The+Quest+for+Political+Stability;+Ming+Dynasty+(723-727)

=Chapter 27 - Tradition and Change in East Asia =

__**Ming Government **__
 * The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) restored native rule over China after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty.
 * Ming means "brilliant" TK
 * Ming emperors commanded powerful armies BH
 * Hongwu (1368-1398) was the founder of the Ming dynasty, who drove the Mongols out of China and founded a tightly centralized government TK
 * Hongwu trusted eunuchs because of lack of ability to have a family RB
 * Emperor Yongle (1403-1424) used a series of naval expeditions which sailed through the Indian Ocean basin and spread Chinese influence all the way to Malindi in east Africa. TK
 * Set out to eradicate Mongols to create a stable society BH
 * government sponsored study of confucianism BH
 * Ming emperors were determined to prevent new invasions TK
 * Yongle moved the capital of China from Nanjing in the south to Beijing so that they could watch the Mongols more closely in 1421 TK
 * Some early Ming emperors controlled powerful armies that helped control the Mongols military TK
 * Mongols massacred Chinese armies in the 1440s and in 1449 captured the Ming emperor TK

__Technology and Pre-Ming__

 * Chiming clocks new to China from Portugese merchants BH
 * China was the dominant power in East Asia, making it an economic powerhouse as well BH
 * Tokugawa shoguns unified Japanese islands which laid a foundation for economic growth. BH

__**The Great Wall**__
 * The Great Wall was built along the nothern border TK
 * The Great Wall was a Ming-dynasty project RB
 * The Great Wall was made of stone and brick RB
 * The Great Wall ran some 1550 miles along the border and was 33 to 49 feet high TK
 * It featured watch towers, signal towers, and accomomodations for troops stationed on the Great Wall TK

__**Ming Decline**__ __**Ming Collapse**__
 * Ming rule didn't survive beyond the mid sixteenth century because problems started to weaken the dynasty TK
 * Pirates and smugglers operated almost at will along the east coast of China between the 1520s and 1560s TK
 * Since the emperor Wanli(1572-1620) refused to meet with government officials he used eunuchs as intermediaries TK
 * Powerful eunuchs used the influence over the Ming emperors so that they could lead lives of luxury by taking from the government TK
 * Inefficiency and corruption spread through out the government because this influence increased and this weakened the Ming state. TK
 * A series of famines struck China during the early seventeenth century RB
 * The government was unable to organize effective relief efforts RB
 * During the 1630's, peasants revolted RB
 * City by city withdrew its loyalty from the Ming RB
 * Rebel forces captured the Ming capital in Beijing RB
 * Manchus saved the capital yet neglected to restore Ming rule RB