Abstract China has been governed twice by a foreign group. The first was that of the Mongols, in the thirteenth century. The second was that of the Manchus, in the seventeenth century. This paper explains the reasons why the Mongols were only able to govern for a relatively short period of time, during which they caused an incredible amount of discontent among the Chinese, and why the Manchus managed to be much more successful in controlling China until the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The paper examines events preceding the Mongol and Manchu conquests, as well as the ways by which the invaders were able to establish sovereignty. The important aspects of the Mongol and Manchu administrations are also examined, with an emphasis on the differences in those administrations, which provides reasons for Mongol failure and Manchu success. Finally, the demise of both dynasties is examined.
From the Paper "The Mongols originated in the northern steppe, the land of which was not very accommodating for sedentary agriculture. Consequently, the Mongols were a nomadic people, specialists in animal husbandry and horse riding. From a very young age the males and females learned to ride on horseback and shoot arrows, creating a highly skilled fighting force. The Mongols organized themselves into tribes, which on occasion united under one khan. The Mongols considered their free lifestyle superior to that of the stationary farmers to the south. The Han Chinese in contrast relied on agriculture to fund the economy. The literati, a group made up of learned men who spent their days philosophizing and painting in the countryside, were revered. Due to an established examination system, the society was relatively mobile, allowing men from low ranking families to work as high government officials. The Chinese felt themselves above the barbarian nomads to the north. This great disparity between the two cultures is the greatest cause of the inability of the Mongols to control China effectively."
Tags:chinadynastymongolmanchuagrarianemperorconquered westerner's empire, great wall, ming suicide heaven japan asian porcelain, genghis khan, han sovereignty
Abstract This paper argues that although the Qin dynasty did not last very long it provided the framework for all the other dynasties to follow until 1945.
From the Paper "China has a long history of dynasties and Emperors. Some of these dynasties and Emperors were very powerful, enduring and memorable. Others tended to be weak, short lived and forgettable. The first Emperor Qin Shihuang is a very controversial figure in Chinese history. On one hand he managed to unify China and create many long lasting monuments and institutions. On the other hand the dynasty that he founded was short lived and he made many enemies. It will be argued in this essay that Emperor Qin Shinhuang and his short-lived Qin dynasty managed to create institutions and monuments that lasted for thousands of years. "
Abstract This paper reports that the Chinese response to the West began with the early belief that the West's influence could be controlled but later shifted to the understanding that the West clearly had the resources, skills and will needed to impose its influence on China. The author feels that the great irony of the Chinese response to the West was always that, so far as dealing with foreigners was concerned, the Manchu Qing themselves had always been regarded by the Chinese people as long-resident foreigners. This paper concludes that, forced to accept a degree of republicanism and faced with further challenges from various patriotic groups. The Qing abdicated in 1911, essentially leaving the Chinese people to begin the process of dealing with the power and influence of the West all over again.
From the Paper "In view of the severity of the challenges to the dynasty's power, it is hardly surprising, as Teng and Fairbanks note, that "by 1860 the rulers of China had wasted twenty years in refusing to face the problems created by Western contact." But, coming on top of all its other difficulties, the second war with the British, accompanied by the French this time, resulted in the defeat of Manchu troops guarding Beijing and the emperor was forced to flee and to accept all the Westerners' terms that had been resisted for over a decade. This finally led to the serious rethinking of options regarding the challenge of the West and the promotion of internal self-strengthening was accepted as a general response to this and many other problems."
Abstract This paper discusses how Chinese historians have tended to downplay the impact of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) upon China and how this is an understandable tendency given the fact that the Yuan Dynasty was a non-Chinese dynasty of nomadic conquerors. However this hostility has resulted in Chinese historians often overlooking the accomplishments of this Dynasty in their period of rule in China. It examines the Mongol impact upon China in terms of economy, religion, intellectual and cultural life and foreign relations.
Abstract This paper argues that even though the Mongols have been synonymous with barbarism and violence, the Mongol empire in China had its innovations.It looks at how the Mongols showed considerable open-mindedness towards different cultures, religions and the arts, borrowing Buddhist and other ideas and trying to understand the people ruled. Mention is made of communications, attention to agriculture, as in the Yellow River diversion project, and efforts to make use of existing elites without giving them too much power.
From the Paper "The Mongol Empire in China tends to have a low reputation attached, in view of the Mongols having destroyed the Song Dynasty that was associated with much achievement and which was certainly seen as superior by the Chinese elite. For many years, numbers of Chinese resisted the Mongols, remaining loyal to the southern Song kingdom, keeping alive the dream of a Song restoration. (Schirokauer, 1998, 221) It was helpful to see the Mongolian invader as wild, senselessly violent and also, primitive, as was not exactly accurate, as this short paper explains."
This paper details emperor Hui-Tsung's life, not only as an ineffectual leader but as an accomplished artist, specializing in delicately colored bird-and-flower paintings.
Abstract This paper contains in-depth research on the life of emperor and artist Hui Tsung. The author of this paper discusses Hui-Tsung as a sophisticated antiquarian, whose talent and vision became an increasingly important factor in Chinese art. What differentiated Emperor Hui-tsung's painting style and that of the Literati was the emperor's main focus on Taoistic idealistic realism. Numerous historians of art believe that the Northern Sung Dynasty period produced the greatest realistic landscapes in China's history. This extensive paper also covers in detail the different views and aspects on the history of art in China.
Topics covered in this paper include:
Introduction
The Northern Dissident Literati
Su Ch'e
Confucianism and Taoism
Emperor Hui-tsung
Li T'ang
Xia gui
Conclusion
Chinese footnotes
Bibliography
From the Paper "According to a translation from the German Tripod Mitgdeider Home Page, which includes an anthology of Chinese Poets of the Sung Dynasty, Ou Yang hsiu was an outstanding proselytizer and poet of the ' Northern Sung '. His pen name was Tsui weng, which has been translated as "the old gray drunk". Ou Yang's father died when he was four years old and he grew up in difficult conditions. It is said that his mother taught him reading and he was forced to write in the dirt, having no money to purchase paper. Later he took the civil service exams and became politically active. He belonged to the progressive fan Chung Yen and was eventually deported to a remote area of China. Despite this set back, he devoted himself to transforming the poetry and prose of his period. Although He was a devotee of the T'ang poet and the famous philosopher Han Uye, his work was smoothly elegant and unique having almost a musical quality."
Abstract The Silk Road, the ancient 4,000 mile caravan route, was used primarily for trade and linked East to West, from China to Rome. This paper covers the nearly 2000 years of history of the Silk Road, which served the world's four main civilizations from approximately 500 B.C. to 1500 A.D. as the major highway for transporting material goods and knowledge between Europe (till Rome), the Near East, India, and China.
Paper Outline:
The Geographical Setting
The Silk Road
Travel of Ideas and Techniques
Music of the Silk Road
Bibliography
From the Paper "The Silk Road - a network of trade routes that connected East Asia to the Mediterranean--was the main conduit for the spread and exchange of goods, ideas, religions, and cultural elements among the many peoples of Eurasia. Along it, Buddhism spread from India to China, Korea, and Japan; Islam from the Middle East to the subcontinent and Southeast Asia; Christianity--particularly Nestorian Christianity--to the Far East. Not only silk and spices but paper, printing processes, gunpowder, the magnetic compass, and prized ceramics and laquerware flowed westward, while glassware and gold and silver metalwork flowed eastward. Developments in mathematics and the sciences--as well as in art and music--coursed back and forth, building upon each other. The legacy of the exchanges enacted along the Silk Road from about 500 B.C. until A.D. 1500 permeates cultures in both East and West to this day."
Abstract This paper discusses how the shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty cannot be blamed on the slave system of eunuchs, but rather on the dynasty itself. It explains how the eunuchs were the slaves of the emperor who carried out his designs and thus were victims in themselves. Though some rose to high power and wealth, most did not. It further discusses how more attention should be paid to the important role eunuchs played in keeping the dynasty alive for nearly three centuries, rather than why they brought the dynasty down.
From the Paper "Throughout ancient Greece, Rome, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia eunuchs have served a wide range of functions, from palace menials to imperial spies. The dynasties in China, in particular, have used eunuchs to perform various duties throughout their more than one thousand years of rule. The use of these castrati was so engrained in their cultural system that even after disloyal and ambitious eunuchs brought ends to the Han and Tang dynasties, the Chinese never abolished the practice. The Chinese emperors preferred eunuchs for several reasons. Men, especially after the dawn of Confucianism on Chinese society, expected from women their utmost purity and devotion. To adhere to these Confucian principles, Emperors originally employed eunuchs to oversee and manage the hundreds of imperial concubines, making certain no other men, even relatives, come in contact with them, assuring a pure lineage. Emperors also favored eunuchs because they, unable to have children, supposedly would not covet political power or wealth, which in turn they would pass on to their sons. Having no motive for wealth and no ambition for position, eunuchs would have no desire selling palace secrets or conniving with potential usurpers. Ideally the castrati would thus demonstrate absolute loyalty to his employer, the emperor."
Abstract This paper discusses the takeover of China by the Qing Dynasty and the many ways that this was accomplished. It focuses on the rule of Emperor Qianlong and what he achieved for the Qing Empire in terms of its territorial size, and therefore, its ability to protect itself from internal rebellion and foreign invasion.
From the Paper "Emperor Qianlong's contributions to the expansion and consolidation of the Qing Empire were substantial, for he not only expanded his empire into Tibet and Xinjiang but also undermined the power of the Dzungar in Lhasa, a place where Chinese influence had been established by Qianlong's grandfather some fifty or so years earlier. One major step taken by Emperor Qianlong regarding Tibet was to install the Dalai Lama as the temporary ruler and declare a Chinese protectorate over the entire country. In 1793, as an indication of China's powerful role in the region, Emperor Qianlong decided that all future Dalai Lamas would be chosen by a lottery system which still exists today. "
Abstract This paper analyzes the origins and impact of the Taiping Rebellion on modern China. The paper focuses on the leader of the Taiping Rebellion, the development of his ideology, and the lasting effect the Taiping Rebellion had on the Chinese. It explains that the Taiping Rebellion aimed not merely to overthrow a dynasty, but to effect great societal changes among China's people.
From the Paper "The Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) made a major impact on the history of modern China. Hung Hsiu-ch'uan brought about the conceptual framework that would become the focus for the mobilization of the uprising. Hung's ideals attacked not only the dynastic rule itself, bringing a general governmental upheaval to the Ching Dynasty from which it would never fully recover, but the "Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace" challenged China's very social system as well. To understand the Taiping Ideology one must look not only to the historical and societal framework, but, to its sources of origin as well."
Tags: chinese, ching, dynasty, fervor, manchu, religious, society, traditional
Abstract This paper explains that the accomplishments of the Ming dynasty included a geographic expansion of the dynasty, the introduction of a number of administrative innovations, the introduction of a sophisticated system of taxation and equitable division of social responsibilities. The author points out that, during the early Ming dynasty, the elite members of society were subjected to more direct economic controls than in past years, a process that ultimately led to a significant upheaval of the traditional scholar-official power structure in Ming society. The paper concludes that the failures of the Ming rulers were found to include their inability to use the same innovations and complicated power structures to good effect when the Manchu conquest resulted in many of the once powerful Ming eunuchs committing suicide.
Table of Contents
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview
Accomplishments of Ming Rules
Failures of Ming Rules
Conclusion
From the Paper "By the 17th century, China possessed as much as 25 percent of the earth's population and had urban centers with up to one million citizens; these urban centers were five to seven times greater than the largest cities in western Europe; not surprisingly, then, the "silverization" of China would have profound implications for global commerce. In this regard, Flynn and Giraldez note that, "China's tributary system also converted to silver, so we are talking about far more than one-quarter of the globe's population. Conversion of the world's largest economic entity to silver caused the metal's value to skyrocket in China relative to the rest of the world.""
Abstract This is a brief paper discussing the rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty. It looks at how Qin, the self-proclaimed first emperor was a brilliant militarist and an able politician who was a unifier of China and a tyrant. It also looks at how although Qin's efforts to unify China would bring many successes, his oppressive and cruel rule of the masses, his vanity and careless spending ultimately resulted in the downfall of his dynasty.
From the Paper "Qin, the self-proclaimed First Emperor was a brilliant militarist and an able politician who was a unifier of China and a tyrant. While Qin's efforts to unify China would bring many successes, his oppressive and cruel rule of the masses, his vanity and careless spending would ultimately resulted in the downfall of his Dynasty. By 221BC Qin Shihuang had brought to an end the Warring States Period with his formidable army and imposing belief in Legalism, a system based on the idea that "Man was born evil, and needed a system of rewards and strict punishments to keep him in line. (Wudi par. 3)""
Abstract This paper examines how Qin, China's First Emperor, is often credited with unifying a country divided and how history also recalls him as a brutal dictator whose heavy-handed tactics resulted in hundreds of thousand deaths, and perhaps, eventually his own sudden demise, destroying his 15-year rule. It also traces the accomplishments and failures of this short-lived dynasty.
From the Paper "Bolstered by both an organized military and an extreme system to control the populace based on negative and positive reinforcements (Legalism), Qin Shihuang successfully ended the Warring States Period in 221BC (Wudi par. 3). Following this, he proclaimed China united. However, while Qin, China's "First Emperor," is often credited with unifying a country divided, history also recalls him as a brutal dictator who's heavy-handed tactics resulted in hundreds of thousand deaths (Schirokauer, 51), and perhaps, eventually his own "sudden" demise, destroying his 15-year rule. "
Abstract This paper compares and contrasts the Sui and Han dynasties of ancient China. The paper notes their differences and similarities, placing particular emphasis on the differences in legalist thought.
From the Paper "To even a casual observer, there is much in common between the Han and Sui Dynasties of ancient China. Both represent turning points in Chinese politics and culture. The creation (and to a degree the downfall) of each entails a fierce battle between old and new, the aristocratic and the peasant, and scattered power bases versus a unified state. Each was to leave a lasting impression on those that follow, indeed many of the elements of Sui success were merely a repackaging of Han innovation. So how then do we compare the two? With so much in common, the merits of each must be found in their differences rather than their commonalities. Perhaps one of the more telling contrasts is to compare the extent to which each Dynasty integrated its cosmology into its legalist structure."
This essay examines the importance of the Great Wall of China as one of a handful of human creations around the world that encompasses an entire national identity.
1,860 words (approx. 7.4 pages), 5 sources, 2001, $ 59.95
Abstract This paper looks at both the physical and the cultural history of the wall, demonstrating how it has meant different things to different dynasties of Chinese lives, not only reflecting what it is that the Chinese believe themselves to be but also shaping what it is that they have become.
From the paper:
?The Great Wall remains a powerful symbol of China's national tradition and historical continuity. And yet it is important to understand that it is in many ways the product of an historical myth ? like Washington's wooden teeth. It is probably true that all people tell stories about themselves as a way of creating a sense of both national identity and national pride and there is nothing wrong with this ? so long as we recognize the fact that we are dealing with myth and not with history.?
