THE SHUN DYNASTY Unit 4: East Asia FALL OF THE MING
Causes: Government corruption Worsening weather Peasant revolts Arrogance FALL OF THE MING
The last Ming ruler, Chongzhen Emperor, spent his rule trying to stop the dynasty’s decline; unable Chongzhen was paranoid and impatient The government had no money to fill important gov’t posts 1620s: peasant revolt led by Li Zicheng begins; Manchu invasion north of border begins Revolt began due to worsening drought and famine caused by the Little Ice Age Ming armies stretched thin fighting on two fronts
RISE OF THE SHUN DYNASTY
1630: Chongzhen Emperor executes Yuan, the supreme commander of the Ming armies Destroyed Ming military morale Yuan’s death weakened defense at northern border against Manchu 1636: Manchu general declares himself emperor of the Qing dynasty Jan. 1644: Li Zicheng and peasants capture Taiyuan, prepares to capture Beijing Zicheng declares himself king of the Shun dynasty April 1644: Chongzhen hangs himself; Li Zicheng captures Beijing Shun dynasty officially rules China Shun’
FALL OF THE SHUN
Li Zicheng ordered the execution of Ming remnants in Beijing Met strong resistance A surviving Ming general joined Manchus rather than serve Shun dynasty; opened Great Wall to let them in By June 1644, the Manchus defeated Li Zicheng and overthrew the Shun Qing dynasty spent next 40 years stomping out resistance; officially ruled China by 1683
Ming Shun Transition Period Qing 1368 – April April 1644 – June 1644 - 1683 1683 - 1911 1644 June 1644 QING DYNASTY (1644 - 1911 CE) Unit 4: East Asia RISE OF THE QING
Under the new Manchu-led Qing dynasty, China is now multi- ethnic Manchus only 2% of population Originally from Manchuria to the north Han Chinese was (and is) the majority ethnic group The Qing feared rebellion Instituted the Queue Order as response Violently imposed queue hairstyle on Han; symbol of Han submission to Qing rule “Lose your hair or lose your head” Qing dynasty eventually accepted as legitimate by Han
QING DYNASTY REFORMS AND CULTURE
Manchus had more privileges than Han & other ethnicities Most of the nobility was Manchu Emperor Kangxi stabilized northern and western borders Encouraged the arts Established trade with Russia Tolerant of foreign missionaries Tolerance ends with his death Women considered subordinate Foot binding practiced among noble women
DECLINE OF THE QING
Qing peaks under Emperor Qianlong, but cracks begin to show Qing spend lots of $$$ to put down peasant revolts; faced economic problems Foreign trade limited to a single island for just part of the year (except for Russia) British initially accepted this system; eventually demanded more access Chinese merchants also demanded greater access Qianlong declined despite economic problems Arrogance similar to Ming “Yesterday your Ambassador petitioned my Ministers to memorialise me regarding your trade with China, but his proposal is not consistent with our dynastic usage and cannot be entertained. Hitherto, all European nations, including your own country's barbarian merchants, have carried on their trade with our Celestial Empire at Canton. Such has been the procedure for many years, although our Celestial Empire possesses all things in prolific abundance and lacks no product within its own borders.
Your request for a small island near Chusan, where your merchants may reside and goods be warehoused, arises from your desire to develop trade... Consider, moreover, that England is not the only barbarian land which wishes to establish... trade with our Empire: supposing that other nations were all to imitate your evil example and beseech me to present them each and all with a site for trading purposes, how could I possibly comply? This also is a flagrant infringement of the usage of my Empire and cannot possibly be entertained.” UNIT 4: IMPORTANT FIGURE REVIEW
For each of the following people, explain who they are, what they did, which dynasty they belong to, and why they are significant (why did we talk about them?): 1. Emperor Kangxi 2. Yong Le Emperor 3. Li Zicheng 4. Chongzhen Emperor 5. General Yuan 6. Emperor Qianlong 7. Hongwu Emperor