The Ming Dynasty and Ottoman Empire

Where:

• Ming: Chinese Region
• Ottoman: present-day Turkey, most of the Middle East up into Southern Europe and North Africa

When:

• Ming dynasty:1368-1644
• Ottoman Empire: 1299-1922

Vocabulary of Note

• Ming Dynasty Emperor – the first Ming emperor (Ming Taizu, with “Taizu” meaning founder, known as the Hongwu Emperor), who in 1368 overthrew the preceding foreign Mongol dynasty (the Yuan) and while he wanted to end foreign influence, there already were non Chinese living in China [01:09]
• Xi’an – a city in northwest China and the former Chinese capital, where Islam was already being practiced [01:52]
• Abrahamic religion – one of the three religions that revere the patriarch Abraham: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism
• Islam – a monotheistic “Abrahamic” religion that is based on the teachings of its main prophet, Mohammad, who died 632 CE, and the holy book the Quran, thought to be the word of God. Believers are called Muslims
• Mosque – a Muslim place of worship [02:01]
• Pagoda – a tiered tower that usually has a religious function and is common in East Asia, usually associated with Buddhism [02:20]
• Mecca – a city in Saudi Arabia that is the birthplace of Mohammad, and the holiest site in Islam. Muslims try to make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime if they can afford it
• Yongle Emperor – the 3rd emperor of the Ming dynasty who ruled from 1402–1424, and known for moving the capital to Beijing, constructing the Forbidden City, and launching Admiral Zheng He’s naval explorations. (Zhu Di (pronounced, Ju Dee) was the Yongle Emperor’s given name) [03:13]
• Mongols – a nomadic ethnic group from East Asia that took over China and formed the Yuan dynasty in 1279; they were perpetual enemies of the Chinese [06:25]
• Temple of Heaven – a huge construction project in Beijing, and extremely important temple where the emperor would perform annual Confucian rituals to pray for a good harvest [07:01]
• Zheng He – a Muslim Chinese admiral who led 7 enormous sea-going expeditions to explore Asia that reached areas as far away as Indonesia and Africa and is evidence of the Ming dynasty’s extensive contacts with other countries and cultures [07:18]
• Ottomans – Turkish subjects of the Ottoman, or Turkish empire, which was founded in 1299, and expanded through southern Europe, the Middle East, west Asia, and North Africa and lasted until 1922 [08:21]
• Khitay Namah by Ali Akbar Khitai – a book about China for a Persian (Iranian) audience [08:45]
• Xiyu – travel writing about the Ottoman Empire by a Chinese writer (that got some things wrong)
• Suleiman the Magnificent – the great Ottoman leader, or sultan from 1520 until his death in 1566, known also to be a poet, artist, supporter of the arts [10:53]
• Hagia Sophia – built as a Byzantine cathedral in 360 CE in what was then known as Constantinople; converted to a mosque when Constantinople becomes Istanbul
• Chen Chung (1365–1457) – ambassador chosen by Yongle to go into Central Asia
• Tamerlane – a Turkic-Mongolian founder of the Timurid Empire in present-day Iran, Iraq, and Uzbekistan

Outline of Presentation – with [Timecode] and Slide #

Introduction

• Speaker challenges myth that China was isolated in traditional times [00:19]
• Beginning of the Ming dynasty is basis for myth [01:00]
  • The founding emperor had defeated the Mongols (and their Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368)) [01:11]
  • He did not want foreign rule to recur in China, so he was suspicious of foreigners in China and attempted to cut off contact with foreign countries and emissaries
  • But there were already “foreigners” in China
    • Muslims had been in China since the Tang dynasty #30
    • Image of the Muslim mosque in Xi’an (called “Chang’an” at the time) first built during the Tang dynasty (742 CE); renovated during the Ming, and the slide image shows how it was constructed in Chinese style to gain legitimacy
  • This policy of the 1st emperor was changed by one of his sons, as a result of succession struggle [03:15]
    • The first emperor, the Hongwu Emperor, chose his first-born son to succeed him, but this son died before his father
    • The Hongwu Emperor then chose his grandson, the son of his first-born son, as his successor
    • When his father dies, Zhu Di, who becomes the Yongle Emperor, leads a rebellion to unseat his nephew (1398–1403) and wins, becoming the 3rd emperor of the Ming
    • But his nephew disappears, is not killed or captured; Yongle always fears he could return and challenge his legitimacy
    • The Yongle Emperor therefore faces a question of legitimacy which he confronts by projects to gain legitimacy in the eyes of his subjects and through foreign approval (see related video China’s Ming Voyages: The Truth about the Maritime Expeditions Led by Zheng He at [23:00])
  • The Yongle emperor adopts a different policy toward foreigners to gain recognition [04:30] #5
    • From his own population
    • From other countries and peoples and make his reign splendid
  • Encourages contact with other countries and invites foreign ambassadors to come to China [05:00]
    • Large fleets sent off on maritime voyages under Muslim commander, Zheng He
    • Chen Chang sent to Central Asia on the Silk Road as emissary to empire started by Tamerlane
  • Undertakes military campaigns against traditional enemies [06:09]
    • Mongols
    • Vietnam
  • Undertook tremendous construction projects in Beijing [06:50]
    • Temple of Heaven – location for Confucian rituals that emperors have to perform as part of duties

Increased trade between China and the Middle East is one result of new policies [07:40] and trade and contact with Ottoman Empire [08:15]

Envoys recorded that the two empires had knowledge of one another [08:45] #10

Ottomans – height of the empire under Suleiman the Magnificent [10:50]

• Suleiman was a poet
• Supported miniature paintings and painters
• Converted Hagia Sophia from a Byzantine church to a mosque
• Built Blue Mosque in Istanbul to impress population and bolster legitimacy [12:56] #12–13

Similarities and Differences [13:44]

• Territorial expansion [14:04] #14
  • The Ottomans conquered territory in the Middle East, North Africa, Southeastern Europe, and the Mediterranean, and suffered one big defeat by Tamerlane briefly
  • Ottomans conquered Istanbul and converted their capital
  • The Ming failed to conquer in several campaigns: Mongolia, Central Asia/Xinjiang, and Vietnam
• Tolerance [14:27] #15
  • Ottomans were very tolerant, and had a multi-ethnic society, and Suleiman protected Christians and Jews. Suleiman had a Jewish doctor and a Christian wife
  • The Ming, however, were not accepting of anyone not in the Neo-Confucian tradition, which had become dominant, and restricted Muslim influence; prejudice existed more commonly there
• Religion [16:54] #16
  • Ottomans had both a sultan or a secular and religious leader based on Islamic law (sharia)
  • The Ming was mostly secular, even though the emperor did perform Confucian rituals
• Legitimacy [17:34] #17
  • Both empires used the construction of big monuments and projects to establish the importance and legitimacy of their rulers
  • The Ottomans built
    • Hagia Sophia [12:15]
    • Blue Mosque [12:56]
    • Topkapi Palace, which contains a collection today of 10,000 Ming porcelains
  • The Ming moved their capital to Beijing, built up Beijing, and constructed
    • The Forbidden City palace and the
    • The Temple of Heaven

Conclusion

Both empires were engaged with and learned from other cultures and engaged in trade

• China earned a great deal from the rest of the world and exported some of its ideas and beliefs to other parts of the world
• China was not isolated [19:00]

(Editor’s note: Another source of the conventional view that China cut itself off from the world during the Ming is the result of the Yongle Emperor ending the Voyages of Zheng He. But these voyages were extremely expensive and not needed for trade (carried out by merchants) or defense; threats to China’s security were on land to the north and northwest. The Manchus did eventually invade and overthrow the Ming (1644), establishing the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing.)