The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)
By Joshua Hu and ikeijani
Economics
In the time of the Ming dynasty, the main occupations during the economic increase were farming, trading, boating and building. Besides Japan, China during the Ming dynasty traded with Portugal, England, America and nearby Mongolia. During this time of great wealth and prosperity, The Ming people contributed to the whole world trade by sending porcelain, metals, silk, pottery, crops and other goods out into the world thereby contributing to the worldly trade. All of these products were very important for the world as all other people wanted the goods such as silk that only China could manufacture.
This picture is of all the available coins that can be used in china during the Ming dynasty
Politics
Zhu Yuanzang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, did not trust people. He created a very authoritarian government at the start of the Ming Dynasty. This government had a secret police called the Jinywei and only people he trusted were in the Jinywei.When he lost power the next emperor, Hong-wu, tried to restore the practices of Confucianism. He also tried bringing back the civil service exam. Jianwen, Yongle, Hongxi, Xuande, Zhengtong, Jingtai, and others eventually leading to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty as emperors rose to power because of battles and died because of assassination. In the End, the Dynasty fell because of rebellions, a small "Ice Age" (The Mandate of Heaven), eunuchs, and the plague (The Mandate of Heaven).
This is the founder of the Ming dynasty, ZhuYuanzhang
Inventions, Technology, Science and Architecture
Though the Ming dynasty found lots of advances in technology, compared to other dynasties, The Ming had only discovered a few advances in science/technology. But while the Ming dynasty were still ruling, lots of time keeping devices were improved and calendars were made more accurate. There were also lots of industrial and agricultural advances such as using hydraulic and mechanical powered machines for farming. More gear was also made for scuba diving and nautical exploration for pearl divers. Now, moving away from industry, because Chinese had bumped into the Europeans, many war advances were made as well. For example, many advances in long range combat including cannons guns and bombs. Thereafter, the Chinese had began more frequently deploying European styled firearms. There were also many air based firearms including fin mounted rockets for more control in the air. Multistage rockets were rockets that when propelled in the air by booster rockets, after a short period of time would burst open and let out a swarm of smaller rockets thereby spreading the rocket damage. Complex landmines were also made with ingenious mechanisms to ignite the mine with a series of falling weights, pins and steel wheel locks to ignite the train of fuses. Now moving right along, the architecture also had many advances including using some of the previous dynasties building styles. Many more advances were made for sailing, such as using a different more stronger lighter material for the sail and employing sails on wheelbarrows.
This is a model of a Chinese boat somewhere during the middle of the Ming dynasty
Religion, Culture, and Social Life
In the Daily life of the Chinese most people were farmers. The Dads were the boss of the house and neither the women or men usually had a choice of who they married. The couple was chosen by parents who lived with their children and their children's children. In a household it was important to respect elders, at times they would worship ancestors. Different families could have different beliefs such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Confucianism. Some times someone could indulge in creating art or literature like calligraphy, landscape painting, ceramic, jade carving, sculpting or maybe even gold smithing if they had the materials.
This is a hand-crafted porcelain jar from around the Ming dynasty