ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Unit 3 Study Guide
Important Things to Understand / Remember
The Mongol Empire and The Yuan Dynasty:
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Where was the Mongol homeland, relative to the Chinese Song Empire, the Jin, and the Xi Xia? Can you
recognize these on a map?
Could you distinguish between maps of the Empire in Genghis’ time, Ogedei’s time, Kubilai’s time?
Why should we reconsider (maybe change our minds about) thinking of this interaction as a battle
between ‘Chinese’ and ‘barbarians’?
What is the difference between: the Mongol Empire, the four Khanates, the Yuan Dynasty?
What is the problem with calling the Yuan dynasty ‘China’? Does ‘China’ exist in this time period?
Where/What was Karakorum? What kinds of things happened there? Why is this surprising?
We explored 2 different stories to explain why the Mongols expanded. Can you describe each one and
explain the evidence behind each one? Why would the traditional account exist, if it contradicts the
known evidence?
Temujin / Genghis Khan
 What is he famous for? (First Mongol to…First person to…) What does ‘khan’ mean?
 Who was Jamuka? What did he and Temujin fight over: what did each of them value? Which one of
them did things the ‘traditional’ (Mongol) way?
 What is a ‘meritocracy’? How did it help build the Mongol empire?
 Which country did Genghis attack first? Which country did he attack second? How far did he get?
 Why did he attack Persia? How far did he expand the empire in his lifetime?
 Do you think he was a cruel psychopath? Why or why not? What is your evidence?
 Do you think he was just an ordinary (traditional) Mongol? Why or why not? What is your evidence?
 Do you think he was a brilliant leader and innovator? Why or why not? What is your evidence?
 What were the Chinese people in Beijing forced to eat during the Mongol’s siege? What other
city/dynasty that we’ve studied did the same thing when their city was being destroyed?
Ogedei Khan
 Why did Ogedei become Khan? Why didn’t Jochi or Chatagai, since they were older?
 Why did Tolui never become Khan? What happened to Tolui? How do we know? Is there any reason
to doubt this account? What would he/his sons gain from this account?
 Which country did Ogedei attack first? How far did he expand the empire? In which direction(s)?
 Why did the Mongols NOT conquer all of Europe?
 How did Ogedei die? How do we know? What evidence do we have?
Kubilai Khan
 In which area was his Khanate located?
 Which country did he attack first? Why is this significant? Where did he move the capital to/from? Can
you give two reasons why is this significant (e.g. for Mongols, for China)?
 How did he make his dynasty ‘Chinese’? What was NOT ‘Chinese’ about naming it the ‘Yuan’?
 In what ways did he preserve Mongol identity? In what ways did he limit Chinese people’s power?
 What was the status hierarchy he instituted? Who were the semuren? Who were the hanren? Who were
the nanren or manzi? How do these labels translate into English? What is strange about these labels?
How do these labels create confusion about who is ‘Chinese’ and who is not? How do they create
confusion about who are the ‘barbarians’ and who are not? Why were the groups ranked like this by the
Mongols (what was the purpose of the status hierarchy)?
 What happened to Mongol rulership and power after Kubilai Khan died? Why?
 What were the main problems that led to the fall of the Yuan dynasty? Who/What turned against the
Mongols? Can you give an example of each main problem? How did the Yuan deal with each one?
Which one(s) were the same reasons that caused the fall of other dynasties?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Marco Polo
 Where was he from? What was his job? What status did he have in Kubilai’s hierarchy?
 What places did he go? What are some reasons he would have escorted princesses to India?
 What was his book? Why was it called ‘The Millions’? Which other explorer did his book inspire?
Religion during the Mongol Empire
 What was the native Mongol religion? How did they treat other religions?
 What kinds of religions were present in the Mongol Empire? How did they get there? Which were most
popular among the Chinese public?
 How were the Yuan Philosophical/Religious Debates different from the Tang Debates?
 What ‘Chinese’ religion did Genghis Khan like? Why? Why did he summon the famous Daoist monk
Qiu Chuji? How did the monk tell him he could prolong his life? How is it the same/different to what
the Qin Emperor was told? How did Genghis Khan react to what the monk told him? What evidence
tells us that Genghis did not follow the monk’s advice?
 Which ‘Chinese’ religion did Ogedei Khan like the best? Why? Why is this the first time we are
looking at Tibetan religion(s)?
 What kind of religious groups started getting popular near the end of the Yuan? Why?
Chinese Scholars in the Mongol Empire
 How did Chinese scholars/officials react to the Mongols as rulers?
 What two choices did they see for themselves? What kinds of new careers did they pursue?
 What were 3 popular art themes at this time? What did each one represent?
 Which philosopher did many Chinese scholars like to follow at this time? Why?
 Did the Mongol rulers like holding official examinations or not? Why would they hold them?
Why would they cancel them? What were they trying to accomplish overall? Why did the Mongols
get to write easier exams than the Chinese? What did some Chinese do as a result? How does this
practice start to ‘blur’ or ‘erase’ differences between ethnic groups?
Mongol Scripts
 Why did the Mongols decide they needed their own script in the first place?
 What is ‘The Secret History of the Mongols’? When was it written? Why can we not trust it 100%?
 Why did the Mongols decide to create a second (new) Mongol script?
 Which Khan decided to develop which type of Mongol script?
 Which language/area/people was each script adapted from? Why were these chosen in each case?
 What features were similar or different from Chinese script in each case?
 Could you recognize and label the Mongol scripts if you saw them?
Ming Dynasty
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Which land area did this dynasty occupy? Could you recognize it on a map?
After chasing the Mongols north, why was the new northern Ming border established where it was?
What other ethnic groups bordered on the Ming? Could you recognize or label them on a map?
Where was the Ming capital at first? Who moved it? Why?
Zhu Yuanzhang / Taizu / Hongwu Emperor
 What was his early life like? What is he famous for? What kind of personality did he have?
 Why was he able to defeat the Mongols? How did he feel towards the Mongols? Why?
 How did he rule? Which other 2 emperors is he very similar to? In which ways is he similar to them?
 How did he feel towards the Chinese elites? Why?
 What 2 systems did he set up to find out if people were loyal to him or not? What did he do to people he
was suspicious of not supporting his rule? Why would he be worried about people turning on him?
 Which philosophy did he say he followed? actually follow? What kinds of things did he do to show his
support? How did this legitimize his rule? How did he treat other religions? Why is this surprising?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
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Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Why did he restore the official examinations? What was he trying to accomplish?
If he disliked elites and ruled by force, why did he demote the military & increase the scholarly class?
Which other dynasties successfully tried the same strategy?
Why did he move people from South to North? In which 2 areas is PRC trying this strategy today?
Why and how did he help poor farmers the most? How did he feel about trade and manufacturing?
Zhu Yunwen / Huizong / Jianwen Emperor
 Who was he? How did he gain the throne? What happened to him?
 How was he similar to his grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang? How was he unlike him?
 How did he feel towards the elites? Why? Which philosophy did he follow?
Zhu Di / Chengzu / Yongle Emperor
 How did he gain the throne? Why did some people not support him as ruler? How did he treat those
people? What did most Chinese people think of Zhu Di? What 4 things is he most famous for?
 In which ways was he similar to his father Zhu Yuanzhang? How is he unlike his father?
 How did he feel towards the Mongols? Why? What did he do to the Mongol palace in Beijing?
 What was the difference between Beijing, the Imperial City, and the Forbidden City? Who was allowed
inside them? What happened to people who went into the Forbidden City without permission?
 Which philosophy did Zhu Di follow? How did he feel about other philosophies/religions? What kinds
of things did he do to show his support?
Zheng He
 Who was he? Where did he come from? Where was he sent as a child? Why?
 What is a ‘eunuch’? What kinds of people became eunuchs? Which ones did not? Why?
 Did Zheng He use force or virtue? Can you give some examples?
 What did he do as an adult? Where did he go? Who sent him? How long did he do this (approx.)?
 What is ironic about Zheng He being “China’s face to the world”?
 What was the main reason Zhu Di sent Zheng He’s fleet out to other countries? What different reason
did some scholars give? Why would they try to claim this was the reason?
 What did Zhu Di feel about (maritime, international) trade? Why would this be confusing for the
countries he visited? What kinds of Chinese things did Zheng He take with him to offer other countries?
What kinds of things did he bring back from other countries? What did he call these items?
 What was so special about the ships in Zheng He’s fleet? What kind of technology did they have?
How did they compare to Western/European ships? To Christopher Columbus’ ships?
 What changed in the navy that caused an end to big fleets of exploration like Zheng He’s?
 What evidence do we have in Africa that Zheng He’s treasure ships made it as far as Africa?
 What evidence do we have in China that the ships made it to Africa?
 What happened to Zheng He in the end? How do we know/not know?
Wuzong (Zhu Houzhao) & Shizong (Zhu Houzong)
 Why are these two Ming rulers important to us? What things did each one pay attention to / neglect?
 What philosophy/religion did each of them follow? How did each one show his support for it?
 What happened in the government in the 75 years after Zhu Di died? What effects did this have on the
following 100 year period?
Wang Yangming
 Who was he? Why was he called “a Confucian in a non-Confucian world”?
 What did he think about Confucian officials? about class mobility? What was his solution?
 Can you trace the development of Confucian philosophy over time, from the Zhou Kings until Wang?
Especially regarding the changes in: ren, the Gentleman (Junzi), learning (xue) and Culture (wen)?
 Why use terms like “Dao xue,” “Li xue,” and “Xin xue” to describe Neo-Confucianism?
 What parts of Wang Yangming’s philosophy were like Zhu Xi’s? Different than Zhu Xi’s?
 In what ways was Wang Yangming’s philosophy like Mencius? In what ways was it like Zhuangzi?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
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Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
What was his opinion on theory (learning/thinking) vs. practice (doing)? Can you give an example?
What were the 3 main repercussions of Wang Yangming’s philosophy on society?
Can you give an example in the world today where politics have become about morals?
Can you describe the main ideas of his 2 groups of his followers? What happened to them? Why?
Novels
 What are the names of the 4 Great Ming Novels we studied? What is the basic plot of each novel? Could
you recognize/write a basic description of each one?
 What themes and philosophy does each novel contain? How did their themes relate to the Ming?
 What kind of person wrote them? Read them? What reputation did the books have in the Ming? now?
 What kind of language were they written in (popular or classical)? What effect did that have?
 Why can we not treat these novels as 100% accurate historical evidence?
Christianity in the Ming
 What was the main difference between the Christians who came to China/Asia before the Ming (e.g. in
the Tang, Song, Yuan) and the Christians who came to China/Asia in the Ming?
 What were the 2 reasons why Christians wanted to be missionaries to other countries?
 What’s the difference between a Catholic, Protestant, and a Heathen? Can you describe each one?
 Were the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) Catholic, Protestant, or Heathen? Were the Chinese seen as Catholics,
Protestants, or Heathens in the eyes of the Jesuits? How did Catholics feel about Protestants? Heathens?
 What were the 3 problems the Jesuits faced in China, and how did they solve these 3 problems?
 What 2 things were the Jesuits famous for? How did it help them get acceptance in China?
 Why didn’t the early Jesuits simply ban Confucianism for Christians in China right away, like they
banned Buddhism for Christians in China (and Shinto for Christians in Japan)?
 What was ‘The Rites Controversy’? Why did the Pope ban Confucian Ritual? How did the Chinese
Emperor react? What was the end result for Christians/Christianity in China?
Fall of the Ming
 Which 2 groups fought for court control and power in the court? Which group had the most power?
What kind of person became a eunuch? Why were they considered ‘more trustworthy’ than officials?
Why would someone volunteer (ouch!) to become a eunuch? What problems arose from this struggle?
 Why was it important that the elites stopped paying taxes? Why did the state need that money? What
happened when the government could not pay the military and the public services like the post office?
 Were attempts at reform successful or not? Can you give any examples? Which two predictions of
reformer Zhang Juzheng were correct (yet ignored), and seriously affected the Qing?
The Jurchen/Manchu Empire and The Qing Dynasty
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Who were the Jurchens? What area did they originally live in? Could you recognize or label it on a map?
Where was the Qing Empire originally located? Could you label it on a map?
How much did the Manchus expand the Qing Empire? In which directions? Which areas/peoples did
they conquer? Which areas/peoples sent tributes to the Qing? Can you recognize/label these on a map?
Which lands did the Qing end up controlling at its height? Can you recognize this dynasty on a map?
What was the capital of the Qing? How did its size compare to other cities in the world at the time?
Why should we reconsider (maybe change our minds about) the idea that all the Qing-occupied lands are
(and should always be) part of China? Should we consider these areas / peoples “Chinese” if they were
only in the “Chinese Empire” under foreign rule (i.e. Mongols, Manchus)?
What is ironic about the Qing being called “The Last Chinese Dynasty”?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Rise of the Jurchens / Manchus
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What is the difference between: the Jurchens, the Manchus, the Jin, the Later Jin, and the Qing?
Why did the Jurchens believe that they were the legitimate rulers of the northern Ming?
Who was Nurgaci/Nurgahi? What did he accomplish? What other ruler did something like this?
Did Nurgaci use force or virtue? Can you list any examples?
Which ethnic groups did Nurgaci ally with? Why would he ally with non-Jurchens? Why would these
non-Jurchens ally with him? How did these alliances change the Jurchen culture/identity?
What role did ginseng and silver play in the rise of the Jurchen/Manchu/Qing empire? Why would this
make us reconsider (maybe change our minds about) ginseng being a “traditional Chinese medicine”?
Why did the Jurchens create a new script and a “Jurchen History” at this point in time? What happened
to the old Jin script? Whose script was the new Jurchen script adapted from? Why? Who else created a
script and history just when they created a unified empire? What were they both trying to accomplish?
Why should we doubt that these histories are 100% accurate?
What did Nurgaci call his dynasty? Why? What does this name tell us about his motives? Why did he
call himself “Khan” instead of “Emperor”? Why was Mongol support so important to the Jurchen?
Who was Hong Taiji? What important changes did he make? Why make these changes? What do they
tell us about his motives? Where was the first Qing Empire located? Could you label it on a map?
Who was Fulin, the Shunzi Emperor? Who was Dorgon? What important thing did they do? Why
were the Manchus allowed through the Great Wall by Wu: what 2 things did the Manchus claim they
were going to do in Ming China when they first arrived? Why did this sound reasonable to Wu? What
happened to the last Ming emperor?
After they took over, what kinds of things did the Manchus do to gain the support of the MingChinese?
Did they use virtue or force? Can you list any examples?
Why make the Chinese men wear a queue? What is ironic about the Manchus doing this to the Ming?
Kangxi (Xuanye)
 Who was he? What did he accomplish? Which areas did he conquer? Did he use virtue or force?
 What was the Qing’s official statement about Taiwan when they chased out Koxinga?
 How did he support the Manchus? the Chinese? Which philosophy did he support?
Yongzheng (Yinzhen)
 Who was he? How did he gain the throne? What do the records say about this? Why?
 What kind of ruler was he? Which other 2 rulers was he similar to? How was he similar to them?
 What positive impact did he make in the government?
Qianlong (Hongli)
 Who was he? How did he gain the throne? How did Qianlong use religion to legitimize his rule?
 Which lands did he secure? Did he secure them by virtue or by force? What kinds of things
did he do to gain support of conquered local rulers? Did it work? Who else tried this before?
 How did Qianlong support the Manchus? the Chinese? What was his overall goal?
 What problems did Qianlong have that weakened his rule? Why let corrupt Heshen keep his job? What
was Qianlong’s policy toward foreign maritime traders? Who held the power over trade in his system?
 Why did Qianlong give up the throne? What was the result of him giving up the throne?