The Mongol and Ming Empires

1. The Mongol and Ming Empires Focus Question  What were the effects of the Mongol invasion and the rise of the Ming dynasty on China?

2. The Mongols were a nomadic people who grazed their horses and sheep on the steppes, or vast, treeless plains, of Central Asia. Rival Mongol clans spent much of their time warring with one another. In the early 1200s, however, a brilliant Mongol chieftain united these warring tribes. Mongol Armies Build an Empire

3. This chieftain took the name Genghis Khan meaning “Universal Ruler.” Under his leadership, Mongol forces conquered a vast empire that stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe

4. Genghis Khan • Originally called Temüjin, Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) was renowned for being ruthless, determined, and courageous. When Temüjin was nine years old, a rival Mongol clan poisoned his father. At the age of 15, Temüjin was taken prisoner. For the rest of his life, he never forgot the humiliation of being locked in a wooden collar and paraded before his enemies.

5. When he regained his freedom, Temüjin wandered among drifting clans. He took revenge on the clan that had imprisoned him and in time, became supreme ruler of all the Mongols. Once despised, Genghis Khan would be admired and feared across two continents

6. Genghis Khan imposed strict military discipline and demanded absolute loyalty. His highly trained, mobile armies had some of the most skilled horsemen in the world. Genghis Khan had a reputation for fierceness. He could order the massacre of an entire city. Yet he also could be generous, rewarding the bravery of a single fighter. Mongols Invade China

7. Mongol armies conquered the Asian steppe lands with some ease, but as they turned on China, they encountered the problem of attacking walled cities. Chinese and Turkish military experts taught them to use cannons and other new weapons. The Mongols and Chinese launched missiles against each other from metal tubes filled with gunpowder. This use of cannons in warfare would soon spread westward to Europe.

8. Genghis Khan did not live to complete the conquest of China. His heirs, however, continued to expand the Mongol empire. For the next 150 years, they dominated much of Asia. Their furious assaults toppled empires and spread destruction from southern Russia through Muslim lands in Southwest Asia to China.

9. Protected by steep mountain ranges, India avoided invasion, but the Mongols arrived in China, devastated the flourishing province of Sichuan (see chwahn), and annihilated its great capital city of Chengdu.

10. Once conquest was completed, the Mongols were not oppressive rulers. Often, they allowed conquered people to live much as they had before—as long as they regularly paid tribute to the Mongols. Rulers Establish Order and Peace

11. Genghis Khan had set an example for his successors by ruling conquered lands with toleration and justice. Although the Mongol warrior had no use for city life, he respected scholars, artists, and artisans. He listened to the ideas of Confucians, Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Jews, and Zoroastrians.

12. In the 1200s and 1300s, the sons and grandsons of Genghis Khan established peace and order within their domains. Today, many historians refer to this period of order as the PaxMongolica, or Mongol Peace.

13. Political stability set the stage for economic growth. Under the protection of the Mongols, who now controlled the great Silk Road, trade flourished across Eurasia. According to a contemporary, Mongol rule meant that people “enjoyed such a peace that a man might have journeyed from the land of sunrise to the land of sunset with a golden platter upon his head without suffering the least violence from anyone.”

14. Cultural exchanges increased as foods, tools, inventions, and ideas spread along the protected trade routes. From China, the use gunpowder moved westward into Europe. Techniques of papermaking also reached parts of Europe, and crops and trees from the Middle East were carried into East Asia.

15. How did the Mongol Empire change once conquest was over? How might Temüjin’s experiences have motivated him to unite the Mongol clans?

16. Although Genghis Khan had subdued northern China, the Mongols needed nearly 70 more years to conquer the south. Genghis Khan’s grandson, Kublai Khan (kooblykahn), finally toppled the last Song emperor in 1279. From his capital at Khanbaliq, present-day Beijing, Kublai Khan ruled all of China as well as Korea and Tibet.

17. Kublai Khan tried to prevent the Mongols from being absorbed into Chinese civilization as other conquerors of China had been. He decreed that only Mongols could serve in the military. He also reserved the highest government jobs for Mongols or for other non-Chinese officials whom he employed. Still, because there were too few Mongols to control so vast an empire, Kublai allowed Chinese officials to continue to rule in the provinces An All-Mongol Government

18. Under Mongol rule, an uneasy mix of Chinese and foreign customs developed. Kublai adopted a Chinese name for his dynasty, the Yuan (yooahn), and turned Khanbaliq into a Chinese walled city. At the same time, he had Arab architects design his palace, and many rooms reflected Mongol steppe dwellings.

19. Kublai rebuilt and extended the Grand Canal to his new capital, which made the shipment of rice and other goods easier. He also welcomed many foreigners to his court, including the African Muslim world traveler IbnBattuta.

20. The Italian merchant Marco Polo was one of many visitors to China during the Yuan dynasty. Although there is some debate on whether Marco Polo reached China, most historians acknowledge that he did indeed reach Cathay (northern China).. Marco Polo Writes About China

21. In 1271, Polo left Venice with his father and uncle. He crossed Persia and Central Asia to reach China. He then spent 17 years in Kublai’s service. Finally, he returned to Venice by sea, visiting Southeast Asia and India along the way.

22. In his writings, Marco Polo left a vivid account of the wealth and splendor of China. He described the royal palace of Kublai Khan (see Traveler’s Tale) and also described China’s efficient royal mail system, with couriers riding swift ponies along the empire’s well-kept roads. Furthermore, he reported that the city of Hangzhou was 10 or 12 times the size of Venice, one of Italy’s richest city-states. In the next centuries, Polo’s reports sparked European interest in the riches of Asia.

23. As long as the Mongol empire prospered, contacts between Europe and Asia continued. The Mongols tolerated a variety of beliefs. The pope sent Christian priests to Beijing, while Muslims set up their own communities in China. Meanwhile, some Chinese products moved toward Europe. They included gunpowder, porcelain, and playing cards Mongols Continue Outside Contact

24. How did Kublai Khan organize Mongol rule in China?

25. The Yuan dynasty declined after the death of Kublai Khan, which occurred in 1294. Most Chinese despised the foreign Mongol rulers. Confucian scholars retreated into their own world, seeing little to gain from the barbarians. Heavy taxes, corruption, and natural disasters led to frequent uprisings. The Ming Restore Chinese Rule

26. Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang (dzooyooahndzahng), a peasant leader, forged a rebel army that toppled the Mongols and pushed them back beyond the Great Wall. In 1368, he founded a new Chinese dynasty, which he called the Ming, meaning brilliant.

27. The Ming restored the civil service system, and Confucian learning again became the road to success. The civil service exams became more rigorous than ever. A board of censors watched over the bureaucracy, rooting out corruption and disloyalty.

28. Economically, Ming China was immensely productive. The fertile, well-irrigated plains of eastern China supported a population of more than 100 million. In the Chang River valley, peasants produced huge rice crops. Better methods of fertilizing helped to improve farming The Economy Grows

29. Reshaping the landscape helped as well. Some farmers cut horizontal steps called terraces into steep hillsides to gain soil in which to grow crops. In the 1500s, new crops reached China from the Americas, especially corn and sweet potatoes.

30. Chinese cities, such as Nanjing, were home to many industries, including porcelain, paper, and tools. The Ming repaired the extensive canal system that linked various regions, made trade easier, and allowed cities to grow. New technologies increased output in manufacturing. Better methods of printing, for example, led to the production of a flood of books.

31. Ming China also saw a revival of arts and literature. Ming artists developed their own styles of landscape painting and created brilliant blue and white porcelain. Ming vases were among the most valuable and popular Chinese products exported to the West. Culture Flourishes

32. Confucian scholars continued to produce classical poetry. At the same time, new forms of popular literature to be enjoyed by the common people began to emerge. Ming writers composed novels, including The Water Margin about an outlaw gang that tries to end injustice by corrupt officials. Ming writers also produced the world’s first detective stories.

33. How did Ming rulers restore a previous style of Chinese government?

34. How did Ming rulers restore a previous style of Chinese government? Answer: They restored the Civil Service System, and Confucian learning again became the road to success

35. Chinese Fleets Sail the Seas • Early Ming rulers proudly sent Chinese fleets into distant waters to show the glory of their government. The most extraordinary of these overseas ventures were the voyages of the Chinese admiral and diplomat Zheng He (jeng he).

36. Starting in 1405, Zheng He commanded the first of seven expeditions. He departed at the head of a fleet of 62 huge ships and over 200 smaller ones, carrying a crew of about 28,000 sailors. The largest ships measured 400 feet long. The goal of each expedition was to promote trade and collect tribute from lesser powers across the “western seas”. Zheng He and His Fleets

37. Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng He explored the coasts of Southeast Asia and India and the entrances to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. He also visited many ports in East Africa. In the wake of these expeditions, Chinese merchants settled in Southeast Asia and India and became a permanent presence in their trading centers

38. Exotic animals, such as giraffes, were imported from foreign lands as well. The voyages also showed local rulers the power and strength of the Chinese empire.

39. What was the relevance of Zheng He’s overseas expeditions?

40. “The countries beyond the horizon and from the ends of the earth have all become subjects. . . . We have traversed immense waterspaces and have behold in the ocean huge waves like mountains rising skyhigh, and we have set eyes on barbarian regions far away . . . while our sails loftily unfurled like clouds day and night continued their course, traversing those savage waves as if we were treading on a public thorough fare.” —Zheng He, quoted in The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth Century (Duyvendak)

41. Exploration Ends • In 1435, the year Zheng He died, the Ming emperor suddenly banned the building of seagoing ships. Later, ships with more than two masts were forbidden. Zheng He’s huge ships were retired and rotted away.

42. Why did China, with its advanced naval technology, turn its back on overseas exploration? Historians are not sure. Some speculate that the fleets were costly and did not produce profit.

43. Also, Confucian scholars at court had little interest in overseas ventures and commerce. To them, Chinese civilization was the most successful in the world. They wanted to preserve its ancient traditions, which they saw as the source of stability. In fact, such rigid loyalty to tradition would eventually weaken China and once again leave it prey to foreign domination

44. Fewer than 60 years after China halted overseas expeditions, the explorer Christopher Columbus would sail west from Spain in search of a sea route to Asia. We can only wonder how the course of history might have changed if the Chinese had continued the explorations they had begun under the Ming.

45. What military equipment is illustrated in the painting? • How did the Mongols come across this equipment (Did they invent it?) • What skills are emphasized by the artist?