China: From the Ming Dynast to the Qing Dynasty

 

I. Introduction: the Ming Dynasty

II. Cultural Flowering of the Ming

     A. Agriculture and Population

     B. Commerce and Industry

     C. Position of the Chinese Merchant Class
     D. Arts and Sciences in the Ming Period

III. Decline of the Ming Dynasty

     A. Failure of Leadership

     B. Signs of Neglect

          1. Internal and Economic

          2. External and Defense

IV. Rise of the Manchus

     A. Uniting the Tribes

     B. Barbarians or a Tributary State? 

     C. Events of the Take-Over

     D. Style of Rule (not the Mongols)
V. Qing and the Dynastic Cycle

     A. Faster Shift from Good Rule to Corruption

     B. Misinterpreting the Problem

VI. Conclusion: Changing Fundamentals

 

 

 

Key Terms

Ming agriculture
Macao and Canton

Matteo Ricci

Forbidden City

Palace Eunuchs

Li Zichung

Manchus

tributary state

Qing Empire

Shen Fu

 

 

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