3. The Manchu People
● Descendants of the Jurchen people, with
a distinctive language but similar
hairstyles
○ Men shaved their forehead and grew out
the back into a long pigtail called a
queue, after the conquest all Chinese
men had to have this hairstyle
● Lived in dispersed communities in
Manchuria, not nomadic, but a strong
hierarchical and tribal society
● Traded with the Mongols, the Koreans,
and the Ming Chinese
● Nurhaci, a tribal leader who united the
Manchus and created a political
organization that united all of Manchuria together in the late 16th century
○ Banners: a military company lead by a hereditary captain, 24 in all.
4. Rise of the Qing Dynasty
● Nurhaci declared war on the Ming
in 1616 and took Liaodong province
before he died in 1626.
● His son Hong Taiji unified the old
Jin state with a Chinese-style
bureaucracy, renamed the Qing
State
● His brother Dorgon became regent
after his death, and allied
himself with a Ming general to
liberate Beijing. After entering
China, many Ming generals allied
themselves with the Manchus and
they conquered the remaining Ming
factions by 1683
5. Qing Golden Age
● Kangxi Emperor
○ Spoke and read Chinese, attracted Ming
loyalists to his cause
○ Toured the south and compiled a Ming
Dynasty history
○ Defeated a major rebellion and captured
Taiwan, Mongolia, and Tibet
○ Signed a treaty with Russia, defining
borders, allowing trade and missionaries
○ Retained Civil Service Exams
● Yongzheng Emperor
○ Tighten central control, rationalized
the tax system
● Qianlong Emperor
○ Conquered Xinjiang
○ Sought to impress his subjects, learned
Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, Uighur,
Tibetan, and Tangut languages
○ Patron of Buddhism and Confucianism
○ Patron of the arts, including
calligraphy, poetry, and prose
○ Quick to respond to sedition
6. Life in Qing China
● Bannermen became a hereditary caste above
others in society
○ Did not farm, received rents in silver and grain
○ Chinese were forced out of the system when it
become too large
○ Preferential treatment in the Civil Service Exams
and in the courts
○ Discouraged from embracing Chinese culture
● Morality became an issue
○ Laws against homosexuality became harsh
○ Theaters were closed and novels banned
○ Widow chastity became the norm
○ Confucians turned to Han commentaries on the
Classics, or just the classics
● Economically diverse
○ One of the most prosperous eras in Chinese
history, but wealth did not always trickle down
○ Peasants in the south rented land, but had large
profits; the opposite was true in the north
○ Farmers often sold off their land when in debt
○ Qing government kept famines in check with a
system of granaries and relief efforts
7. Decline
● Secret societies and ethnic minorities
began to rebel against Qing rule,
weakening the Qing military
● China’s standard of living fell behind
Europe’s
● China’s trade system was still a
system of tribute
● Qing China dealt with Europe through
the port of Guangzhou, where European
powers engaged in trade wars to have
control of trade with China
○ China exported valuable luxuries to
Europe: porcelain, tea, silk, etc, but
wanted only silver in return
○ This lead to a major trade imbalance,
particularly with England, who gained
control over trade with China by 18th
century
○ England began trading opium with China,
addicting many and forcing China to
outlaw the trade
9. Rise of the Choson Dynasty
● After the assassination of King Kongmin, Confucianists rallied
behind general Yi Songgye, and declared himself Emperor in 1392,
going by the name of T’aejo
○ This relatively bloodless transition kept most of the power structure
and the aristocracy intact
● His successors were some of the most successful rulers in Korean history
○ T’aejong built the new capital in Hanjong, now known as Seoul, strengthened his military and took back
property from Buddhist temples and monasteries, to provide his heir with a strong tax base
○ Sejong improved the military even further, defeated a powerful group of pirates on Tsushima Island,
between Korea and Japan and extended his power north to the Yalu and Tumen rivers through conquest and
colonization
■ He also dispersed land in a more equitable way and commissioned the publication of books on
agriculture to improve yields and helped peasant farmers with loans, and reformed the treatment
of slaves, though did not eliminate slavery entirely
■ The Hall of Worthies was built under his command, this agency collected documents and books and
created the Korean alphabet, as one of Sejong’s goals was to expand learning beyond the elites
○ Sejo removed his nephew from power, but improved the military, stabilized the price of grain, and
ordered the completion of a code of laws
■ He also patronized Buddhism over Confucianism, ignoring his advisors and abolishing the Hall of
Worthies, leading to a poor reputation among Confucian historians
10. Choson Government
● The early Choson period was the culmination of
Chinese-style centralization in Korea
○ All magistrates in all districts were appointed by the central government
○ The civil service exam became the main route to office, birth was not the only factor
● However, the powerful yangban families still held most of the offices
○ They were the only ones who could afford to prepare for the exams
○ Their rights to property and slaveholding were not challenged
○ Local clerks and sons of yangban concubines were excluded from the exams
● Confucian scholars looked to Ming China for guidance, but felt Korea could
be a more perfect Confucian society
○ They stripped power and wealth from Buddhist temples
○ The ruler allowed Confucian thought to flourish due to the emphasis on loyalty and
filial piety, but Confucian scholars used their role as advisors to promote their own
and their class’ own agendas at the expense of the ruler’s, if necessary
○ Choson rulers did not exercise total authority like Ming or Japanese rulers did
11. Life in Choson Korea
● While power was concentrated in the hands
of the yangban families, not every member held power
○ The exams only passed 30 or so applicants per year, so many yangban men
would take their families to villages to to make a living, some living
just like the farmers they were “higher” than
● Tax reform spread the burden more evenly
○ Village associations (tonggye) were formed and taxes paid by
association, with the burden spread among all of the households equally
● A middle class, chung’in, emerged
○ Consisting of clerks, legal specialists, accountants, interpreters and
similar occupations, mostly former yangban members who had no hope of
earning an office, but were educated enough to fulfill these roles
12. ● Literature was popular, with short sijo and
longer sasol sijo and kasa poems being the favorite
○ Men wrote in classical Chinese while women wrote in the Korean script
han’gul
○ Famous novels like Ch’unhyang and Nine Cloud Dream were written,
along with political accounts written by courtiers
● Oral literature was very popular, the best known tradition being
p’ansori, a commoner tradition that appealed to yangban as well.
● Western science, astronomy, and theology was combined into one
term, Western learning, and Koreans quickly took to its ideas,
while routinely rejecting its more theological ones
13. Women in Choson Korea
● Strict adherence to Confucian practices led to a very different
family structure in Choson Korea
○ Rather than focusing on Buddhist burial rites, Confucian ones were followed,
making along patrilineal lines important
■ Womens’ names came after brothers’ names in genealogies, and were removed from a family’s
genealogy when married and moved to her husband’s
○ Families began adopting sons from outside of the nuclear family to inherit if no
son was available
○ Widows did not remarry, as their sons were barred from civil service exams
○ Lower yangban saw strict Confucian observance as a way to show their credentials
● Women would be pressured to conform to these new ideals, and
their power existed in the framework of the family, not outside
of it
○ However, women’s role in indigenous religion never wavered, with special rites
existing for women, and the role of shaman usually held by a woman
14. Dynastic Decline and
Japanese Invasion
● Before Japan invaded in the 16th century, the
central government began to lose their grip on the
yangban class
○ Legally and illegally, they took land from and lent money to
the peasants, many of whom became slaves when they could not
pay back their loans
○ The state did not record these changes in land ownership or provide relief for
the newly enslaved
○ The yangban bribed their way out of military service, and calls for strong bases
around the country went unheeded
○ Factionalism grew into a full rebellion at the same time that Hideyoshi was
preparing for an invasion of Korea
● The Japanese invasion fell on a weakened Korea and at a time
when China could not protect their ally
○ Hideyoshi’s death in 1598 removed the Japanese threat, but left Korea devastated
15. Relationship with Manchu China
● After the invasion, Korea severed ties with Japan, only
to reopen them in 1609
● The Manchus invaded Korea after the Choson took the Ming
Dynasty’s in their conflicts. The Choson were forced to
become a Qing tributary before China was conquered, but
were allowed their independence
○ The Manchus demanded heavy tribute until the court relaxed their
anti-Qing sentiment
○ While most Korean yangban and scholars advocated rigid
interpretations of Confucianism and a focus on former Chinese
Dynasties, some scholars pushed for a more open view and a more
Manchu friendly view, though these were always thinkers in the
minority
16. 17th and 18th Centuries
● Factionalism ebbed and flowed throughout the latter part of the Choson
Dynasty
○ New factions emerged to influence succession
○ Reformers like Yongjo attempted to limit these conflicts, but rebellions ended up splitting the government
just as much
○ Chongjo tried to reform by importing Chinese classics and limiting new thinkers like Wang Yanming,
Christianity, and popular novels
● Economic Growth
○ Early Choson Korea was an agrarian society, and taxes and commerce were paid for in kind or by labor, many
laborers were slaves and villages often had to turn to merchants to pay their tax burden, which was decided
based on historical products that may not be produced by the area any more
○ After the invasions, slaves were expected to join the military, and new taxes were adopted, replacing the
old system with one in grain that could be sold by the government for its needs, stimulating merchants
○ Cash finally took off in the late 17th century, and improved agricultural methods led to a population boom
○ The 18th century saw another boom in commercialism, which led to a decline in slavery, which worked for the
yangban who began renting land to runaway slaves and the government began hiring labor. By the end of the
century, the number of slaves would be around 60,000, 1/6th of what it was at the middle part of the Choson
dynasty
18. Rise of the Ashikaga Clan
● Scheming by Emperor Go-Daigo led to
power shifting from the Hojo Clan to
the Ashikaga Clan
○ In an attempt to wrest power from the Shogunate back to the Monarchy, Go-Daigo
revived offices that reported to the Emperor and placed loyal administrators in
those positions
○ This was allowed to continue for three years before the Shogunate tried to force
him to abdicate, leading to a revolt and Go-Daigo’s exile
● The conflict that erupted in result of this scheming let
opportunists try and take power
○ Ashikaga Takauji turned on the Hojo family in Kamakura, sacking the city
■ Much of the Hojo family committed suicide in the aftermath
○ Takauji set his headquarters in Kyoto to allow his new Shogunate to monitor the
actions of the aristocracy more closely
19. ● Go-Daigo’s sons, exiled again after Takauji came to
power, established a southern court in Yoshino, leading
to conflict between clans supporting the heirs of each
court
○ This ended when Takauji’s grandson Yoshimitsu, promised to alternate
the throne between the two courts, only the break this promise and
promote the northern, Kyoto court instead
20. Power Structure in the Ashikaga Shogunate
● The Ashikaga maintained the institution of shugo, military
governors who eventually took on the responsibilities of the
provincial governors and estate stewards of the Kamakura period.
○ Most were members of the Ashikaga family, some were powerful families in far off
places in Japan and were mostly autonomous.
○ The shogun himself was in control of two shugo along with many estates around
Japan
○ Ties were maintained through marriages
○ Shugo did not have rights to the land they controlled, tying them to the Shogun
■ These men also spent a lot of their time with the Shogun in Kyoto, leading
to their dependence on deputies to run their provinces and further
dependence on the Shogun to control their deputies
● Below the shogun was the deputy shogun, a powerful office that
came with the richest provinces in Japan
○ Three families usually held the office: Shiba, Hatakeyama, and Hosokawa
○ Quarrels between the shogun and deputy shogun led to destructive conflicts
21. Trade at Home and Abroad
● Improvements in agriculture lead to
population growth and commercial expansion
○ Estates split into villages, each run by a manager who would report to many
overlords and represented the villagers under them, while a committee of
villagers would handle administrative duties in the village
● Ming China coins become the currency of choice, though kind and
barter did not disappear
● Commercial centers begin to develop, leading to internal trade
and further exchange of goods, information, and ideas, though
travel was limited by authorities
● Guilds begin to develop-fees paid to a patron gave these guilds
a monopoly over a trade and the right to travel freely in
pursuit of their trade
22. ● Kyoto functioned as the center of economic power as well, with
all branches of power (Court, Shogunate, and Religious) playing
roles in trade and finance
● Through trade, but also through piracy and smuggling, overseas
trade developed with Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Ryukyuan
Islands
23. Family Life under Ashikaga Rule
● Splitting family property among all children led to a serious
weakening in a family’s power
○ Families began to name a single heir
○ Women began to move into her husband’s household rather than remain at home or
starting her own residence
○ Thus removing them from the possibility of inheritance, though women who held
property continued to manage it while remaining in her husband’s household
● Marriage ties became more public, stronger, and permanent
○ Alliances were cemented with marriages and betrothal gifts and the wedding
itself become more ceremonial
○ The wife became property of the husband, and crimes against her were crimes
against him instead
○ While losing her autonomy in the economic sphere, she gained more stability in
the domestic sphere
■ Children by concubines became her children and domestic affairs entirely
her domain
24. ● Women’s affairs at court become more administrative as well
○ Women began running their households, including the Emperor’s
○ Women also served as secretaries for high ranking members of court and of the
Shogunate
25. Development of Marginal Classes
● While marginal classes had always existed in Japan, these
groups began to be more permanent and more marginalized
in this period
● Poor, indebted families may sell themselves into a form
of slavery that could last for generations
● Leprosy was seen as a karmic punishment from past lives
● “Riverbank” people, whose work was deemed unclean
(butchers, tanners, undertakers, even policemen) were
marginalized to unwanted land,
26. Religious Life
● Zen Buddhism began to play an even larger role in Japanese
aesthetics and politics
○ In order to set themselves apart from the court, Ashikaga shoguns began to
patronize Zen sects, especially the Rinzai sect, by building temple complexes
and adding pagodas to existing complexes
○ A temple ranking system developed by the Shogunate led to monks jockeying for
position in these rankings, and the benefits that came with a high rank
○ A hierarchy of Rinzai priests was also developed, with the chief priest becoming
an advisor to the Shogun
● Power and influence led the Rinzai sect to move away from its
Zen roots, and began to adapt the type of esotericism popular
with the aristocracy
● Yoshida Shinto developed in response to the rise of Buddhism and
the Buddhist-Shinto merging of beliefs, which promoted the
worship of kami themselves, not as buddhas or bodhisattvas, and
27. Civil War
● Onin War of 1467 to 1477
began a period of over 100
years of almost continuous
conflict
○ Yoshimasa appointed his brother
as his heir, then his wife gave birth to a son, who he then named as his heir.
Shugo sided with both heirs and began fighting in 1467
○ Eventually the Shogunate lost control over the shugo, and many shugo lost
control over their retainers
● Conflict spread elite culture around the nation, spurred
innovation in military organization and village life
28. ● However, a breakdown in the central authority led to the
breakdown of the estate system, destroyed temples, moneylenders
and guilds, and left small domains and villages to fend for
themselves
○ A system of local leagues, or ikki, developed to protect common interests: like
debt amnesty, crime prevention, protection, firefighting, etc.
■ The Lotus League impacted urban areas, believed in the power of the Lotus
Sutra and that commoners and their masters were on the same level
● They set up a commoner-run city government in Kyoto, only to be
slaughtered by supporters of the Shogun after a short time
■ A series of One-Mind Leagues also developed, adhering to the True Pure Land
sect of Buddhism and rejecting all hierarchies
● Linked by temples and teachers, they believed that all were equal in
the eyes of Amida Buddha and some of these leagues held out against
the coming Warlord-era for nearly one hundred years
29. Rise of the Warlords
● A new hierarchy was created by military men, called
daimyo
○ Unlike the shugo of the early Muromachi period, these men ruled by military
force
○ With borders protected by natural barriers rather than produced at a whim, their
domains were small but secure
○ The daimyo fought wars with each other, married their children off to form
larger domains, and formed alliances. The larger the territory, the more
samurai, footmen, and farmers the daimyo could count on. Samurai and village
leaders swore loyalty to their daimyo, samurai received land and/or a stipend,
the village leaders were protected from other warlords
○ Daimyo were responsible for the effectiveness of their land: they surveyed it to
maximize productivity, forced laborers to stay on the land assigned to them,
traded with one another and promoted trade within their domains
■ They were also the justice of their domain, and created laws to suit their
agendas
30. The Three Unifiers
● The rise of the daimyo lead to
Japan’s reunification by the
military might of three men
● Oda Nobunaga: slew his family to claim sole possession of
his lineage, gather up masterless samurai to serve him
and with his small force and military intelligence, took
Kyoto, deposed the Ashikaga Shogun, and installed himself
as Shogun
○ Destroyed the Buddhist temples on Mt. Hiei and Enryakuji, killing
many monks, and wage war on the ikko leagues
○ Betrayed by a general before he could unite Japan, he and his son
committed suicide
31. ● Toyotomi Hideyoshi: a commoner who
avenged Nobunaga and conquered or
forced the other daimyo to swear
fealty to him
○ He used the monarchy to validate his rule and was named Taiko, or
regent
○ Desired order and stability, he ensured that no one would rise from
the common ranks to the top as he did, by surveying all of Japan for
arable land and assigning family names to each plot and forbidding
commoners from wearing swords
○ Attempted to conquer Korea, but failed, and he died soon after his
second invasion
32. ● Tokugawa Ieyasu: A member of Hideyoshi’s
five-member council that was created to
assist his son after his death
○ Kept his followers close by making them completely dependent on him
for rewards, kept his kin close by giving them his original family
name, while he took a new one
○ Grew the Kanto plain (Edo, now Tokyo) into his own administrative
center
○ Fought battles he knew he could win, and in doing so neutralized or
won over most of his rivals
○ The Battle of Sekigahara consolidated power in his hands, the last
battle in Japan (and the last one fought by Japan until the 1800’s)
was the Shimabara Christian Rebellion, in which the last of the ikki
34. Tokugawa Society
● In order to prevent the destructive conflicts of the previous
hundred years, the Tokugawa Shogunate enforced a strict, orderly
society with the new capital Edo as the center
○ Primogeniture (inheritance by the eldest male son) was required for the samurai-
class, which was the top of societal order (the Monarchy was “above” society in
Kyoto)
○ Farmers were next in society, followed by Artisans and Merchants, who were the
bottom-class (though they were the wealthiest)
■ The Tokugawa Period is where the fixed outcaste later known as burakumin
(village people) would become set and hereditary
● The majority of these people were those who dealt with death-tanners, butchers,
undertakers, executioners, other occupations-prostitutes, actors and other
entertainers along with the poor and disabled, were in this outcaste, but would not
be known as “burakumin”
■ In principle, no one was allowed to change classes or marry outside of
their class, though in practice things were not so clear cut
○ Priests, monks, and doctors were an important class outside of the class
35. ● Villages continued to have one family with the hereditary
“headman” title, while other landholding families known as
honbyaskusho would make up the village council and make
decisions for the village, and the village together would be
responsible for paying taxes
● Villages made up the building blocks of each of the domains
ruled by a daimyo, of which there were several classes
○ Fudai: hereditary retainers, chief advisors to the Shogun
○ Tozama: rivals or peers to Ieyasu, they were the most powerful of the
daimyo
○ Hatamoto: lords with domains smaller than 10,000 koku (a unit of
measure)
○ All daimyo and the Shogun would have bannermen that were paid from
36. Developments in Tokugawa Japan
● Land reclamation and irrigation projects increased arable land
by 45%
○ This land was used more effectively with better techniques and new varieties of
rice
○ Corn, sweet potato, tobacco and other cash crops like cotton, silk, and sugar
increase farmers’ wealth
○ Farmers also began creating products like cloth, ceramics, and other products
● Edo was built up quickly, depleting forests and causing major
flooding
● New products like cotton cloth improved the lives of women and
revolutionized clothing and bedding
● With new wealth and less work, families began shrinking, if an
heir died, adoption was prevalent
● While livelihoods increased in rural areas, most of the capital
37. Urban Life
● Edo was designed to protect the Shogun’s
interests, with moats, several walls and easily defended bridges
● Next to the castle lived the Shogun’s vassal daimyos and his
retainers, followed by wealthy daimyo.
● Massive growth in urban population occurred during the 17th
century, mostly in Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka
○ These urban populations increased the market
for reading and other forms of entertainment
● Pleasure zones, made famous in woodblock
prints, offered theaters and brothels in
separate areas from the rest of the city
○ Samurai were banned from these zones, so
they often dressed as commoners to take part
38. Tokugawa Government
● The system of government became known as bakufu
○ The senior councillors were rotated on a monthly basis and were limited to the
most powerful daimyo
○ Their assistants handled the shogun’s retainers
○ Administrative positions were limited to the hatamoto and took care of financial
matters
■ There were always more hatamoto than available positions, which made
balancing the budget difficult
○ Each daimyo would also have a large bureaucracy for their individual holdings
● The bakufu system along with each daimyo’s system developed into
the largest bureaucracy that Japan had seen pt o this point
● Women in these families would maintain households, oversee
ceremonies, and exchange gifts with the court and the other
daimyo families
39. ● Shogunate decrees kept power in their hands
○ Daimyo could only keep a certain number of guns, could not plot against the
Shogun or marry without the Shogun’s permission
○ Daimyo were required to contribute men and money to government projects and to
spend at least half of their time in Edo, and his wife and heir had to live in
Edo
■ These requirements kept the daimyo involved in local and national affairs,
loyal to the shogun, and stimulated trade, travel, and cultural exchange
○ The Shogun kept the right to relocate daimyo as he saw fit
○ The Shogunate built up the national highway system with post stations and
checkpoints to ensure that the Shogun’s decrees were being followed
■ Bridges were forbidden over major rivers, coastal trade routes were
developed, mines were nationalized, coins were minted
■ Christianity and foreigners were forbidden, though a trade port was opened
to the Dutch in Nagasaki
■ Three daimyo were allowed to trade with neighboring nations: Satsuma with
the Ryukyus, Tsushima with Korea, and Matsumae with the Ainu and the north.
40. Foreign Relations
● Foreigners were not allowed outside
of a small section of the port in
Nagasaki, and only the Dutch were allowed in that section
● The Ryukyu Islands (now known as Okinawa) were invaded by
the Satsuma in 1609, and a puppet kingdom was set up by
that clan
● The Ainu (a native ethnic minority, similar to Native
American tribes in the US) in what is now called Hokkaido
were suppressed by the Matsumae clan and trade between
the two groups eventually devolved into an exploitative
contract labor situation
41. 18th Century Decline
● The previous period, known as the Genroku period, saw excessive
spending after years of miserly rule by Ieyasu, and this period
led to inflation and devalued currency
● Yoshimune, Shogun starting in 1720, instituted reforms to try
and combat these issues, including fixed tax rates, stimulation
of rice prices, and reduced government spending
○ However, a famine brought these reforms to an end
42. ● While the wealthy continued to prosper, rural areas began to
decline, leading to protests
○ The headmen, who were suppose to represent the village in the court of each
daimyo, often refused to do so to protect their own lives
■ When the headmen refused, mass protests called ikki (same word as in the
previous period) brought their issues to the ruling class
○ Famines brought about by volcanic eruptions exposed problems at all levels of
society, and schemes and reforms only helped to enrich the top and punished
those who pushed for reforms
● Within a hundred years, Japan would be thrown open to the world
with world changing effect
