1) Under Tokugawa rule from 1603-1868, Japan was unified and isolated from the West. The Tokugawa shoguns established a feudal system headed by the Shogun and 250 daimyos. 2) Economic and social changes occurred as trade flourished, cities grew, and a merchant class emerged. However, Japanese society remained highly stratified into the four main classes of warriors, peasants, artisans, and merchants. 3) During this period, Japanese literature, theater, architecture, and other cultural developments thrived even as the country remained largely isolated from Western influence.

1. The East Asian World
1400 CE – 1800 CE

2. China – Ming Dynasty
• Ming overthrew the Mongols in 1368
• Lasted until 1644
• China extended its rule into Mongolia &
Central Asia
• Ming rulers used a central bureaucracy
– Set up nationwide school system
– Renovated the Grand Canal
• 1406- Began construction of capitol city at
Beijing; moved there in 1421
• Zheng He – went on a series of seven voyages
of exploration between 1405-1433
– Visited India & Africa
– After emperor died, the voyages were halted
• Confucian view of trading was that it was an
unworthy activity

3. First Contacts with the West Fall of the Ming Dynasty
• 1514 – Portuguese arrive off coast of • Ming Dynasty began its decline in
China the late 16th century
– Portuguese were expelled from
Guangzhou (Canton) for poor • Weak rulers led to government
behavior (the Chinese saw the corruption
Portuguese as barbarians)
– Portuguese remained in Macao • High taxes caused peasant unrest
• Portuguese traders brought • Poor weather created lower crop
missionaries with them; this yields
impacted China more than trade
– Exchanged books, inventions, etc. • In 1630, an epidemic caused great
loss of life
• Peasants revolted; led by Li
Zichengu, the peasants occupied
Beijing
– The emperor committed suicide

4. Qing Dynasty
• The Manchus, from north of the Great Wall • The Qing tried to preserve their unique
(Manchuria) took the peasant revolt as an identity
opportunity to take over China – Until this point, they were defined as legally
– They defeated the peasant army and started the different from the rest of China
Qing dynasty – Manchus made up 1% of the population
• Chinese were resistant to Manchu rule; were • Qing used Chinese people to make up large
forced to adopt styles of dress & hairstyles of percentage of the bureaucracy rather than
Manchus to prove their loyalty try to run all of it themselves
• Rebels against Manchus seized Taiwan • Kangxi (1661-1722) is considered the
greatest emperor in Chinese history
• Qing dynasty eventually adopted the
Chinese political system – Calmed unrest in north and west China
– Emperors pacified the country – He was patron of arts & letters
– Corrected serious social and economic – He was tolerant of Christians
problems
– Restored peace & prosperity

5. Westerners in China
• Qianlong- 1736-1795 – was also considered a great emperor, but signs of
internal problems showed up during his reign
• His court was corrupt, which led to higher taxes and civil unrest
• The peasants revolted once again in 1796; called the White Lotus Rebellion, it
lasted until 1804
• The dynasty was declining as Europeans arrived looking for trading
opportunities
– Qing emperors confined all traders to Guanzhou; they could only live there from October to
March
• They dealt with a small number of Chinese officials
– British rebelled against this system and demanded access to additional Chinese cities;
– The British travelled to Beijing to pursue more trading opportunities and were soundly
rejected

6. Chinese Society
• From 1500 to 1800, China was a primarily agricultural society (85% of
Chinese people were farmers)
• The economy changed dramatically in the same time period:
– Population grew from less than 80 million to more than 300 million by the late 1700s
– Improvements in the food supply helped population growth
– Population growth meant less land available for families; the government limited the
amount of land owned by the wealthy
– Shortages of land in rural areas led to unrest and revolts
– Dramatic changes in manufacturing, especially as trade increased among the Chinese
provinces
– Manufactured silk, porcelain, cotton goods, and other products
• Europeans marveled at the Chinese printing industry, which led to a large
book supply and low prices on books

7. Chinese Economics
• China did not develop commercial capitalism - private business
based on profit – of Europe
• Chinese merchants and manufacturers were not as independent as
European merchants and manufacturers; instead, the government
controlled trade and manufacturing
• Many Chinese looked down on trade and manufacturing as inferior to
farming
• The government levied heavy taxes on manufacturing and trade, but
low taxes on farming
• Because trade was so limited, there was no opportunity for
merchants, tradesmen, and manufacturers to grow into a wealthy
middle class

8. Daily Life in China
Family Life Role of Women
• Chinese society was organized around the family • Women were considered inferior to men
• Expected to provide for everyone’s needs, including • Only males could have a formal education &
education, support of children, and care of the pursue government jobs
elderly
• Family was expected to sacrifice individual desires
• Women could not divorce or inherit property
to benefit the family
• Men could take a second wife if first wife was
• Extended families: as many as three or four no longer satisfactory or did not produce sons
generations lived under one roof
• Footbinding was practiced; bound feet
• Clan – related families linked through elders; became a status symbol; only women who
helped wealthier families take care of poor relatives worked in the field or had an occupation did
not bind their feet

9. Cultural Developments in China
• Chinese novels became popular; the first realistic social novel, The Golden Lotus
was written in China; it depicts the corrupt life of a wealthy landlord who
manipulates those around him
• The Dream of the Red Chamber, written in 1791, is considered China’s most
popular novel; it tells the story of two young people caught in financial and moral
disintegration of a powerful Chinese clan
• Ming & Qing Art – The Imperial City (Beijing) was built during this time period
and is considered a prime example of Chinese architecture
– Porcelain was also a popular art form; it was collected by Europeans throughout this
period

10. Japan Unified
• After the 15th century, Japan was in chaos; Daimyos still
held their families together and warred with others over
land and power
• Three men helped unify Japan:
– Oda Nobunaga – seized the imperial capital of Kyoto; he
consolidated his rule throughout central Japan
– Toyotomi Hideyoshi – reigned in Osaka; by 1590 he
persuaded most of the daimyos of the islands to accept his
authority
– Tokugawa Ieyasu – became the daimyo of Edo (Tokyo) and
took control of Japan; he took the title of Shogun in 1603
• He completed the reunification of Japan; Tokugawa shoguns
remained in power until 1868; this long period of Tokugawa rule
was known as the “Great Peace.”
Tokugawa Ieyasu

11. Europeans in Japan
• The first Europeans began to arrive in Japan in 1543 (the Portuguese).
• At first, visitors were welcomed; the Portuguese stopped regularly in Japan for trade
– Weapons, eyeglass, and tobacco were popular with the Japanese
– The Daimyos purchased firearms to help them defend their territory
• The first Jesuit missionary, Francis Xavier arrived in 1549; he converted several daimyo
– The Jesuits destroyed ancient Japanese shrines after converting many Japanese to Christianity; the
destruction of the shrines was very unpopular among the Japanese
• In 1587, Hideyoshi issued an edict prohibiting Christian activities within his lands
• Hideyoshi’s edict was not strictly enforced and the Jesuits kept up their activities this changed under
Tokugawa, who expelled all the missionaries from Japan and then persecuted Christians in Japan
• After removing all the Jesuits, Tokugawa expelled the European merchants; only a small Dutch community in
Nagasaki was allowed to remain in Japan; their ships could dock in the Nagasaki harbor once per year and
could only remain for three months

12. Tokugawa Rule
• Tokugawa rulers set out to establish control of the feudal system that had
governed Japan for over 300 years
– The state was divided into about 250 territories, called hans
– Each han was ruled by a daimyo who were able to support themselves independently
from taxes on their lands
• In reality, the daimyos were controlled by the Tokugawa shogun through the hostage system
– The hostage system was a method for the shogun to control the daimyo; the daimyo were required to
maintain two residences: one on the han, and one in the court where the shogun was located; when the
daimyo went back to the han or was absent from his residence at court, his family was required to stay in
the court
– The local daimyo eventually ceased to be a warrior class; instead they became managers of the lands of the
daimyo
– The shogun was able to control each daimyo by holding the families hostage in his royal
court

13. Economic Changes
• Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, trade and industry began to flourish; the cities
of Edo, Kyoto, and Osaka grew rapidly
• By 1750, Edo had a population of over a million people and was one of the largest
cities in the world
– Banking flourished and paper money became the normal medium of exchange in
business transactions
– A Japanese merchant class emerged and began to play a significant role in the Japanese
nation
– Peasants were dramatically affected by high taxes; many were forced to become tenant
farmers, instead of owning their own lands; there were several peasant revolts against
high taxes

14. Social Changes
• Japan’s system was very rigid during the Tokugawa Shogunate
– There were four main classes: warriors, peasants, artisans, and merchants.
– Intermarriage between the classes was forbidden
– The Emperor and Imperial court families were at the top of the social structure
• The warrior class came next; it was composed of the shogun, daimyo, samurai, and ronin; the shogun was
supreme below the emperor; the local daimyo received land and rice in exchange for military service; samurai
received rice from the daimyo in exchange for their service; the ronin were warriors without masters who travelled
the country seeking employment
• Beneath the warriors were the peasants; they held a privileged position in society but were often poor
• The Merchant class distributed food and essential goods ; they were at the bottom of the pyramid because they
profited off the labor of others
• At the very bottom of the social pyramid were the eta, who were outcasts; the Tokugawa regulated their
residence, dress, and hairstyles
• Women were restricted in Tokugawa Japan: Male head of households had authority over
women’s property, marriage and divorce; women’s rights were severely restricted
– Among commoners, women were also restricted; parents arranged marriages and a wife was expected
to move in with her husband’s family; a wife who did not meet expectations would be divorced
• In the peasant class, women were often expected to work in the fields

15. Tokugawa Culture
• Literature became popular during the Tokugawa
period; urban fiction, novels, and poetry were
the most popular genres
• Kabuki theater developed during this period;
Kabuki emphasized dramatic
gestures, action, and music
– Women were forbidden from appearing on stage
• Architecture developed, partially as a result of
the shogun’s requirement that daimyo’s also
have a residence at court; fabulous houses and
mansions were built to accommodate daimyo
families
• Europe had some influence on the Japanese;
they studied Western
medicine, astronomy, language, and art