chapter 26 Flashcards
tradition and change in east asia
Who granted Matteo Ricci permission to travel to Beijing and establish a mission?
emperor Wanli
Chiming ___________ enchanted Wanli and his court and soon became the rage in elite society throughout China.
mechanical clocks
While Chinese emperors showed no interest in Christianity, the chiming bells symbolized what in terms of European and Chinese relations?
increasing engagement between Asian and European peoples
What dynasty succeeded the Ming dynasty?
Qing dynasty
What were the principles of Ming and Qing emperors?
- deeply conservative
- principal concern was to maintain stability in large agrarian (relating to cultivation) society
- adopted policies that favored Chinese political and cultural traditions
Who was the founder of the Ming dynasty?
Hongwu
- significant for his use of mandarins who oversaw implementation of government policies
- placed great trust in eunuchs
Why was emperor Yongle’s efforts significant to the increasing power of the Ming dyansty?
- naval expeditions that spread Chinese culture as far as east Africa
- maintained tightly centralized state that Hongwu established
The Ming emperors were determined to prevent what?
new invasions
Where did Yongle move the Chinese capital to in 1421 to keep closer watch on the Mongols?
Beijing
Early Ming emperors commanded powerful armies that slowly lost their effectiveness in controlling Mongol armies, whilst later Ming emperors sought to protect their realm by…?
building new fortifications, such as the Great Wall of China
When/who ordered construction of the original Great Wall?
first emperor of the Qin dynasty ordered construction of long defensive wall in 3rd century BCE, early walls fell to ruin
After the original Great Wall projects undertaken by the Qin dynasty fell to ruin, what dynasty undertook the new project?
Ming dynasty
- workers labored in hundreds of thousands throughout late 15th and 16th centuries to build wall
How long was the Great Wall?
2,500 km or 1,550 miles
How tall is the Great Wall?
15 meters, or 33-49 feet high
In addition to the construction of new fortifications, what else did the Ming dynasty do to eradicate Mongol and other foreign influences to create a stable society in the image of the Chinese past?
- individuals abandoned Mongol names and dress with Ming encouragement
- restored institutions that the Mongols had ignored or suppressed
- government sponsored study of Chinese cultural traditions, especially Confucianism
- provided financial support for imperial academies and regional colleges
- restored system of civil service examinations that Mongols neglected
Ming rule did not survive beyond the ____________ century.
mid-sixteenth
Suppression of pirates that disrupted Ming coastal communities took more than ___ years.
40
Why did suppressing the pirates threatening the Ming’s ineffective coastal defenses take so long?
increasingly inept imperial government
How did Ming government begin to weaken, leading to its collapse?
- Ming emperors lived extravagantly in their imperial enclaves while receiving news about the outside world from their servants and administrators
- emperors sometimes ignored government affairs while satisfying their own interests
- authority of eunuchs increased, while emperor authority decreased and corruption and inefficiency spread throughout government
In addition to pirate attacks and devolution of Ming government, what other forces contributed to Ming decline?
- inability to organize effective relief efforts amidst famine struck regions
- Invasions from Manchu forces from the north who captured capital at Beijing and displaced Ming dynasty
Where was the Manchus homeland?
Manchuria north of the Great Wall
What does “qing” translate to?
“pure”
The Manchus were mostly _______ _______, although many had turned to agriculture and settled in the rich farmlands of southern Manchuria.
pastoral nomads
Who was an ambitious chieftain who unified Manchu tribes into a centralized state?
Nurhaci (r. 1616-1626)