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The Ming Dynasty followed the Yuan dynasty and it was in place from 1368-1644. The Yuan dynasty had begun under the Mongols and therefore the Chinese did not like it because they saw this control as foreign rule of the country. Eventually the inevitable happened and rebellion broke out. A man named Zhu Yuanzhang was a key leader of this rebellion and after the Yuan dynasty fell he set himself up as Emperor Hongwu and the Ming dynasty was born. (Huang)
Under Hongwu all aspects of society were put under the states control. The emperor was the head of state and had a large bureaucracy to help him. Confucianism flourished and to become a government official one had to take and exam on Confucian principles. (Kimball) Life for the people of China did not improve a whole lot during this time but the population exploded. Going from 60 million and the beginning of the dynasty to 150 million at the end. (Huang)
In foreign affairs the dynasty faired decently but not well. The Chinese were more worried about flaunting their power and subjugating other nations than entering into friendly relationships with them. Several extravagant voyages were organized during the period of the Mings yet not for the purpose of discovery but for the sole purpose of showing off Chinese culture. The West did not like this attitude much and wanted to trade for the precious goods that China had. China was not very open to this but it did eventually allow it with severe restrictions on the foreigners. During this period China was a massive and powerful empire that fought off every attack that came its way. (Huang)
Though the Ming dynasty's power was great it eventually fell. As with the other dynasties, rebellion broke out against wide spread corruption. In combination with this was the attack of the Manchu from Manchuria. The dynasty could not withstand the combined effect of this and the Manchus took over and formed the Qing dynasty. (Kimball)
The first Qing emperor, named Kangxi, started his dynasty by finishing off the rest of the rebels in his domain. After accomplishing this, Kangxi implemented a government much like the previous Ming government. The difference was that this time Manchus held all the highest positions while the Chinese had the lower posts. Kangxi himself was an amazing man who got up early and went to bed late. He worked hard for the success of the empire and believed in going out and visiting his different domains as well as training with his own army. It was this kind of work ethic and organization that set the Qing dynasty up as one of the most powerful in the world. (Kimball)
During the reign of the Manchu, Chinese society was strictly segregated. The Manchus and Chinese remained separate people groups and even dresses differently. The people of the empire prospered as the Qing government favored the well being of the peasant. Also during this time China's borders reached their largest size. This great power and prosperity could not last forever. (Smith)
At the beginning of Qing rule China was very powerful and was respected by the rulers of the world. Yet the Chinese were very set in their ways and therefore did not change much in the following centuries. As a result the West caught up with them and wanted to trade with them for valuable Chinese goods. China was not very open to this and restricted trade very heavily. Several attempts were made by the West to open up trade relations with China but they accomplished very little. (Kimball)
Eventually China's isolationist policy led to war with the British. The first such war was the First Opium War which took place from 1839 to 1842. This was followed by a second Opium war later on in the Century. China lost both of these conflicts because it had refused to modernize. The combination of these losses along with rebellion within the Empire and corruption caused the downfall of the dynasty in 1911. (Kimball)
As can be seen the Ming and Qing dynasties were two of the most powerful in Chinese history and they had much in common. The first thing they had in common was the organization of their empire. Both the Ming and the Qing believed in the supreme authority of the Emperor who was helped by a large number of Bureaucrats. Both dynasties also expanded their borders far beyond what they had been previously and both dynasties improved the quality of Chinese life for a period.
The two empires were also very similar in the approach they took towards foreign affairs. Both were very successful in battle and defeated many enemies. Also both liked to flaunt this power and were convinced that they were the most civilized nation in the world. Both adopted strict isolationist policies and put heavy regulation on trade. They also scorned the West and did not consider it a major power.
Both dynasties also fell the same way. A combination of rebellion, corruption,
and war pulled them both down. With the Ming it was the invasion of the Machu
coupled with rebellion. With the Qing it was the Opium War coupled with the
Boxer Rebellion among others. Both empires were very powerful but also inflexible
and in the end this led to their downfall.
Smith, Joanna F. Handlin. "The Qing Dynasty." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. 1999.
Huang, Ray. "The Ming Dynasty." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. 1999.
Kimball, Charles Scott. "A Concise History of China." http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/china/index.html. 2000.
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