Ming China
Early Modern China
• Ming Foundations
– Rebellion against Mongol dynasty
– Last native dynasty
– Builds on ancient imperial institutions
• Post-Feudal
– Chun-hsien vs. feng-chen (feudal)
– Market relations, commercialization
– Centralized State
• But very small vis-à-vis society
– Bureaucracy rather than aristocracy
• Mandarins and gentry
• Avoidance and rotation
• Urban amenities
– Parks, trash pick-up, fire departments
• Very rural
• Prosperity, Self-sufficiency
• Technology
• Iron and coal
• Many Chinese tongues, 1 written language
--Mandarins were local bureaucrats picked by centralized government
--officials could not serve in home district or province or serve in same area for longer period of
time to avoid accumulating too much power
--officials chosen by exams of Confucian classics
--value is placed upon peaceful civilian roles over soldiers
--secularistic in the elite, but religious in the peasantry
--some of the largest cities in the world with amenities, but still 90% rural
,--bureaucracy extended to district level and entailed 2% of the population, allowing local areas to
be self-sufficient
--one of the wealthiest societies in the world with great technological advancement before
Europe
Culture
• Confucianism
– Mandate of Heaven
– Filial Piety, Ethics, Duty
– Intellect and Effort
• Daoism
– Yin-yang
– Individualism and Enjoyment
– Intuition and Nature
– Populist Religious Sects
• Buddhism
• Literature
– Popular Novels (All Men Are Brothers)
--Confucianism
*founded around 500 BC in warring states period
*filial piety
**father-son
**ruler-subject
**husband-wife
**elder brother-younger brother
**friend-friend
*stresses intellect and self-improvement
*wisdom and experience through age
--Daoism
,*more laid back and emphasizes being naturalistic and unplanning
*purest form is like a natural and impulsive child
*unnatural and unformed seen as best approach
*split into a populistic and religious concept and philosophical concept of the elite
--Mandate of heaven allowed ruler to be overthrown if signs of disfavor from heaven like
drought or famine occur
--Confucianism saw emperor losing favor under Mandate of Heaven as moral failing and thus the
obligation of the people to replace
--Buddhism finds foothold after Han and conflicts with Confucianism by neglecting personal
relationships
--backlash against Buddhism lasts from 900 AD-1200 AD
--northern barbarians first invade around 300 AD and took over the northern areas in later
centuries, but became sinicized (assimilated into the terms and concepts of the language and
culture of China)
--last real threat came from the Mongols in the 13th century AD
Continental Impact
• Initial Engagement
– Zheng He
• Massive fleets to Indonesia, India, &East Africa
– Tributary System
• Eventual Withdrawal
– Northern threat
• Emigration
--tributary system of payment states where receive payments and recognition while giving gifts
--eventual withdrawal and emigration by northern threat of the Manchus
--ships of treasure fleets were enormous and carried large numbers of soldiers
Mughals and Marathas
--Harappans were one of the first Indian peoples
--Aryans moved into India after the Harappans
, --Aryans were rural and tribalistic while Harappans used city states
--town life and trade reemerged around 600 BC
--Aryans brought Vedic religion centered around Vedas religious texts and religious teachers
called Brahmans
--600 BC-400 BC is the Axial Age where people start to question the axioms of Vedic religion
and the monopolized role of the Brahmans
--mystical and philosophical ideas such as karma and bhakti (devotion) emerge
--religion becomes a popular and devotional Hinduism
--religion centers around three gods of Shiva, Vishnu, and Shakti
--different forms of Hinduism held together by faith in Vedas and caste system as divinely set
down
Hinduism
• Aryan-Dravidian mix
• Monotheistic Shift
– Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti
• Key Concepts
– Karma
– Dharma
– Samsara
• Bhakti (“Devotion”)
– Sikhs: disciple or learner; adherent of Sikhism, which was a monotheistic faith
that combined elements of Hinduism and Islam
--samsara is cycle of reincarnation that ends in moksha (release from cycle)
--monotheistic shift is following one personal relationship with different manifestations of same
god
--Hinduism was a mix of Aryan and pre-Aryan Dravidian concepts
--moksha is release from cycle of rebirth and unification with world soul
--dharma is devotion to one’s duty
--Buddhism centers around four noble truths and the eightfold path
Early Modern China
• Ming Foundations
– Rebellion against Mongol dynasty
– Last native dynasty
– Builds on ancient imperial institutions
• Post-Feudal
– Chun-hsien vs. feng-chen (feudal)
– Market relations, commercialization
– Centralized State
• But very small vis-à-vis society
– Bureaucracy rather than aristocracy
• Mandarins and gentry
• Avoidance and rotation
• Urban amenities
– Parks, trash pick-up, fire departments
• Very rural
• Prosperity, Self-sufficiency
• Technology
• Iron and coal
• Many Chinese tongues, 1 written language
--Mandarins were local bureaucrats picked by centralized government
--officials could not serve in home district or province or serve in same area for longer period of
time to avoid accumulating too much power
--officials chosen by exams of Confucian classics
--value is placed upon peaceful civilian roles over soldiers
--secularistic in the elite, but religious in the peasantry
--some of the largest cities in the world with amenities, but still 90% rural
,--bureaucracy extended to district level and entailed 2% of the population, allowing local areas to
be self-sufficient
--one of the wealthiest societies in the world with great technological advancement before
Europe
Culture
• Confucianism
– Mandate of Heaven
– Filial Piety, Ethics, Duty
– Intellect and Effort
• Daoism
– Yin-yang
– Individualism and Enjoyment
– Intuition and Nature
– Populist Religious Sects
• Buddhism
• Literature
– Popular Novels (All Men Are Brothers)
--Confucianism
*founded around 500 BC in warring states period
*filial piety
**father-son
**ruler-subject
**husband-wife
**elder brother-younger brother
**friend-friend
*stresses intellect and self-improvement
*wisdom and experience through age
--Daoism
,*more laid back and emphasizes being naturalistic and unplanning
*purest form is like a natural and impulsive child
*unnatural and unformed seen as best approach
*split into a populistic and religious concept and philosophical concept of the elite
--Mandate of heaven allowed ruler to be overthrown if signs of disfavor from heaven like
drought or famine occur
--Confucianism saw emperor losing favor under Mandate of Heaven as moral failing and thus the
obligation of the people to replace
--Buddhism finds foothold after Han and conflicts with Confucianism by neglecting personal
relationships
--backlash against Buddhism lasts from 900 AD-1200 AD
--northern barbarians first invade around 300 AD and took over the northern areas in later
centuries, but became sinicized (assimilated into the terms and concepts of the language and
culture of China)
--last real threat came from the Mongols in the 13th century AD
Continental Impact
• Initial Engagement
– Zheng He
• Massive fleets to Indonesia, India, &East Africa
– Tributary System
• Eventual Withdrawal
– Northern threat
• Emigration
--tributary system of payment states where receive payments and recognition while giving gifts
--eventual withdrawal and emigration by northern threat of the Manchus
--ships of treasure fleets were enormous and carried large numbers of soldiers
Mughals and Marathas
--Harappans were one of the first Indian peoples
--Aryans moved into India after the Harappans
, --Aryans were rural and tribalistic while Harappans used city states
--town life and trade reemerged around 600 BC
--Aryans brought Vedic religion centered around Vedas religious texts and religious teachers
called Brahmans
--600 BC-400 BC is the Axial Age where people start to question the axioms of Vedic religion
and the monopolized role of the Brahmans
--mystical and philosophical ideas such as karma and bhakti (devotion) emerge
--religion becomes a popular and devotional Hinduism
--religion centers around three gods of Shiva, Vishnu, and Shakti
--different forms of Hinduism held together by faith in Vedas and caste system as divinely set
down
Hinduism
• Aryan-Dravidian mix
• Monotheistic Shift
– Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti
• Key Concepts
– Karma
– Dharma
– Samsara
• Bhakti (“Devotion”)
– Sikhs: disciple or learner; adherent of Sikhism, which was a monotheistic faith
that combined elements of Hinduism and Islam
--samsara is cycle of reincarnation that ends in moksha (release from cycle)
--monotheistic shift is following one personal relationship with different manifestations of same
god
--Hinduism was a mix of Aryan and pre-Aryan Dravidian concepts
--moksha is release from cycle of rebirth and unification with world soul
--dharma is devotion to one’s duty
--Buddhism centers around four noble truths and the eightfold path
