The Ming Dynasty
Emperor Zhu
The Ming dynasty began in 1368 with a man called Zhu Yanzhang, a man of peasant origin. In the time of his youth, the country’s former government system had disintegrated, ending the rule of the Yuan dynasty. China lay in disorder, with militant organizations struggling for power. Zhu grew up as a witness to the harsh realities of this period: his region had been subjected to floods, famine, and disease, the latter taking the lives of both his parents. Zhu left home to join a Buddhist monastery until it was burned down by militia. Left without a home again, he wandered out to find and join a rebel group calling themselves the Red Turbans. Both his stay at the monastery and his stint with the Turbans infused Zhu with Buddhist, Confucian and Daoist values. He followed these closely throughout his reign, and tried to implement them on the Chinese people’s way of thinking.
Through ruthlessness, determination – and marrying the general’s daughter, Zhu rose through the ranks of the Red Turbans and became general of the ever-expanding rebel army. He conquered Nanjing in 1368, proclaimed himself Emperor, and made it his capital. Thus the Ming Dynasty was founded.
Zhu’s ruthlessness and resolve translated to his reign as Emperor. By promoting agriculture as the country’s financial basis, while looking down on trade as ‘parasitic’, Zhu was closely following Confucian ideals. He likewise implemented Confucian morals as the operating standard for Chinese families. However, unlike Confucius’ strict teachings of anti-militarism, Zhu saw the importance of having a sound army. He created excellent conditions for the military, which got allotted land, to thrive as an exalted, self-supporting social class.
Throughout the extent of his reign, Zhu became increasingly frustrated and paranoid. He mistrusted everyone, and insisted on doing all the paperwork needed to run the country himself. Exhausting himself in this manner, he only grew more cold-blooded. As a result of his fear of an uprising, as well as his increasingly impossible ideas of morality that people consistently failed to live up to, Zhu executed many officials and implemented purges resulting in the loss of over 100,000 lives.
Zhu’s descendants periodically struggled amongst each other for the throne. More importantly, the country found itself in a state of internal dispute and constant economic pitfalls. The Mongols had several settlements within China, and there was great internal dispute within the communities. In all cases, the Han Chinese had the supreme position over other races. After several decades, when the races were sufficiently mixed together, they became more accepting of each other’s presence.
Chinese Merchant Vessel
The semi-feudal system was gradually losing efficiency as the peasants and the landowners did not respect each other. In response to the peasants’ needs for extra food supplies after bad harvests, the landowners would ask for more interest, which the peasants naturally could not afford. This problem persisted throughout the Ming period.
Although the Ming emperors did not respect trade, a great naval fleet had nonetheless established itself in the beginning of the period. This was done in order to enhance Chinese defenses as well as to establish relations with remote states. The Chinese fleet was involved, rather unsuccessfully, in supporting the collapsing Tran dynasty in Vietnam in 1407, and later to defend Korea against a Japanese invasion in 1592-98.
Merchants worked under difficult conditions. The government taxed them heavily, and to avoid these taxes many tradesmen chose to work undercover. Without proper military protection for the merchants’ vessels, the latter often became a target for pirate attacks. The pirates on the Southern coasts presented as big a problem as the Mongol invasions by the Northern border. The latter were deterred by the restoration of the Great Wall to its 1,500km length, with many watchtowers, acting as a buffer between the feuding nations.
The second half of the Ming dynasty reign coincided with the European age of exploration, and it is in this period that trade lost some of its stigma as a disreputable vocation. Many trading vessels were coming in from countries such as Portugal and Italy. The former provided China with crops such as sweet potatoes, peanuts and maize. This was a very good aid for famine-plagued Chinese farmers, as these new crops could grow on hilly or sandy soil that was previously barren. The introduction of these crops also contributed to vast population growth.
China exported mainly silk and porcelain, and imported much silver from Peruvian and Mexican mines, transported via Manila. This greatly stimulated Chinese economy. Internally, many small towns grew up around markets, with trading routes set up between them. This helped bridge the distance between Chinese towns and bring the people closer together, rescuing the nation somewhat from its scattered state.
The poorly organized social classes made it difficult for the sovereigns to sustain the economy. Aside from the problems between peasants and landowners and the racial disputes, it was also nigh impossible to have any guarantees of a successful career. The literati were a class of prominent young men who wished to serve the government. These men were highly educated with intellectual pursuits, but all were required to pass a standardized, constricted examination in order to achieve status and be eligible for good jobs. The highest level of aspiration for these men was to be government officials, but they could also gain stipends and be exempt from labour service. However, near the end of the Ming period there were so many of these learned men that the class became financially unsustainable.
The Ming dynasty met its downfall due to financial collapse as well as persisting Mongol invasions and triumphs. Taxes increased in 1639, followed by floods, drought, locusts and epidemics. Rebellion spread, the Ming government faced bankruptcy, and the death toll mounted. Li Zicheng, a former shepherd and postal relay station worker, led a rebellion and successfully captured Hubei, Henan, Shaanxi and, finally, moved into Beijing in 1644, where the emperor in despair took his own life.
The Ming Dynasty failed at implementing a financial and social system that could unify China and make it prosper. Men of exceptional thinking were suppressed during the period, which stalled scientific and philosophical progress. Because of this, China had not lived up to its potential for scientific development on an international scale. The end of the dynasty effectively left the country in ruin and internal conflict. The reign of the Ming dynasty is therefore held in a negative light by most historians. However, the Ming period left an extremely valuable legacy of art and literature, as well as opened the gates – if reluctantly – to international trade. Its contribution to the future of China in these ways is undeniable.
Written by Kat Shapiro
