Why did China not become a world power in 1500s - Research Paper Example

? Why did China not become a World Power in 1500s? al Affiliation Before the fifteenth century, China was a powerful country on the world stage. It had a vast population, massive trade ties with the western world, advanced technologies, and so much more. The period in China’s history after 1500 saw the Qing Empire dethrone the Ming Empire to take over power in China around the year 1644. The Qing Empire like its predecessor made landmark steps in the expansion of China’s territory by almost half from what the Ming had achieved. This came with a great increase in the population of China and a period of continued peace and prosperity. However, this was short lived and unlike the expectations that China may have competed with the rising powers in Europe, China vanished from the world all the sudden. The cause of this disappearance had begun during the reign of the Ming Empire but had remained unknown for centuries, and historians still debate over this myth. This paper delves into the subject of the history of China after 1500 and analyses possible reasons that might have led to the collapse of the once powerful nation during that period where the territory was under the Ming and the Qing empires. Key words: Dynasty, Ming Empire, Qing Empire, territory, decline. Introduction The decline of China during the period after 1500 can be attributed to the collapse of the two main empires that ruled over China within the period; the Ming Empire that ruled between 1368 and 1644 and the last empire that was Qing Empire, which ruled over China between 1644 and the late nineteenth century. Both of these empires saw China through a period of massive growth and prosperity in the world stage, but their gradual decline had the impact of taking China down from its position on the world trade stage. The Ming Empire took over power in China in 1368, when the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang obtained “the mandate” of heaven. The rule lasted for close to 300 years between 1368 and 1644 with the main reason for its success being the growth of industry and the enhancement of free trade with western powers, specifically Europe (Spielvogel, 2008). Prior to the rule by the Ming Empire, China was under the rule of the Yuan Empire. During the last period of the Yuan empire rule that spanned over 40 years, China was struck by drought and famine, an overflow of the Yellow river that resulted in flooding, a severe pandemic of the plague among other natural disasters. This resulted in the death of millions of Chinese people leading to a feeling within the population that the Yuan Empire no longer had the “mandate of heaven” to rule over China (Willis, 2011). Naturally, this spurred feelings of rebellion among the people and culminated in revolts that began in the 1350s and continued for close to 20 years. The soldiers of the Yuan Empire were overwhelmed and subdued, as the rebel troops took over many Chinese cities and large portions of the country (Spielvogel, 2008). The most successful of these rebel armies was from the south of the Yangtze River and was under the commandeering of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang led the troops in conquering major cities in China including Beijing, which resulted in the court of the Yuan Empire fleeing northwards. Zhu Yuanzhang then claimed the “mandate of heaven” and took over as the emperor of the Ming Empire (Willis, 2011). The beginning of the Qing Empire was marked in an almost similar fashion. Established in Beijing in 1644, the empire took over from the Ming Empire by expelling the remnants of rebels of the Ming Empire, who had occupied Beijing at the time. Like the Yuan Empire that had ruled China before the Ming, the Qing Empire was not Chinese (Thackeray & Findling, 2012). The Qing Empire was under the control of the Manchus; a group of nomadic and tribal folk which originated from the north-eastern frontier of China. While it was regarded as a weak and corrupt empire in comparison to its predecessors, the Qing Empire was also credited as being the most successful empire in terms of conquest in the history of China (Thackeray & Findling, 2012). It was admirable how a small non-Chinese minority group could take over the entire expanse of the large and civilized Chinese territory. One of the largest failures of the Qing Empire was perhaps in its inability to quell the intrusion of the Europeans into China that marked the turn of the nineteenth century. However, while in power the Qing Empire succeeded in bringing forth the unification of China and its expansion in what was to be known as the Manchu Dynasty (Thackeray & Findling, 2012). In order to sustain itself in power within the Chinese society, the Qing Empire managed to Chinese culture so as to promote Chinese acceptance of their rule, while at the same time maintaining the Manchu identity. The Qing Empire took advantage of Chinese culture upon the realization that it would greatly improve Manchu culture due to the Chinese people’s great expertise and skill in the production of agricultural produce, innovation and manufacturing as well as trade. The Manchu constantly took Chinese slaves to help them in creation of an effective and profitable economic system (Thackeray & Findling, 2012). The Decline of the Ming Empire The decline of the Ming Empire was the beginning in the gradual downfall of China after 1500. One of the key reasons that might have led to this decline was the lack of consistency in the policies that were instituted by rulers during their reigns. A change of guard within the Ming Empire often resulted in a change in policy, sometimes to the detriment of the dynasty. After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang who on assumption of power had come to be known as emperor Hongwu, his successor emperor Yongle reversed many of the policies that he had previously come up with in China. For example, during emperor Hongwu’s earlier rule, he had wanted to ensure that the eunuchs had no power within the courts of the empire due to his feeling that they were a threat to his leadership. While the Eunuchs had earlier been involved in the territory’s internal politics and participated in decision making at the court, emperor Hongwu barred the Eunuchs from having any form of power and also saw to it that they were mostly illiterate to quell this threat (Spielgovel, 2008). When emperor Yongle took over power following an insurgence that he led against emperor Hongwu’s grandson Zhu Yunwen, he changed the policy on Eunuchs. Emperor Yongle oversaw the construction of a large fleet of ships which he put a Muslim Eunuch known as Zheng He in charge. Emperor Yongle reversed Hongwu’s policy on Eunuchs by granting them more power. The Eunuch’s once more had powers and achieved the status as a near equal administration to the Confucian authorities (Spielvogel, 2008). This power gained by the Eunuchs however remained a threat to the Chinese throne. One of the last Ming emperors put himself in isolation and was encircled by Eunuchs some of whom ruled on his behalf. They began to cause bedlam which lead to the dwindling of the court. The Eunuchs seized control of a lot of power and often terrorized people by brutalizing and persecuting them leading to the court losing the ability to create and implement effective policies. Additionally, while emperor Hongwu had insisted on a dynasty leadership based on lineage, this policy was reversed after his death under the reign of emperor Yongle. Emperor Yongle also moved the capital of China by destroying the palace constructed in Nanjing under emperor Hongwu’s reign. The capital was moved to Beijing where the palace built by the Yuan Empire was also destroyed. It was replaced instead by Yongle’s palace known today as the Forbidden City (Willis, 2011). Other policy reversals included the policy on merchants. Emperor Hongwu was opposed to the merchant class in China. As a result, he attempted to debilitate them with high taxes and relocation. However, when emperor Yongle took over power, the merchants began to flourish again, and so did Chinese trade. With regards to trade, the policy of emperor Hongwu was that he desired that the prosperity of the empire would be as a result of agricultural activities rather than trade and industry. As a result, the emperor forced the peasants who were farmers to migrate and settle in self-sustaining agricultural communes. He put in place public work schemes there land was distributed to peasants and people who cultivated fallow land were allowed to hold the land as their property without paying taxes to the authorities (Willis, 2011). However, these policies were reversed under emperor Yongle. He removed the bans that had been imposed on trade and set out fleets of ships on missions of collecting tributes and trading with the West. As a result, trade and industry in China prospered, and goods manufactured in China such as silk and porcelain were traded at high prices in the world over (Willis, 2011). Trade in China during the Ming Empire however faced another challenge which also contributed to the beginning of the decline of China. The Mongols began to wage war against the larger China again (Willis, 2011). This war was commenced in an attack where the Mongols led by a leader known as Esen Tayisi launched an attack on the Ming Empire. The in this invasion, the Ming emperor was captured (Willis, 2011). There was a great need for money within the Ming Empire to fund the defense of their territory. The Mongols returned the emperor but they then launched another attack of China under Altan Khan where the raid spread as far as the peripheries of the capital Beijing (Willis, 2011). The grand trade missions which involved the collection of tributes and trade with the West had to be curtailed since they were costly at a time where large sums of money were require to engage in the war against the Mongols. Much of this money was channeled into the reconstruction of the Great Wall of China which was a key point of defense for the territory (Willis, 2011). These defense missions were a great impediment on trade in China and marked the beginning of a period of economic decline for the region. The lack of consistency of trade policy also slowed down economic growth in China. By the year 1500, the empire had adopted an isolationist policy with regards to trade. Trading privately with foreigners was barred and the result was an upsurge in illegal trading. There were only three ports in which trade was officially sanctioned (Willis, 2011). While the Japanese were permitted to carry out trading activities in one of the ports once in every decade, a Portuguese expedition that came to one of the Chinese ports at Guangzhou with the intention of trading was jailed in China resulting in a series of naval battles which China ultimately won. However, the Portuguese succeeded in convincing the Ming Empire’s leadership to allow Portuguese trade in the port of Macau (Willis, 2011). Shortly afterwards towards the middle of the empire’s rule, another policy change saw the allowance and encouragement of trade by private merchants. The merchant class once more became exceedingly rich and influential with the empire developing into an additionally free market (Willis, 2011). However, the country became somewhat over-reliant on foreign trade with the success of the empire being greatly etched into the practice of trading with foreigners. While the empire no longer sent fleets on trading missions as had earlier been the case in the empire, Europeans came to China for trade in the Chinese goods that had a high demand such as silk and porcelain; and also served as middlemen in the trade between the Chinese and the Japanese who also had a great demand for Chinese products (Willis, 2011). This over-reliance on foreign trade led to a monetary crisis in China. During a period of fighting between Spain, the English and the Dutch, the rulers in Spain attempted to re-channel silver being imported from America from being passed through the Ming Empire but rather go directly to Spain (Willis, 2011). This led to a great decline in the flow of foreign money into China as the price of silver increased drastically. In 1639, a Japanese Shogun imposed a limit on foreign imports in a bid to implement an isolationist policy. This let to further diminishing of foreign money in China as well as a decline in trade that resulted in a monetary crisis of huge magnitude (Willis, 2011). Inflation resulting in the drastic rise of the price of silver made the population of farmers in China struggle greatly in the payment of their taxes in silver as the government required. With decreased revenues, the Ming courts lacked the funds to help out Chinese people or to quell the uprisings that were becoming a constant occurrence in the nation. The court was running into great budget deficits. Also, the soldiers who acted in defence of the land pulled out of war due to the failure on the part of the Ming court to pay their dues (Willis, 2011). The Ming Empire was in a fragile state. Towards the end of the Ming Empire rule, China was plagued by a series of natural calamities that led to the people viewing the leadership as one that had lost the “mandate of heaven”. China faced a series of earthquakes, the first of which was the Shaanxi earthquake of 1556. This earthquake perceived as the most fatal earthquake in history measured 8 on the Richter scale and resulted in more than 800,000 deaths. The earthquakes carried on into the 1600s where there were a notably high number of earthquakes with at least 2 crossing the 7 mark on the Richter scale (Willis, 2011). China was further inundated by a period of extremely poor climatic conditions. The weather was abnormally cold and the climate was dry causing a spate of famine, popularly known as the Little Ice Age. A similar climate had previously befallen the Yuan Empire contributing partly to its decline. There was bizarrely a spate of heavy flooding that accompanied the dry weather which was partly as a result of maladministration of the flood-control projects as well as their purposed destruction (Willis, 2011). Additionally, there was a period of war with the Japanese that further destabilized the Ming Empire. A Japanese Shogun attempted to subjugate the region on two separate occasions. While these campaigns were unsuccessful, the wars were an expensive affair for China (Willis, 2011). Similar to the bubonic plague that had contributed to the downfall of the Yuan Empire, the Ming Empire faced a period of a great plague pandemic beginning in 1641. A massive number of people were killed by the plague and in some areas as much as 90% of the population was said to have been wiped out by the plague (Willis, 2011). The final undoing of the Ming Empire was spurred by the rebellion of the Chinese people who no longer feared the Ming court and also felt the empire had lost the “mandate of heaven” to rule over the land. The inability to pay taxes and the recurring starvation due to the harsh climatic and economic conditions led to agitation among the peasants who led by Li Zicheng formed large bands of rebel that began a revolt in western Shaanxi. The empire troops were demotivated and undernourished hence they easily lost to the rebels (Willis, 2011). The Decline of the Qing Empire The decline of China began at the end of the end of the Ming Empire and gradually continued culminating in the collapse of the Qing Empire. Like its predecessor the Ming, it was brought down by a series of natural calamities, uprisings among the population, wars and invasions from external forces, drought and famine, and economic hardships. The primary cause of the decline of the Qing Empire and ultimately the nation of China as a whole was the encroachment by western powers as well as the wars with Europe and Japan. The Qing emperor Qianlong had initially set an isolationist policy with regards to interactions with the Europeans (Spielvogel, 2008). During the period surrounding the First Industrial Revolution, Europeans made massive technological advancement and by the 1800s, they easily overcame the repressive policies of the Qing emperor by conquering the Qing army as well as the Qing navy who were ill-equipped as a result of the meager technological advancements that the empire had made (Spielvogel, 2008). The Qing Empire had no option but to surrender their trading ports to the Europeans. The first of these conquests was in the Opium wars between the Qing Empire and the British (Spielvogel, 2008). During the First Opium War, the British sought to gain greater contact with the Qing Empire, a move which the empire opposed in a bid to avert British influence as well as lock out British Opium. The British responded by conquering and successfully taking over Hong Kong through the establishment of the Treaty of Nanking. This encouraged the British to demand for greater control of trade in China; access to the empire, the entitlement to deploy ships to rivers in China with the intention of trading and for military reasons. The British also demanded to have an embassy in Beijing. On the denial by the court of the Qing Empire, a Second Opium War ensued and the British prevailed almost effortlessly (Spielvogel, 2008). The Qing Empire also engaged in war with the Japanese in what came to be known as the Sino-Japanese War. The Qing Empire suffered a defeat in the battle to the Japanese who had gone through rapid transformation by modernizing and who unlike the British were not interested in trading or gaining access to the ports but rather in surmounting and colonizing the entire area. In 1894, the Qing empire lost another spate of naval battle to the Japanese navy despite having what they perceived as a superior naval technology acquired from Europe. The Japanese had superior training and funding for the warfare compared to the Qing Empire (Spielvogel, 2008). The Qing empire was further weakened by internal rebellions such as the White Lotus rebellion, the Taiping revolt, the Dungan uprising, the Panthay revolt and the insurgence by the people of Miao in Guizhou (Spielvogel, 2008). Like the Ming Empire, the Qing was also afflicted by natural calamities which showed they had lost the “mandate of heaven” and which also furthered the decline of the empire and China as a whole. The Qing suffered a series of floods, two of which are recorded as the worst in the history of the world; these were the flooding of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River in which millions of people were estimated to have died (Spielvogel, 2008). The region was struck by yet another earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale, killing close to 22,000 people. It was known as the Gansu Earthquake. The land was further afflicted by famine with the Qing court providing little support for Chinese people afflicted by the Northern Chinese Famine in which close to 10% of the population in some northern provinces was killed in the famine. The bubonic plague that had characterized the collapse of the Ming Empire struck again in the reign of the Qing serving to further weaken China (Spielvogel, 2008). The series of wars, rebellions, natural calamities and disease left the Qing Empire grappling with economic instability. The population that remained was deprived and depleted of resources and finances. As a result of modernization and the over-reliance on imports and foreign trade, most of the population was out of employment and as a result there was great starvation and poverty. The infrastructure and cheaper products introduced by Europeans in China also led to a decline in the domestic economy as many people were put out of employment or business (Spielvogel, 2008). The lack of contemporary education comparable to that of the British and the Japanese also resulted in slowed growth in China with the elitist classes in society opting to train for Imperial Examinations where ancient Chinese studies were promulgated by the Qing empire as opposed to modern world studies in the fear that Chinese people would learn about the outside world. The Qing Empire instead preferred an isolationist approach to education (Spielvogel, 2008). Conclusion The decline of China that began with the collapse of the Ming Empire and culminated in the collapse of the Qing Empire led to the creation of a new world balance. While the Ming seemed palpable to take over world trade, their withdrawal led to the European nations beginning to affirm their influence in international trade. China also withdrew from the international stage in a bid to reaffirm their policy of cultural isolation and domestic improvement which China felt was being impaired by international engagements. The retreat by China created an avenue for the dominance of Europe in world trade. Reference List Spielvogel, J. J. (2008). Western Civilization: Volume II: Since 1500: Since 1500. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wardsworth Thackeray, F., W., & Findling, J., E. (2012). Events that formed the modern world. (Eds.). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. Willis, J. E. (2011). China and Maritime Europe, 1500–1800: Trade, Settlement, Diplomacy, and Missions. (Ed.). 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