geography throughout East Asia, and whose work with the convert
Xu Guangqi
Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborato ...
led to the first Chinese translation of
Euclid
Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...
's ''
Elements'' in 1607. The discovery of a
Xi'an Stele
The Xi'an Stele or the Jingjiao Stele ( zh, c=景教碑, p= Jǐngjiào bēi), sometimes translated as the "Nestorian Stele," is a Tang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of early Christianity in China. It is a limestone block ...
at
Xi'an
Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...
in 1625 also permitted Christianity to be treated as an old and established faith, rather than as a new and dangerous cult. However, there were strong disagreements about the extent to which converts could continue to perform rituals to the
emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
,
Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
, or their
ancestors
An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from w ...
: Ricci had been very accommodating and an attempt by his successors to backtrack from this policy led to the
Nanjing Incident of 1616, which exiled four Jesuits to
Macau
Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...
and forced the others out of public life for six years. A series of spectacular failures by the
Chinese astronomers – including missing an eclipse easily computed by Xu Guangqi and
Sabatino de Ursis – and a return by the Jesuits to presenting themselves as educated scholars in the Confucian mold restored their fortunes. However, by the end of the Ming the
Dominicans had begun the
Chinese Rites controversy
The Chinese Rites controversy () was a dispute among Roman Catholic missionaries over the religiosity of Confucianism and Chinese rituals during the 17th and 18th centuries. The debate discussed whether Chinese ritual practices of honoring fa ...
in Rome that would eventually lead to a full ban of Christianity under the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
.
During his mission, Ricci was also contacted in Beijing by one of the approximately 5,000
Kaifeng Jews
The Kaifeng Jews ( zh, t=開封猶太族, p=Kāifēng Yóutàizú; he, יהדות קאיפנג ''Yahădūt Qāʾyfeng'') are members of a small community of descendants of Chinese Jews in Kaifeng, in the Henan province of China. In the early ...
and introduced them and
their long history in China to Europe. However, the
1642 flood caused by Kaifeng's Ming governor devastated the community, which lost five of its twelve families, its synagogue, and most of its Torah.
[.]
Philosophy
Wang Yangming's Confucianism
![Wang-yang-ming](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Wang-yang-ming.jpg)
During the Ming dynasty, the
Neo-Confucian
Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in t ...
doctrines of the
Song
A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...
scholar
A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researc ...
Zhu Xi
Zhu Xi (; ; October 18, 1130 – April 23, 1200), formerly romanized Chu Hsi, was a Chinese calligrapher, historian, philosopher, poet, and politician during the Song dynasty. Zhu was influential in the development of Neo-Confucianism. He con ...
were embraced by the court and the Chinese literati at large, although the direct line of his school was destroyed by the
Yongle Emperor
The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.
Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
's
extermination of the ten degrees of kinship of
Fang Xiaoru
Fang Xiaoru (; 1357–1402), courtesy name Xizhi (希直) or Xigu (希古), was a Chinese politician and Confucian scholar of the Ming dynasty. He was an orthodox Confucian scholar-bureaucrat, famous for his continuation of the Jinhua school of ...
in 1402. The Ming scholar most influential upon subsequent generations, however, was
Wang Yangming
Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese calligrapher, general, philosopher, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty ...
(1472–1529), whose teachings were attacked in his own time for their similarity to
Chan Buddhism. Building upon Zhu Xi's concept of the "extension of knowledge" ( or ), gaining understanding through careful and rational investigation of things and events, Wang argued that universal concepts would appear in the minds of anyone. Therefore, he claimed that anyone – no matter their pedigree or education – could become as wise as
Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
and
Mencius had been and that their writings were not sources of truth but merely guides that might have flaws when carefully examined. A peasant with a great deal of experience and intelligence would then be wiser than an official who had memorized the
Classics but not experienced the real world.
Conservative reaction
![Confucius on his way to Luoyang](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Confucius_on_his_way_to_Luoyang.jpg)
Other
scholar-bureaucrat
The scholar-officials, also known as literati, scholar-gentlemen or scholar-bureaucrats (), were government officials and prestigious scholars in Chinese society, forming a distinct social class.
Scholar-officials were politicians and governmen ...
s were wary of Wang's heterodoxy, the increasing number of his disciples while he was still in office, and his overall socially rebellious message. To curb his influence, he was often sent out to deal with military affairs and rebellions far away from the capital. Yet his ideas penetrated mainstream Chinese thought and spurred new interest in Taoism and Buddhism. Furthermore, people began to question the validity of the social hierarchy and the idea that the scholar should be above the farmer. Wang Yangming's disciple and salt-mine worker Wang Gen gave lectures to commoners about pursuing education to improve their lives, while his follower He Xinyin () challenged the elevation and emphasis of the family in Chinese society. His contemporary
Li Zhi Li Zhi may refer to:
*Emperor Gaozong of Tang (628–683), named Li Zhi, Emperor of China
*Li Ye (mathematician) (1192–1279), Chinese mathematician and scholar, birth name Li Zhi
*Li Zhi (philosopher) (1527–1602), Chinese philosopher from the M ...
even taught that women were the intellectual equals of men and should be given a better education; both Li and He eventually died in prison, jailed on charges of spreading "dangerous ideas". Yet these "dangerous ideas" of educating women had long been embraced by some mothers and by
courtesan
Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...
s who were as literate and skillful in calligraphy, painting, and poetry as their male guests.
The liberal views of Wang Yangming were opposed by the
Censorate
The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC).
The Censorate was a highly effective agency during the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). During the M ...
and by the
Donglin Academy
The Donglin Academy (, Wade–Giles ''Tung-lin''), also known as the Guishan Academy (龜山書院 ''Guīshān Shūyuàn''), was a former Chinese educational institution in Wuxi, China. It was originally built in 1111 during the Northern Song dyna ...
, re-established in 1604. These conservatives wanted a revival of orthodox Confucian ethics. Conservatives such as Gu Xiancheng (1550–1612) argued against Wang's idea of innate moral knowledge, stating that this was simply a legitimization for unscrupulous behavior such as greedy pursuits and personal gain. These two strands of Confucian thought, hardened by Chinese scholars' notions of obligation towards their mentors, developed into pervasive factionalism among the ministers of state, who used any opportunity to impeach members of the other faction from court.
Urban and rural life
Wang Gen was able to give philosophical lectures to many commoners from different regions because – following the trend already apparent in the Song dynasty – communities in Ming society were becoming less isolated as the distance between market towns was shrinking. Schools, descent groups, religious associations, and other local voluntary organizations were increasing in number and allowing more contact between educated men and local villagers.
Jonathan Spence writes that the distinction between what was town and country was blurred in Ming China, since suburban areas with farms were located just outside and in some cases within the walls of a city. Not only was the blurring of town and country evident, but also of socioeconomic class in the traditional four occupations (''Shì nóng gōng shāng'', ), since artisans sometimes worked on farms in peak periods, and farmers often traveled into the city to find work during times of dearth.
A variety of occupations could be chosen or inherited from a father's line of work. This would include – but was not limited to – coffin makers, ironworkers and blacksmiths, tailors, cooks and noodle-makers, retail merchants, tavern, teahouse, or winehouse managers, shoemakers, seal cutters, pawnshop owners, brothel heads, and merchant bankers engaging in a proto-banking system involving notes of exchange. Virtually every town had a
brothel where female and male prostitutes could be had. Male catamites fetched a higher price than female concubines since
pederasty
Pederasty or paederasty ( or ) is a sexual relationship between an adult man and a pubescent or adolescent boy. The term ''pederasty'' is primarily used to refer to historical practices of certain cultures, particularly ancient Greece and an ...
with a teenage boy was seen as a mark of elite status, regardless of
sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sod ...
being repugnant to sexual norms.
Public bathing
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
became much more common than in earlier periods. Urban shops and retailers sold a variety of goods such as
special paper money to burn at ancestral sacrifices, specialized luxury goods, headgear, fine cloth, teas, and others. Smaller communities and townships too poor or scattered to support shops and artisans obtained their goods from periodic market fairs and traveling peddlers. A small township also provided a place for simple schooling, news and gossip, matchmaking, religious festivals, traveling theater groups, tax collection, and bases of famine relief distribution.
Farming villagers in the north spent their days harvesting crops like wheat and millet, while farmers south of the
Huai River
The Huai River (), formerly romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins in China, and like them runs from west to ea ...
engaged in intensive rice cultivation and had lakes and ponds where ducks and fish could be raised. The cultivation of mulberry trees for silkworms and tea bushes could be found mostly south of the
Yangzi River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...
; even further south
sugarcane and citrus were grown as basic crops. Some people in the mountainous southwest made a living by selling lumber from hard bamboo. Besides cutting down trees to sell wood, the poor also made a living by turning wood into charcoal, and by burning
oyster
Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...
shells to make
lime
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a color between yellow and green
Lime may also refer to:
Botany ...
and fired pots, and weaving mats and baskets. In the north traveling by horse and carriage was most common, while in the south the myriad of rivers, canals, and lakes provided cheap and easy water transport. Although the south had the characteristic of the wealthy landlord and tenant farmers, there were on average many more owner-cultivators north of the Huai River due to harsher climate, living not far above subsistence level.
Early Ming dynasty saw the strictest
sumptuary laws
Sumptuary laws (from Latin ''sūmptuāriae lēgēs'') are laws that try to regulate consumption. ''Black's Law Dictionary'' defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expendi ...
in Chinese history. It was illegal for commoners to wear fine silk or dress in bright red, dark green or yellow colors; nor could they wear boots or ''
guan'' hats. Women could not use ornaments made from gold, jade, pearl or emerald. Merchants and their families were further banned from using silk. However, these laws were no longer enforced from the middle Ming period onwards.
Science and technology
![Chinese Fining and Blast Furnace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Chinese_Fining_and_Blast_Furnace.jpg)
After the flourishing of
science and technology in the Song dynasty, the Ming dynasty perhaps saw fewer advancements in science and technology compared to the pace of discovery in the
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. . In fact, key advances in Chinese science in the late Ming were spurred by contact with Europe. In 1626
Johann Adam Schall von Bell
Johann Adam Schall von Bell (1 May 1591 – 15 August 1666) was a German Jesuit, astronomer and instrument-maker. He spent most of his life as a missionary in China (where he is remembered as "Tang Ruowang") and became an adviser to the Shunz ...
wrote the first Chinese treatise on the
telescope
A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...
, the ''Yuanjingshuo'' (''Far Seeing Optic Glass''); in 1634 the
Chongzhen Emperor
The Chongzhen Emperor (; 6 February 1611 – 25 April 1644), personal name Zhu Youjian (), courtesy name Deyue (),Wang Yuan (王源),''Ju ye tang wen ji'' (《居業堂文集》), vol. 19. "聞之張景蔚親見烈皇帝神主題御諱字德 ...
acquired the telescope of the late
Johann Schreck
Johann(es) Schreck, also Terrenz or Terrentius Constantiensis, Deng Yuhan Hanpo 鄧玉函, Deng Zhen Lohan, (1576, Bingen, Baden-Württemberg or Constance – 11 May 1630, Beijing) was a German Jesuit, missionary to China and polymath. He is ...
(1576–1630). The
heliocentric model of the solar system was rejected by the Catholic missionaries in China, but
Johannes Kepler and
Galileo Galilei
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He wa ...
's ideas slowly trickled into China starting with the Polish Jesuit
Michael Boym
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
(1612–1659) in 1627, Adam Schall von Bell's treatise in 1640, and finally
Joseph Edkins
Joseph Edkins (19 December 1823 – 23 April 1905) was a British Protestant missionary who spent 57 years in China, 30 of them in Beijing. As a Sinologue, he specialised in Chinese religions. He was also a linguist, a translator, and a philolo ...
,
Alex Wylie, and
John Fryer in the 19th century. Catholic Jesuits in China would promote
Copernican theory at court, yet at the same time embrace the
Ptolemaic system in their writing; it was not until 1865 that Catholic missionaries in China sponsored the heliocentric model as their Protestant peers did. Although
Shen Kuo (1031–1095) and
Guo Shoujing (1231–1316) had laid the basis for
trigonometry
Trigonometry () is a branch of mathematics that studies relationships between side lengths and angles of triangles. The field emerged in the Hellenistic world during the 3rd century BC from applications of geometry to astronomical studies ...
in China, another important work in Chinese trigonometry would not be published again until 1607 with the efforts of Xu Guangqi and Matteo Ricci. Ironically, some inventions which had their origins in ancient China were reintroduced to China from Europe during the late Ming; for example, the
field mill
Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town Football Club.
It is the oldest ground in the Football League, hosting footb ...
.
The
Chinese calendar was in need of reform since it inadequately measured the
solar year
A tropical year or solar year (or tropical period) is the time that the Sun takes to return to the same position in the sky of a celestial body of the Solar System such as the Earth, completing a full cycle of seasons; for example, the time f ...
at 365 ¼ days, giving an error of 10 min and 14 sec a year or roughly a full day every 128 years. Although the Ming had adopted
Guo Shoujing's ''Shoushi'' calendar of 1281, which was just as accurate as the
Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
, the Ming Directorate of Astronomy failed to periodically readjust it; this was perhaps due to their lack of expertise since their offices had become hereditary in the Ming and the Statutes of the Ming prohibited private involvement in astronomy. A sixth-generation descendant of the Hongxi Emperor, the "Prince"
Zhu Zaiyu
Zhu or ZHU may refer to:
* Zhu (surname), common Chinese surnames
*Zhu River, or Pearl River, in southern China
*Zhu (state), ancient Chinese state, later renamed Zou
*House of Zhu, the ruling house of the Ming dynasty in Chinese history
*Zhu (str ...
(1536–1611), submitted a proposal to fix the calendar in 1595, but the ultra-conservative astronomical commission rejected it. This was the same Zhu Zaiyu who discovered the system of tuning known as
equal temperament, a discovery made simultaneously by
Simon Stevin
Simon Stevin (; 1548–1620), sometimes called Stevinus, was a Flemish mathematician, scientist and music theorist. He made various contributions in many areas of science and engineering, both theoretical and practical. He also translated vario ...
(1548–1620) in Europe. In addition to publishing his works on music, he was able to publish his findings on the calendar in 1597. A year earlier, the memorial of Xing Yunlu suggesting a calendar improvement was rejected by the Supervisor of the Astronomical Bureau due to the law banning private practice of astronomy; Xing would later serve with Xu Guangqi in reforming the calendar (Chinese: ) in 1629 according to Western standards.
![Ming-marine-compass](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Ming-marine-compass.jpg)
When the Ming founder Hongwu came upon the mechanical devices housed in the Yuan dynasty's palace at Khanbaliq – such as fountains with balls dancing on their jets,
self-operating tiger automata, dragon-headed devices that spouted mists of perfume, and
mechanical clocks in the tradition of
Yi Xing
Yi Xing (, 683–727), born Zhang Sui (), was a Chinese astronomer, Buddhist monk, inventor, mathematician, mechanical engineer, and philosopher during the Tang dynasty. His astronomical celestial globe featured a liquid-driven escapement, the ...
(683–727) and
Su Song (1020–1101) – he associated all of them with the decadence of Mongol rule and had them destroyed. This was described in full length by the Divisional Director of the Ministry of Works, Xiao Xun, who also carefully preserved details on the architecture and layout of the Yuan dynasty palace. Later, European Jesuits such as Matteo Ricci and
Nicolas Trigault
Nicolas Trigault (1577–1628) was a Jesuit, and a missionary in China. He was also known by his latinised name Nicolaus Trigautius or Trigaultius, and his Chinese name Jin Nige ().
Life and work
Born in Douai (then part of the County of Flanders ...
would briefly mention indigenous Chinese clockworks that featured drive wheels. However, both Ricci and Trigault were quick to point out that 16th-century European clockworks were far more advanced than the common time keeping devices in China, which they listed as
water clock
A water clock or clepsydra (; ; ) is a timepiece by which time is measured by the regulated flow of liquid into (inflow type) or out from (outflow type) a vessel, and where the amount is then measured.
Water clocks are one of the oldest time- ...
s,
incense clock
The incense clock () is a timekeeping device that originated from China during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and spread to neighboring East Asian countries such as Japan and Korea. The clocks' bodies are effectively specialized censers that hold i ...
s, and "other instruments ... with wheels rotated by sand as if by water" (Chinese: ). Chinese records – namely the ''
Yuan Shi
The ''History of Yuan'' (''Yuán Shǐ''), also known as the ''Yuanshi'', is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political ...
'' – describe the 'five-wheeled sand clock', a mechanism pioneered by Zhan Xiyuan (
fl. 1360–80) which featured the scoop wheel of Su Song's earlier
astronomical clock
An astronomical clock, horologium, or orloj is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the Sun, Moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets.
Definition ...
and a
stationary dial face over which a pointer circulated, similar to European models of the time. This sand-driven wheel clock was improved upon by Zhou Shuxue (fl. 1530–58) who added a fourth large gear wheel, changed gear ratios, and widened the orifice for collecting sand grains since he criticized the earlier model for clogging up too often.
![Ricciportrait](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Ricciportrait.jpg)
The Chinese were intrigued with European technology, but so were visiting Europeans of Chinese technology. In 1584,
Abraham Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the '' Theatrum Orbis Terra ...
(1527–1598) featured in his atlas ''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'' the peculiar Chinese innovation of
mounting masts and sails onto carriages, just like
Chinese ships.
Gonzales de Mendoza also mentioned this a year later – noting even the designs of them on Chinese silken robes – while
Gerardus Mercator
Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and Cartography, cartographer from the County of Flanders. He is most renowned for creating the Mercator 1569 world map, 1569 world map based on ...
(1512–1594) featured them in his atlas,
John Milton (1608–1674) in one of his famous poems, and
Andreas Everardus van Braam Houckgeest (1739–1801) in the writings of his travel diary in China.
The encyclopedist
Song Yingxing
Song Yingxing (Traditional Chinese: 宋應星; Simplified Chinese: 宋应星; Wade Giles: Sung Ying-Hsing; 1587-1666 AD) was a Chinese scientist and encyclopedist who lived during the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). He was the author of ''Tian ...
(1587–1666) documented a wide array of technologies, metallurgic and industrial processes in his ''
Tiangong Kaiwu'' encyclopedia of 1637. This includes mechanical and hydraulic powered devices for agriculture and irrigation, nautical technology such as vessel types and
snorkeling
Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters ...
gear for pearl divers, the annual processes of
sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, '' Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively stud ...
and weaving with the
loom, metallurgic processes such as the
crucible
A crucible is a ceramic or metal container in which metals or other substances may be melted or subjected to very high temperatures. While crucibles were historically usually made from clay, they can be made from any material that withstands te ...
technique and
quench
In materials science, quenching is the rapid cooling of a workpiece in water, oil, polymer, air, or other fluids to obtain certain material properties. A type of heat treating, quenching prevents undesired low-temperature processes, such as p ...
ing, manufacturing processes such as for roasting iron
pyrite
The mineral pyrite (), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Fe S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral.
Pyrite's metallic luster and pale brass-yellow hue giv ...
in converting sulphide to oxide in
sulfur used in gunpowder compositions – illustrating how ore was piled up with coal briquettes in an earthen furnace with a still-head that sent over sulfur as vapor that would solidify and
crystallize
Crystallization is the process by which solid forms, where the atoms or molecules are highly organized into a structure known as a crystal. Some ways by which crystals form are precipitating from a solution, freezing, or more rarely deposi ...
– and the use of gunpowder weapons such as a
naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ...
ignited by use of a rip-cord and
steel flint wheel.
![Chinese Cannon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Chinese_Cannon.JPG)
Focusing on agriculture in his ''Nongzheng Quanshu'', the agronomist
Xu Guangqi
Xu Guangqi or Hsü Kuang-ch'i (April 24, 1562– November 8, 1633), also known by his baptismal name Paul, was a Chinese agronomist, astronomer, mathematician, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty. Xu was a colleague and collaborato ...
(1562–1633) took an interest in irrigation, fertilizers, famine relief, economic and textile crops, and empirical observation of the elements that gave insight into early understandings of chemistry.
There were many advances and new designs in gunpowder weapons during the beginning of the dynasty, but by the mid to late Ming the Chinese began to frequently employ European-style artillery and firearms. The ''
Huolongjing
The ''Huolongjing'' (; Wade-Giles: ''Huo Lung Ching''; rendered in English as ''Fire Drake Manual'' or ''Fire Dragon Manual''), also known as ''Huoqitu'' (“Firearm Illustrations”), is a Chinese military treatise compiled and edited by Jiao ...
'', compiled by
Jiao Yu
Jiao Yu () was a Chinese military general, philosopher, and writer of the Yuan dynasty and early Ming dynasty under Zhu Yuanzhang, who founded the dynasty and became known as the Hongwu Emperor. He was entrusted by Zhu as a leading artillery o ...
and
Liu Bowen
Liu Ji (1 July 1311 – 16 May 1375),Jiang, Yonglin. Jiang Yonglin. 005(2005). The Great Ming Code: 大明律. University of Washington Press. , 9780295984490. Page xxxv. The source is used to cover the year only. courtesy name Bowen, better kn ...
sometime before the latter's death on 16 May 1375 (with a preface added by Jiao in 1412), featured many types of cutting-edge gunpowder weaponry for the time. This includes hollow, gunpowder-filled
exploding cannonballs,
land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s that used a complex trigger mechanism of falling weights, pins, and a steel wheellock to ignite the train of fuses, naval mines, fin-mounted winged rockets for
aerodynamic
Aerodynamics, from grc, ἀήρ ''aero'' (air) + grc, δυναμική (dynamics), is the study of the motion of air, particularly when affected by a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It involves topics covered in the field of fluid dyn ...
control,
multistage rocket
A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket ''stages'', each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A ''tandem'' or ''serial'' stage is mounted on top of another stage; a ''parallel'' stage i ...
s propelled by
booster rocket
A booster rocket (or engine) is either the first stage of a multistage launch vehicle, or else a shorter-burning rocket used in parallel with longer-burning sustainer rockets to augment the space vehicle's takeoff thrust and payload capabil ...
s before igniting a swarm of smaller rockets issuing forth from the end of the missile (shaped like a dragon's head), and
hand cannon
The hand cannon ( Chinese: 手 銃 ''shŏuchòng'', or 火 銃 ''huŏchòng''), also known as the gonne or handgonne, is the first true firearm and the successor of the fire lance. It is the oldest type of small arms as well as the most mech ...
s that had up to
ten barrels.
Li Shizhen
Li Shizhen (July 3, 1518 – 1593), courtesy name Dongbi, was a Chinese acupuncturist, herbalist, naturalist, pharmacologist, physician, and writer of the Ming dynasty. He is the author of a 27-year work, found in the ''Compendium o ...
(1518–1593) – one of the most renowned
pharmacologists and physicians
in Chinese history – belonged to the late Ming period. His ''
Bencao Gangmu
The ''Bencao gangmu'', known in English as the ''Compendium of Materia Medica'' or ''Great Pharmacopoeia'', is an encyclopedic gathering of medicine, natural history, and Chinese herbology compiled and edited by Li Shizhen and published in the ...
'' is a medical text with 1,892 entries, each entry with its own name called a ''gang''. The ''mu'' in the title refers to the synonyms of each name.
Inoculation, although it can be traced to earlier Chinese folk medicine, was detailed in Chinese texts by the sixteenth century. Throughout the Ming dynasty, around fifty texts were published on the treatment of smallpox.
In regards to
oral hygiene
Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's mouth clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and cleaning between the teeth. It is important that oral hygiene be carried out ...
, the
ancient Egyptians had a primitive toothbrush of a twig frayed at the end, but the Chinese were the first to invent the modern
bristle toothbrush in 1498, although it used stiff pig hair.
Population
Sinologist historians debate the population figures for each era in the Ming dynasty. The historian
Timothy Brook
Timothy James Brook ( Chinese name: 卜正民; born January 6, 1951) is a Canadian historian, sinologist, and writer specializing in the study of China (sinology). He holds the Republic of China Chair, Department of History, University of British C ...
notes that the Ming government census figures are dubious since fiscal obligations prompted many families to underreport the number of people in their households and many county officials to underreport the number of households in their jurisdiction. Children were often underreported, especially female children, as shown by skewed population statistics throughout the Ming. Even adult women were underreported; for example, the Daming Prefecture in
North Zhili
North Zhili, formerly romanized as , was a province of Imperial China in Ming dynasty. It was composed of the modern provinces of Hebei, the direct-administered municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as a small parts of Henan and Shan ...
reported a population of 378,167 males and 226,982 females in 1502. The government attempted to revise the census figures using estimates of the expected average number of people in each household, but this did not solve the widespread problem of tax registration. Some part of the gender imbalance may be attributed to the practice of female
infanticide. The practice is well documented in China, going back over two thousand years, and it was described as "rampant" and "practiced by almost every family" by contemporary authors. However, the dramatically skewed sex ratios, which many counties reported exceeding 2:1 by 1586, cannot likely be explained by infanticide alone.
![Portrait assis de l'empereur Ming Xuanzong](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Portrait_assis_de_l%27empereur_Ming_Xuanzong.jpg)
The number of people counted in the census of 1381 was 59,873,305; however, this number dropped significantly when the government found that some 3 million people were missing from the tax census of 1391. Even though underreporting figures was made a capital crime in 1381, the need for survival pushed many to abandon the tax registration and wander from their region, where Hongwu had attempted to impose rigid immobility on the populace. The government tried to mitigate this by creating their own conservative estimate of 60,545,812 people in 1393. In his ''Studies on the Population of China'', Ho Ping-ti suggests revising the 1393 census to 65 million people, noting that large areas of North China and frontier areas were not counted in that census. Brook states that the population figures gathered in the official censuses after 1393 ranged between 51 and 62 million, while the population was in fact increasing. Even the
Hongzhi Emperor
The Hongzhi Emperor () (30 July 1470 – 9 June 1505) was the tenth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1487 to 1505. Born Zhu Youcheng, he was the eldest surviving son of the Chenghua Emperor and his reign as emperor of China is called ...
(r. 1487–1505) remarked that the daily increase in subjects coincided with the daily dwindling amount of registered civilians and soldiers. William Atwell states that around 1400 the population of China was perhaps 90 million people, citing Heijdra and Mote.
Historians are now turning to local
gazetteer
A gazetteer is a geographical index or directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a country, region, or con ...
s of Ming China for clues that would show consistent growth in population. Using the gazetteers, Brook estimates that the overall population under the
Chenghua Emperor
The Chenghua Emperor (; 9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), personal name Zhu Jianshen, was the ninth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, who reigned from 1464 to 1487. His era name " Chenghua" means "accomplished change".
Childhood
Zhu Jianshen wa ...
(r. 1464–87) was roughly 75 million, despite mid-Ming census figures hovering around 62 million. While prefectures across the empire in the mid-Ming period were reporting either a drop in or stagnant population size, local gazetteers reported massive amounts of incoming vagrant workers with not enough good cultivated land for them to till, so that many would become drifters, conmen, or wood-cutters that contributed to deforestation. The
Hongzhi and
Zhengde
Zhengde () (24 January 1506 – 27 January 1522) was the era name of the Zhengde Emperor, the 11th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China.
Comparison table
Other eras contemporaneous with Zhengde
* China
** ''Mingzheng'' (明正, 1511): Ming per ...
emperors lessened the penalties against those who had fled their home region, while the
Jiajing Emperor
The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu Youyuan (1476–1519), Prince of Xing, w ...
(r. 1521–67) finally had officials register migrants wherever they had moved or fled in order to bring in more revenues.
Even with the Jiajing reforms to document migrant workers and merchants, by the late Ming era the government census still did not accurately reflect the enormous growth in population. Gazetteers across the empire noted this and made their own estimations of the overall population in the Ming, some guessing that it had doubled, tripled, or even grown fivefold since 1368. Fairbank estimates that the population was perhaps 160 million in the late Ming dynasty, while Brook estimates 175 million, and Ebrey states perhaps as large as 200 million. However, a great epidemic that started in Shanxi Province in 1633, ravaged the densely populated areas along the Grand Canal; a gazetteer in northern
Zhejiang
Zhejiang ( or , ; , Chinese postal romanization, also romanized as Chekiang) is an East China, eastern, coastal Provinces of China, province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable citie ...
noted more than half the population fell ill that year and that 90% of the local populace in one area was dead by 1642.
See also
*
Economy of the Ming dynasty
**
Taxation in premodern China
*
1642 Yellow River flood The 1642 Yellow River flood or Kaifeng flood was a man-made disaster in October, 1642, that principally affected Kaifeng and Xuzhou.
Kaifeng is located on the south bank of the Yellow River, prone to violent flooding throughout its history. During ...
*
Kingdom of Tungning
The Kingdom of Tungning (), also known as Tywan by the British at the time, was a dynastic maritime state that ruled part of southwestern Taiwan and the Penghu islands between 1661 and 1683. It is the first predominantly Han Chinese state in ...
*
List of tributaries of Imperial China
This is a list of states that paid tribute to the Central Plain dynasties of China under the tributary system. It encompassed states in Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.
List of tributaries
In the 5th century, a statu ...
*
Luchuan–Pingmian campaigns
The Luchuan–Pingmian campaigns () (1436–49) were punitive expeditions carried out by the Ming dynasty under the rule of the Emperor Yingzong against the Shan-led State of Möng Mao near the frontier with Burma.
Möng Mao, called Luchuan ...
*
Manchuria under Ming rule
Manchuria under Ming rule refers to the domination of the Ming dynasty over Manchuria, including today's Northeast China and Outer Manchuria. The Ming rule of Manchuria began with its conquest of Manchuria in the late 1380s after the fall of the ...
*
Military conquests of the Ming dynasty
The military conquests of the Ming dynasty were instrumental to the dynasty's hold on power during the early Ming.
Hongwu reign (1368–1398)
Early in his reign, Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor), the founder of the Ming dynasty, laid down instruct ...
*
Ming ceramics
*
Ming emperors family tree
*
Ming official headwear
*
Ming poetry
Ming poetry refers to the poetry of or typical of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).Davis, lxxi With over one million specimens of Ming poetry surviving today, the poetry of the Ming dynasty represents one of the major periods of Classical Chinese ...
*
Transition from Ming to Qing
The transition from Ming to Qing, alternatively known as Ming–Qing transition or the Manchu conquest of China, from 1618 to 1683, saw the transition between two major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasties in Chinese history. It was a decade ...
*
Ye Chunji (for further information on
rural economics
Rural economics is the study of rural economies. Rural economies include both agricultural and non-agricultural industries, so rural economics has broader concerns than agricultural economics which focus more on food systems. Rural development ...
in the Ming)
*
Zheng Zhilong
Zheng Zhilong, Marquis of Tong'an and Nan'an (; April 16, 1604 – November 24, 1661), baptismal name Nicholas Iquan Gaspard, was a Chinese admiral, merchant, military general, pirate, and politician of the late Ming dynasty who later defec ...
Notes
References
Citations
Works cited
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Further reading
Reference works and primary sources
* Farmer, Edward L. ed.
Ming History: An Introductory Guide to Research' (1994).
*
The Ming History English Translation Project A collaborative project that makes available translations (from Chinese to English) of portions of the 明史 Mingshi (Official History of the Ming Dynasty).
* Lynn Struve,
The Ming-Qing conflict, 1619-1683: A historiography and source guide', Online Indiana University.
General studies
* Brook, Timothy. ''The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties'' (History of Imperial China) (Harvard UP, 2010)
excerpt*
*
*
*
* Dardess, John W. ''A Ming Society: T'ai-ho County, Kiangsi, in the Fourteenth to Seventeenth Centuries'' (U of California Press, 1996
online free*
*
*
*
pp. 723–743Archivepp. 807–832Archive.
* Swope, Kenneth M. "Manifesting Awe: Grand Strategy and Imperial Leadership in the Ming Dynasty." ''Journal of Military History'' 79.3 (2015). pp. 597–634.
*
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External links
Notable Ming dynasty painters and galleriesat China Online Museum
Highlights from the British Museum exhibition
{{Featured article
Imperial China
Dynasties in Chinese history
Former countries in Chinese history
1368 establishments in Asia
*02
14th-century establishments in China
*
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*01
1640s disestablishments in China
1644 disestablishments in Asia
States and territories disestablished in 1644
States and territories established in 1368