Summary
- Yuan (1271–1368): Mongols, Pax Mongolica, and East-West trade
- Ming (1368–1644): Han Chinese, tributary system, Zheng He’s great voyages, and maritime prohibition policy
- Qing (1644–1912): Manchus, height under the three sagacious emperors, and decline in the 19th century
- Opium problem → Opium War (1840) → modern history
Comprehensive Practice Questions
- Compare Zheng He’s great voyages with Columbus’s voyages and explain why Zheng He’s voyages did not lead to the “Age of Exploration.”
- Give two reasons why the Qing’s small Manchu population could rule the much larger Han Chinese population.
- Explain the background of the Opium War from the viewpoint of trade.
Answers
- Zheng He’s voyages were larger and came earlier, but the Ming strengthened its maritime prohibition policy and banned private trade, so the voyages did not continue or lead to a competition for colonies. Columbus’s continued exploration, driven by Spain’s commercial motives, opened the Age of Exploration
- ① The Manchu-Han dual system, which appointed Han Chinese officials ② Continued Confucian rule and gained the support of the Han Chinese
- Britain continued to run a deficit in trade with the Qing by importing tea, silk, and porcelain, so it smuggled Indian opium into China to eliminate the deficit. Opium addiction spread in China and silver flowed out. When the Qing confiscated the opium, Britain intervened militarily