User:Atcovi/History/Japan and China in the 1500s

Ming China
Hongwu: First Ming Emperor-led army against Mongols, which drives out the Mongols from China.

Evidence of Mongol rule: Most evidence of Mongol rule was eliminated by the Ming. The Ming attempted to eliminate all evidence of Mongol rule and encouraged the return to traditional Chinese values and traditions, such as Confucian moral standards.

Moved the capital: The ming moved the capital to the city of Beijing and built the imperial palace known as "The Forbidden City".

Yonglo: Hongwu's son, newly appointed Ming Emperor--Ordered 7 voyages of exploration led by Zheng He.

Zheng He: Chinese Muslim admiral who conducted 7 voyages across the Indian Ocean. Sailed to countries like Southeast Asia, India, Arabian Peninsula, and Eastern Africa. He brought back with him ambassadors and special prizes from the countries he explored. Although the prizes He possessed from his exploration sites, the emperor got fed up and burned all of He's ships and maps in order to look like He never made these voyages. He never completed the emperor's wish of getting tribute.

China’s Isolation

 * Why? China felt it was self-sufficient
 * What did the Ming think of outsiders? The rest of the world was full of barbarians and the Ming decided to stay out of everyone's business
 * Without trade, what did China have to be? Self-sufficient

Qing Dynasty
Manchus: People of mixed ethnicities (Northern China, Mongolia, Siberia/Russia)--took over China in 1644 and overthrew the Ming dynasty. They established the Qing dynasty.

Treatment of outsiders: Continued policy of isolation. European and Christian missionaries wanted to have access to China.

Kangxi: An emperor who liked what he gained (in knowledge). Very impressed with Jesuit's knowledge of astronomy.

Qing Restrictiveness: Christian Missionaries were kept under careful watch--Chinese men were required to wear their hair in a "QUEUE" or long braid.

===Japan circa 1500 BC

Tokugawa shogunate
Emperor’s power: Powerless, just a figure

Shogun/Feudalism: Shogun was from the Tokugaura family, who rules the military; Feudalism was the way the Japanese kept their country safe.

Daimo: Controlled the Samurais

Samurai: Controlled the lower classes like the peasants, artisans, and merchants.

1549 BC
European interactions increased the power of the merchants and decreased the power of the samurais.

Christianity in Japan: Christian missionaries that came to Japan managed to convert large numbers of Japanese peasants to Christianity, going against Japanese culture.

Tokugawa reaction to outside interactions: Banned Christianity, restricted European trade. Europeans were thrown out of Japan, only Dutch were allowed to trade with Japan on one island in the middle of the Nagasaki Bay.

Japanese isolation: The shogun's policy was to try to control foreign ideas. For 200 years, Japan was closed to foreigners... the country lived in isolation.