Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mongols to Ming
Genghis Khan (1167-1227) began his rise to power, turning his gaze on Ch-
ina; he took Beijing in 1215, destroying and rebuilding it; his successors seized
Hangzhou, the Southern Song capital, in 1276. The court fled and, in 1279,
Southern Song resistance finally expired. Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis,
now reigned over all of China as emperor of the Yuan dynasty. Under Kublai,
the entire population was divided into categories of Han, Mongol and foreigner,
with the top administrative posts reserved for Mongols, even though the exam-
ination system was revived in 1315. An innovation was the use of paper
money, although overprinting created a problem with inflation.
The Mongols ultimately proved less able at governance than warfare, their
empire succumbing to rebellion within a century and eventual vanquishment.
Ruling as Ming emperor Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang established his capital in
Nanjing, but by the early 15th century the court had begun to move back to
Beijing where a hugely ambitious reconstruction project was inaugurated by
Emperor Yongle (r 1403-24), building the Forbidden City and devising the lay-
out of the city we see today.
In 1405 Yongle launched the first of seven great maritime expeditions. Led
by the eunuch general Zheng He (1371-1433), the fleet consisted of more
than 60 large vessels and 255 smaller ones, carrying nearly 28,000 men. The
fourth and fifth expeditions departed in 1413 and 1417, and travelled as far as
the present-day Middle East. The emperors after Yongle however, had little in-
terest in continuing the voyages, and China dropped anchor on its global mari-
time explorations.
The Great Wall was re-engineered and clad in brick while ships also arrived
from Europe, presaging an overseas threat that would appear from entirely dif-
ferent directions. Traders were quickly followed by missionaries, and the Je-
suits, led by the formidable Matteo Ricci, made their way inland and estab-
lished a presence at court.
The Ming was eventually undermined by internal power struggles and rebel-
lion. Natural disasters, including drought and famine, combined with a menace
from the north. The Manchu, a nomadic warlike people, saw the turmoil within
China and invaded.
