Katherine Wang 2/27/11 Period 2 Ming Dynasty Essay The Ming dynasty was one of the different dynasties

ruled China for hundreds to thousands of years but however corrupt or fair they were, they all followed a single pattern. First, a ruler was selected by the gods by being given the Mandate of Heaven. When the ruler governed wisely, there was peace and prosperity for the people and land. When the ruler became corrupt and starts to govern unwisely, Heaven removes the Mandate and hands it over to another ruler. Natural disasters were warnings given to rulers by the gods that they were in danger of losing the Mandate. This was introduced by the Zhou and was actually way to legitimize their overthrow of the previous dynasty. The belief of the Mandate led to a dynastic cycle, a historical pattern of each and every dynastys rise and fall, beginning with a period of peace and prosperity, continuing with a period of decline, and finally ending with a period of rebellion. As for the Ming dynasty, it gained the Mandate with the successful forces of their Red Turban Rebellion. This was an uprising against the Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty when economic turmoil led to many poverty-stricken farmers. One peasant, named Zhu Yuan Zhang, had risen up the ranks of the rebellion because of his military leadership skills and led the rebellion to the capture of Beijing. Proclaiming himself emperor, he renamed himself Ming (meaning bright) and established his rule as a totalitarian government, From 1368 to 1644 CE, the Ming dynasty then ruled China with the Mandate of Heaven and followed the dynastic cycle by having a long period of prosperity, a period of decline, and ,finally, ending with a rebellion.

The Ming dynasty maintained a particularly long period of peace and prosperity for their next stage of the dynastic cycle. This period was ruled by Zhu Yuan Zhangs son, Emperor Yongle. During this time period, it became a major trading power in the Indian Ocean, producing prosperity for China. The government sent Zheng He, a eunuch, to lead ocean trade expeditions which had helped establish that trade power and enhance foreign trade. A 50 million tree forest helped preserve this trade power by supplying the wood that made the trade vessels. An agricultural production boom multiplied the human population, helping to provide traders and sailors. Also, the new trading powers started many new urban industries. New industries such as weaving helped provide jobs. Other industries such as blue porcelain producers and tea exportations helped satisfy the new Western demand that brought in loads of profits for China. The urban industrialization led to the rapid expansion of the manufacturing economy, producing a strong economy. Lastly, the Ming continued the development of the Great Wall of China that was started by the Qin dynasty. The majority of the whole wall was built by the Ming. This wall prevented Mongol invasion because of its strong defense, leading to relative peace. This period of peace and prosperity follows the Economic Principle 6, a principle explaining the economicpolitical connection. The principle states that totalitarian or authoritarian governments (governments that are centralized and dictatorial) usually have a command economy (system where the government makes all economic decisions and controls the production and distribution of goods and services). The Ming dynasty had a totalitarian government which controlled the production of goods and services and the distribution to the West. Therefore, the Ming dynasty continued to follow the dynastic cycle through its period of peace and prosperity and seemed to follow the Economic Principle 6.

After the period of peace and prosperity, the Ming dynasty continued with their period of decline. This period began when Emperor Zhengtong halted ocean trade expeditions and outlawed foreign trade. This of course was a terrible decision and destroyed a huge chunk of Chinas incoming profit. Economic turmoil erupted and many people became poverty-stricken, just like the previous dynasty. This ended the period of prosperity. Also, emperors had begun to become lazy and turned over their government duties and responsibilities to eunuchs who were infamously corrupt, ruining the government and also ending the common peoples faith and trust in the controlling party. This led to the establishment of uprisings and rebellions. Not only that, the Manchus had staged a raid at the southern part of the Great Wall, ending the relative peace that was maintained in the previous period of peace. This event led the government into developing a defensive attitude in the military and economy which would later ruin them. Lastly, natural disasters such as famines, droughts, and epidemics began to occur which also contributed to the economic problems that the government needed to face. The governments poor response only led to more and more discontent within the people. These natural disasters also acted warning signs from the gods to the ruler that they were governing unwisely and also as a notice to the people that the ruler was governing unfairly, according to the Mandate of Heaven. This period of decline connects to the Economic Principle 6. The abolishment of trade shows the control the government had on the economy, proving that the Ming dynasty had a command economy. The Ming dynasty still continued to follow the dynastic cycle with its period of decline of which proved that the economic-political connection was true in this scenario. The Ming dynasty finally ended with a period of rebellion as part of the dynastic cycle. The rebellions that were taking place were questioning the effectiveness of the Ming dynasty rule after all the economic failures in the period of the decline. The government itself was too

involved in defending itself by guarding China against the Manchus as part of their newly developed defensive attitude and deliberately ignored the rebellions and their demands. A rebel named Li Zicheng then afterwards declared himself emperor and stormed Beijing. The Ming emperor committed suicide, and the Ming dynasty was somewhat over. The next dynasty was officially established when one of Lis commander turned to the Manchus side and together the commander and the Manchus defeated Li and began the Manchu/Qing dynasty. The rebellions show how a poor economy causes the people to ask for more government involvement in the economy as said in Economic Principle 6. Therefore, the Ming dynasty completed the dynastic cycle with a period of rebellion and follows Economic Principle 6s statement of how changes in one can result in changes of another. The Ming dynasty followed the dynastic cycle by having a long period of prosperity, a period of decline, and a period of rebellion. The Ming dynasty first gained the Mandate of Heaven by overthrowing the Yuan dynasty with their rebellion because of economic turmoil. The dynasty then had an extremely long period of peace and prosperity due to urban industrialization and a trading boom. After government corruption and numerous natural disasters, the economy failed and rebellions took place to overthrow the Ming from their awful rule. The Ming dynasty was finally overthrown, completing the dynastic cycle. The dynasty also followed the politicaleconomic relationship described in Economic Principle 6 which had based the historical pattern called the dynastic cycle. The Ming dynasty was one of the many dynasties that followed the dynastic cycle because of its follow through of all the periods that built the historical pattern.