THE MING DYNASTY, 1368-1644 A. D.
(16 Emperors)
_Humble Origin of the Founder--Nanking and Peking as Capital--First
Arrival of European Ships--Portuguese, Spaniards, and Dutch
Traders--Arrival of Missionaries--Tragic End of the Last of the
Mings_
Humble as was the origin of the founder of the House of Han, spoken
of as _Pu-i_, "A peasant clothed in homespun," that of the
Father of the Mings was still more obscure. A novice or servant
(_sacrificulus_) in a Buddhist monastery, Chu Yuen Chang felt
called to deliver his people from oppression. At first regarded as
a robber chief, one of many, his rivals submitted to his leadership
and the people accepted his protection. Securing possession of
Nanking, a city of illustrious memories and strong natural defences,
he boldly proclaimed his purpose. After twenty years of blood and
strategy, he succeeded in placing the Great Wall between him and
the retreating Mongols. Proud of his victory he assumed for the
title of his reign _Hungwu_, "Great Warrior," and chose
_Ming_, "Luminous," for that of his dynasty.
Leaving his son, the Prince of Yen, at Peking, to hold the Tartars
in check, Hungwu spent the remaining
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years of his reign at his original capital, and then left the sceptre
to his grandson. The Prince of Yen, uncle of the youthful emperor,
feeling the slight implied in his father's choice, raised an army
and captured Nanking. A charred corpse being shown to him as that
of the emperor, he caused it to be interred with becoming rites,
and at once assumed the imperial dignity, choosing for his reigning
title _Yungloh_, "Perpetual Joy." He also removed the seat of
government to Peking, where it has remained for five centuries. The
"Thesaurus of Yungloh," a digest of Chinese literature so extensive
as to form a library in itself, remains a monument to his patronage
of letters.
A tragic episode in the history of the Mings was the capture of the
next emperor by the Mongols, who, however, failed to take Peking.
It was easier to make a new emperor than to ransom the captive.
His brother having been proclaimed, the Tartars sent their captive
back, hoping that a war between the brothers would weaken their
enemy. Retiring into private life he appeared to renounce his claim;
but after the death of his brother he once more occupied the throne.
What a theme for a romance!
Great Britain was described by a Roman as "almost cut off from the
whole world" because it was not accessible by land. China had long
been cut off from the Western world because it was not accessible
by sea. The way to India was opened by Diaz and Gama in 1498; and
the first Portuguese ships appeared at Canton in 1511. Well-treated
at first, others came in greater numbers. Their armaments were so
formidable as to excite suspicion; and their
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acts of violence kindled resentment. Under these combined motives
a massacre of the foreign traders was perpetrated, and Andrade, a
sort of envoy at Peking, was thrown into prison and beheaded. The
trading-posts were abolished except at Macao, where the Portuguese
obtained a footing by paying an annual rent.
After the Portuguese came the Spaniards, who appear to have been
satisfied with the Philippine archipelago, rather than provoke a
conflict with the Portuguese. The Chinese they had little reason
to dread, as the superiority of their arms would have enabled them
to seize portions of the seacoast, though not to conquer the Empire
as easily as they did the Mexicans and Peruvians. Perhaps, too,
they were debarred by the same authority which divided the Western
continent between the two Iberian powers. The Chinese becoming too
numerous at Manila, the Spaniards slaughtered them without mercy,
as if in retaliation for the blood of their cousins, or taking a
hint from the policy of China.
In 1622 the Dutch endeavoured to open trade with China, but their
advances being rejected, doubtless through secret opposition from
the Portuguese, they seized the Pescadores, and later established
themselves on Formosa, whence they were eventually expelled by
Koxinga, a Chinese freebooter.
The church founded by Corvino at Peking perished in the overthrow
of the Mongols. The Portuguese traders disapproved of missions,
as tending to impose restraint on their profligacy and to impart
to China the strength that comes from knowledge. The narrow
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policy of the Mings, moreover, closed the door against the introduction
of a foreign creed. Yet it is strange that half a century elapsed
before any serious attempt was made to give the Gospel to China.
In 1552 St. Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies, arrived
at Macao. He and his fellow Jesuits were indirect fruits of the
Protestant Reformation--belonging to an order organised for the
purpose of upholding and extending the power of the Holy See. After
wonderful success in India, the Straits, and Japan, Xavier appeared
in Chinese waters, but he was not allowed to land. He expired on
the island of Shang-chuen or St. John's, exclaiming "O rock, rock,
when wilt thou open?"
Ricci, who came in 1580, met with better success: but it cost him
twenty years of unceasing effort to effect an entrance to Peking.
Careful to avoid giving offence, and courtly in manners, his science
proved to be the master-key. Among the eminent men who favoured
his mission was Sü of Shanghai, whom he baptised by the name of
Paul. Not only did he help Ricci to translate Euclid for a people
ignorant of the first elements of geometry, but he boldly came to
the defence of missionaries when it was proposed to expel them.
His memorial in their favour is one of the best documents in the
defence of Christianity. Among the converts to the Christian faith
there are no brighter names than Paul Sü and his daughter Candida.
The Ming dynasty compares favourably in point of duration with
most of the imperial houses that preceded it; but long before the
middle of its third century it began to show signs of decay. In Korea
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it came into collision with the Japanese, and emerged with more
credit than did its successor from a war with the same foe, which
began on the same ground three centuries later. In the northeast
the Mings were able to hold the Manchus at bay, notwithstanding
an occasional foray; but a disease of the heart was sapping the
vigour of the dynasty and hastening its doom. Rebellion became
rife; and two of the aspirants to the throne made themselves masters
of whole provinces. One depopulated Szechuen; the other ravaged
Shansi and advanced on Peking. Chungchen, the last of the Mings,
realising that all was lost, hanged himself in his garden on the
Palatine Hill, after stabbing his daughter, as a last proof of
paternal affection (1643).
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