Download The Ming Dynasty

The Ming
Dynasty
Section 12.4
Rise of the Ming Dynasty
 Kublai
Khan died in 1294.
 A period of weakness followed and Chinese
people showed how much they resented
Mongol control and decided to take back their
throne
 1368 – a rebel leader named Zhu Yuanzhang
became emperor moving the capital to
Nanjing.
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Changed his name to Hong Wu (military emperor)
He brought back order, but was a cruel leader.
Trusted no one, killed people he suspected of
treason (disloyalty to the government)
Ruled for 30 years.
Ming Dynasty
 Yong
Le (son of Hong Wu) took over after his
father’s death.
 He moved the capital back to Beijing in
1421and built a large series of palaces and
government buildings called the Imperial City.
The very center is known as the Forbidden City
because it is home to China’s emperors.
 China’s emperor’s lived there for 500 yrs. Today
you can visit it if you visit China.
How did the Ming Reform China?
Ming emperors made all the
decisions, but they needed officials
to carry out the orders.
 Restored
civil service examinations (tests
were even harder
 Carried out a census from time to time
so they could collect taxes more
accurately.
Ming Reforms
 Hong
Wu ordered canals and farms
destroyed by the Mongols to be rebuilt
and ordered people to move to the new
farms.
 He ordered new forests to be planed and
new roads to be paved.
 Repaired and expanded the Grand
Canal to improve shipping .
 Encouraged farmers to grow cotton so
they could rely less on other countries.
China Explores the World
 Early
Ming emperors were curious about
the world outside China so they built a
large fleet of ships.
 From 1405 to 1431, Emperor Yong Le sent
the fleet on seven overseas voyages to:
1.
2.
3.
trade with other kingdoms,
show off China’s power
demand that weaker kingdoms pay
tribute to China
China Explores the World

Zheng He – the leader of the journey, a Chinese
Muslim and court official.
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First fleet had 62 large ships, 250 small ships, almost
28,000 men.
Traveled to southeast Asia in his first voyage.
Later travelled to India, the Persian Gulf, east Africa.
Traded Chinese goods silk, paper, and porcelain.
Brought back silver, spices, wood, and other goods.
But some people complained – it’s too expensive,
bad to bring in outside ideas, and helped merchants
get rich.
People felt merchants went against Confucian
teachings by putting themselves ahead of society.
China Explores the World
 Agter
Zheng He’s death, Confucian
officials convince the emperor to stop the
voyages.
 The boats are dismantled.
 The shipbuilding technology is forgotten
within 50 years.
Europeans Arrive in China
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In 1514 a fleet from Portugal arrived in China. It was
the first time a European ship had ever sailed to
China since Marco Polo.
The Europeans had come to encourage trade and
to convert them as Christians.
The Chinese thought the Europeans were barbarians
(uncivilized people).
At first they refused to trade with the Portuguese, but
by 1600, they agreed to set up a trade post in
Macao, but the trade remained limited.
Despite their resistance, Jesuit priests traveled with
the goods on ships. The priests were highly
educated and impressed the Chinese. But they
couldn’t get them to become Christians.
Fall of the Ming Dynasty
 Ming
emperors had taken too much
power for themselves and had not been
working with their officials.
 The greedy officials instead went out and
taxed the peasants who eventually
revolted.
 The Manchus attacked China’s northern
border and defeated the Chinese army
capturing Beijing.
 In 1644, the Manchus will create their own
dynasty.