Tradition and Change in East

Asia
Ming and Qing Dynasties and
their interaction with Europe
 The rise of the Ming
• Mongols in decline with
the death of Kublai Khan,
finally overthrown in
1368.
• Massive peasant
rebellion led by Hongwu
• Hongwu a peasant who
turned Buddhist Monk to
survive, brought about a
powerful centralized
state.
 Return to Confucianism
• Six ministries atop an
elaborate
bureaucracy
administered by Civil
Service Exam.
• Empire divided into
provinces, districts,
and counties.
• Villages largely
autonomous.
Great Wall
 Ming fortifications
• While the wall had
begun during the Qin
age, the wall was
largely completed
during the Ming.
• The most frequently
visited parts are Ming
contributions.
 Ming Restoration
• Abandonment of all that was Mongol,
names, dress, writings, and politics. A
complete restoration of everything
Chinese was instituted.
• Significant rebirth of Confucianism.
 The Politics of Hongwu
• Common/orphan
origins
• Rose in military ranks
• Government marked
by: suspicion, scorn
for pretentious
manners of the
scholar class, and a
deep respect for the
past.
Hongwu’s China