China and Japan During the Age of Exploration

1. China and JapanDuring the Age of Exploration

2. The Age of Exploration Review: • 1100 European crusaders battle Muslims for the Holy Lands in Southwest Asia and are exposed to trade in the Asian world. • After the Crusades Europeans still demand spies such as nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and pepper—all of which flavor the bland food of Europe. • The Muslims and Italian merchants control trade across lands of the Meditterraneans regions. What does this mean?

3. Exploration Takes Off! By the 1400s, European merchants---as well as the new monarchs of England, Spain, Portugal, and France---want to bypass the Muslim and Italian merchants and find a new sea route directly to Asia!

4. Exploration was made easier by: The new caravel vessel and its triangular sails allowed explorers to sail effectively against the wind.

5. The astrolabe, which Muslims perfected helped sailors better determine their location on the sea.

6. Exploration Takes Off! • Prince Henry of Portugal (1394 – 1460) or Henry the Navigator helped conquer the Muslim city of Ceuta in North Africa. • Prince Henry caught a glimpse of the dazzling wealth that lay beyond Europe. • 1419 – He founded a navigation school • Shipbuilders, scientists, & sea captains gathered there to perfect their trade. • 1488 – Diaz ventured past the Cape of Good Hope and reached port cities in Asia.

7. What does all this mean? • European explorers had dreams of finding new routes to Asia to trade with the Chinese . • They even made it to the shores of Japan. In this lesson we’ll see how the Chinese and Japanese reacted to the Europeans…And describe Europe’s impact on Asia.

8. China’s Ming Dynasty By the time Europeans dropped anchor of China’s coast the Ming Dynasty had become the dominant power in the region.

9. The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) First Ming Emperor • Hongwu commanded the rebel army that drove out the Mongols in 1368. • Hongwu ruled from the Yuan capital of Nanjing in the south • Did not allow outsiders from distant lands to threaten China’s peace and prosperity!

10. The Ming Dynasty Under Hongwu: • Increased rice production • Improved irrigation • Encouraged fish farming • Returned to Confucian moral standards • Improved the imperial administration by restoring the merit-based civil service examination system. • Later Hongwu became a ruthless tyrant

11. Hongwu to Yonglo • Suspecting assassination attempts Hongwu conducted purges where thousands of government officials are killed. • Hongwu died in 1398 • Yonglo (son of Hongwu) steps into power. • Yonglo moved the royal court to Beijing. • Yonglo becomes curious about the outside world. • 1405 Yonglo launches the first of seven voyages.

12. Chinese Muslim Admiral Zheng He • All seven voyages were led by Zheng He

13. Chinese Exploration • Zheng He • Early Chinese explorer • Earliest voyages to Southeast Asia & India • Later to the voyages went as far as Arabia and Africa • Up to 300 ships on each expedition • Crews numbered about 27,000 people per voyage made up of: • Sailors, soldiers, carpenters, interpreters, accountants, doctors, and religious leaders • Distributed gifts such as gold and silk in order to collect tribute from new trading partners.

15. Chinese Exploration to Isolation • Chinese officials complained the voyages wasted valuable resources • After the seventh voyage ended in 1433 there were no more • 1433 – China withdraws into self-sufficient isolation • New rule: Only the govt was to conduct foreign trade

16. Profit-minded Chinese merchants smuggled cargoes of silk, porcelain, and other valuable goods out of the country into the eager hands of European merchants. • Demand for Chinese goods had a ripple effect on economies manufacturing and commerce increased! • However: Commerce offended Confucian beliefs. Merchants made their money “supporting foreigners and robbery.”

17. Isolation Meant: • Restricted trade policies • Foreign trade in two ports: Macao and Canton • The smuggling occurred along the coast

18. Christian Missionaries Come to China • Missionaries brought Christianity • Brought European inventions (including the clock and the prism) • Matteo Ricci, an Italian Jesuit, was the first Missionary to have an impact. • Ricci gained favor at the Ming court through his intelligence and ability to speak and write Chinese. • Educated Chinese opposed Christianity

19. Forbidden City – was built by Yonglo (1404-1420) was a stunning monument to isolationism . It was a stunning palace complex at the capital city, Beijing. It was known as the Forbidden City because all commoners and foreigners were forbidden to enter without special permission

20. Fall of Ming…Rise of Qing • Ineffective rulers, corrupt officials, and a government out of money ended the Ming Dynasty. • 1644-The Manchus of Manchuria invaded China. • The Ming could not repel the attack. • The Manchus took a Chinese name for their dynasty, the Qing (chihng) Dynasty For years Chinese resisted rule by the Non-Chinese Manchus. Rebellions flared up.

21. Kangxi • Kangxi became emperor in 1661. • Ruled for 60 years • Kangxi reduced government expenses and lowered taxes • Scholar and patron of the arts, Kangxi gained the support of Chinese intellectuals by offering them government positions. • Enjoyed Jesuits at court. Jesuits kept him informed of inventions and the latest developments in science, mathematics, and new medicines in Europe.

22. Qian-long (chyahn-lung) • Kiangxi’s grandson, ruled from (1736-1795) • Industrious like his grandfather – rose at dawn and worked on problems of the empire (armed nomads on its borders, Christian missionaries, and European merchants) • Qian-long had to deal with the new masters of Indian Ocean trade – the Dutch

23. The Kow-Tow Ritual • All diplomats had to pay a tribute to the Chinese and… • Perform the “kowtow” ritual. This involved kneeling in front of the emperor and touching their heads to the ground nine times. • Dutch performed the kowtow ritual and returned home with porcelains and silks.

24. Great Britain also wanted to increase trade with China. • In 1793 Lord George Macartney delivered a letter from King George III to Qian-long. The letter asked for a better trade arrangement, including Chinese acceptance of British manufactured goods. • Macartney refused to kowtow to the emperor. • Qian-long denied Britain’s request and made it clear that China was self-sufficient!

25. Korea • In 1636 the Manchus conquered nearby Korea and made it a vassal state • It was a member of the Chinese tribute system. • Koreans organized their government according to Confucian principles • Korea adopted China’s technology, culture, and especially its policy of isolation.

26. Daily Life • Farmers used irrigation and fertilizers to grow new crops such as corn and sweet potatoes brought by Europeans • Chinese families expanded and more of an emphasis was put on sons, rather than daughters. Because of this female infants were not valued and many female infants were killed as a result. • Great fiction masterpiece was written at this time: Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Zhan

27. Japan Issues for the time period: • Internal power struggles: Shoguns and military leaders struggle for power • Arrival of Foreigners and their Impact • Japan turns to isolationism.

28. Japan Limits Western Contact • 1467 – civil war shattered Japan’s feudal system • The country collapsed into chaos • Centralized rule ended. • Power drained away from the shogun to territorial lords in hundreds of separate domains. • This time in history lasted from 1467-1568 and is known as the “Warring States” period or Sengoku. • Powerful samurai seized control of old feudal estates.

29. Daimyo or warrior –chieftains became lords in a new kind of Japanese feudalism. • Under the daimyos security came and the emperor at Kyoto served as a figurehead. • This new feudalism resembled European feudalism • Daimyos built fortified castles and created small armies of samurai on horses. • Later foot soldiers with muskets were added • Rival daimyo often fought each other for territory.

30. Oda Nobunaga Nobunaga (brutal and ambitious) defeated his rivals and seized the imperial capital at Kyoto in 1568. His motto was “rule by force.” Nobunaga eliminated the remaining rival daimyo and wealthy Buddhist monasteries aligned with his enemies by using 3, 000 musketeers to crush an enemy force of samurai cavalry in 1575. This was the first time firearms were used in battle in Japan.

31. Toyotomi Hideyoshi • Nobunaga was not able to unify Japan • He commits seppuku, the ritual suicide of a samurai, in 1582, when one of his own generals turned on him. • Toyotomi Hideyoshi – set out to destroy the daimyos that remained hostile. • By 1590 Hideyoshi controlled most of Japan. • Eventually he conquered China and invaded Korea in 1592.

32. When Hideyoshi died in 1598, his troops withdrew from Korea. • Tokugawa Ieyasucompleted the unification of Japan in 1600 by defeating his rivals at the Battle of Skigahara. • His victory earned him the loyalty of all the daimyo in Japan. Begins Tokugawa Shogunate • To keep his daimyo loyal Ieyasu required that they spend every other year in the capital. Even when they returned to their lands they had to leave their families in Edo (Tokyo) as hostages to ensure loyalty. Edo became Japan’s new capital.

33. Every Day Life • Farmers produced more food and the population rose. • Peasants were weighed down by heavy taxes, living lives of misery. • Peasants moved to expanding urban towns • The Merchant class and the rich prospered in Tokugawa society. • Everyone, rich and poor alike, benefited from a flowering of Japanese culture: Noh dramas (tragedies) , Kabuki theater, Haiku poetry, woodblock printing

34. Europeans Reach Japan • 1543 First Encounter: Shipwrecked Portuguese sailors wash up on the shores of Japan • At first – Very curious! Welcomed the traders and missionaries • Introduced new technologies and ideas: Brought – clocks, eyeglasses, tobacco, firearms, and other unfamiliar items from Europe. • Portuguese cannons & firearms excite the daimyo – increased the need to build fortified castles • Hoped to involve themselves in Japanese trade

35. Christian Missionaries to Court • Christian missionaries arrived 1549 • Francis Xavier, a Jesuit, led the first mission to Japan • Baptized about a hundred converts. • Accepted mainly for European goods they made available • 300,000 converts by 1600 • Became socially and politically influential Ieyasu feared religious uprisings should he ban the European merchants • At first he does nothing

36. Persecution of Christians • By 1612 he feared uprisings more and therefore banned Christianity • Then he focused on ridding his country of all Christians. • In 1637 an uprising in southern Japan of some 30,000 peasants, led by dissatisfied samurai, shook the Tokugawa regime – so many of the rebels were Christian. The shogun decided that Christianity was at the root of the rebellion.

37. Zen Buddhism Takes Hold • The shoguns ruthlessly persecuted Christians. • All Japanese were forced to demonstrate faithfulness to some branch of Buddhism. • Zen Buddhism –had the greatest impact on Japanese culture. It especially influenced the samurai. • Zen Buddhists sought spiritual enlightenment through meditation. Strict discipline of mind and body was the Zen path to wisdom.

38. Japan Closes to the Outside World Official Policy of Isolation • By 1639, Japan’s borders were sealed to foreigners and instituted a “closed country policy.” • One port – Nagasaki – remained open to foreign traders. Only Dutch and Chinese merchants were allowed into the port. • For more than 200 years Japan was closed to outside trade and influence and continued as a self-sufficient country, free from European attempts to colonize.