Early Modern period (1450 CE–1750 CE)
The
Russian Empire began to expand into Asia from the 17th century, and would eventually take control of all of
Siberia and most of Central Asia by the end of the 19th century. The
Ottoman Empire controlled Anatolia, the Middle East, North Africa and the Balkans from the 16th century onwards. In the 17th century, the
Manchu conquered China and established the
Qing Dynasty. In the 16th century, the
Mughal Empire
controlled much of India and initiated the second golden age for India.
China was the largest economy in the world for much of the time,
followed by India until the 18th century.
Ming China
By 1368 CE, Zhu Yaunzhang had claimed himself
Hongwu Emperor
and established the Ming Dynasty of China. Immediately, the new emperor
and his followers drove the Mongols and their culture out of China and
beyond the Great Wall.
The new emperor was somewhat suspicious of the scholars that dominated
China's bureaucracy, for he had been born a peasant and was uneducated.
Nevertheless, Confucian scholars were necessary to China's bureaucracy
and were reestablished as well as reforms that would improve the exam
systems and make them more important in entering the bureaucracy than
ever before. The exams become more rigorous, cut down harshly on
cheating, and those who excelled were more highly appraised. Finally,
Hongwu also directed more power towards the role of emperor so as to end
the corrupt influences of the bureaucrats.
Society and Economy
The Hongwu emperor, perhaps for his sympathy of the common-folk, had
built many irrigation systems and other public projects that provided
help for the peasant farmers. They were also allowed to cultivate and claim unoccupied land without having to pay any taxes and labor demands were lowered.
However, none of this was able to stop the rising landlord class that
gained many privileges from the government and slowly gained control of
the peasantry. Moneylenders foreclosed on peasant debt in exchange for
mortgages and bought up farmer land, forcing them to become the
landlords' tenants or to wander elsewhere for work. Also during this time,
Neo-Confucianism
intensified even more than the previous two dynasties (the Song and
Yuan). Focus on the superiority of elders over youth, men over women,
and teachers over students resulted in minor discrimination of the
"inferior" classes. The fine arts grew in the Ming era, with improved
techniques in brush painting that depicted scenes of court, city or
country life; people such as scholars or travelers; or the beauty of
mountains, lakes, or marshes. The Chinese novel fully developed in this
era, with such classics written such as
Water Margin,
Journey to the West, and
Jin Ping Mei.
The size of Zheng He's ships compared to that of Westerners (here
Christopher Columbus) is disputed by historians.
Economics grew rapidly in the Ming Dynasty as well. The introduction of American crops such as
maize,
sweet potatoes, and
peanuts
allowed for cultivation of crops in infertile land and helped prevent
famine. The population boom that began in the Song Dynasty accelerated
until China's population went from 80 or 90 million to 150 million in
three centuries, culminating in 1600 CE.
This paralleled the market economy that was growing both internally and
externally. Silk, tea, ceramics, and lacquer-ware were produced by
artisans that traded them in Asia and to Europeans. Westerners began to
trade (with some Chinese-assigned limits), primarily in the port-towns
of
Macau and
Canton.
Although merchants benefited greatly from this, land remained the
primary symbol of wealth in China and traders' riches were often put
into acquiring more land. Therefore, little of these riches were used in private enterprises that could've allowed for China to develop the
market economy that often accompanied the highly-successful Western countries.
Foreign Interests
In the interest of national glory, the Chinese began sending impressive
junk ships across the
South China Sea and the
Indian Ocean. From 1403 to 1433, the
Yongle Emperor commissioned
expeditions led by the admiral
Zheng He, a Muslim
eunuch
from China. Chinese junks carrying hundreds of soldiers, goods, and
animals for zoos, traveled to Southeast Asia, Persia, southern Arabia,
and east Africa to show off Chinese power. Their prowess exceeded that
of current Europeans at the time, and had these expeditions not ended,
the world economy may be different from today.
In 1433, the Chinese government decided that the cost of a navy was an
unnecessary expense. The Chinese navy was slowly dismantled and focus on
interior reform and military defense began. It was China's longstanding
priority that they protect themselves from nomads and they have
accordingly returned to it. The growing limits on the Chinese navy would
leave them vulnerable to foreign invasion by sea later on.
Here a Jesuit, Adam Schall von Bell (1592-1666), is dressed as an official of the Chinese Department of Astronomy.
As was inevitable, Westerners arrived on the Chinese east coast, primarily
Jesuit missionaries which reached the mainland in 1582. They attempted to
convert the Chinese people to Christianity
by first converting the top of the social hierarchy and allowing the
lower classes to subsequently convert. To further gain support, many
Jesuits adopted Chinese dress, customs, and language.
Some Chinese scholars were interested in certain Western teachings and
especially in Western technology. By the 1580's, Jesuit scholars like
Matteo Ricci and
Adam Schall
amazed the Chinese elite with technological advances such as European
clocks, improved calendars and cannons, and the accurate prediction of
eclipses.
Although some the scholar-gentry converted, many were suspicious of the
Westerners whom they called "barbarians" and even resented them for the
embarrassment they received at the hand of Western correction.
Nevertheless, a small group of Jesuit scholars remained at the court to
impress the emperor and his advisors.
Decline
Near the end of the 1500's, the extremely centralized government that
gave so much power to the emperor had begun to fail as more incompetent
rulers took the mantle. Along with these weak rulers came increasingly
corrupt officials who took advantage of the decline. Once more the
public projects fell into disrepair due to neglect by the bureaucracy
and resulted in floods, drought, and famine that rocked the peasantry.
The famine soon became so terrible that some peasants resorted to
selling their children to slavery to save them from starvation, or to
eating bark, the feces of geese, or
other people.
Many landlords abused the situation by building large estates where
desperate farmers would work and be exploited. In turn, many of these
farmers resorted to flight, banditry, and open rebellion.
Dutch Batavia in the 17th century, built in what is now
North Jakarta
All of this corresponded with the usual dynastic decline of China
seen before, as well as the growing foreign threats. In the mid-16th
century, Japanese and ethnic Chinese pirates began to raid the southern
coast, and neither the bureaucracy nor the military were able to stop
them. The threat of the northern
Manchu people also grew. The Manchu nomads were an already large state north of China, when in the early 1600's a local leader named
Nurhaci suddenly united them under the
Eight Banners—armies
that the opposing families were organized into. The Manchus adopted
many Chinese customs, specifically taking after their bureaucracy.
Nevertheless the Manchus still remained a Chinese
vassal. In 1644 Chinese administration became so weak, the 16th and last emperor, the
Chongzhen Emperor, did not respond to the severity of an ensuing rebellion by local dissenters until the enemy had invaded the
Forbidden City (his personal estate). He soon hanged himself in the imperial gardens. For a brief amount of time, the
Shun Dynasty
was claimed, until a loyalist Ming official called support from the
Manchus to put down the new dynasty. The Shun Dynasty ended within a
year and the Manchu nomads were now within the Great Wall. Taking
advantage of the situation, the Manchus marched on the Chinese capital
of Beijing.
Within two decades all of China belonged to the Manchu nomads and the
Qing Dynasty was established.
Industrial Age (1750 CE-1914 CE)
Qing China
Main article:
Qing Dynasty
By 1644, the northern
Manchu people had conquered China and established a foreign dynasty—the
Qing Dynasty—once more. The Manchu Qing emperors, especially Confucian scholar
Kangxi,
remained largely conservative—retaining the bureaucracy and the
scholars within it, as well as the Confucian ideals present in Chinese
society. However, changes in the economy and new attempts at resolving
certain issues occurred too. These included increased trade with Western
countries that brought large amounts of silver into the Chinese economy
in exchange for tea,
porcelain, and silk textiles. This allowed for a new merchant-class, the
compradors, to develop. In addition, repairs were done on existing
dikes, canals, roadways, and
irrigation
works. This, combined with the lowering of taxes and
government-assigned labor, was supposed to calm peasant unrest. However,
the Qing failed to control the growing landlord class which had begun
to exploit the peasantry and abuse their position.
By the late 1700's, both internal and external issues began to arise
in Qing China's politics, society, and economy. The exam system with
which scholars were assigned into the bureaucracy became increasingly
corrupt; bribes and other forms of cheating allowed for inexperienced
and inept scholars to enter the bureaucracy and this eventually caused
rampant neglect of the peasantry, military, and the previously mentioned
infrastructure projects. Poverty and banditry steadily rose, especially
in rural areas, and mass migrations looking for work throughout China
occurred. The perpetually conservative government refused to make
reforms that could resolve these issues.
Opium Wars
Also reducing China's status was the now parasitic trade going on
with Westerners. Originally, European traders were at a disadvantage
because the Chinese cared little for what they had to trade, while
European demand for Chinese commodities only grew. In order to tip the
trade imbalance in their favor, British merchants began to sell Indian
opium
to the Chinese. Not only did this begin to sap Chinese bullion and
goods, but it also created a drug-addicted bureaucracy and society that
could not run efficiently. A ban was placed on opium as early as 1729 by
Emperor Yongzheng,
but little was done to enforce it. By the early 1800's the government
began serious efforts to eradicate opium from Chinese society. Leading
this endeavour was the respected official,
Lin Zexu.
Europeans became enraged at the Chinese actions and demanded
compensation. When it was not given to them, the British declared war in
1839, starting the first of the
Opium Wars. The outdated Chinese
junks were no match for the advanced British gunboats, and soon the
Yangzi River region was threatened by British bombardment and invasion. The emperor had no choice but to sue for peace, resulting in the
Treaty of Nanking and the exile of Lin Zexu. The former consequence allowed for British acquisition of
Hong Kong and open trade and diplomacy with European countries, including Britain, Germany, France, and the USA.
Later Modern Period (1914 CE-Present)
The European powers had control of other parts of Asia by the 1900s, such as
British India,
French Indochina,
Spanish East Indies, and Portuguese
Macau and
Goa. The
Great Game between Russia and Britain was the struggle for power in the Central Asian region in the nineteenth century. The
Trans-Siberian Railway,
crossing Asia by train, was complete by 1916. Parts of Asia remained
free from European control, although not influence, such as
Persia,
Thailand and most of China. In the twentieth century,
Imperial Japan expanded into China and Southeast Asia during the
Second World War. After the war, many Asian countries became independent from European powers. During the
Cold War, the northern parts of Asia were communist controlled with the
Soviet Union and People's Republic of China, while western allies formed pacts such as
CENTO and
SEATO. Conflicts such as the
Korean War,
Vietnam War and
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
were fought between communists and anti-communists. In the decades
after the Second World War, a massive restructuring plan drove Japan to
become the world's second-largest economy, a phenomenon known as the
Japanese post-war economic miracle. The
Arab-Israeli conflict has dominated much of the recent history of the Middle East. After the
Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, there were many new independent nations in Central Asia.
China
Prior to
World War II, China faced a civil war between
Mao Zedong's Communist party and
Chiang Kai-shek's nationalist party; the nationalists appeared to be in the lead. However, once the
Japanese invaded
in 1937, the two parties were forced to form a temporary cease-fire in
order to defend China. The nationalists faced many military failures
that caused them to lost territory and subsequently, respect from the
Chinese masses. In contrast, the communists' use of guerilla warfare
(led by
Lin Biao)
proved effective against the Japanese's conventional methods and put
the Communist Party on top by 1945. They also gained popularity for the
reforms they were already applying in controlled areas, including land
redistribution, education reforms, and widespread health care. For the
next four years, the nationalists would be forced to retreat to the
small island east of China, known as
Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa), where they would remain until today. In mainland China, the
People's Republic of China was established by the Communist Party, with Mao Zedong as its
state chairman.
The communist government in China was defined by the party
cadres. These hard-line officers controlled the
People's Liberation Army, which itself controlled large amounts of the bureaucracy. This system was further controlled by the
Central Committee,
which additionally supported the state chairman who was considered the
head of the government. The People's Republic's foreign policies
included the repressing of
secession attempts in Mongolia and Tibet and supporting of
North Korea and
North Vietnam in the
Korean War and
Vietnam War,
respectively. Additionally, by 1960 China began to cut off its
connections with the Soviet Union due to border disputes and an
increasing Chinese sense of superiority, especially the personal feeling
of Mao over the Russian premier,
Nikita Khrushchev.
Today China, India, South Korea, Japan and
Russia
play important roles in world economics and politics. China today is
second largest economy of the world and fastest growing economy. India
is the second fastest growing economy with second largest population
after China.
