The Shunzhi Emperor and His Eunuchs

2018 ◽  
pp. 43-67
Author(s):  
Norman A. Kutcher
Keyword(s):  
Ming Dynasty

This chapter explores the reign of the Shunzhi emperor, the first Qing ruler to inhabit the Forbidden City (Zijincheng). Historians have long debated whether Shunzhi fell into the same trap as had emperors of the preceding Ming dynasty, placing trust in eunuchs and eventually allowing them into government. Debate has centered on his creation of a series of inner-court eunuch agencies known as the Thirteen Yamen, and on whether he ceded power to the eunuch Wu Liangfu. This chapter settles the debate by examining: Shunzhi’s reconstruction of Qianqing Gong, a major palace building; the draft of an edict of 1653; the role of eunuch Wang Jinshan. These unequivocally demonstrate that Shunzhi was indeed headed toward a government with eunuchs at the center.

Role of the Summer Monsoon Variability in the Collapse of the Ming Dynasty: Evidences From Speleothem Records

2021 ◽  
Vol 48 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingyao Zhao ◽  
Hai Cheng ◽  
Yan Yang ◽  
Wen Liu ◽  
Haiwei Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
Monsoon Variability ◽  
The Ming Dynasty

Globalisation Interrupted? The Case of Opium in the Circulation of Medical Knowledge in Ming Dynasty China

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 524-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Antonio Cantón Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Medical Practice ◽  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
Medical Knowledge ◽  
Yuan Dynasty ◽  
Medical Practices ◽  
Medical Tradition ◽  
The Yuan Dynasty ◽  
Western Drug

The spread of Western medical practices to China, initiated during the Mongol dynasty, is often considered an example of “medical globalisation,” but few studies have looked at the actual level of adoption of Western medicine in the period after the Yuan dynasty. This essay analyses eighteen Ming dynasty medical sources in order to assess the role of opium, a Western drug, in post-Yuan medical practice. This essay concludes that opium was not widely used in the first centuries of the Ming dynasty, and, when finally adopted in the sixteenth century, its use was disconnected from the Yuan dynasty medical tradition. These findings make us question the continuity and even the existence of the “Mongol medical globalisation,” as well as the validity of the use of synchronic methodology for the study of centuries-long processes such as globalisation.

The Role of Chinese Art in Influencing Thai Traditional Cupboard Furniture Designs

2014 ◽  
Vol 556-562 ◽  
pp. 6631-6637
Author(s):  
Somchai Seviset
Keyword(s):  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
Chinese Art ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
National Museum ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of

China has had her relations with Thailand for many centuries since the Sukhothai Period (A.D. 1250-1438) including trade contact, diplomatic relations set forth as per an abundance of documentary evidences, architectural works, and artistic object with significant artistic evidences of a long history of Thai-China relations. In Ayutthaya Period (A.D.1350-1767) which was corresponding to China’s Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644) there were Xi Yuan’s supporting written literature (A.D. 1565-1628). He was a Chinese historian who noted that China sent a large junk ship for trade to Ayutthaya fetching goods of silk, and chinaware from China for sale to Siam Court. Thai Traditional Cupboard Furniture in the past also had an interesting mix of Chinese art. Chinese artwork which appeared in the Thai Traditional Cupboard Furniture made from hardwood with surrounding decoration around it were created during the period of A.D. 18-19. From a number of Thai ancient cupboard furniture exhibited in the Phra Nakhon National Museum (the Largest National Museum in Bangkok Metropolis). This case study will explain the inspiration of Chinese art which the Thai craftsmen applied on the design to decorate the cupboard.

The nomadic other: Ontological security and the Inner Asian steppe in historical East Asian international politics

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph MacKay
Keyword(s):  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
International Politics ◽  
World Order ◽  
Regional Politics ◽  
Ontological Security ◽  
Eurasian Steppe ◽  
Western Influence ◽  
History Of ◽  
Deliberate Strategy

AbstractA growing literature in IR addresses the historical international politics of East Asia prior to Western influence. However, this literature has taken little note of the role of Eurasian steppe societies and empires in these dynamics. This article offers a corrective, showing that relations between China and the steppe played an important role in regional politics. I argue that Chinese elite conceptions of the steppe as other played an important role in maintaining China’s ontological security. Imperial Chinese elites pursued a deliberate strategy of ‘othering’ steppe societies, presenting them as China’s political-cultural opposite. Doing so both provided a source of stable identity to China and justified their exclusion from the Chinese ‘world order’. Empirically, I proceed in three sections. First, I consider Chinese identity building, framed in terms of ontological security, both under the founding Qin and Han dynasties, and under the later Ming dynasty. Second, I address recent historiography of the steppe, showing Chinese conceptions of it were inaccurate. Third, I address the long history of hybridity between the two regions.

Textual Transmission of Earlier Literature during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wai-Yee Li
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Classical Literature ◽  
Late Imperial ◽  
Imperial Period ◽  
Textual Transmission ◽  
Ming And Qing Dynasties ◽  
Political Legitimation

Classical Chinese literature exerts a powerful hold on readers and writers in later periods. The question of how earlier literature was preserved, classified, anthologized, and distributed is vital for understanding how authors defined their creative and interpretive endeavors during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Printing expanded, with a dramatic increase in numbers and variety in the sixteenth century. For many of the texts discussed in our volume, the earliest extant editions or reconstituted versions date from the Ming dynasty, and many important commentaries and annotations were produced during the late imperial period. Encyclopedias and collectanea show how tradition is repackaged. Political legitimation is bound up with state-sponsored comprehensive collections and encyclopedias. Anthologies of earlier literature and commentaries on them yield insights into literary trends in later periods. Primers and textbooks demonstrate the role of classical literature in acquiring basic linguistic and literary competence.

scholarly journals Chinese Fort Creolization: on the Origin of Xining Mandarin

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-326
Author(s):  
Daniel Bell
Keyword(s):  
Ming Dynasty ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Northwest China ◽  
West African ◽  
Qinghai Province ◽  
Poor Access ◽  
West African Coast ◽  
Sinitic Languages ◽  
Historical Scenario

Abstract Xining Mandarin (Qinghai province, Northwest China) strikingly diverges from the usual syntactic profile of Sinitic languages, featuring an array of head-final categories which are inherent instead to the local substrate languages. In this paper, the formation of the dialect is considered from a historical perspective and it is seen to have emerged in a fort creolization (Bickerton, 1988) scenario, comparable to that found for European lexifier creoles along the West African coast. Linguistically relevant aspects of the socio-historical scenario underlying the dialect are reconstructed and Xining Mandarin is argued to have formed as the language of Ming dynasty Chinese colonists was acquired imperfectly due to poor access to Chinese among the local population. The speed of creolization and the role of language shift is evaluated, and it is argued that Ming creolization was gradual (rather than abrupt), reflecting cases of fort creolization elsewhere in the world.

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