Compare And Contrast Ming And Qing Dynasties

The Ming and Qing dynasties lasted from 1368-1912. Although the beginning of the Ming dynasty was considered China’s “age of exploration,” that was not the case in the latter half of the 15th century. In the beginning, the government sent out great treasure ships to explore the world. However, after a lack of funding and a resurgence of the closed Confucian ideology, these voyages stopped. The close resulted, in part, because China became more sinocentric; it focused on internal affairs and secure coastlines (Worden et. al). As Confucianism regained popularity, authority once again began to look down on the merchant classes. They began to focus on farming and self-sufficiency. The government spurned and wrote-off the attempted contact of

“Wokou” was the Chinese word for pirates. Originally, the pirates that plagued the eastern coast of China were Japanese, but eventually Chinese and Koreans got involved. As a result of the illegal trading, along with the raiding and pillaging these merchants inflicted upon coastal towns, the label “pirate” was introduced. When the government began to introduce the sea bans on Chinese trade, the merchant population was understandably unhappy. In Japan, many people depended on China and had great desires for the luxury goods and bountiful food it produced. Because of Japan’s mountainous terrain, they did not have much space for growing crops. However, the tribute trade did not bring much in (Sanchitha). As a result, many merchants started illegally smuggling goods to and from China. This was very rewarding with a high profit margin. The raids devastated coastal towns. In the Encyclopedia of Asian History, there is a passage describing Ming and Qing piracy stating that, "During these years the Chinese coast from Jiangsu to Guangdong suffered repeated invasions and plundering. The resulting devastation and loss of life were factors contributing to Ming decline" (Piracy: Japanese Piracy in China). The Ming government created these trade laws, with the reasoning that it would secure the coast from pirates. However, the violent wave of piracy in the 1550s ultimately contributed to their downfall in 1644. The tighter they pulled the “net,” the further and more drastic the means people had to go to make a living. Indeed, "the laws are often interpreted quite differently before and after receiving bribes" (Newman). Trade officials began taking bribes from pirates to allow trade. Not only did the government prohibit trade, but it became corrupted in that goal as well. These restrictions and bribery created more pirates, and