Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty – Part 4/4

November 27, 2010

During the campaign to appease the savage Mongolian nomadic tribes, Yongle granted noble titles to the tribal chiefs and gave them Chinese names. His strategy was to divide and conquer.

Many Mongol chiefs were allowed to live south of the Great Wall and in Beijing. The emperor wanted them to be assimilated into the Han culture.

An envoy from Tibet met with Yongle and the emperor established a tributary relationship with Tibet and other nations.

In order to guarantee enough food to feed northern China, a canal was built between Jinan and Ningbo in western Shandong province extending the Grand Canal.

After that extension, about 3000 grain ships traveled north to Beijing annually and returned.

When the construction of the Forbidden City was completed in 1421, the emperor moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing.


Mandarin with English subtitles

About this time, Yongle’s health started to deteriorate, and his attempt to assimilate the Mongolians failed as the nomadic tribes continued to send large-scale military raids into northern China.

In order to prevent these intrusions, Yongle had no choice but to return to his father’s strategy of reinforcing and rebuilding the Great Wall.

After Emperor Yongle died in 1424, the prosperity and energy of the Ming Dynasty died with him.

Another emperor destroyed most of the records of Admiral Zheng He’s seven voyages and forbid any more explorations at sea and closed China again.

In fact, much of the technology used to build Zheng He’s fleet was lost.

Zheng He’s voyages have not been forgotten and are still celebrated in parts of Southeast Asia where the fleet stopped during the seven known voyages.

Return to Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty – Part 3

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Ming Dynasty (1368-1643 AD) – Part 1, 3/3

November 22, 2010

After moving the capital from Nanjing to Beijing, the Yongle Emperor ordered that a huge bell be made to commemorate his exploits.

The reason for moving the capital was to consolidate defenses in the north since the Mongols, Manchu and other nomads lived to the north and were a threat to an agricultural culture such as China.

In March of 1418, the master bell makers were called to Beijing. The Yongle Bell was to be 6.94 meters tall (almost 23 feet), 3.3 meters wide at the mouth (almost 11 feet) and weigh 46.5 tons.

Producing such a massive bell even today would be an extraordinary job. The master bell makers used the clay mould casting technique—a method used for three thousand years so the Chinese were experienced.

Since there wasn’t a furnace large enough to melt that much bronze, the bell makers used several furnaces at once — another example of an assembly line.

The bell was poured in one casting, which meant that the furnaces had to be coordinated to poor the molten bronze. To be successful, there could not be one mistake.

Because of the threats to China from northern nomads, the five thousand kilometer long Great Wall had been built as a first line of defense from invasion.

The Great Wall was high, long and solid since it was constructed of massive slabs of stone. Construction had started two thousand years earlier and work had continued up to the Ming Dynasty.

During the twenty-eight years between 1405 and 1433 AD, the fleet commanded by Zheng He made seven voyages to Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea and Africa’s east coast.

Ming navigators kept detailed charts and the fleet was never lost while at sea.

Return to Ming Dynasty (1368-1643 AD) – Part 1, 2/3

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

Leave a Comment » | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, history | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse