The Origin and Fall of the Ming Dynasty - Essay Example

The Origin and fall of The Ming Dynasty Name Date Affiliation The origin and fall of the Ming dynasty Introduction The Ming dynasty is among the strongest and best dynasty that have ruled china.zhu Yuanzhang claimed mandate from heaven and in 1368 he ultimately established the Ming dynasty and it lasted for approximately 300 years. The dynasty prospered from the freer trade, industry and international trade but ultimately it fell to various inbound and critical rebellions and the fierce attack from the Manchus (Brook, 1998).Its noteworthy to point that the dynasty was among the last dynasty which was supported by Han ethnic group in the country of China. Compared to the Yuan dynasty commanded by Mongols, the Ming dynasty was the best dynasties that due its ability to withstand completion and general challenge that were evident. The Ming dynasty managed to rule Great Ming dynasty (former name of China) and its capital was Beijing which fell in 1644. The remnants of the Ming throne and power managed to survive until 1962 though, ultimately exterminated (Brook, 1998). Origin and rise of the Ming Dynasty The Mongol led Yuan dynasty RULED prior the establishment of the Ming dynasty and historians believe that the Mongols act of discriminating the Han Chinese during the Yuan dynasty was the ultimate cause of the end of that particular dynasty. The discrimination contributed to revolts by the peasants and ultimately pushing the Yuan dynasty up to the Mongolian steppes. On the other hand, other historians such as Joseph Walker disputed the theory and asserted that the internal weakness and poor organization contributed to the fall. Moreover, the other causes that contributed to the fall included the over circulation of the paper currency hence leading to extensive inflation during the reign of emperor Shundi. The flooding of the Yellow river also contributed to the fall where the irrigation projects were abandoned (Brook 1998, p 67). In late years of the Yuan, agriculture being the sole help for the dynasty was I shambles and this contributed to the fall of the dynasty (Brook 1998,p58).upon calling the hundreds of the civilians to work in the Yellow river irrigation schemes, war broke out and this contributed to the instability which culminated in the disintegration of the dynasty ultimately. The Han Chinese led by Zhu Yuanzhang started the war and an ancient intellectual fraternity by the name summer place assisted him and ultimately they established dominance. The rebellion took place effectively aand the Ming dynasty successfully took charge in 1368. Hongwu managed to maintain and keep powerful and organized army which was commonly referred to as the Wei-So system which resembled the Fu-ping system which came from the well known Tang dynasty. In reference to famous Ming Shish Gao, the ultimate political intention of the Wei-so system was maintaining a strong army and avoiding any bond between the commanding officers and the soldiers. Hongwu, went ahead and supported the creation of the self-supporting agricultural communities which could provide enough food for the people hence promoting stability in the dynasty. The Neo-Feudal land tenure developments of the late Song times were used especially with the establishment of the Ming Dynasty (Brook 2005, p.89). The government confiscated Great lands and later fragmented them and rented them out. It’s paramount to note that private slavery was prohibited in the dynasty and therefore, it was not possible for one to hold slaves to work for them ().After the death of the reknowed Yongle emperor, some rich and independent landholders continued and dominated the agriculture since they had more lands to cultivate. Government Early reign Immediately after the birth of Ming dynasty, the emperor Zhu Yuanzshang went ahead and implemented several policies which aimed at reducing the burden of the peasants and ultimately leading to productivity in the entire society. On the other hand, the emperor focused much of his attention to preventing and punishing the court officials who were corrupt and had nothing good for the kingdom. Moreover, he sent the sons to go and supervise the local administration in attempt to strengthen the hold on imperial power.After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang, his grandson took over and he reigned for only four years and was deposed by Zhu Di whose reign was considered as a dynasty (Chan 1982p.39). The leadership of Zhu Di was considered to be the most prosperous in the entire period which the dynasty lasted. During his reign he managed to send a eunuch by the name Zhenghe to lead the Ming’s fleet across Indian Ocean and they managed to visit many countries in the south east hence expanding and painting the influence of the Ming dynasty worldwide. At the same time, Emperor Chengzu, started constructing an imperial palace from the year1406 and later moved the capital city from Yingtian to the land of Beijing in 1421(Chan 1982,p.45). The internal and basic administration of the Chinese governmental institutions has been the same for many years though each and every dynasty had special bureau and offices for particular purposes. Ming administration was also structured following the same way which composed of; grand secretariat (Zhongshusheng) whose work was helping the emperor besides the other six ministries. the ministries included the following; Liubu ( personnel management), the revenue commonly refeered to as ( hubu), the rites publicly known as (libu), and the war(bingbu) the justice(xingbu), the entirely public works (gongbu) and the department of the state affairs (Shanshu sheng).The censorate were charged with the responsibility of surveying the works of the imperial officials though an old institution with an old name. The first emperor of Ming abolished the secretariat in his persecution mania, the military commission and he took the responsibilities personally took over the administration for purposes of security scrutiny. The Grand Secretariat was reinstalled without employing the ground counselors(chancellors) and the ministries were headed by the ministers by the name shangzu and also run by the directors(langzong) who stayed under the direct control and surveillance of the emperor until the end of Ming dynasty. The Censorate also reinstalled and staffed with the skilled investigating censors known as (jiancha yushi) and later on the censors in chief (Chan 1982p.67). One special interest occurrences during the Ming Dynasty was the vast staffing of the dynasty with thousands of eunuchs and they were headed by the notorious directorate of the palace attendants. The attendants had various responsibilities such as staffing, carrying out rites, documentation, giving the seals, gardening among other state functions. The princes and other descendants of the first and founder Ming dynasty were given a nominal military command and huge estates of land which lacked the title in attempt to make allegiant to the emperor. The Ming emperors normally adopted the provincial administrations which were similar to that of Mongols and the thirteen provinces are the origin of the modern provinces (Huang 1981, p.67). Moreover, there were some provincial prefectures and they included the following; fu, zhifu zhou zhizhou, xian and finally the zhixian. Similar to the initial dynasties, travelling military inspector or commonly known as grand coordinator (xunfu) usually controlled the work of the provincial administrators. During renowned the Ming Dynasty there was also military inspector who examined recruitment process for one to become a soldier (Huang 1981,p.56). Culture and Science The culture and science and literature developed rapidly in the Ming dynasty and great classical masterpieces of Chinese culture were produced during the era. For instance, the journey to the west, romance and the three kingdoms and outlaws of marsh are some of the classical literatures that were written during the era. Moreover, other well known novels-peony pavilion and the plum in the Golden vase are also exemplary works which were done in that particular time. On the other hand, folk literature managed to prosper and it’s represented by a group of various writers such as the Tang Yin, Song Lian, Wu Weiye among others. In the era of philosophy the Wang Yangmin thoughts known as the philosophy of the mnd.This formed a new thinking which helped in shaping the social trends (Tuan 2008, p.56). Prior the sixteenth century, scientific developments of the Ming Dynasty were the leading in the world. These documents were very crucial in the Ming kingdom and still today they are applicable in the research and study. Moreover, military technology was not left behind and it advanced significantly during the period. A gun by the name huochong gun and other powerful artilleries were invented during the era which promoted conquer and war fare. History humorously asserts that a man by the name Wan Hoo made an attempt tried to fly to the sky through sitting on chair that was propelled by the gun powder sticks. However, his attempt failed terribly hence becoming a sacrifice for the adventure (Watson 1991.p 45). Exploration and isolation The Chinese continued and gained influence in the Turkestan and maritime Asian nations usually sent tributes and envoys for the Chinese emperor. Internally, the Grand Canal was later expanded and this proved to be stimulus fir domestic trade which went ahead and strengthened the dynasty. the expedition that were sent to overseas by the emperor under the leadership of zheng, did not only popularize china(Ming empire) but also promoted its growth and development through conventional trade. However, these expeditions are said to have stimulated mercantilism which later led to the collapse of the dynasty (Tuan 2008, p78). The interests in relation to commercial lobbies’ incorporation to various religious affiliations were highly linked due to their known offensive stand during the neo-Confucian sensibilities of the elites. The religious lobbies usually promoted commercialism and exploration which had commercial interests and diverted money from the anticlerical efforts of the Confucian scholars. This expedition contributed to the growth of the empire and also promoted inclusion of the foreign culture. The first and famous expedition was in 1405, and it consisted of 317 ships with a total of 28,000 men- tend to be the largest naval expedition in the history of China. Zheng spearheading the entire convoy ensured that the export goods mainly silk, porcelain were traded with foreign goods which brought back luxuries such as the spices and the tropical woods. These goods and traders also came up with a foreign culture in architecture, clothing and feeding Tuan 2008, p.45). The Ming military conquests The original beginning of the Ming dynasty was marked with strong military power as they were trying to hold power and cement it. In his early years of his reign the first emperor Zhu Yuanzhang provided instructions and injunctions which were paramount for the success of the kingdom. He asserted that the countries which were located in the north posed great danger for the kingdom while those in the south did not pose any challenge for the government. These statements meant that they would attack those in the north and leave those in the south since they were loyal and friendly to them. These policies and conquests ultimately made the dynasty strong and effective in the long run (Chan 1981, p.67) Decline and fall of the Ming dynasty After a long period of military, political and economic prosperity of the Ming dynasty, a time came when empire started falling apart. Research postulates that the decline of the Ming dynasty can be attributed to the era of Emperor Shenzong. Under the influence of the wise and skillful chancellor by the name Zhang Juzheng, the emperor made significant improvements in agriculture, economy, conservation of water and military affairs. However, after the death of Zhang Juzheng, the emperor started to neglect the affairs of the state in his late reign his army was defeated by the latter leader of the Jin regime. After the defeat, the Ming Court fell into a passive state due confrontation with the Jin set up (Brook 2005, p.47). The end of the dynasty remarkably started from the last emperor by the name Weizong and the reign went by the name Chongzen. The crisis was attributed to which was rampard within the court officials and entire domination of eunuchs. In that time, exploitation from the ruling class and the natural calamities and disasters in the successive years caused the eventual fall. In 1628, dozens of rebels and military forces went ahead and launched battles in the northern areas of Shaaxi province and that caused great instability in the region. Among the leaders of the rebel army was Li Zicheng who was heavily supported and trusted by the peasants in the northern region. In the year 1644, Lizcheng managed to capture Xian and also founded the new regime known as the Dashun. Similarly, in the same year, the emperor ultimately hanged in the hill of Jingshan in Beijing city and that marked the end of the dynasty (Brook 2005, p89). Natural calamities such as famine, earthquakes and brought also contributed to the fall of the empire in one way or the other. In the first half, of the 1600, famines were very common in the northern part of china because of its environment of cold and dry weather that normally led to short the growing seasons. These changes of climate that occurred in most parts of the world were known as Little Ice Age and it was marked with many calamities. Moreover, plagues killed many people in the region and more especially the great epidemic which started in 1641 and about 905 of the people died as a result of the plague. The plague was known as the Bubbonic plague which attacked the empire for several decades (Brook1998, p.45). Conclusion In conclusion, it’s evident that Ming Empire was among the long dynasties which lasted for approximately 300 hundred years. The dynasty has contributed to the mourn culture and governance since most of the aspects of culture and governance have massive borrowing from the dynasty. Trade and farming were the main sources of revenue and through that, the empires managed to build military which supported and protected the empire. It’s important to note that through the dynasty many countries today have benefited. Therefore, Ming dynasty is not only history but also provides practical solutions for challenges facing people today. References Brook, T. (1998). The confusions of pleasure: commerce and culture in Ming China. Berkeley: University of California Press. Brook, T. (2005). The Chinese state in Ming society. London: RoutledgeCurzon. Chan, A. (1982). The glory and fall of the Ming dynasty. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. Huang, R. (1981). 1587, a year of no significance: the Ming dynasty in decline. New Haven: Yale University Press. Tuan, Y. (2008). A historical geography of China. Piscataway, N.J.: Aldine Transaction Publishers. Watson, R. S. (1991). Marriage and inequality in Chinese society. Berkeley: University of California Press. Read More