The Ming was a dynasty that had greatly influenced art and trade. In fact, they were almost on top of trade. “Lui Chin, when he was finally disgraced in 1510, his fortune was assessed at over 251 ounces of silver (Rodzinski, 151).” Being masters at their trade, they were brought an abundance of silver to China in 1565. Therefore, china had a very prosperous land. Consequently, the abundance of resources may have influenced attention. Resourcefully, China used their tea to get horses. Furthermore, grain, cotton, and tea were required to keep a calm town and citizens. Accomplishing this feat was most likely easier with their wealth. Portuguese were another key trade influence. They arrived in China during 1514. “They established themselves as major actors in the “carrying trade,” the …show more content…
Natural disasters were one issue. Drought and cold weather resulted from a small-scale ice age. A 1556 earthquake killed millions in their homes. The drought would have had a longer effect on china by decreasing the amount of food for everyone. However, the ice age may have just killed humans in a way that was fixable at the time. War and corruption was also a problem, as it is in every empire in history. A 1592 conquest of Korea lead to the downfall and a later conquest of China. To China’s dismay, there were people called the UNIX that tricked the emperors to commit suicide. This must have resulted in panic because the UNIX encouraged a man who would most likely put his life on the line for his people, to kill himself. Afterword, the UNIX could now run China secretly. China’s money wasn’t always in the green. Sadly, Japan and Portugal both teamed up and removed silver from trade. This may have resulted in “a horrifying famine in northern Shensi in 1626 (Rodzinski, 155).” Luckily, given that they are still here, the money didn’t completely destroy society. Eventually, famine had luckily been destroyed
To begin, around 4000 B.C.E., China’s biggest seller was Silk. In fact, that’s mostly why the Silk Road was built! Everyone wanted some of China’s beautiful silk. In India, everyone traveled for spices as Christopher Columbus...attempted. But that was in the 1400’s. Around 50 C.E., the Kushan Empire started to take over these countries and the road after the Han Empire was overthrown. In the Background Essay, it says “Starting in 50 CE, another Asian Empire took shape and began profiting
On the basis of Pegolotti’s report, I would characterize the various commercial, financial, and economic risks faced by Europeans in China as a few that are minor. There are a few things that may seem silly or like an inconvenience, but the merchants enjoy a smooth journey traveling on a safe road whether it be day or night. Once in Cathay, there is a multitude of cities full of people, houses, and dwellers from where the merchants can trade. The risk Pegolotti first speaks about can be easily avoided. For example, in the report, Pegolotti says, “You should furnish yourself with a dragoman [guide and interpreter]...it will be well to take at least two good men servants who are acquainted with the Cumanian tongue.” He advises that when looking
Before the emergence of silver, Chinese society isolated themselves from the global economy. Due to Confucian teachings and heavy voyage expenditures, Chinese officials restricted foreign interaction and trade. Also, being
Overall the Chinese from 100 CE to 600 CE was fulfilled with many cultural and political changes and continuities. The fall of the Han Dynasty brought political changes whereas the invention of paper brought about cultural changes. While there were a lot of changes, there were significant continuities, as well. Culturally, China saw Buddhism grow in power. Politically, they saw the wall of China go up as a way for their leader to protect them. Wither it was something changing or something that remained and grew, all of these things had a huge impact on China during this time period.
Due to their contrasting but also similar views of economic expansion, the Portuguese and the Chinese had different structures and values of their societies. Both societies were very involved in trading and exploration, however they had different reasons for exploration. The Portuguese and Prince Henry wanted to reach Asian lands by sailing down the coast of Afric...
The Spanish and Portuguese were able to thrive in China during the sixteenth century, because China already had a well-established silk industry. The Chinese were interested in trading with the Spanish for silver; the Chinese were also interested in Jesuits as middlemen in Japanese trade. In contrast, the Portuguese did not have much prosperity in Brazil at the beginning of its settlement. The Portuguese had to start from nothing and had to introduce sugarcane for the sake of producing revenue in Brazil. In addition, the Portuguese had to import slaves from Africa in order to cultivate sugarcane. The constant, economic encounters that took place in sixteenth-century China and Brazil were more than just trade. When people engage in trade with people of other countries, they are taking part in globalization. The economic interests of people and countries affect the customs, languages, and families of the inhabitants of the area. Even though the Age of Discovery happened centuries ago, globalization continues to develop today, because new technology and laws are being created to make commerce easier or harder to
During the early Ming Dynasty, China was one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the world. As Ebrey pointed out, “Europe was not yet a force in Asia and China continued to look on the outer world in traditional terms.” China was regarded as the center of Asia at the beginning of 15th century and the idea of “Middle Kingdom” (Zhong guo) began to take off at that time. The early Ming Emperors were not interested in promoting commercial trade at all. Emperor Hongwu, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, implemented the Hai jin policy which forbade maritime shipping and private foreign trade outside of the tributary system (Ebrey, p. 209). Emperor Yongle, the son of Emperor Hongwu, lifted this policy to a certain extent when he ordered his eunuch Zheng He’s voyages. However, he was only intereste...
The Chinese empire had once been one of the greatest and most powerful empires in the world. Before the 19th century, China had a large population and was ruled by families or dynasties. It was considered technologically advanced as China had a history of many miraculous inventions, such as: writing, magnetic compasses, movable sails, porcelain, abacus and paper money. Although China was isolated from the rest of the world, it coped well on its own, and saw no need to begin trading with the west, (as Lord McCartney proposed in 1793), since it was a self-sufficient nation. At that particular time, the Chinese empire was still able to exclude the ‘barbarians’, thus forcing them to only trade at one port. However, China soon took a turn for the worst as important ...
Now you are probably wondering with all these similar factors that lead to the demise of the empires, how did China recover successfully? The Chinese empire unlike the Roman empire, held on to their cultural identity and tried not to accept diversity in cultures. This is also called cultural homogeneity. Cultural homogeneity create a sense of togetherness. This creates less organization and religious drama. China also had more advanced technological breakthroughs in the fields of agriculture and metallurgy. This is needed to progress and recover so you have ways of keeping up with the economy. The Chinese empire also had one common religion that mostly held up. Confucianism. Having mostly the same religion unifies most people, which is also needed for a recovery. With these main factors, the Chinese empire recovered successfully.
Greenberg, Michael. British Trade and the Opening of China 1800 - 42. New York: Monthly Review, 1979. Print.
Some of the items included porcelain and silk, which is more of a want than a need. Charles D’Avenant also mentions that along with receiving luxury good, Europeans were only sending silver and gold back to Asia, which would become buried and never returned. The global flow of silver’s influence on trade between European nations can be seen in D’Avenant’s account of the English being “supplanted in the spice- trade by the Dutch”, in his reference to importing from the East Indies commodities that can then be sold elsewhere across Europe, in his disappointment that gold and silver gets buried permanently in Asia. To the people of Europe, Asian silks and dyed cloth is pleasing to everyone and useful to wear at home. That meant that it should not be recommended to quit the trade between Europe and China because it benefited both countries. In his essay, Xu Dunqiu Ming wrote about how before, buyers would give vegetables and animals in order to purchase a product from a merchant (Doc. 4). But, silver allowed trading and bartering to be simpler because instead of having to trade item for other goods and services, a person can just give a certain amount of silver coins. The historical context of this essay
Famine is one of the major sources of China's problem. The problem with the constant famines that China is always facing is that they are always facing the deprivation of food production and the lasting effects of this. The Chinese has always had a rapidly expanding population that food production had never been able to keep up with. It has stemmed multiple problems within the country. It has caused the major distrust of the government, as the government did nothing to help the populace. The famine was a major factor in the reason why the Chinese people did not start to fully modernize and industrialize till now. People have judged the former dynasties of China by their ability to meet and conquer great tragedies, China's current one being that of the ongoing famines that have continued to plague the country for centuries ever since early 19th Century. The role of Mao and the communist government, the ethics that effected the people and the last effects it has had on the country of China.
...e, Europeans were finding themselves short of land and room for expansion due to numerous empires in a relatively small area. This led to the search for land. The political powers sought wealth and hoped to achieve this by conquering Asians markets as had been done in the west. Much like the political powers, the Christian church greedily sought mass expansion and conversion, pushing for missions in the foreign lands. In contrast to the Europeans motives, the reasons for Chinese commercial expansion were desires and curiosity of a single emperor in the Ming dynasty that was not pushed for by the aristocrats, church, or scholar-gentry. Whereas the general consensus of Europe pushed for expansion for economic, political, and religious reasons, the expansion was the doing of one emperor who looked for wealth for defense against the threat of the Mongols from the north.
With deserts and the Himalayas running along most of the border, it was extremely difficult to cross over one of the most dangerous mountain ranges in the world and a few other scorching deserts with the little transport they had during that time. The only way merchants could come into the country was the southeastern coast of China, where most of the prosperous cities resided. What led China to become conceited was because they had an abundance of goods that most of the world wanted. In the 1760-1830s, China was famous for its porcelain (rich Europeans loved it), silk, and of course, tea. Since this Eastern Powerhouse’s goods were so popular, therefore, there were only a few things that interested them to trade with.
The Chinese Empire was large and controlled most of Asia at one point in time. One of the dynasties that ruled the empire was the Ming Family. Ruling from 1368-1644, almost three hundred years, the Ming Dynasty impacted Chinese history very much.