AP%20World%20History:%20The%20Ming%20Dynasty%20Period%203

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AP World History The Ming DynastyPeriod 3
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Timeline of Chinese History
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Timeline of Chinese History Continued
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Timeline of Chinese History Continued
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I Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368)

• 1279 Mongol leader Kublai Khan conquered China
  and began the Yuan dynasty.

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Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) Continued

• B) After the death of Kublai Khan in 1294, the
  Yuan Dynasty weakened. The Chinese resented
  Mongol and the discrimination against the Chinese
  in the government. This led to rebellions. China
  was once again unified under the Ming Dynasty in
  1368.

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II The Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644)

• A) The Ming Dynasty rid China of the Mongols, and
  built a new capital at Ying Tian (modern
  Nanjing). It was later moved to Beijing.
• B) Revived Civil Service Exam that had been begun
  under the Han.
• C) The Ming completed the Great Wall of China,
  which had begun under the Qin Dynasty, and pushed
  the Mongols further north to what is now
  Mongolia.
• D) Began a policy of expansionism, and
  state-sponsored trading expeditions.

Ming means brilliant
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III Emperor Yongle Perpetual Happiness (ruled
1402-1424)

• Immediately upon taking the throne, Ming Emperor
  Yongle executed anyone who opposed him.
• He widened the size of the Grand Canal, to
  increase trade
• Yongle built the Forbidden City, his imperial
  home, in his capital of Beijing.

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The Forbidden City
178 acres 800 buildings, and stables for
elephants! Legend says that it has 9,999 rooms,
but there are actually 8,707 Was the home of 24
Ming and Qing Emperors from 1420 1911.
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Male Lion by the Gate of Celestial Purity
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Gilded Unicorn Guarding Hall of Imperial Peace
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The 9 Dragon Screen
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Doorway
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Balustrades
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Sunset at the Forbidden City
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IV Zheng Hes fleet (1405 - 1433)

• Ming Emperor Yongle desired to send shipsto the
  west of China. Yongle appointed Zheng He, a
  trusted official, to command these western
  voyages.
• Zheng He was Muslim, and a eunuch (castrated for
  service at the royal court).
• Zheng He led 7 great expeditions, to India, the
  Middle East, and even Eastern Africa! He led 9
  great treasure ships with 28,000 armed troops.
• Confucian scholars resented Zheng He, as
  Confucianism looks down upon merchants.

Unlike later Western European explorers like
Vasco de Gama, Zheng He was NOT exploring the
unknown China ALREADY KNEW about ports in India
and East Africa. China also did not desire trade
merchants came to China. So what was the real
purpose of Zheng Hes trips? To show off the
greatness of China, and to bring back exotic
luxuries for the Emperor.
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How Does Zheng He Compare to Other Explorers?
Navigator Number of Ships Number of Crew
Zheng He (1405 - 1433) 48 to 317 28,000
Columbus (1492) 3 90
Da Gama (1498) 4 160
Magellan (1521) 5 265
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Model of Zheng Hes Ship
We have traversed more than 30,000 miles of
immense water and have beheld in the ocean huge
waves like mountains rising in the sky, and we
have set eyes on barbarian regions far away
while our sails, loftily unfurled like clouds day
and night - Zheng He, 1432.
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A) 1435 Zheng He died. The new Emperor, Yongles
son, Hongle, banned any further sea voyages.B)
Why did Emperor Hongle ban any further voyages?
1. He believed in Confucianism, that ranked
merchants on the lowest scale of society.2. As
the voyages were not for trade, they cost China
more money than they brought in.

• V Chinese Exploration Ends

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The Now Shut Starbucks at the Forbidden City
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Did the Chinese Beat Out Columbus?

• By Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop NY Times Saturday,
  June 25, 2005
• Zheng, a Chinese Muslim, was captured as a child
  in wartime by the Ming army and made a eunuch to
  serve at court. He became a scholar and a trusted
  adviser to the third Ming emperor, Zhu Di, who
  sent him on a mission to "proceed all the way to
  the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the
  barbarians beyond the seas."
• When the giant fleet returned in 1423, however,
  the emperor had fallen. With that change of
  leadership, China began a policy of isolationism
  that would last hundreds of years. The large
  ships were left to rot at their moorings, and
  most of the records of the great journeys were
  destroyed (though some argue the records still
  exist).
• With 600 years of sailing experience, the Chinese
  had already developed many tools useful to
  sailing over great distances - like magnetized
  compasses and watertight bulkhead compartments of
  a kind the West would have to wait hundreds of
  years for. Importantly, Zheng He's ships, known
  as junks, included on-board vegetable patches,
  growing soybeans in tubes all year to provide
  protein and vitamin C, guarding sailors against
  scurvy
• Arguing that the Chinese had reached America 70
  years before Columbus, Menzies's book caused a
  stir when it was published in 2002. "Columbus had
  a map of America, de Gama had a map showing India
  and Captain Cook had a map showing Australia, and
  it's not my saying it's the explorers saying
  it,...

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Did the Chinese Beat Out Columbus?

• Menzies, who is planning to revise his book by
  2007 in light of the latest evidence, now
  believes that Zheng He was not the first to sail
  to America. "One of the mistakes I made in my
  book was to say that Zheng He did everything. He
  had a legacy. Most of the world had already been
  mapped by Kublai Khan's fleet," he said.
• According to Menzies, recent evidence has been
  found of what are believed to be wrecked Chinese
  junks in Florida, South Carolina, New York and
  Canada. More compellingly, Menzies says, a new
  archaeological site in Nova Scotia at Cape
  Dauphin, discovered by the Canadian architect
  Paul Chiasson and represented by photos at the
  exhibition, indicates an early Chinese
  settlement.
• Chiasson, in an e-mail interview, said, "The
  position of the wall on the side of the hill (not
  the summit), the layout of the wall across the
  hilly topography and the relationship of a small
  settlement located within the wall to the overall
  enclosure all point away from a European origin
  and appeared to point to a Chinese origin."
• While some archaeologists argue that the
  settlement could be Viking, Chiasson disagrees,
  pointing out that the nearest and largest
  evidence of any Viking settlement in the area is
  more than 700 kilometers to the north and that
  the Vikings were building much smaller outposts
  than the one discovered.
• The site has just been surveyed by Cedric Bells,
  who has also worked on a New Zealand site
  believed to have Chinese junks. Bells has found
  canals, smelters, mines, Buddhist tombs, Islamic
  graves, barracks, all pointing to a very large
  settlement, Menzies said. "This site is
  unquestionably Chinese and unquestionably
  pre-European. I actually believe it's quite
  possible it was started by Kublai Khan and then
  further developed by Zheng He."
• Carbon extracted from one of the mines is now
  being carbon-dated, and there are plans to
  request permission from the Canadian government
  for DNA testing and carbon-dating to be made on
  the bones found in graves.
• The new evidence is likely to generate as much
  controversy as the book. Tan Ta Sen, president of
  the International Zhen He Society, believes the
  evidence shown in the exhibition is "opening
  doors" but needs to be further substantiated.
• "The book is very interesting, but you still need
  more evidence," Tan argued. "We the society
  don't regard it as an historical book, but as a
  narrative one. I want to see more proof. But at
  least Menzies has started something, and people
  could find more evidence."

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Focus Questions

1. What were the main achievements of the Ming
   Dynasty?
2. Why do you think China stopped long-distance sea
   voyages? Do you agree with their decision?
3. What evidence is there that Zheng He may have
   come to America prior to Columbus? If it is
   proven, how would that change history?