China in the 16th–18th centuries
At the end of the 16th and start of the 17th century the Ming dynasty in China fell into crisis: officials plundered the treasury, taxes rose, peasants lost their land and uprisings grew. In the north the Manchu tribes united and in 1636 their leader Abahai (Hong Taiji) named the state “Qing”. In 1644 the Manchus entered Beijing and Shunzhi was proclaimed emperor; the Qing dynasty ruled China until the revolution of 1911–1912. The Qing took Taiwan (1683), Mongolia, Kashgar and other lands into their state. Peasants got high yields of rice and cotton, textiles and shipbuilding were developed, and silk and porcelain were prized in Europe. Europeans (Portuguese, Dutch, British) appeared on China’s coast to trade; from 1757 foreign trade was mainly conducted through the port of Guangzhou. In culture Wang Yangming reinterpreted Confucianism, and the novel “Journey to the West”, kunqu theatre, landscape painting and the art of porcelain flourished. In the 18th century China remained Asia’s largest state, but began to fall behind the West in technology.
“Imperial decree”: pupils write a decree in the Qing emperor’s name — “foreigners may trade only at Guangzhou” — and explain the reasons.