Chinese foreign policy in the 16th century. China's economy in the 18th century
"Ni-nan" - there was a cry of a swift between the bridge rafters ...
But who or what disturbed his peace and sleep?
- A Taoist dispute between two friends whose speech is so unclear,
Looking at Mount Zhishan for a glass of wine...
(Liu Lisun. Poet of the Song Dynasty. “Poems on a Screen”)
State name of China translated into Russian as "middle state". The word comes from the name of the Khitan tribe, which ruled in the northern part of the state at the time when the country's contacts with European states first began to be established. Marco Polo gave the country the name Catai when he traveled to Asia. So they began to call Northern China. Southern China, conquered by that time by the Mongols, Marco Polo called "southern barbarians" (Manji). AT English language the word Catai came in as Cathai.
Today, the official name of the country is the People's Republic of China (PRC). The name was changed in 1949 with the rise of the Chinese Communist Party. The form of government in the country is a socialist republic.
The total population according to 2007 data is 1.317 billion people. This is the largest population of a single country in the world. The main part of the population is made up of ethnic Chinese (self-name - Han) - about 92% of the population. In total, 56 nationalities live in China.
Territory of China 9,596,960 sq. km (in terms of territory, China is second only to Russia, the USA and Canada). The length of the land strip, excluding the islands, is 18,000 km. China consists of about 5,000 islands. The largest islands in China are Taiwan and Hanan.
The capital of the state is Beijing.
The official currency is the yuan.
The official language is Chinese, in Hong Kong they also speak English, and in Macau they also speak Portuguese.
Religion of China
The main religions of China are Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.
Confucianism arose in the 6th-5th centuries. BC. in China. The original name of the doctrine is zhu. The founder of the doctrine is Confucius. Confucianism supports the cult of the earth and the cult of ancestors, and also accepts the sky as the highest principle. The pinnacle of human development in Confucianism is the attainment of the Tao. Tao represents the highest substance, replaces the concept of "God". The main idea of Confucianism is the spiritual and social self-improvement of man. Education, constant spiritual development, respect for traditions and the rules established in society are considered important. Morality and ethics in Confucianism are primary, and religion is secondary. Confucianism is rational and strives not only to show a person the way to achieve the Tao, but also pays attention to politics, ethics, public life, striving for an ideal structure of society. Confucianism does not contain a doctrine of the origin of man, but teaches what, from the point of view of morality, a person should be.
Taoism is the doctrine of Tao (the way), the Chinese religion, which contains elements of traditional philosophy and science, as well as shamanism, mysticism and divination. The emergence of Taoism presumably dates back to the 4th-3rd centuries. BC. The main sources of Taoism are the mystical cults of the Chu kingdom, as well as the magical practices of the Qi kingdom. The founders of Taoism are Emperor Huangdi and the sage Lao Tzu. Taoism contains a complex hierarchy of deities and demons, the pantheon is headed by the God of Heaven Shang-di, the founder of the religion, Lao Tzu, is also included in the pantheon. Taoism has never been considered an official religion. Just like in Confucianism, the main idea in Taoism is the attainment of Tao. Great importance has the concept of wu-wei, which is an understanding of when action is necessary, and when inaction is necessary.
Buddhism is a doctrine of spiritual awakening, originating from the ideas of Buddha Shakyamuni. The emergence of Buddhism dates back to the 6th century. BC. The basis of Buddhism is blessed truths: suffering, the causes of suffering, the state of liberation, the path to liberation. Buddhism is divided into Mahayana (the Great Vehicle) and Theravada (the teachings of the elders). In China, mainly in Tibet, Mahayana is practiced. The Great Vehicle is subdivided into the Great Vehicle (Mahayana) and the Lesser Vehicle (Hinayana). The teachings of the Lesser Vehicle are limited to the pursuit of individual enlightenment, while the Great Vehicle preaches universal enlightenment. A person in Buddhism is one of the particles of the universe, one of the executors of the universal world law. The whole universe is based on an ethical mechanism, which is set in motion by good and evil deeds. Human life is just one of the moments in a long chain of rebirths. The world in Buddhism is illusory, just as all its pleasures are illusory. Everything is governed by the law of cause and effect - karma. The condition of each subsequent rebirth is the cumulative result of all previous ones. Death in Buddhism is not a final process, but a transition to another state. Personality is not a unity, but only a collection of dharmas (energy particles). The human soul also breaks up into separate elements. Personality is made up of five basic elements: corporality, sensation, desires, ideas, cognition. The reincarnation of the same personality is possible only if all the energy particles that make it up come together again. The soul is an individual consciousness that carries the whole spiritual world, transforms with each new rebirth and strives for rebirth.
History of China from ancient times to the twentieth century
It was a very long way to the Jiangnan tower - I walked it alone!
Only a flawed month and the cold dawn entered the palace of Hua Qing.
Only the west wind, whistling, decided to climb the Tower of Dynasties;
Under the dome of the Changyang Chamber, the dull sounds of rain can be heard...
(Wang Jian, poet of the Tang Dynasty. "Ode to the Hua-Qing Palace")
Ancient China
In the I millennium BC. on the territory of modern China there were seven strongest kingdoms - Chu, Qin, Wei, Zhao, Han, Qi and Yan. Period from 481 to 221. BC. in the history of ancient China is called the period of the warring states. During this period, the prerequisites were created for the formation of an empire, which, during its greatest territorial expansion, stretched from the Gobi Desert to the South China Sea, if we consider the extent from north to south, and also from the Liaodong Peninsula to the Pamir Mountains from east to west. The empire took shape by the end of the 3rd century BC. and continued in this form until the end of the second century. AD, after which it broke up.
The Warring States period was a time of successful development of the productive forces, because iron processing techniques were mastered. Until the VI century. BC. Ancient China was still in the Bronze Age. The tools that were used in crafts and agriculture were primitive.
Iron tools, which began to be used in agriculture, contributed to its widespread development. In Chinese agriculture, the plow, sickle, scythe, spade, hoe and other tools were used.
The Chinese practiced deep plowing and applied organic fertilizers. However, plow agriculture spread slowly and unevenly. It was relatively widely used at that time only in the north of China.
Serious irrigation work began on loess soils in the Yellow River basin. Large canals, dams and dams were created. This was primarily due to military and transport purposes, but canals were also used for irrigating the soil. From each channel was assigned great amount ditches carrying water to the fields. Canals specially designed for irrigation began to be built.
Agriculture was the main occupation in the economic life of the ancient Chinese kingdoms. In Northern China, wheat, sorghum and millet were predominantly bred, and in Southern China, rice. Gardening developed (especially the cultivation of mulberry trees), as well as gardening.
The cultivation of the land was a communal activity, and not just the labor of slaves. Agricultural production rested on the efforts of free farmers. Agriculture was considered an occupation worthy of honor and respect.
With the extraction of iron and the skills of its processing, handicrafts began to develop. Iron was used to make tools and weapons. The kingdoms of Chu and Han became famous for swords, Zhao for shovels, Qin for pikes and spears. By the 3rd century BC. iron tools and weapons became widespread and began to displace bronze and copper ones.
At the same time, the production of copper and bronze products, such as mirrors, vessels, ornamental parts of chariots, and weapons, is developing. Weaving (especially silk weaving), ceramic, woodworking and lacquer crafts are developing, painting on silk is flourishing.
The technology of writing is being actively improved, the construction business is developing, which leads to the construction of magnificent palaces of kings and nobility, cities and defensive structures. On the northern borders of the kingdoms of Qin, Zhao and Yan, walls are being built to protect against the raids of nomadic tribes, which later became the links of the Great Wall of China.
Shipbuilding is developing successfully, especially in coastal kingdoms. The Chinese invent the compass, which was first used for overland travel, and then began to be used by navigators.
5th-3rd centuries BC. were marked by an increase in trade turnover within the kingdoms, as well as the strengthening of trade relations between the kingdoms. Commercial ties were established with neighboring tribes. The share of slave labor has increased. There were several categories of slaves, designated by the terms nu, bei, tong, shi, fu, jie, pu, li. Slaves were divided into private and state, the share of private slavery at that time increased significantly. Prisoners of war remained the main source of slaves. State slavery was increased by those convicted of crimes. Also, poor people, vagrants and the homeless began to be turned into slavery. With the ruin of the community members, debt slavery developed, which later became the main source of private slavery. The slave trade in non-Chinese slaves developed. The labor of slaves was used in hard work, construction, crafts and crafts, as well as in agriculture.
By this time, the emergence of Confucianism, Taoism and Fajia.
There was a progress of natural-science knowledge and ideological sciences. Astronomy, known in the territory of the Chinese kingdoms from ancient times, developed. Elementary knowledge of anatomy and medicine appeared. Natural philosophy and literary creativity developed.
Early Middle Ages
The beginning of the medieval era in China was associated with the invasion of barbarians. Various nomadic tribes that lived to the north and west of China penetrated far into the interior of the country. Northern China was subjected to especially numerous invasions. Part of the North Chinese nobility was forced to leave their lands and emigrate to South China, where the influx of barbarians was less strong. The result of the barbarian invasions was, first of all, the political fragmentation of China into many small states, at the head of which were partly barbarian leaders with their retinues, partly (in the south) representatives of the southern Chinese nobility of a semi-tribal, semi-slave type. Period from 420 to 589 in the history of China became the period of many northern and southern dynasties.
The barbarians failed to destroy the state organization of slaveholding China. But their invasion still had some social consequences. Chinese slavery was not completely destroyed, but it suffered a significant blow. The settled barbarians increased the number of the so-called free peasantry. Ordinary peasant warriors began to become dependent on those military leaders who managed to seize the largest number of lands, gradually turning them into serfs. It was during this period that Chinese estates, called zhuang-yuan, began to spread, which no longer had a slave-owning, but a feudal-serf character. Among the Chinese themselves, strong houses stood out, i.e. the richest and most powerful families, who rose above the rank and file members of the clan and also became larger landowners who exploited their impoverished relatives as dependent peasants. However, the remnants of tribal relations persisted in China for a very long time. Back in the 10th and 11th centuries, serfs officially called themselves the children and relatives of their landlords.
The first attempt at the political unification of China in the early Middle Ages was the attempt of the Sui Dynasty. The founder of the Yangjin dynasty, or Yandi, was the head of the barbarian squads, who served in one of the northern dynasties. In 589 Yangjin subjugated North and South China and conquered Annam. Under him, the irrigation system was restored and partly expanded. In particular, the Grand Canal was dug, connecting the Yellow River with the Yangtze River. About a million peasants gathered from different parts of China were employed in the construction of this canal. But the rule of the Sui dynasty turned out to be short-lived, and the very unification of China under this dynasty was still fragile. Local power was in the hands of the local nobility. The raids of the Turkic tribes, which intensified in the west, demanded great forces from the empire, which it lacked.
In 618, one of the Western princes named Gaozu, a semi-Turkic by birth, seized power in the empire, marking the beginning of a new Tang dynasty.
The Tang Empire ruled China for about 300 years - from 618 to 907. The capital of the dynasty was the city of Chang'an (today Xi'an). The most brilliant representative of this dynasty was Gaozu's successor, Taizong (626-649). As a result of a series of wars, Taizong greatly expanded the empire's borders. The territory of China, considering the lands dependent, vassal of the emperor, extended in the north to the Amur and Khingan, in the south - to India and Siam, in the east - to Korea (which Taizong also tried to capture), in the west - almost to Iran. Under Taizong, the vast empire acquired the features of a complex bureaucratic monarchy, ruled by numerous imperial officials in the center and locally.
Under Taizong, special knowledge was introduced for officials. All officials were divided into nine ranks. The central administration finally took shape in the form of six departmental chambers or ministries (ministries of ranks, taxes, military, criminal court, public works, religious ceremonies). Local governors were appointed. The emperor managed to turn the local nobility into officials, who, thanks to their subordination to the center, received a number of social and official privileges.
Under Taizong, land ownership rights were verified, and the background of state lands, on which state peasants sat, subjected to many taxes and duties, was significantly increased. For their allotment, the peasants were obliged to pay a tax in grain, a tax in handicrafts, and, in addition, to carry out a heavy state corvée from 20 to 50 days a year. The bureaucratic nobility took possession of a significant part of the land, the possessions of some of the largest officials exceeded ten times the possessions of one peasant family.
The Tang Empire continued to maintain its position largest state in Asia and under Taizong's successors. Empress Wuhou (689-705), the patroness of Buddhism, stood out among them. In the VII-VIII centuries. China conducted intensive foreign trade with the Arab Caliphate, India, Siam and Annam. But in the 8th century, a deep crisis of the Tang empire was revealed. The peasants, crushed by taxes, requisitions, all kinds of state duties, became impoverished and were forced to lead the most miserable way of life. Frequent epidemics due to hunger claimed hundreds of thousands of peasant lives. The peasant allotments themselves decreased in number, as they were systematically seized by powerful houses - larger farmers, officials, usurers. The decrease in the number of state peasants had an unfavorable effect on the income of the imperial treasury. At the same time, the process of feudalization strengthened the local nobility and gave rise to centrifugal aspirations among the imperial governors and generals themselves. The turning point in the history of the Tang dynasty was the uprising of the commander-in-chief An Lu-shan. In 785, he opposed the emperor with 120,000 troops. In 786, An Lu-shan managed to capture the imperial capital of Chang'an. The emperor fled and only the next year crushed the uprising with the help of hired barbarians. Following the performance of An Lu-shan, there were uprisings of governors in South China, which also required great efforts from the emperor to suppress them.
The plight of the peasants led in the second half of the 9th century to the largest peasant uprising of 874-883. The uprising was led by a soldier of the imperial guard, a former small salt merchant Huang Chao. The Chinese peasant uprising of 874-883, which took place almost simultaneously with the uprising of the Zinj in the Baghdad Caliphate, is striking in its duration, mass character, and energy. It was also not devoid of some organization, which allowed it to achieve major successes for a certain time. The uprising began in the northern provinces of Shandong and Hebei. Then it penetrated into Central China in the province of Henan. Already in 874-875, Huang Chao had about 100,000 armed peasants. In 879, Huang Chao made a trip to South China, where he took the richest port of Canton. The rebels seized all the goods of numerous foreign merchants. In the hot climate of the south, a severe epidemic broke out among Huang Chao's soldiers. Huang Chao retreated north to the Yangtze River. Despite the consequences of the epidemic, his army continued to grow and by 880 already numbered 250-300 thousand people. In 881, Huang Chao took Chang'an and proclaimed himself emperor under the name Da Qi. The peasant emperor expressed his social program through the mouth of his chief minister, who declared that Da Qi wanted nothing more than to benefit the common people. Huang Chao stayed in Chang'an for two and a half years. In 883, the emperor of the Tang dynasty returned to the capital with the help of barbarian hordes - the Uighurs, Tanguts and other northwestern nomads. The steppe barbarians ruthlessly exterminated the Chinese peasants. In the people, these bloody predators were called "black crows". Huang Chao himself, forced to flee from Chang'an, died the following year in Henan province, killed by one of his entourage.
The peasant war of 874-883 resulted in the death of many feudal lords and high officials. As a result, the number of state peasants increased again. The end of the Tang Dynasty was predetermined by a powerful peasant movement. The emperors of this dynasty ruled for some time after the suppression of the rebellion. But their power no longer extended to all of China. In the north, at the beginning of the tenth century, a large barbarian state union of the Khitan tribes who captured Manchuria, part of Mongolia and part of northern China. The capital of the new state was the city of Yangjing, later known as Beijing or Beiping.
In 907, the reign of the Tang Dynasty ended. China entered a period of complete fragmentation. In 960, China was unified under the rule of the Song Dynasty. Its founder was Zhao-Kuan-Yin, one of the northern Chinese commanders, who won several victories over the Khitans. The capital of the new dynasty was at first the city of Chang'an. Later, the center was moved south to Hangzhou.
The Sung empire was weaker than the Tang. The unification of China under the Song Dynasty itself was not complete. Both in the north and in the south, part of the provinces did not recognize the authority of the Sung emperors. The Turkic, Mongol and other western nomadic tribes also did not fix the empire, presenting an ever-growing threat to its borders. The Sung emperors waged wars with the Khitans, Korea, and Annam. But the results of these wars were not certain enough to subjugate these countries to China. Yet, during the Sung Dynasty, China's international relations strengthened again. Large foreign trade developed not only with Central Asia, India and Indochina, but also with Korea, Japan and Indonesia.
class relations The Sung empire in the 11th century led to deep antagonism, reminiscent of the times of the last Tang emperors. The number of state peasants, which increased slightly after the uprising of 874-883, again decreased. In the 11th century, the state received taxes from only half of the lands, since the other half of the lands was seized by privileged officials - feudal lords. The peasants were compelled from year to year to pay enormous sums in the form of interest on debts to usurers. The role of the latter was often played by the officials themselves, forcibly forcing the peasants to take loans from them on the most difficult usurious conditions. The condition of the peasants became dire. Hunger strikes, epidemics, the extinction of entire villages and districts became a kind of chronic phenomenon. The peasant movement again began to threaten to turn into a big peasant war on an all-Chinese scale. The desire of the imperial government to prevent a new peasant war and restore the shaken state finances was reflected in the rather radical reforms of one minister of the Sung dynasty, Wang An-shih.
Initially, Wang Anshi (1021-1086) was one of the provincial officials. In the provinces, he could closely get acquainted with the most egregious facts of the poverty of the population, the arbitrariness of officials and the domination of usurers. Rising to the post of imperial minister, Wang An-shih in the period 1068-1073. held several events of financial, economic and social character. First of all, he conducted a new land census and taxed the lands of the service nobility, by which time they had almost ceased to pay land taxes. Further, Wang An-shih freed the peasants from the state corvée, replacing it with a monetary tax. The peasants were obliged to pay land taxes partly in products, partly also in money. To avoid hunger strikes, Wang An-shih organized a system of state grain granaries, from which bread was given to the population in famine years. In order to suppress usury, Wang An-shih created a state bank where peasants could receive loans at low interest rates. Wang An-Shih's attempts to organize state trade were interesting, partly using the tax fund, partly by buying up products from merchants by the state. Wang An-shih tried to carry out a major reform in military affairs. He proposed to replace the mercenary army with universal military service. The main army was to be a peasant militia. Every three yards had to put one infantryman, every ten yards - one cavalryman.
Wang An-shih's reforms met with sharp opposition from officials and feudal lords. In 1075, Wang An-shi was dismissed. His plans were considered "dangerous" for the state, although he aimed to streamline the feudal state, freeing it from the most harmful elements.
In the 12th century, the position of the Sunn empire did not improve. In 1126, due to the danger of invasions from the northern peoples, the emperors had to move the capital to the south, to Hangzhou. Since 1127, the Song dynasty has already controlled one Southern China. Northern China became part of the new large state of Jin, which absorbed the former Khitan state. At the beginning of the 13th century, the Mongols conquered northern China. But in the southern part of the empire, which remained under the control of the emperor, there were constant unrest. In the period 1127-1132, 93 mass uprisings were recorded in the official chronicles. In a reduced form, limited to South China, the Sunn Empire lasted until 1279, when it was conquered by Genghis Khan's grandson Kublai Khan. Kublai founded a new Mongol dynasty, called the Yuan in Chinese. Thus, for a long time China was included in the system of the Mongolian states of Central Asia.
Chinese culture of the period of the VI-XI centuries. was very well developed. It was far superior in its development to contemporary European culture in many respects. In China, irrigated, partly vegetable gardening was practiced. The production of rice, cotton, tea, raw silk was already the basis of Chinese agriculture at that time. In China, a lot of iron, copper, gold, silver was mined. Chinese crafts made great progress during the Tang Dynasty. Chinese porcelain, Chinese silk and cotton fabrics, various iron and copper products, together with tea and raw silk, constituted the main items of Chinese export. In China in the XI century, there were over 2 thousand cities. Some of them, like Canton and Hangzhou, each had one million inhabitants.
The Chinese have achieved a high development of science. Already in ancient times they knew writing (hieroglyphic), they were the first to invent writing paper. The Chinese were the first to practice printing, however, in its simplest form - in the form of cutting book text on wooden boards and then printing it on paper. In China, at the beginning of the 8th century, the official government newspaper Capital Bulletin was born, which existed until the beginning of the 20th century.
The Chinese studied mathematics, astronomy, geography, history. They own the invention of the compass and gunpowder. In 754, the Hanling Academy of Sciences was organized in China, which is the oldest in the world. scientific institution nationwide scale. China was famous for its chronicles. More than 500 volumes of annals remained from the Sung empire alone. In China there were large libraries containing hundreds of thousands of manuscripts. In a number of cities there were higher schools in which future government officials were to be trained. The examinations for the title of mandarins included the requirement of knowledge, in addition to the science of public administration, also philosophy (mainly in the form of Confucianism) and literature. Thanks to the great linguistic diversity of China, and also as a result of intensive ties with neighboring countries, philology, compilation of dictionaries, and the study of grammatical and syntactic forms have received great development in China.
Chinese literature already in the early Middle Ages was represented by classical works. In the Tang period, two poets especially stood out: Li Bo (699-762) and Du Fu (712-770). The first was the author of numerous lyric poems in which he reflected a purely secular, cheerful, epicurean-materialistic worldview. The second wrote in a more solemn style, processing in his poems the rich material of folk mythological and heroic epos.
China in the Middle Ages did a lot for the development of architecture and visual arts. Chinese buildings - palaces, temples, towers, city gates - were less bulky compared to Indian ones, lighter and more elegant in decoration. They were created from the most diverse material - wood, marble, iron. Their decorations were rich carvings, porcelain, gold. The roofs of the imperial palaces and the houses of the urban rich were often covered with gold sheets.
High development painting reached in medieval China. In addition to beautiful easel painting, the art of drawing, engraving, woodcuts, wood burning, etc., has become widespread. Every household item of the ruling classes was striking in its artistic performance. Various products made of porcelain, bronze, ivory, wood and stone created world fame for the art and diligence of Chinese craftsmen, who often spent years and even decades of their lives on the manufacture of individual artistic objects.
China in the XI-XV centuries
Created first in northern China, the Mongol monarchy under Kubilal (1259-1294) spread to central and then to southern China. In 1728, the city of Hangzhou, the capital of the former Song Dynasty, was taken. In 1279, southern China was completely conquered. The new dynasty since 1264 was called the Yuan dynasty.
The Mongol conquest was as difficult for China as it was for other countries in Asia and Europe. Continuing for several decades (if we count the campaigns of Genghis Khan as the beginning), it cost China countless sacrifices in people and property. The Mongols devastated the Chinese fields and partly turned them into pastures for their flocks. Cities and villages were subjected to ruthless looting. Heavy requisitions were imposed on the Chinese people. The new Mongol officials were even more brutal than the old Chinese mandarins. But the Mongols themselves were under strong Chinese influence already in the 13th century. They mastered the Chinese language, Chinese writing and adopted the entire system of Chinese government. On the other hand, thanks to the inclusion of China in the system of Mongolian states, China was able again and even to a greater extent than it was under the previous national dynasties of the Tang and Sunn, to take part in international trade. Iranian, Arab, Uzbek, Indian merchants appeared in China. The export of Chinese silk, porcelain, iron and copper, according to the Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who visited China under Khubilai, was carried out to all parts of the world. Continuing their conquest wars outside China, the Mongol khans-emperors sold loot in China. Possessing unlimited despotic power and a large labor force for captives, the Mongols carried out a large construction of new roads and canals. They also patronized the development of Chinese industry, which provided such a valuable export. But the economic and political benefits were mainly enjoyed by the Mongol nobility and the Turkic and Iranian feudal lords and merchants attracted by the new dynasty. The old Chinese bureaucracy and the Chinese merchants felt hurt. Far from improving, the position of the broad working masses of China has not only not improved, but over the decades, as the bureaucratic-fiscal oppression and feudal exploitation have intensified, it has worsened more and more. In the 16th century, there were repeated palace conspiracies against the Mongol emperors. In wider circles of the population, national-revolutionary organizations were created with the aim of freeing the country from foreign domination. In 1351, in the provinces of Henan and Shandong, there was an uprising of red turbans, prepared by an alliance called the "White Lily". In 1356, red turbans threatened the very capital of the Mongol dynasty, Beijing. In the 60s of the XIV century, uprisings against the Mongols were already taking place in most of the Chinese provinces. The main driving force of the national movement was the peasantry. One of the leaders of the peasant rebel army, Zhu Yuan-zheng, was proclaimed emperor (1368). He took the name Hong Wu. The new dynasty he founded was called the Ming dynasty. She ruled China from 1368 to 1644. Its capital was at first the city of Nanjing, but then the center was moved again to the city of Beijing.
The new dynasty, emerging from the ranks of the people, at first pursued a policy that somewhat alleviated the position of the working people. So, tax lists were revised in order to more evenly distribute taxes. As a result of the confiscation of the lands of the Mongol nobility, the number of state peasants increased significantly. More than once, Hong Wu issued decrees on the addition of arrears. At the end of the 16th and in the first half of the 15th centuries, irrigation works were intensively carried out in the country. The government patronized the development of crafts in the country. The tax burden was somewhat weakened in relation to urban artisans. But at the same time, the peasant emperor was not going to make any social revolution. Large landownership and privileged bureaucracy remained, although at first they were subject to some restrictions. Pretty soon, the strengthened dynasty undertook aggressive campaigns aimed at capturing new lands, as well as expanding Chinese foreign markets. Even under Hong Wu, the power of the emperor extended to Korea. Under his successors, Annam was conquered and military expeditions were made to Indonesia, Indochina, and Malacca. Some of the petty rulers of these countries recognized the supreme power of the Chinese emperor. The Chinese began to move to Indochina and Indonesia. In the 16th century, the Ming Empire no longer had to advance, but to defend its own borders. In the west, she was threatened by the Mongols. In 1550, one of the descendants of Genghis Khan approached Beijing with a large army and burned its suburbs. In the second half of the 16th century, China had to wage a tense struggle against Japanese aggression. Nevertheless, the Ming dynasty found the strength to repel the samurai, who were forced out of the continent at the very end of this century.
From the beginning of the 16th century, Europeans began to penetrate China. The first to arrive there in 1516 were Portuguese ships. In the 40s of the 16th century, the Portuguese founded several colonies on the coasts of China. But by the beginning of the 50s, they were all destroyed by the local population, outraged by the extortion of the colonialists. Only in Macau, captured in 1557, did the Portuguese manage to gain a stronger foothold. In the second half of the XVI and early XVII centuries. The Spaniards, the Dutch, the British, and the French appeared in China. But the Ming government did not allow any deep penetration of foreigners into the depths of China. The trade turnover with China in the 16th century among European merchants was insignificant when compared with trade in India and Indonesia. In the second half of the 16th century, the first relations with China of the Russians took place.
China in the XVI-XVII centuries
China in the XVIII-XIX centuries
By the end of the 18th century, there was a resurgence of trade between China and European and Asian countries. The Chinese sold tea, porcelain, silk to Europe, but did not purchase any European goods, preferring to receive silver for their goods. The British began to import opium from India to China, gradually introducing the local population to smoking opium. The coastal regions of China became especially dependent on the supply of opium. In the 19th century, the Opium Wars broke out in China.
The first Opium War in China took place in 1840-1842 between Great Britain and China. Great Britain defended its interests in trade, including in the opium trade. The reason for the start of the war was the arrest of an opium smuggler in China and the destruction of their cargo. Great Britain won the war, mainly due to the actions of its fleet. On August 29, 1842, the Nanking Treaty was signed, which secured the victory of Great Britain in the war, and also established the obligation of China to pay an indemnity of $ 21 million and transfer the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain. The war was the beginning of a long weakening of China, the oppression of foreign powers and the depopulation of the local population.
The Second Opium War took place from 1856 to 1860 between China on one side and Britain and France on the other. Great Britain and France demanded the possibility of unlimited trade and the admission of their ambassadors to Beijing. The reason for the start of the war was again the arrest of opium smugglers on a British ship assigned to Hong Kong. The war again ended with the defeat of China, on October 25, 1860, the Beijing Treaty was signed, according to which China undertook to pay 8 million liang to Great Britain and France, as well as to expand their trade zone. Under the treaty of Great Britain, the southern part of the Kowloon Peninsula departed.
In 1894, China went to war with Japan. The Sino-Japanese War continued until 1895. The main reason for the war was Japan's claims to control Korea and Manchuria, which at that time were in vassal dependence on China. China lost this war, on April 17, 1895, the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed. Under this treaty, Korea gained independence from China, while Taiwan, the Penghuledao Islands and the Liaodong Peninsula retreated to Japan. Japan also got the opportunity to build industrial enterprises in China and import industrial equipment into the country.
The consequence of the Sino-Japanese war and the signed Treaty of Shimonoseki was a triple intervention by France, Russia and Germany. On April 23, 1985, these countries turned to Japan demanding that the Liaodong Peninsula be returned to China, fearing Japanese control over Port Arthur. On May 10, 1985, Japan returned the Liaodong Peninsula to China, however, at the same time increasing the amount of indemnity assigned for China's loss of the Sino-Japanese war.
In 1897, German Chancellor Wilhelm II obtained Nicholas II's consent to the deployment of a German naval base at Jiaozhou in Shandong. In November 1897, the Chinese killed German missionaries in Shandong. In response, Germany captured Jiaozhou. The Chinese had to lease Jiaozhou from Germany for 99 years and allow Germany to build two railways in Shandong, as well as a number of mining concessions.
In 1898, in June, a period called the "hundred days of reform" began in China. The Manchu emperor Zai Tian enlisted a group of young reformers to develop reforms that would allow China to make a leap forward in its development. The reforms affected the education system, railways, factories, agriculture, the armed forces, domestic and foreign trade, as well as the state apparatus. In September 1898 there was palace coup led by Empress Dowager Cixi. The coup was successful, all reforms were cancelled.
China in the 20th century
The 20th century in China began with the Yihetuan uprising in May 1900. During the uprising, 222 Chinese Christians were killed, and the Petang Catholic Cathedral was besieged. On June 21, 1900, Empress Cixi declared war on Great Britain, Germany, Austria-Hungary, France, Italy, Japan, the United States, and Russia. The countries agreed on a joint struggle against the rebels. On February 8, 1904, with the liberation of Manchuria by the Russian troops in China, the Russo-Japanese War began. This war ended with the defeat of Russia.
In 1911, the Wuchang uprising began in China, which resulted in the Xinghai Revolution, which lasted from 1911 to 1913. The Qing Dynasty was overthrown and China was proclaimed the Republic of China. Tibet passed into the zone of influence of Great Britain. On February 12, 1912, the first president of China, Yuan Shikai, who had previously been prime minister and commander-in-chief of the Chinese army, was proclaimed. In 1913, after Yuan Shikai suppressed uprisings in the central and southern provinces, a dictatorship was established in the country.
When did the first World War, China declared its neutrality and the inadmissibility of hostilities in the country. However, Japan launched military operations in the province of Shandong - a German colony. Japan managed to achieve the capture of German territories and take control of the entire province.
In 1915, China was again proclaimed a monarchy, and Yuan Shikai became emperor. However, already in 1916, Yuan Shikai died. After his death, China began to disintegrate into military fiefdoms, led by militaristic groups that began active relations with other countries, especially with Great Britain and Japan.
In 1912, the Kuomintang Party was established in Guangzhou Province. In 1921, the Chinese Communist Party was founded. In 1923, cooperation was organized between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China through the mediation of the Comintern. On January 20, 1924, the first congress of the Kuomintang was held in Guangzhou. On June 16, 1924, the Whampu Military Academy was founded under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek. The Kuomintang set a course for cooperation with the CPC and the Communist Party of the USSR. In March 1926, Chiang Kai-shek carried out a military coup in Canton, expelled the communists from the city, and three months later he was elected chairman of the Kuomintang and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Having achieved high power, Chiang Kai-shek invited German advisers headed by the former General of the Reichswehr von Seeckt. In December 1927, a communist uprising took place in Canton, which was brutally suppressed by the Kuomintang.
In autumn 1931, Japan occupied China. On July 7, 1937, World War II began for China, which ended in 1945 with the defeat of the Japanese army. On April 24, 1949, the Chinese People's Liberation Army won the civil war destroying the Kuomintang. On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China was proclaimed, which was recognized by the USSR on October 2, 1949.
In 1966, a cultural revolution took place in China, led by Mao Zedong, who fought to strengthen his position in the CCP. It actually continued until 1976, i.e. before the death of Mao Zedong. Mass purges were carried out in the ranks of the CCP, helping to strengthen the power of Mao Zedong.
In 1978, with the coming to power of Deng Xiaoping and Hu Yaobang, economic reforms in China were launched. The course was taken to build a market economic system with Chinese characteristics. Following this course until the end of the 20th century allowed China to take the positions it now holds in the 21st century.
Snow and plum blossoms argue in the spring - no one is ready to give up.
The brush was put aside by the writer, tired of philosophical works.
Plum should lose in whiteness - snow is three fen whiter,
The snow will yield a whole duan to the fragrance of mei!
(Lu Meipo. Song Poet. "Snow and Plum Blossom")
Political life. In the 16th century, China was still dominated by the Ming Dynasty. It was during this period that the political situation in the country worsened. One of the reasons is that the country was deeply engulfed by medieval industrial relations. Subsistence farming prevailed in the society. The main productive forces - the peasants - were burdened by the exhausting practices of rental agriculture, which took deep roots and remained unchanged for many years. The rent for the land was 50% of the total crop.
despotic the power of the state was the main pillar of the old order.
The state power was an ardent opponent of all kinds of innovations. In addition, in the 16th century, the process of transferring state and peasant lands into the hands of large landowners intensified, who by all means sought to turn these lands into their personal property. The largest and most fertile lands belonged to members of the emperor's family.
Heavy rents led the main productive force - the peasants - to impoverishment, which caused widespread peasant uprisings in the empire. Soon the flames of the peasant war engulfed the whole country.
The political struggle of the estates. The widespread peasant uprising contributed to the intensification of the political fragmentation of the Ming empire. The government, which served as the defender of the interests of the ruling class, at a critical moment was unable to resolve the pressing issues. Permissiveness began to flourish among high-ranking civil servants, corruption, corrupt practices. The imperial house plundered the treasury for all sorts of amusements and magnificent outfits. These factors aroused sharp discontent among different sections of society. As a result, increased opposition against the Ming dynasty and its support - state despotism.
The basis of the opposition forces were medium and small landowners, wealthy citizens, as well as the educated part of the population, that is, the class intelligentsia.
The opposition demanded that the emperor continue to appoint officials of appropriate ability to state posts, as well as change outdated laws. However, the court nobles did not heed the demands of the opposition, moreover, they began to persecute them. The opposition did not give up. Peasant unrest began to take on threatening forms.
power of the Manchu dynasty. At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, China had a very dangerous external enemy - the state of Manchuria, formed on the border territories.
The ruler of Manchuria, Nurkhatsi, began a military campaign against China in 1618. Abahai (1626 - 1643), Nurkhatsi's successor, achieved great success in conquering the territories of China. The exhausted Ming dynasty was unable to provide adequate resistance to the enemy. The Manchus managed to conquer most of the territory of the empire. In 1636 Abahai declared himself emperor. He called his dynasty Qin (pure, transparent).
Deposition of the Ming Dynasty. The capitulation policy of the Ming Dynasty caused violent discontent in the country. There was a peasant war going on in the empire. The leaders of the insurgent detachments united all the advanced military forces. Li Tzu-cheng assumed command of the rebel army.
In 1643, the rebel military council decided to attack Beijing. Li Zi-cheng was declared emperor.
In the southwest of China, another commander of the rebel army, Zhang Hsien-zhong, announced the creation of his own state.
At that time, in the north of the country, the active army of the empire under the command of General Wu San-gua fought against the Manchu invaders.
Wu San-gua could cause great trouble to the new government in Peking. Therefore, Li Zi-cheng decided to find with him mutual language. However, Wu San-gua did not negotiate and did not recognize the rebel government. At the same time, he realized that he was powerless with the forces at his disposal to overthrow the new government. Therefore, he chose the path of betrayal and agreed to become a vassal of the Manchus.
The peasant uprising was brutally suppressed. Li Tzu-cheng and Zhang Xian-chung fell in battle.
In 1644, the Manchus conquered Beijing. Abahai's son was declared the Chinese emperor. From that moment in the history of China began the domination of the Manchu Qing dynasty, which occupied the throne until 1911.
The peasant uprising was brutally suppressed. Its leaders, Li Zi-cheng and Zhang Hsien-zhong, fell in battle.
Foreign policy. The reign of the Qing dynasty is characterized by the aggressiveness of its foreign policy. Initially, in 1637, Korea was turned into a vassal state.
Starting from 1757, all ports, except for Guangzhou, were closed to ships from Europe.
In 1758, the Dzungar (Oirat) Khanate, created in Northern and Western Mongolia, was completely conquered. Soon all of Mongolia and Kashgaria were captured.
Until the complete conquest of China, the rulers of the Qing dynasty relied on the help of European countries. Therefore, ports in China were initially opened for them. But over time, having understood what the expansion of Europeans to China would lead to, the policy towards Europeans changed.
In 1792, the Qing Dynasty forced Nepal to recognize itself as a vassal state.
Despotism is a form of unlimited monarchy.
Corruption is a crime expressed in the use by an official of the rights granted to him by his position for the purpose of personal enrichment.
To the question Cultural achievements of China in the 15th - 18th century. given by the author Valentina Berbekova the best answer is It must be said that already in the 15th and 16th centuries, China experienced a period of economic and spiritual prosperity. Cities grew, new magnificent architectural ensembles arose, and handicrafts were distinguished by a huge variety.
The artistic life of China during the late Middle Ages reflected the complexity of the development of the culture of the Ming and Qing periods. The contradictions of time manifested themselves especially sharply in painting. Official circles oriented artists to imitate the past. The newly opened Academy of Painting tried to forcibly revive the former brilliance of the art of the Tang and Song periods. Not a single epoch protected the traditions of previous centuries with such jealous thoroughness. Artists were constrained by prescriptions for topics, plots and methods of work. The disobedient were severely punished. However, the sprouts of the new still made their way. For almost six centuries of domination of the Ming and Qing dynasties, many talented painters worked in China, trying to bring new trends to art. Already in the Ming period, numerous art schools began to take shape far from the capital, in the south of the country, where the masters experienced less pressure from the official authorities. The representative of one of them in the 16th century was Xu Wei. In his paintings, one can feel the desire to break the contemplative harmony of traditional painting. His lines seem deliberately rough and sharp, a wide brush saturated with moisture, as if without any obstacles, wanders over the paper, lying on it with heavy drops and creating the illusion of bamboo branches tangled in the wind or outlining its smooth trunk with light strokes. However, behind the deliberate negligence one can feel the great skill of the artist, the ability to catch the hidden patterns of nature in random forms.
In subsequent centuries, this new direction became even more definite. Known by the nickname “Blessed Mountain Hermit”, the artist Zhu Da (1625–1705), the successor of the traditions of the artists of the Chan sect and who became a monk after the conquest of the country by the Manchus, in his small, but bold and daring album sheets, which depicts either a ruffled bird or a broken lotus stem, further departs from the traditional images of Xu Wei.
Of the genres of the late Middle Ages, those depicting flowers and herbs, birds and animals retained the greatest freshness of perception. In the 17th century, one of the most famous painters was Yun Shouping (1633 - 1690). Using the so-called “boneless” or “contourless” manner, he tried to bring out the structure and charm of each plant - the splendor of the peony, the tenderness of poppies fluttering in the wind - to bring to the audience their aroma and tactile charm.
An important role in the 16-18 centuries began to play everyday painting, book engraving, closely associated with the flourishing of new literary works- novel and drama. They reflected an increased interest in privacy person, to his intimate experiences. The most prominent representatives of everyday painting were Tang Yin and Chou Ying, who worked in the 16th century. Although their work also relied on the traditions of previous periods, they managed to create a new type of scroll stories - not only entertaining, but also imbued with great poetic charm. Working in a meticulous "gun-bi" manner, Chou Ying painted the smallest details of clothes, interior, and decoration with the thinnest brush. He paid special attention to the harmony of gestures and postures, since it was through them that he conveyed shades of various moods.
The variety of forms and techniques of Chinese applied art of the 15th-18th centuries is truly inexhaustible. The arts and crafts of this time was very important, developing the best artistic traditions of Chinese culture.
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Victory over foreign invaders and establishing power
the Ming Dynasty contributed to the general upsurge of the creative forces of the people,
which is reflected in the extensive urban construction, as well as
in the development of trade and crafts. The incessant raids of nomads on
north of the country force the rulers to take care of strengthening the Great
Chinese wall. It is completed and lined with stone and brick.
A number of palace and temple ensembles, estates, as well as
garden and park complexes. And, although construction is still
the main material is wood, in the palace, temple, fortress
architecture increasingly began to use brick and stone with active
use in the colorful design of structures of their texture and
colors.
Chinese monumental sculpture in the Ming period,
despite the general decline, retains its realistic beginning. Even
in Buddhist wooden statues of this time one can see
vitality of the interpretation of figures and a huge wealth of artistic
tricks. Fine figurines and figurines were made in the workshops
animals made of wood, bamboo, stone. Small plastic strikes high
skill and depth of penetration into the images.
The literature of the Ming period is, first of all, novels, stories.
One of the most enduring Chinese literary traditions has been
aphoristic literature, the roots of which go back to sayings
Confucius.
During the Ming Dynasty, especially from the 16th century,
Chinese theater attracted more and more attention of writers
and art connoisseurs. The theater marked the emergence of a new
theatrical form, combining high dramaturgy with
perfect musical, scenic and acting art.
The art of the Minsk period aspired primarily to
preservation of the traditions of the Tang and Sung times. It is in this
period, the narrative genre was born. Still significant
place in the painting of this period is occupied by works of landscape
painting and painting "Flowers and Birds".
A significant place in the artistic culture of China was occupied by
various types of arts and crafts. One of the main
its types are porcelain products, which are put forward on
first place in the world.
Since the Ming period, it has become widespread
technique of cloisonné and painted enamels. Multi-figured
relief compositions of red carved lacquer. could be seen
embroidered pictures made with colored satin stitch.
QING DYNASTY PERIOD
The architecture of the Qing period acquires its characteristic
features expressed in the desire for pomp of forms, an abundance of decorative
decoration. Palace buildings acquire new features in connection with
fragmentation of ornamental details and bright polychrome of its
finishes. Various materials were used to decorate buildings, these are
and stone, and wood, and glazed multicolored ceramic slabs.
Considerable attention is paid to the construction of park ensembles. XVIII-
19th century characterized by intensive construction of suburban
residences, splendor, elegance and richness of architectural forms
which speak of the tastes of that time and the wealth of their inhabitants. AT
their design was used not only bright colors and gilding, but also
porcelain and metal.
Traditions of folk art with its optimism and aspiration
to the transmission of real images found their greatest expression in
sculpture. In the works of unknown master carvers from ivory
bones, wood, root and bamboo can be found images of ordinary people
- shepherds, hunters, old people, hidden under the guise of deities.
"China in the XIV-XVIII centuries"
When the power of the Mongol emperors collapsed in the middle of the XIV century, a large number of troops remained idle in China. To find a use for themselves, these armies not only besieged cities, but also waged a continuous struggle among themselves. As the local warlords were busy fighting among themselves, the old ruling She dynasty continued to be in power for some time. But when a man appeared in China who could join forces and lead the fight for the throne, her fate was sealed.
After a struggle that lasted several years, a new ruler ascended the throne, having risen to such a height from the very bottom of society.
At first, Zhu Yuanzhang did not touch the fortified strongholds of the Mongols, directing all his forces to suppress his rivals who were rampaging in southeast China. In 1366, he destroyed the last of them, remaining the only contender for the throne and the recognized leader of the Chinese resistance. Two years later, in 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang became one of the leaders of the messianic sect "ming jiao" ("Teaching of Light"), of a Buddhist-Manichaean nature, awaiting the coming of the messiah - the King of Light (ming wang). Hence the name of the Ming Dynasty founded by him - "bright", "shining", "enlightened".
After the capture of the entire east coast from Canton to Shandong, the army of his commander Su Da numbered about 250 thousand people. The Mongol emperor did not wait for their appearance. He fled north, leaving China to the victorious founder of the Ming. Beijing has given up.
In 1372, General Su Da crossed the Gobi, burned the capital of Genghis Khan, Karakorum, and reached Siberia. No Chinese army had ever gone so far north before. In 1381, the Mongols were also driven out of Yunnan, where they had remained isolated since the founding of the dynasty. Ten years later, the Ming army occupied Hami in Central Asia, thus completing the reunification of the empire.
Thus, for the first time since the Tang, the frontiers were pushed far to the north, and overall the Ming empire was larger than any other Chinese empire that preceded it. The southwestern regions, only partially settled under the Han and Tang, became full-fledged parts of the empire, under provincial control. Although the relatively large local population still retained formal autonomy there, the cities and valleys began to be quickly populated by the Chinese.
Zhu Yuanzhang, abandoning the foreign policy of the Tang Empire, in all other respects openly took it as a model. Administration was organized along the Tang model, and even the provinces, as far as territory and population would allow, were changed to fit Taizong's ten "daos".
The practical spirit of the administrative transformation manifested itself in another way. Previous dynasties were named according to the ancient name of the area where the founder was from, or according to the name of the inheritance that he (or his ancestor) ruled. The founder of Ming, the former son of a poor peasant and the leader of the robbers, could not, like his ancestors, boast of possession or inheritance, therefore, choosing a name for the dynasty, he broke with the centuries-honored "territorial tradition" and, based on his religious views, called it Min. In fairness, it should be noted that for the first time this tradition was violated by the predecessors of the Ming, the Mongols, who called their dynasty Yuan ("Original", "Primordial").
The first capital of the dynasty was Nanjing. This city is still the way Zhu Yuanzhang rebuilt it. In choosing Nanjing as the capital, the first Emperor Ming apparently wanted the administrative apparatus to be located in the part of China that he was most familiar with, from which he himself was born.
After the fall of Song power in the north, many thousands of the most influential and educated people fled south, and the north lost its cultural and commercial significance. Nanjing, located on the banks of the Yangtze, where tribute boats and merchant ships could easily approach, was ideally suited to control the most populated and rich part of the empire, because by virtue of geographical location it was protected from attack from the north, and at the same time not so remote from the northern provinces.
Unfortunately, the third Ming Emperor Yongle ignored these considerations, again moving the capital to Beijing. This aggravated the main problem of the new dynasty - the ever-increasing divergence between the North and the South, and, as a result, the mutual hatred of officials - people from different parts of the empire. The division of the empire into two halves became more pronounced than ever before. Until the South was colonized under the Tang, and then enriched and cultivated under the Southern Song, there could be no significant rivalry, because culture, power, and population were concentrated in the northern provinces. After the Jurchen and Mongol conquests, the balance was upset. The north was devastated, and the south became rich and populous.
As a result of these processes, a large-scale migration of the most "cultural" population began. In the south, all the famous scientific clans that ruled the empire for centuries found a place. It must be said that by the time of the accession of the Ming, the differences between the two halves of the empire had already become too obvious. Southerners occupied all top places at the state examinations, while the northerners were not even represented in them in proportion to the population. Although the emperors assigned one-third of all places to the northerners, regardless of the level of knowledge, but even this proportion in itself is very indicative.
The transfer of the capital to Beijing further intensified this rivalry. Yongle did this because his possessions were located here before he ascended the throne, and here he found support and support. However, Beijing was a bad place for a capital. It is located on a sandy and rather dry plain and is not connected by waterways to the producing provinces. In addition, it is only forty miles from the passages in the Great Wall, through which nomads have infiltrated into China at all times.
By the time the empire's military power had dried up, the capital was open to attack. The nomads did not need to make a long trip deep into China. A simple border raid was enough to pose a threat to the court and disorganize the administration. Therefore, the Minsk court was completely absorbed in border problems to the detriment of the true interests of the empire. The money and troops that were needed to guard an undefended capital could be better used to oversee the provinces. The court, isolated in the northeast, lost understanding of the feelings and needs of the south and west, which over time became more and more indifferent to the fate of the Ming dynasty. The position of the capital was one of the main weaknesses of the empire and the main reason for its fall.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the dynasty, died in 1398 after thirty years of reign, characterized by internal stability and successful external campaigns, and crowned with a long peace. Unfortunately, his eldest son and heir died without ascending the throne, so the throne passed to his grandson Huidi, who was only 16 years old. However, the power of the young emperor was immediately challenged by his powerful uncle, Prince Yan, who commanded the troops of the north and ruled in Beijing. As a result, only a generation after the founding of the dynasty, the empire was plunged into a long and destructive internecine war.
After some time, when the struggle went on with varying success, the imperial troops stopped resisting, and in 1402 the troops of the Yan prince occupied Nanjing.
During Chengzu's reign, Beijing's shortcomings as a capital were not yet so obvious. The emperor himself - an experienced and capable warrior - fought the Mongols for many years. He was always ready to personally take command if any threat arose from the side of the nomads, and made many trips to Outer Mongolia, reaching Siberia. Under him, the question of the possibility of an invasion of nomads into China simply did not arise, because the Chinese military power remained unsurpassed.
The management system of the Ming dynasty was built according to the Tang model even after the transfer of the capital, but in some respects it did not reach the Tang level. The fact that people turned to the Tang for examples, and not to the Song, the last great Chinese dynasty, is generally characteristic of the Ming. The Song Dynasty remained peaceful, and its non-belligerent policies allowed the barbarians to conquer China. The Tang, on the other hand, was a subjugating power that asserted its power far beyond the borders of China. The first Ming emperors, warriors themselves, did not like the pacifists who ruled the Sung empire, leaving the original Chinese lands in the hands of the conquerors. Unfortunately, the Ming rulers abandoned not only the peacefulness of the Sung, but also the restrictions that characterized internal governance under the Sung.
The emperor grew up in the palace, surrounded by refined and refined etiquette, which simply isolated him from ordinary contacts with people. Inevitably, he fell under the influence of his closest servants - the eunuchs. When the emperor matured, starting from 1443, he began to completely trust one of his favorites, Wang Jin, whose power was practically unlimited. Seven years later (1450), the eunuch, wanting to honor his family and show his power in his native places, convinced the emperor to send an expedition to the border with Mongolia, where one of the Mongol leaders invaded, and on the way to pass through Wang Jin's hometown of Huailai, where he could to receive the emperor in his house. The emperor not only agreed to this senseless expedition, but also appointed Wang Jin as commander-in-chief. The eunuch had neither the experience of waging war nor the ability to command troops, and his appointment was perceived by the old and seasoned in the battles under Emperor Chengzu as an insult. The campaign was doomed to fail from the start. Despite the advice of commanders who had experience in the border service, Wang Jin allowed his army to be attacked, deprived of water and provisions. Continuing to cherish the plan of receiving the emperor in his house, he postponed the retreat for this, and the entire Chinese army was surrounded near Huailai, a city that is 50 miles northwest of Beijing.
With this defeat, the Ming superiority over the Mongols ended. The emperor was taken prisoner, and the eunuch Wang Jin and all the experienced commanders were killed. Yingzong himself, at least, showed in a hopeless situation the courage befitting his position. The leader of the Mongols found him sitting in serene calmness on a carpet among the dead bodyguards. He was taken to Mongolia but was treated well and later released. However, the victory of the Mongols was an accident due to the stupidity of the commander. They lacked the strength to take advantage. They reached the gates of Beijing, but were quickly driven back by Chinese troops hastily recruited from neighboring provinces. A few years later, when another emperor ascended the throne, the Mongols released Yingzong, who was no longer a valuable prisoner. Fate favored him, and when the new emperor fell ill, he again ascended the throne thanks to a conspiracy of ministers and generals. It seems that he had the gift of conquering people, for among his Mongol captors he made loyal and close friends. His reign lasted until 1465.
Although the immediate results of the defeat at Huailai were not as dire as one might expect, this event was a turning point in the history of the Ming. The era of Chinese military superiority ended, and henceforth the Ming empire only defended the northern borders, and the defense was getting weaker and weaker. During the last third of the 15th century, under the emperors Xianzong and Xiaozong, the empire still retained the ability to successfully defend the borders, but by the beginning of the 16th century it became clear that the court was losing both prestige and power.
Under the two long reigns of Shizong (1520-1566) and Shenzong (1572-1620), the empire as a whole was in order, primarily due to the able ministers Yang Dinghe and Zhang Gujing. The uprisings in the west, which had troubled the country under Wuzong, were suppressed, but the borders and coasts were subjected to raids by new enemies. Northern nomads constantly disturbed the peace and once even appeared under the walls of Beijing (1550), and Japanese pirates plundered the southeast coast, capturing captives for ransom. These expeditions turned into an entire industry in which the nobles of Southern Japan invested money and received huge profits.
A clash with Japan also occurred in Korea, where Shogun Hideyoshi invaded in 1592. Korea turned to China as its overlord for help, and the Ming court sent an army with orders to throw the Japanese into the sea. A six-year war began, in which the Chinese, after the first successes, were followed by failures. Troops from all regions of the empire were sent to the peninsula, huge funds were spent on the struggle, from which China never received anything. When, finally, the death of Hideyoshi forced the Japanese to leave Korea, the Ming court could congratulate itself on a pyrrhic victory, for the war had so exhausted the empire's strength that it had made it defenseless against external and internal enemies.
In 1618, the Manchurian tribes established their state in the province of Jilin (Jilin) and began to devastate the Chinese province of Liaodong. All subsequent years, the forces and means of the Ming dynasty were focused on confronting the Manchus, which diverted the attention of the court from internal unrest. It is unlikely that the Manchus could ever conquer any significant part of China if the Ming dynasty had not been destroyed by a peasant war, which, in turn, became possible to no small extent due to the remoteness of the capital.
Gradually, the Manchus conquered all of Liaodong, but their further advance was held back by the Great Wall. The Minsk dynasty perished in the flames of an uprising that began because of the arbitrariness of the eunuchs and, as a result, the tightening of oppression in the provinces. The leader of this uprising was Li Zi-cheng, a native of Shaanxi. After several years of struggle, in 1640 he captured Henan, and then, quickly capturing Shaanxi and Shanxi, attacked Beijing from the northwest. In 1644, his army appeared under the walls of the capital. The protection of the city, short-sightedly entrusted to the eunuchs, failed, and the last Ming Emperor Sizong hanged himself in the Imperial Park.
However, the Manchus came to China only after the fall of Beijing. The Chinese general Wu Sangui, who guarded the northern passes, refused to recognize Li Zicheng as emperor and asked the Manchus to help him recapture Beijing. However, the Manchus themselves remained in China while Wu Sangui drove the disintegrated and defeated rebel army to the west, from where they had come.
Li Zicheng was defeated by the united army and was forced to leave Beijing. Pursued by Wu Sangui, he fled to the western provinces, but was ultimately defeated. The Manchus, meanwhile, allowing Wu Sangui to satisfy their thirst for revenge, calmly occupied Beijing and proclaimed their ruler as Emperor of China.
The system of Minsk administration in the north had already collapsed, so the Manchus occupied the north and northwest of China, practically without resistance. In the south, on the other hand, the Ming crown prince also proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing, and other members of the Ming house organized resistance in Fuzhou and Canton. The Manchus left the matter of suppressing the Chinese pretenders to the throne to Wu Sangui and other Chinese commanders who had submitted to them. Only small detachments of the Manchus participated in the fight against them and the remnants of Li Zicheng's army. The first conquest of the south ended after a long war eighteen years later. The last Minsk pretender fled to Burma. The south was divided between three Chinese princes: Wu Sangui settled in the southwest, two other, less powerful princes, on the east coast. The direct power of the Manchus did not extend south of the Yangtze, but in the northwest their positions were weak.
In the first thirty years of the new dynasty, the empire was only formally subordinate to the Manchu court, which under Emperor Shunzhi (1644-1662) was weak and incapacitated. The emperor himself came under the guardianship of the eunuchs of the Forbidden City. He devoted most of his time to Buddhist spiritual exercises. When he died in 1662, the power of the new dynasty was far from stable. An eight-year-old boy ascended the throne. It would seem that the regency should have further weakened the position of the dynasty. Few could have foreseen that this boy was destined to become the savior of the dynasty - the great Kangxi.
If Wu Sangui, as a nominal vassal ruling in the southwest, had chosen this moment to crush the Manchu dynasty, he would certainly have succeeded. However, he waited another ten years. Only in 1673 did an uprising begin in the south. By this time, Kangxi had already got rid of the guardianship of the regents and took the reins of government into his own hands, from the very beginning showing himself to be a firm and resolute ruler. However, the Wu Sangui rebellion nearly destroyed the power of the Manchus. All of South China was immediately lost. Wu Sangui called on the help of the Mongol tribes and went to the northwest to join them.
However, his plans were not destined to come true, and primarily because of the betrayal of other princes, who at first supported Wu Sangui, and then submitted to the Manchus and lost power for their labors. But even the conquest of the coast and the defeat of the Mongols would not have saved the dynasty if Wu Sangui had not been too old for the hardships of a long war. After five years of resistance, he died without being defeated and remaining the ruler of all of southwestern China. His sons had neither the abilities nor the authority of their father, and in addition they quarreled among themselves. In 1682, Kangxi captured Yunnanfu, their capital, massacred the Wu family, and in doing so was finally able to crush the rebellion and complete the conquest of the south. Thus, the south completely submitted to the Manchus only forty years after the peaceful capture of Beijing.
This also determined the further attitude of the Manchus towards the Chinese subjects of the north and south. The North submitted and was trusted, to a certain extent, of course. The recalcitrant south instilled fear and fear, it was not trusted and ruthlessly suppressed. The capital of the Manchus was Beijing, located close to their homeland and allies - the Mongols. The advantages of the new government were felt only in the northern provinces and the capital, and the main revenues to the treasury came from the south. The Manchus were a handful compared to the empire's Chinese population. By the end of the dynasty, there were 10 million Manchus and 350 million Chinese. Of course, three centuries earlier, the population was much smaller, but the percentage of Manchus was hardly higher.
Obviously, the new government could not manage a huge empire without relying on the Chinese. It is also clear that if the Manchus and the Chinese enjoyed equal rights, the former would soon simply disappear. Therefore, half of all civil posts were reserved for the Manchus, the other half for the Chinese. And this meant an inadequate distribution between the northern and southern provinces, which competed in Beijing and Nanjing, respectively.
According to legend, Shunzhi did not die in 1662, he secretly left the throne to become a monk in one of the monasteries near Beijing; the southwestern gates of the northern capital were long called the Gates of Shunzhi, for, according to legend, it was through this gate that the emperor fled from Beijing.
The south had the majority of the population, but it accounted for only a quarter of the posts in the empire. Naturally, the competition in exams among the southerners was much higher than among the northerners, while among the Manchus it sometimes did not exist at all. Therefore, southerners who excelled in examinations constituted the most intellectual layer of the civil service, while Manchu officials, who were often guaranteed a post from childhood, did not need any talent at all to get a position. From this state of affairs there were two dangers for management. First, those who deserved the highest posts and quick promotion through the ranks - the southerners, were least trusted by the authorities, fearing that people from the hostile south would prevail in the administration. Therefore, the southerners, and especially those from Guangdong, did not receive the posts they deserved, and, naturally, this did not make them more loyal.
Much more serious were the unrest among educated southerners who did not become officials. Intense competition for a limited number of positions left behind many candidates whose level of training was higher than that of the Manchus or some northerners, but for whom there was no chance of getting a post under the Manchu rule. Such people have at all times provided "material" for speeches and discontent, and since now half of the posts were intended only for the Manchus, there were more "unemployed" intellectuals than ever before, and their discontent was great. The southerners came to believe that the empire was being run in the interests of Beijing and its neighboring provinces, but income was being squeezed out of the south. However, that was actually the case. Funds were spent in Beijing. In addition to the huge palaces of the Ming emperors, country residences were built. Expensive temples and tombs were built, moreover, with tax revenues from the southern provinces, which did not receive any benefit from such construction. By a special decree, the Manchus were forbidden to engage in commerce and handicrafts, so the entire nation was fed at the state expense by "official rice" that came from the south to Beijing and the Manchu garrisons.
Unlike previous conquerors, the Manchus never weakened the barrier between themselves and the Chinese. The entire Manchurian nation, divided into "eight banners", was dispersed in the capital and among military garrisons in all provinces. The Manchus were prohibited from intermarrying with the Chinese and from engaging in any activity other than civil and military service. Under such a system, which doomed them to idleness, they gradually degenerated. To take a post, the Manchus did not need special abilities, and the warriors, doomed to idleness in the garrisons, soon lost the fighting spirit of their fathers.
However, the shortcomings of this system, which ultimately led to the death of the dynasty, were not so obvious at first. The long struggle in the south, which marked the first period of Manchu rule, did not allow the new government to relax. After the pacification of the south, peace reigned in the empire for more than a century, primarily due to the personal qualities and abilities of the three emperors - Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. The external splendor of their reign hid the decline of Manchu power, but when in early XIX century, the empire was faced with an uprising and external wars, it turned out that the Manchu troops were unable to either suppress the rebellion or repel the threat from the outside.
China in the 16th-18th centuries
Chapters from the book: History of the countries of foreign Asia in the Middle Ages. M., 1970.
Culture of China in the period of late feudalism
In the XVI-XVIII centuries. Chinese culture, while remaining feudal in content, was enriched by many new achievements. Under the influence of important shifts that took place during this period in the country's economy, the first cracks appeared in traditionalism, inertia and scholasticism that dominated cultural life. New, fresh trends have emerged. However, progressive tendencies have not received sufficient scope for their development. The establishment of the Manchu-Qing regime, which brought with it the intensification of all forms of spiritual oppression, interrupted their growth. The reactionary policy of the Manchu rulers caused significant damage to Chinese culture, although it could not completely stop its development.
From the 16th century In China, in connection with the progress of handicraft production, interest in natural and applied sciences, major works appeared in these "areas. In the book" Travel Xu Xia-ke "(" Xu Xia-ke yu chi "), its author, a tireless researcher who spent half his life hiking in the mountainous regions of the country, laid the foundations of Chinese geomorphology and The famous physician Li Shi-zhen (1518-1593) created a multi-volume pharmacopeia "General Review of Trees and Herbs" ("Ben Cao Gangmu"), in which he described about 1900 medicines of plant, animal and mineral origin. In 1637, a peculiar Sun Ying-sin's technical encyclopedia - "On products created by heaven and obtained by labor" ("Tian gong kai wu"), covering the development of Chinese crafts.At about the same time, the scientist and dignitary Xu Guang-chi, who was familiar with European missionaries and studied Latin, compiled the "Agricultural Encyclopedia" ("Nongzheng Quanynu"), which described the state of agricultural production in China and partly in Europe.
Interest in practical knowledge began to penetrate into the sphere of philosophy and the humanities, although the positions of traditional dogmatism, conservatism and schemes divorced from life seemed especially strong here. In official philosophy, gentlemen continued
adhere to the idealistic concepts of Sung Neo-Confucianism. His followers were increasingly attracted to sophistry, abstract reasoning. This was started by the famous philosopher Wang Yang-ming (1472-1528), who argued that consciousness is the basis of the world. individual person that everything around is a product of the human mind, an illusion born in thoughts. Wang Yangming's intuitionism was a natural product of the development of Chinese subjective idealism, a kind of "peak" of orthodox feudal philosophy.
The growing struggle between the feudal lords and the peasantry, the aggravation of internal contradictions among the ruling class, one way or another, were reflected in the field of ideology. From the 16th century voices of protest against the dominance of idealism in philosophy began to be heard more often. The first to speak was the materialist philosopher Wang Ting-hsiang (1471-1544), who argued that matter is the basis of the world, that the laws of the objective world are manifested in the course of its movement and development and are learned through practical experience. The freethinker Li Zhi (1527-1602) resolutely fought against the dogmatism of Confucian orthodoxy. He subverted the authority of Confucius, opposed the blind worship of his dogmas. For his free-thinking, Li Zhi was persecuted by the Minsk authorities, his writings were burned as "heretical", he himself died in prison.
In the situation of the beginning crisis of the feudal system and the emergence of elements of capitalist relations, the emergence of new social forces in the cities and their entry into the anti-feudal struggle in the 17th century. in China, a progressive trend of social thought arises, which is sometimes called the early Chinese enlightenment. This trend arose as a reaction to feudal oppression in all areas of the country's life, especially in the sphere of ideology. The views of its representatives objectively reflected the demands of various social groups (urban commercial and entrepreneurial strata, enlightened small landowners and shenypi, part of the working population), which constituted a kind of anti-feudal opposition. The early Chinese enlighteners sharply criticized the idealistic philosophy of Neo-Confucianism and the school of Wang Yangming, their scholasticism and metaphysics, and tried to move on to solving practical issues related to real life.
Peasant War 1628-1645 and the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty posed acute social problems for progressive Chinese scientists, pushed them to search for ideal system state structure. The Manchurian conquest greatly increased dissatisfaction with the despotic regime and made the enlightenment movement even more acute and focused. The peculiarities of the social and political conditions of the then feudal China led to the fact that in the views of advanced thinkers, elements of criticism most often prevailed over positive ideas; they looked for the ideal of society in the "golden age" of antiquity, in the original "pure" Confucianism, and considered personal perfection and wisdom the key to establishing a good system of government. The strength of their teachings was hatred of despotism and tyranny, protest against feudal fetters and restrictions, a distinct humanistic coloring of their works, ideas of struggle against enslavers and the assertion of China's national dignity.
Outstanding representatives of this advanced thought in China in the 17th century. were patriotic scholars Huang Zong-hsi (1610-1695), Gu Yan-wu (1613-1682) and Wang Fu-chih (1619-1692); all three were versatile
erudite scientists who created works on various branches of knowledge (philosophy, history, philology, etc.). There was much in common in their life path and in political form: they actively participated in the armed anti-Manchu struggle, and after its defeat they remained irreconcilable opponents of foreign power, wandered, were persecuted and deprived, but until the end of their days did not lose the stamina of patriots, did not go to the service of the Manchus.
The philosophical positions of Huang Tsung-hsi, Gu Yan-wu, and Wang Fu-chih are close to materialism; in the political field, they advocated limiting the despotic power of the emperor, stood up for the freedom of the individual, freedom of thought, science without superstition. The statements of Huang Tsung-hsi contain a demand for the abolition of the feudal system of land tenure and the equal distribution of fields among the peasants. Wang Fu-chih rejected the call for a "revival of antiquity", asserting the superiority of later times, and using historical examples he proved the usurping nature of the Manchu power.
Three prominent Chinese scholars made great contributions in various specific areas of knowledge: the critical study of ancient texts, epigraphy, phonetics, geography, mathematics, etc.
Their philosophical and social ideas were continued and developed by prominent scientists Tang Zhen and Yan Yuan, materialist philosopher Dai Zhen (1724-1777) and others.
In the field of Chinese fiction The most important phenomenon of the period of late feudalism was the emergence of the satirical novel.
The earliest of the works of this genre is Wu Cheng-en's Journey to the West (Xi Yu Ji) (late 16th century). This novel has a fantastic plot, which is based on the legends about the trip to India of the Tang monk Xuan Zang. It describes in a satirical manner the life of celestials - gods, spirits, etc., in the images and characters of which the features of ordinary earthly people with their inherent shortcomings and weaknesses clearly appear. The heavenly hierarchy is depicted as very similar to the earthly one. This is the hidden satirical meaning of the novel.
The anonymous author of the novel Jin, Ping, Mei (beginning of the 17th century), using the example of the history of the rise and fall of one family, unfolds a broad picture of the decomposition of the entire feudal society, satirically denounces representatives of many social groups of his time: large dignitaries and small employees, military men and merchants , usurers and monks, landowners and their servants.
An even larger phenomenon in the literature of late feudal China was the novel “A Dream in a Red Chamber” (“Hong Lou Meng”) by Cao Xue-qin (mid-18th century), also built on an everyday plot and raising satire to the broadest social generalization: Sharp criticism of the Manchu -Qing bureaucracy - the most inert and conservative layer of the then Chinese feudal society - contained the novel "An Unofficial History of Confucians" ("Zhulin Wai-shi") by Wu Jing-tzu (mid-eighteenth century).
At the beginning of the Qing period, the short story, fantastic in form and sharply satirical in ideological content, became widespread. The most prominent artist who worked in this genre was Pu Song-ling (1640-1715). His famous Liao Zhai Tales of the Extraordinary (Liao Zhai Zhi Yi) is one of the most famous works of art late feudal China.
The spread of allegorical devices in the literature of the Qing period was a consequence of the policy of cruel suppression of the free thought of Chinese writers, pursued by the Manchu rulers. Government control permeated all areas of spiritual life and, above all, the sphere of feudal education and literary activity. One of the most important channels of this control was the examination system. It was used not only to select persons pleasing to the Qing court for the staff of officials, but also to distract educated Chinese from actual problems, the requirements of real life. The main subject at all levels of official examinations under the Manchus was an abstract and scholastic "eight-part composition" on abstract topics from the Confucian canons. Preparation for this kind of exams required many years of stupid cramming, which stifled all sorts of initiative, talent and ability.
In an effort to turn Chinese scholars and writers into their devoted servants, the Qing rulers provided them with well-paid literary and editorial commissions. At the expense of the treasury, voluminous encyclopedias and dictionaries were compiled, works of ancient and medieval Chinese literature were republished, from which, by order of the court, all places objectionable to the Manchus were cut out. large group scientists, artists, calligraphers, engravers, was engaged in the acquisition of the fund of the imperial library - compiling the "Complete Collection of Books in Four Departments" ("Siku tsyuanypu"). This work also pursued censorship goals.
Those of the educated Chinese who dared to protest against Manchu rule were subjected to the most severe repression. The Qing authorities mercilessly set fire to Chinese historical and literary works that told about the struggle of the Chinese people against various foreign invaders. The authors of such works were sent to execution. But not only living Chinese patriots fell victim to the reprisals of the Manchu rulers. The "literary inquisition" fell upon the long-dead authors of "seditious" books; the graves of these persons were torn up, and the corpses were desecrated; surviving relatives were subjected to cruel punishments. During the most active period of the Qing "literary inquisition" under Emperor Qianlong, 13,862 various books were publicly burned; From 1335 to 2320 book titles underwent a complete ban, and consequently, widespread destruction. The "black lists" included epic tales of the Chinese people, glorifying national heroes, many novels, short stories and stories of the everyday genre, recognized by the Qing censors as "immoral". Prohibited books, under pain of severe punishments, were taken from the population and destroyed.
The falsification of Chinese historical documents and writings was extremely widely practiced. A prime example is a presentation of the history of the Manchus, their invasion of China, the peasant war of 1628-1645. and others important issues in the "Dynastic History of the Ming" ("Ming shi"), compiled in 1739. All this caused great damage to Chinese historical literature.
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