1. The World of the 15th Century
Strayer Chapter 13
Part II: China and Europe Compared

2. Part II: China and Europe compared
BIG THEMES:
• Complex civilizations
• Large city-centered state-based societies
• Dense population centers
• Powerful and innovative
• Unequal in terms of class and gender
• Influenced large numbers of people, though
most people identified themselves based on
local communities

3. Ming Dynasty China (1368-1644)
• Defeated the Mongols in 1368
• Reestablished Confucian based government
• Attempted to eliminate all signs of foreign rule
• Moved the capital to the Forbidden City in
Beijing

4. • Restored China after years of Mongol neglect
– Brought back civil service exams
– Restored farm land
– Rebuilt canals, reservoirs, and irrigation works
– Planted a billion trees and reforested China
– Helped the economy rebound by encouraging
both domestic which led to population growth
– Began extensive maritime
expeditions

5. Ming Maritime Madness
• Launched by Emperor Yongle in 1405
• Launched six expeditions in 28 years
• Largest expeditions in history up to that time
• First expedition led by Zheng He included:
– 300 boats
– 27,000 crew members
– 180 physicians
– 5 astrologers
– Carpenters, tailors, accountants, merchants, cooks,
soldiers, and sailors

6. Purpose of Chinese Expeditions
• Establish Chinese power and prestige in the
world
• Did not seek to:
– Conquer
territory
– Spread
culture
– Gain control
of foreign markets

7. The Sudden End
• 1433- Yongle dies, his successor immediately
ends expeditions
• Gov’t officials saw expeditions as a waste of
resources
• Believed China should focus on fortifying its
northern border against nomadic invaders
• Believed China was a self-sufficient “Middle
Kingdom” that required little from the outside
world

8. • Government sponsorship of foreign trade and
exploration ended
• Chinese merchants and craftsmen continued
to settle and trade in Japan, the Philippines,
Taiwan and Southeast Asia
• What might the world have been like if China
had not turned its focus inward?

9. European Comparisons: State
Building and Cultural Renewal
• Like China rebuilt from the Mongols, Europe
rebuilt from the Bubonic Plague
• Whereas China was a single state, Europe was
fragmented into separate, independent,
competitive states

10. • States learned to efficiently tax citizens to:
– Strengthen government
– Build infrastructure
– Build strong professional armies
• China remained at peace, but in Europe, war
and competition between states led to huge
innovations (100 Years War)

11. European Culture Blossoms
• The Renaissance in Europe parallels the
reemergence of Confucian learning in China
• Mainly effected wealthy elites who believed
they lived in a whole new era
• Trade and commercial success created a
wealthy merchant class who became patrons
of the arts
• Artists and authors drew inspiration from
classical Greece and Rome

12. Greek V. Renaissance

13. • Broke away from religious confines of the
Middle Ages
• Art and literature became more secular
• Emphasis placed on the role of the individual
Humanism

14. European Comparisons:
Maritime Voyaging
• European monarchs and traders were eager to
dominate the spice trade
• Portugal began exploring the African coast in
1415 looking for a south east passage to India
• 1492- Christopher Columbus sailed west to
find an all water route to Asia, discovered
Americas
• 1497- Vasco da Gama round tip of Africa and
sails to southern India

15. • European expeditions were MUCH smaller
than Chinese ones
– Columbus had 3 boats and 90 crew
– da Gama had 4 boats and 170 crew

16. Motivations for European Voyages
• European states competed to control the
wealth of Africa and Asia
• Europeans, still bitter from the Crusades,
sought to break Muslim control of trade
routes
• Tried to monopolize commerce on the Indian
Ocean by force
• Violently carved out empires in the New
World

17. Other Major Differences
• China ended overseas expeditions but
Europeans escalated theirs into massive
empire building efforts
• China was relatively centralized, but Europe
was politically fragmented leading to more
innovations to use to dominate each other
• Confucian scholars opposed expeditions, but
the Catholic Church supported them hoping to
spread its influence

18. Questions
1. What are some of the major achievements of
Ming China?
2. What political and cultural differences stand
out in the histories of 15th century China and
Europe?
3. What similarities are apparent?
4. In what ways did European maritime
voyaging in the 15th century differ from that
of China?
5. What accounts for these differences?