Group+1+-+The+Quest+for+Political+Stability;+Ming+Dynasty+(723-727)+2

=Group 1 - The Quest for Political Stability; Ming Dynasty (723-727)= =__**Ming Dynasty**__= //Creation of Ming// -Hongwu was the founder of the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644). -He drove Mongols out of China and built a centralized state. -The name Ming means(brilliant) in Chinese.

//Policies of the Ming Dynasty// -Hongwu was deeply conservative adopted policies to strengthen chinese culture. -One of his policies was to remove all mongol influence on China, Mongol dress Mongol names etc. -Hongwu reestablished the Confucian system,further reforming chinese ideologies. -Restored the system of civil service examinations. -Also provided financial support for imperial academies and regional colleges.

//Ming goverment// -Hongwu set up a tightly organanized and centralized goverment. -The Ming dynasty ran the centralized goverment with extensive use of Mandarins and eunuchs. -Mandarins were Imperial officials who oversee government policies. -Placed trust in Eunuchs thinking they could not generate families and so they would not build power bases so they would not challenge authority.

//Accomplishments and ventures of the Ming// -Emperor Yongle launched a series of naval expeditions that sailed through the Indian Ocean all the way to East Africa -In 1421 Yongle moved capital from Nanjing to Beijing to keep a close watch on the Mongols.. -Early Ming emperors commanded large armies that controlled Mongols militarily. -15th century Mongol forces massacred several Chinese armies in 1440's. -With the destruction of their armies they set about adding on to the great wall of China to repel Manchu invaders. -Worked on the wall between the 15-16th century the wall was 1550 miles long 10-15 meters high,with outposts gates and signal fires.

//Weakening and decline of the Ming dynasty// -Strong militarily on land but off the coast pirates raided ships and the coast at will. -Both Ming navy and coastal defenses were ineffective & there were conflicts with the pirates, resulting in disruption of coastal commmunitities and sometimes interior regions. -There were reports of pirates landing on coast and sacking several villages and massacering many without chinese interference. -Rulers started to rule from inside the Forbidden City away and distant from there subjects. -They were corrupted with wealth, and forgot about their empire. -Eunuchs who provided concubines and other wealth were able to send out their own policies and distract emperor. -This corruption was very visible in Emperor Wanli when he refused to meet with government officials.

//Destruction of Ming// -As Emperors basicaly lived in Forbidden city, they were rarely seen by subjects and grew out of touch with them. -Constant raids by pirates with no help futhered the decline of Ming popularity. -Finally a famine killed many peasants,they did not recieve any aid from Ming. -The peasants launched a rebellion and were close to taking Ming capitol. -An army loyal to Ming cut a deal with Manchu forces to open the a gate of the Great wall of China so they could get in and destroy Peasants. -The Manchu destroyed the rebellion but also took the capitol and created there own dynasty,one of the major accomplishments of the Ming(The great wall of China had failed) as the Invaders simply walked through a open gate. //-//The Manchus potrayed themselves as avengers- saved the capital from dangerous rebels, they neglected to restore Ming rule. So they instead moved their own capital to Beijing and displaced the Ming dynasty.