During The Ming Dynasty

Qing China refers to the period of Chinese history between 1644 and 1911, when the foreign Manchus established a dynasty and ruled over China, calling themselves the Qing. The non-Chinese tribes that came to power at this time were from the area that would later be called Manchuria. Geographically, Qing China grew three times the size of what it was under the Ming, expanding north to include areas of Mongolia and Manchuria, as well as west. The country was divided into provinces, with each province being managed and governed under tusi, or native chieftains. The region of China is largely mountainous, with the majority of the population densely packed near the coast and around the Yellow River Valley. After establishing their rule, the Manchus created a new dynasty and declared a new emperor, carrying on the traditional Chinese system of government and administration that had existed since the time of the Tang. Despite this,

China’s population was growing rapidly, almost doubling between 750 and 1100. Because of this huge population boom, paper money was established, and the trade industry grew. There were many advances that were made, such as technological improvements

Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220, China declined into an elongated term of division. China was divided and in a time of war, with a lack of leadership. It was only in the Sui Dynasty (589-618) reunited North and South China as one. The Tang (618-906) and Song (960 - 1279) Dynasties that followed created the “Golden Ages of China”. Although the Tang and Song Dynasties existed in a similar time and had a similar economy, there are also many differences between the influential dynasties such as certain aspects of their society and politics.

Confucian scholars were expected to master the skills of poetry since it was the most respected form of Chinese literature. Chinese writers often focused on a broad topic such as life or the universe. Poetry never faded throughout these years, and new forms of popular literature began to emerge in the Ming dynasty. Stories began to be told by specific pieces of literature, and classical poetry continued to play a part in Chinese literature for many years.

The following are the Chinese dynasties in order from oldest to most recent: Xia, Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. The legendary dynasty is the Xia, which is believed to be around 2000 BC. The Shang (1700-1000BC) developed the first written Chinese language. The Zhou (1028-221BC) built the first roads, expanded trade contacts and trade routes, and also developed plows and irrigation systems. Trade at this time was expanding in China. The Qin Dynasty (221-207BC) built the famous Great Wall of China as a defense mechanism and also united all of China under one central government. Next is the Han Dynasty (207BC-AD220), which did a lot for China in terms of trading. They developed the Great Silk Road, a trading route that stretched from China all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The Sui Dynasty (589-618) united almost all of China. Followed in suit by the Tang Dynasty (618-917) discovered one of Chinas' leading exports, porcelain. During the Tang Dynasty, the first block-style printing press was invented. The Song Dynasty (960-1279) came next, which took over all of China and later took the southern rule after being conquered by the Jin. The Song Dynasty is responsible for developing Chinese cuisine as we know it today. During this time period the compass and gunpowder were also discovered. The Jin Dynasty (1127-1234) took rule over Northern China from the Song. The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) brought a long period of peace to

Manchus were the one that took control of China after the Yuan (which was the Mongols) and established themselves as the Qing Dynasty. It is also this dynasty that the modern Chinese started. Around the 18th century, the Qing was at its height. However, by the start of the 19th century until the early 20th century, the Qing Dynasty started going downhill with domestic political and foreign policy problems. Within the nation, there were continuation and changes to the traditional Confucian system; Furthermore, there were rebellions due to foreign competitions that lead to the end of the Qing Dynasty.

The Next piece is an image form Guo Xi who was a master from the Northern

c. The Chinese population and commerce continued to expand under the Qing dynasty, fueled by new crops from the Tang , new silver and copper mines, and silver acquired through trade with northern countries.

c. The Chinese population and commerce continued to expand under the Qing dynasty, fueled by new crops from the , new silver and copper mines, and silver acquired through trade with countries.

The Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368 until the dynasty commenced deterioration. By the beginning of the 1600s, the Ming began to lose power due to “threats from Barbarians on all sides, political in-fighting,” rebellions, and poor loyalty in the military (Ryder). Likewise, the spread of violence in China contributed to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty (Zarrow). In the year 1644, the Chinese rebels overthrew the dynasty (Williams). At this time, the Ming emperor committed suicide as the rebel armies invaded Beijing (Zarrow). After the rebels overthrew the Ming, the Manchu people stepped in to try and gain power.

As early as 1793 the Qing Dynasty began to have trouble with their trades. When China began to work with the British for trade it became an exploitive exchange from the British. Western trade was limited to the Southern port of Canton (Guangzhou).This was known as the Canton trade system period (1757-1842). The Chinese government issued trading licenses exclusively to authorized merchants. These merchants would be the only ones allowed to deal with Western traders. This system helped keep trade with foreign countries running smoothly and, by extension, helped to eliminate the possibility of external threats. In Britain's case, as the demand for tea rose and the production of manufactured goods increased during the Industrial Revolution, it wanted to develop and increase trading opportunities and to establish diplomatic relations with China. This led to Macartney's famous British mission to China in 1793. China began to enforce rules that were as fickle as wind, England decided to send lord Macartney as an Ambassador to Emperor Qianlong to negotiate safer and

Neo-Confucianism was also created in the Song Dynasty. Neo-Confucianism was Confucianism put together with Taoism, which was the ying and the yang, which was also put with Buddhism. This new patriotism also led to xenophobia in the country which leads to irrational decisions in the future. As time when on the Song Dynasty would lose some land to smaller dynasties who took over smaller parts to China in the south. Despite this the economy amazingly boomed during this time where the Chinese call the “medieval economic revolution” (Holcombe p. 130). Trading had a big role in this economic revolution. Archeologists have uncovered

Ming said their their empire owned the world. Even though Portuguese and other foreigners were interested in China and wrote book about China, the Ming did not interested in them. The Portuguese used gold and silver to exchange Chinese silks and porcelains with Ming at Macao near Guangzhou. Later, the foreigners could trade under Chinese supervision.

The Chinese Empire was large and controlled most of Asia at one point in time. One of the dynasties that ruled the empire was the Ming Family. Ruling from 1368-1644, almost three hundred years, the Ming Dynasty impacted Chinese history very much.

In the early 15th Century (Ming dynasty), China had been undertaking trade activities with Africa, especially with Eastern Africa, importing ivory, rhinoceros horns, amber, and valuable products and exporting silk, porcelain, and lacquerware and other treasures. This period of exploration was followed by several centuries of disengagement.