Ming Dynasty

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Ming Dynasty

• 1368-1644

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Territory it Controlled

• Korea to Southeast Asia

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Decline of Yuan/Rise of the Ming

• Civil war
• Change of life
• Repeated natural disasters
• Massive peasant rebellions

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Characteristics of the Ming Dynasty

• Last Chinese dynasty
• Zenith 15th c.
• One of Chinas most prosperous
• Strong and complex central government

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Key People

• Zhu Yuanzhang a.k.a.- Hongwu, meaning
  Vast Military
• Founder
• Favored violence
• Created reforms
• Wanted to erase Mongol past
• Maintained a strong military

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Key People contd

• Yanglo
• Pursued aggressive and expansionist policies
• Continued Hongwus policies and moved capital to
  Beijing
• Launched expeditions

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Key People contd

• Zheng He
• Led expeditions to SE Asia, India, and eastern
  coast of Africa starting in 1405
• Distributed gifts to show Chinese splendor
• Last voyages completed in 1433

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Foreign Relations

• Isolationists/Superiority
• Chinese economic policies-agricultural
• Only government conducted foreign trade
• Foreign encroachment multiplied- Japanese
  pirates, Mongols

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Foreign Relations contd

• First Europeans appeared in 1514
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• Christian missionaries

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Society

• Neo-Confucian bureaucrats pushed for
  agrarian-centered based society
• Incredible advances in sciences and arts

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Economy

• Money was a problem from the start
• Initially paper currency
• Led to return of copper coins
• Outlook on merchants/trade
• Southern China utilized

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COPPER COINS
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Additional Information

• Development of the novel
• Wood-cut and block- printing
• Blue and white porcelain
• Encyclopedias
• Dictionaries
• Great wall
• Far ahead of world in naval capabilities at this
  time

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BLUE AND WHITE PORCELAIN
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THE GREAT WALL
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Fall of the Ming/Rise of the Qing

• Internal power struggles
• Groups worked to gain sole power
• Children placed on the throne
• Ming accepted Manchu aid