CHAPTER 20 LESSON 1

CHAPTER 20 LESSON 1

The Ming and Qing Dynasties

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What factors help unify a kingdom or dynasty? 

At home, Ming rulers ran an effective government using a centralized bureaucracy staffed with officials chosen by the civil service examination system. They set up a nationwide school system. The Ming rulers also renovated the Grand Canal, making it possible to ship grain and other goods from southern to northern China. The Ming dynasty truly began a new era of greatness in Chinese history.

Multiple Choice

The Ming dynasty was successful politically in part because

• A.its officials had to take civil service exams to be appointed.

• B.the blue-and-white porcelain vases were very popular.

• C.a series of naval voyages sent 62 ships to the eastern coast of Africa to bring back exotic items.

• D.manufactured goods were produced in workshops and factories in higher numbers than ever.

In 1406 Yong Le began construction of the Imperial City in Beijing (BAY • JIHNG). In 1421 he moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. The Imperial City was created to convey power and prestige. It is an immense complex of palaces and temples surrounded by six and one-half miles of walls. Because it was off-limits to commoners, it was known as the Forbidden City.

Multiple Choice

Which often following was built by Yong Le during the Ming dynasty?

• A.Nanjing

• B.the Grand Canal

• C.the Forbidden City

• D.the Great Wall

During his reign, Yong Le also sent a series of naval voyages into the Indian Ocean that sailed as far west as the eastern coast of Africa. Led by the court official Zheng He (JUHNG • HUH), seven voyages were made between 1405 and 1433. 

At first, the Portuguese had little impact on Chinese society. Portuguese ships carried goods between China and Japan, but direct trade between Europe and China remained limited. Perhaps more important than trade, however, was the exchange of ideas.

Christian missionaries made the long voyage to China on European merchant ships. Many of them were highly educated men who brought along instruments, such as clocks, that impressed Chinese officials and made them more receptive to Western ideas.

Multiple Choice

The arrival of Christian missionaries helped China flourish culturally during the Ming dynasty because of the

• A.new religion.

• B.exchange of ideas.

• C.lack of Chinese culture.

• D.significant increase in trade.

The overthrow of the Ming dynasty created an opportunity for the Manchus. They were a farming and hunting people who lived northeast of the Great Wall in the area known today as Manchuria. The forces of the Manchus conquered Beijing, and Li Zicheng’s army fell. The victorious Manchus then declared the creation of a new dynasty called the Qing (CHIHNG), meaning "pure." This dynasty, created in 1644, remained in power until 1911. 

Multiple Choice

Who ruled the Qing dynasty?

• A.the Ming

• B.the Han

• C.the Manchu

• D.the Japanese

The Qing Dynasty

When some Chinese resisted their new rulers and seized the island of Taiwan, the Manchu government prepared to attack them. To identify the rebels, the government ordered all males to adopt Manchu dress and hairstyles. They had to shave their foreheads and braid their hair into a pigtail called a queue. Those who refused were assumed to be rebels and were executed: "Lose your hair or lose your head."

First, the Qing tried to preserve their distinct identity within Chinese society. The Manchus, only 2 percent of the population, were defined legally as distinct from everyone else in China. The Manchu nobility maintained large landholdings and received revenues from the state treasury. Second, the Qing dealt with this problem by bringing Chinese into the imperial administration to win their support. 

Multiple Choice

How did their practice of appointing Chinese to the imperial administration help solve the Qing rulers' problem of being ethnically different?

• A.The Qing rulers became more like the Chinese because they worked together every day.

• B.The ethnic Chinese preferred knowing that their rulers were from a distinctly different ethnic group.

• C.Chinese people make the best political workers, so their appointment improved the social climate.

• D.Many Chinese people appreciated having their ethnic group included in running the country.

In 1689, during Kangxi's reign, China and Russia signed the Treaty of Nerchinsk. Beginning in the 1620s, Russian traders had pushed eastward into land under China's protection in search of trade routes and goods. The treaty stopped Russia's push east, ended the frontier wars, and established trade between the two empires.

Multiple Choice

During the Qing dynasty, Kangxi signed a trade agreement with

• A.Taiwan.

• B.the Russian Empire.

• C.Manchuria.

  .

• D.Great Britain

Also during Kangxi's reign, the efforts of Christian missionaries reached their height. The emperor was quite tolerant of the Christians. Several hundred officials became Catholics, as did an estimated 300,000 ordinary Chinese. Ultimately, however, the Christian effort was undermined by squabbling among the Western religious orders. After the death of Kangxi, his successor began to suppress Christian activities.

Europeans in China

Unfortunately for China, the Qing dynasty was declining just as Europe was seeking more trade. At first, the Qing government sold trade privileges to the Europeans, but to limit contacts between Europeans and Chinese, the Qing confined all European traders to a small island just outside Guangzhou. Traders could reside there only between October and March and deal only with a limited number of Chinese firms licensed by the government.

At first, the British accepted this system. By the end of the eighteenth century, however, some British traders had begun to demand access to additional cities, as Russian traders already enjoyed, along the Chinese coast. Likewise, the Chinese government was under pressure from its own merchants to open China to British manufactured goods.

Multiple Choice

Why were European traders often frustrated by the Chinese?

• A.China did not have anything interesting to trade.

• B.The prices of China's goods were very high.

• C.They were forced to practice Chinese religions.

• D.China's rulers would not allow Europeans to trade in many cities.

Multiple Choice

Between 1500 and 1800, China's economy was based primarily on

• A.agriculture.

• B.manufacturing.

• C.trading.

• D.fishing.

Economy and Daily Life

The first change for China involved an increase in population, from less than 80 million in 1390 to more than 300 million at the end of the 1700s. The increase had several causes. These included a long period of stability under the early Qing dynasty and improvements in the food supply due to a faster growing species of rice from Southeast Asia.

Another change in this period was a steady growth in manufacturing and increased trade between provinces. Taking advantage of the long era of peace and prosperity, merchants and manufacturers expanded their trade in silk, porcelain, cotton goods, and other products.

Chinese society was organized around the family. The family was expected to provide for its members' needs, including the education of children, support of unmarried daughters, and care of the elderly. At the same time, all family members were expected to sacrifice their individual needs to benefit the family as a whole. This was based on Confucian ideals.

Beyond the extended family was the clan, which consisted of dozens, or even hundreds, of related families. These families were linked by a clan council of elders and common social and religious activities. This system made it possible for wealthier families to help poorer relatives.

Multiple Choice

What was one advantage of being part of a clan?

• A.The sick and elderly never had to worry about being alone.

• B.Children had a large number of playmates their own age.

• C.There was likely a wealthy family available to help a poorer one.

• D.Other clans thought highly of families who were part of a clan.

Multiple Choice

What was a result of allowing only males to have a formal education and a career in government?

• A.Women were treated as subordinates.

• B.The elderly were greatly respected.

• C.Men became more intelligent.

• D.Children were well cared for.

Open Ended

Analyzing PRIMARY SOURCES

Women in China

How sad it is to be a woman! Nothing on earth is held so cheap. . . . No one is glad when a girl is born: By her the family sets no store.

—Fu Hsüan, from "Woman"

DBQ READING CLOSELY Based on what you’ve read, does this seem like a fair assessment of the role of women in China?

Chinese Art and Literature

During the Ming and the early Qing dynasties, China experienced an outpouring of artistic brilliance. In architecture, the most outstanding example is the Imperial City in Beijing. The decorative arts also flourished in this period. Perhaps the most famous of all the arts of the Ming Era was blue-and-white porcelain.

Open Ended

What factors help unify a kingdom or dynasty?