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:











Which ethnic group was this? What kind of reputation did they have? What are they famous for?
What geographic area(s) was included in the Mongol Empire? Could you recognize it on a map?
What is the difference between the Mongol Empire and the Yuan Dynasty?
Could you distinguish between maps of the Empire in Genghis’ time, Ogedei’s time, Kubilai’s time?
Where was the Mongol homeland, relative to the Chinese Song Empire, the Jin, and the Xi Xia?
Where/What was Karakorum? What was unique about it at the time?
What are 4 main reasons for Mongol success? Can you think of examples of each of these reasons?
Why are horses significant for the Mongols? What weapon are they most expert at?
What is “The Secret History of the Mongols”? Why can we not trust it 100%?
Why should we reconsider thinking of this as a battle between “Chinese” and “barbarians”?
At the end of the Yuan dynasty, what were the main problems that led to its fall? Who/What turned
against the Mongols? Can you give an example of each main problem? How did the Yuan deal with it?
Temujin / Ghengis Khan
 What is he famous for? (First Mongol 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’ way?
 What is a ‘meritocracy’? How did it help build the Mongol empire?
 Which country did Ghengis attack first? Why? How did he get this country to ‘help’ the Mongols win?
 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 average 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 not 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?
 Who was Guyuk Khan? Why did he become Khan? What happened to him? Who was the next Khan?
 Who held the Four Khanates? Could you recognize or label them on a map?
Kubilai Khan
 In which area was his khanate located?
 Which country did he attack first? Why is this significant?
 What was NOT “Chinese” about naming his dynasty the “Yuan”?
 How did he preserve Mongol identity?
 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?
Why were the groups ranked like this? What was the purpose of the status hierarchy?
 What happened to Mongol rulership and power after Kubilai Khan died?
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
 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?
 What were the differences between the Yuan Philosophical/Religious Debates and the Tang Debates?
 What “Chinese” religion did Ghengis 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 Ghengis Khan react to what the monk told him? What
evidence shows that Genghis may have not followed the monk’s advice?
 What “Chinese” religion did Ogedei Khan like the best? Why?
 What kind of new religious groups started getting popular near the end of the Yuan? Why?
Chinese Scholars
 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 three popular art themes at this time? What did each one represent?
 What philosopher did Chinese scholars like to follow? Why?
 Did the Mongol rulers like holding the 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?
Mongol Scripts
 Why did the Mongols decide they needed a script in the first place?
 Why did the Mongols decide to create a second 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 the Mongol scripts if you saw them?
Ming Dynasty




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 capital at first? Who moved it why? What is significant about the new capital city?
Zhu Yuanzhang / Taizu / Hongwu Emperor
 What was his early life like? What is he famous for? What kind of personality did he have?
 How did he rule? Which other 2 emperors is he similar to? In which ways is he similar to them?
 How did he feel towards the Mongols? Why? How did he feel towards the Chinese elites? Why?
 What 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 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?
 Why did he restore the official examinations? What was he trying to accomplish?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)



Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
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?
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? Why?
 How was he like his grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang? Unlike him?
 How did he feel towards the elites? Why? Which philosophy did he follow?
Zhu Di / Chengzu / Yongle Emperor
 Who was he? How did he gain the throne? Why would some people not support him as ruler? How
did he treat those people? What did most of the Chinese people think of Zhu Di?
 In which ways was he like his father Zhu Yuanzhang? Unlike him?
 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?
 What 4 things is he most famous for? How did he feel about (maritime, international) trade?
Zheng He
 Who was he? Where did he come from? Where was he sent as a child? Why?
 What was his personality like? Did 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 many times?
 What was the main reason Zhu Di sent Zheng He’s fleet out to other countries? What was the reason
some scholars say Zhu Di did this? Why would they try to claim this was the reason?
 What kinds of Chinese things did he take with him to offer other countries?
 What kinds of things did he bring back from other countries?
 What was so special about the ships in his 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?
Wuzong & Shizong
 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?
Wang Yangming
 Who was he? Why was he called “a Confucian in a non-Confucian world”?
 What did he think about officials? What did he think about class mobility? What was his solution?
 Which philosopher / philosophy did he study? Can you trace the development of this philosophy over
time since it started (e.g. who was involved, what changed)?
 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?
 What was his opinion on theory (learning) vs. practice (doing)?
 What are the 3 main repercussions of Wang Yangming’s philosophy on society?
 Can you describe the 2 main groups of Wang Yangming’s followers? What did they keep the
same as Wang Yangming? What did they change? What happened to each group? Why?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
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 description of each? What themes/philosophy does each novel contain?
 What kind of person wrote them? Read them? Why were these novels written at this time?
 What kind of language were they written in (popular, classical)? What effect did that have?
 Why can we not treat these novels as 100% accurate historical evidence?
Christianity in the Ming
 What’s the difference between a Catholic, Protestant, Heathen? Which were the Jesuits? the Chinese?
 How did the Catholics feel about the Protestants? The Heathens?
 What were the 2 reasons why Christians wanted to be missionaries to other countries?
 Why did the Christians want to convert the Chinese elites to Christianity most of all?
 What 2 things were the Jesuits famous for? How did it help them get acceptance in China?
 What were the 3 problems the Jesuits faced in China, and how did they solve these 3 problems?
 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 main question behind ‘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
 What were the rulers after Zhu Di like? What did they focus on? What did they neglect?
How did this affect culture? government? in the palace? in the whole country?
 Which 2 groups fought for court control and power? Which had the most power? What kind of person
became a eunuch? Why were they considered ‘more trustworthy’ than officials? Why would someone
volunteer to become a eunuch in this era? What problems arose from this struggle? Why was it
important that the elites stopped paying taxes? Why did the state need that money?
 Were attempts at reform successful or not? Can you give any examples?
The Jurchen/Manchu Empire and The Qing Dynasty


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? Could you recognize or label these on a
map? Which lands did the Qing end up controlling at its height? Could you recognize this dynasty on
a map? What was the capital? How did its size compare to other cities in the world at the time?
Why should we reconsider the idea that all these lands are (and should always be) part of China?
Should we consider these areas and peoples to be “Chinese” if they were only in the “Chinese Empire”
under foreign rule (i.e. Mongols, Manchus)?
Rise of the Jurchens / Manchus
 Who were the Jurchens? What area did they live in? Could you recognize or label it on a map?
 What is the difference between the Jurchens, the Manchus, 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
story make us reconsider ginseng as a “traditional Chinese medicine”?
 Why did 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?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)





Kangxi




Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
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”?
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?
Who was the Shunzi Emperor? What important thing did he 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?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?
Who was he? What did he accomplish? Which areas did he conquer? Did he use virtue or force?
How did he support the Manchus? The Chinese?
Which philosophy did he support?
How did he feel about foreign maritime trade?
Yongzheng
 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
 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 rulers? Did it work?
 How did Qianlong support the Manchus? The Chinese?
 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 this system?
 Why did Qianlong give up the throne? What was the result of him giving up the throne?
Elite Life:
 Why was there a population boom in the Qing? How did Qing rulers adjust to deal with this
population boom: e.g. how did they deal with the growing number of elites who wanted to become
officials, the lack of resources (food, land)? What did the government think was the key to governing
the population? What kinds of things did they do to emphasize this? How did the elites and the
government get along in the 18th Century? Why?
 What 3 areas of life did the elites question?
 What kinds of things changed in art in the 18th century?
 What kinds of things changed in writing in the 18th century? What kind of people started writing more?
What new topics did people write about? Why? What were the two main purposes for writing poetry
and literature at this time? How did people judge ‘good’ and ‘bad’ writing?
 What kinds of themes were covered in Dream of the Red Chamber (The Story of the Stone)?
 How did the depictions of women (e.g. in art & literature) change from the Tang, to Song, to Qing?
 Was it easy to pass the examinations in the Qing? Why? What kinds of strategies did the elites use to
try to pass the exams? What ultimately happened as a result of questioning the exam system?
 What kind of learning became popular in the 18th century? What were 2 results of this focus?
 Who was Dai Zhen? What parts of Zhu Xi’s philosophy did he question?
 Who was still doing footbinding in the 18th century? Who was not? Why was it still happening: what
reasons did the Chinese give? Why did the Manchus encourage the Chinese to continue footbinding?
ASIA 110: Introduction to Asia (China)
Instructor: Jennifer Lundin Ritchie
Early Chinese Interactions with Europe (Yuan to Ming):






What kinds of Europeans did the Chinese people meet before the Qing dynasty? How were relations?
Who controlled trade in China when Europeans first started coming to Asia: China or Europeans?
What was the Canton System? Who implemented it? Why did China want this system? What did the
Europeans (especially the British) think of this system? What kind of system did they want? Why?
What opinion did “the Chinese” have about the Europeans, their goods, and their influence?
What opinion did the Europeans have about “the Chinese”, their goods, and their influence?
How are the Europeans, Chinese, and Manchus portrayed in the movies “History of China: Roots of
Madness” and “Shaolin”? What are some examples of bias/prejudice in these movies? Why does this
bias matter—why and how does it affect how much we can trust these versions of history?
Qing Interactions with Europe:




Which European countries decided to go to Asia during the ‘European Age of Exploration’? Why did
they want to go there?
What three events in Europe led to Britain’s superior strength in 1700-1800? Why did the Industrial
Revolution encourage Britain to go to Asia? Why was there no Industrial Revolution in China?
Why did Britain survive the Napoleonic Wars so much better than the other European nations?
What Chinese product became so popular in Britain that Britain could not get enough of it from China?
Why couldn’t they get enough of it? How did Britain solve this problem: where did Britain go instead,
and why? Why would they use middlemen instead of trading directly?
In the trade triangle between India, Britain, and China, who profited the most? Why?
Why was this deal bad for China? How did it change the power to control trade in China?
Opium in China:






What is opium? What was it originally used for? What are some other reasons why people would take
it as a drug: what benefits could they get from taking it? What are some problems from taking opium?
How did people originally “take” opium? How and why did this change when opium came to China?
What effect did this new way of taking opium have? What new factor did “opium dens” add?
What are the benefits and problems with trading for opium? (re: health, society, economy, treaties, etc)
How common was opium addiction? How did China try to do to stop the opium trade?What happened?
Why was Britain’s victory over China in the Opium Wars called “China’s humiliation” in one movie,
and “Britain’s shame” in another movie (compare the CIA film “History of China: Roots of Madness”
to the CNN documentary “China The Opium Wars in the 19 th Century”)? What was each movie
referring to? How could they BOTH be true? Which one do most people today believe?
What was the Treaty of Nanjing? What did it say about opium? about the Canton System? What is the
“no most favored nation” clause? Why did this one clause turn out to be so important?
Christians in China:




Who came to China first: Protestants or Catholics? Who came second? Which group was more
popular in China? Which problems did the Protestants and Catholics in China have in common?
Who did the Protestants talk to in China? What strategies did they use to try to convert the Chinese
people to Christianity? What new problems did they face? What was the end result?
Who was Hong Xiuquan? Who did he claim to be? What religious group did he create? What were
his main goals? What did the Chinese people think of Hong Xiuquan and the Taipings initially? Later?
What did the West think of Hong Xiuquan and the Taipings initially? Later?
How did the Qing government respond to Hong Xiuquan and the Taipings? Who did they turn to for
help? What did those people do? How did this affect the power balance in the Qing dynasty? What
happened to Hong Xiuquan and the Taipings in the end?