Ming Society and Culture (1368-1644 AD)

In the fourteenth century, as Mongol power weakened by the fall of the ruling house and growing discontent among the Chinese. The Chinese never forgot that they were subjugated by a barbaric conqueror. There was a rebellion to put an end to the external and internal oppressors and the Mongol rule came to an end. Leader of the rebellion Zhu yuan Zhang II had been a poor farmer and monk and became the founder of a new Ming dynasty. During his reign of about 300 years, China got rulers like 'name and virtue' because the word Ming itself gives an impression of talent. This regime has been called 'Mature Feudalism' during which China was consolidated under the leadership of North China.

                         Ming society

A- Social Structure

1.      Scholar

This was not a born class and any person could become a scholar after getting education. It is inevitable that to reach this class, people had to do rigorous study for years. The main work of these scholars was study and meditation. Some people attained high royal positions by attaining the title of Chu Zhen.

2.      Farmer

Farmers traditionally practiced farming. There was no change in it for centuries. The government was not particularly interested in this. It was evident that this class was the biggest burden of the society and the farmers were often poor.

3.      Artisan

Artisans were relatively organized. There were organizations according to their occupation which can be called 'guilds’. These organizations used to fix the price and work to deliver the goods to the market. Home industry was mostly effective. There was no arrangement for mass production. Guilds also dealt with business matters. Every artisan was a member of some organization and was dependent on it. Had such a powerful institution developed, far-reaching changes could have taken place in production and distribution. But that could not happen and inertia persisted for centuries.

4.      Merchant

Merchant people were more prosperous as usual, but the path of their development was also blocked because until the production did not increase and buyers did not increase in the society and the purchasing power did not increase, the nature of business could not change much.

5.      Salaried employee

The soldiers and the working class were also not capable as their salaries were low and they depended on the wishes of the rulers.

B- Social Traditions

1.      Family

The family was the most important unit like in India. In a patriarchal society, the oldest man in the family was like the king of the family. Other members were subordinate to him. Family property was tied to the joint family. The respect-worship of ancestors strengthened this system. The condition of women was deplorable. The family pattern remained the same for centuries.

2.      Social Responsibility

For the nation in China 'Kuo chia ' use of the word signifies that the nation was considered as one family and as the father had the status of the family in the same way as the king in the nation. In China, since ancient times, there was a lot of emphasis on duties. Therefore, the king also had duties which he often did not violate. So, he could not be as autocratic as the rulers of other countries. Because there was an unwritten constitution in the form of traditions. Chinese traditions acted as a check on the monarchy. The philosophy of governance was based on the ideas of Confucius. The system of government was spread from the center through the provinces to the villages. Due to running almost the same way for thousands of years, there was a speed like automation to an extent, but there was no effort to improve it, nor was there any possibility in those conditions.

C- Social characteristics

1.      Stratification in society

Although there was no varna or caste system in Chinese society, there was stratification like all other societies in the world. Most of the society was farmers and artisans. Apart from these two there were merchants and soldiers and at the top was the scholar. It was not a community determined by birth. Anyone could rise above talent and perseverance.

2.      Social mobility

This was possible because the education system was comprehensive and anyone could get education up to village-district-province and state level by passing various examinations. The one who obtained the final examination chu-jen became a contender for a state post. Such an education system was probably not available in any other country in the world. This system had only one limitation, it was a closed system in which only traditional education was available, the entry of new ideas was negligible.

3.      Fall of Feudalism in Society

Feudalism began to decline in the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries and urban uprisings began to emerge. Due to the oppression of the zamindars, peasant revolts started. A group called Tung Lin, which was called 'Community of Honest People', reformed the governance started applying pressure. He did not talk of any revolutionary change or mass movement - just emperor and a 'good’ bureaucracy. But it did not get much success. Thus the possibility of 'correction from above' was lost and 'explosion from below' remained the only way. In 1628, a peasant war swept across China and the Ming Empire faltered. Manchu feudal lords accepted foreign domination by committing treason to save their property.

                       Ming Culture

1.      Idea and Value - Ancient Tradition

The culture of China was governed by the traditional values and beliefs. China was influenced by the ideas of Confucius, Lao Tze and Buddha.

Confucius: Emphasis on temporality

China's most influential ideology and ethics was based on the teachings of Confucius. In the 6th century BC he compiled and organized China's then-reciprocal policies and made rules for every aspect of life. His main concern was secular life and its betterment, so his teachings were related to practical life. He did not pay attention to the transcendental life etc. He kept human at the center of his thoughts and suggested ways to organize the mutual relations between human beings, as if man can live only with the cooperation of other human beings, therefore everyone should take care. For this, he also gave necessary instructions to the administration and called moral education mandatory for employees and officers as well. Considering political and personal life as interdependent, he marked the importance of cooperation and coordination between the two.

LaoTze

According to this, that government is the best which governs the least. These thoughts gave the Chinese people the strength to face sorrows and difficulties. These ideas were opposed to Confucius's idea of God and heaven. Later, due to the mysticism of these ideas, pomp -witchcraft- priesthood was entered.

Emphasis on materiality

Some important philosophers in the last days of rule were Bang Chuan Shan, Hwan Tsing Si and Wu Human emerged. The essence of his philosophy was that he preferred materiality (chi) over spirituality (li). He was not only a thinker but he also fought against the Manchu conquerors.

Buddhism: The Middle Way

Buddhism also readily accepted in China. In this too, like the way of Tao , the emphasis was on the middle way. But Buddhism differed from the two Chinese schools in other respects. But it is the uniqueness of Chinese society that it coordinated the three different types of ideas in such a way that they were followed without any special conflict.

2.      Science and Literature

The Ming was a time of great urban, mercantile, and artistic vitality, with significant technological advances in silk weaving, printing and publishing, including the invention of moveable type. The prince-mathematician Zhu Zǎiyù (1536- 1611), invented the 'equal temperament scale', a tuning system for musical instruments, in 1584, at least a decade before Euro- peans devised a similar method. It was during the Ming that the physician Li Shizhēn compiled the Compendium of Materia Medica, the basis for traditional Chinese medicine. It includes prescriptions for more. The continued growth of a literate middle class also saw a flourishing of fiction. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms was published during this time; its mix of history, legend and fantasy. Another great Ming novel was the sixteenth-century Journey to the West, aka Monkey, which fictionalizes and injects super-natural elements into the story of the Tang monk Xuan Zang’s journey to India to bring back original Buddhist texts.

https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxwffDlrZVX8bC2X8c_N4BSG18dw72jPX8?si=m0DIVmmIStvY56GS

Since the method of printing was difficult and expensive, not all books could be printed and many were left with only manuscripts. Yet China had many personal and government libraries. The main thing in this area was the beginning of translation of foreign literature.

3.      Architecture: Refinement of the Balance of Beauty and Utility

The main progress in the Ming period was in the field of architecture. Extraordinary progress was made in the construction of palaces, shrines, bridges, canals, and government buildings. Peking was made the new capital and for its protection Four walls were built for this. The capital was given the artistic look that still exists today. Beautiful buildings and sculptures influenced by Buddhism filled the whole environment with a grand and distinct aesthetic. Beauty was not the only inspiration. The famous China Wall and the Great Canal were also strengthened from the point of view of utility. Chinese painting holds its own special importance in the world. The Ming period did not develop any distinctive style of its own, but the traditional art was further refined.

4.      ART

Drawing

Ink wash painting is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses washes of black ink. The Chinese script is also pictorial. That's why it also has shapes. They can be coordinated well in pictures. There was also development in the field of calligraphy. With the establishment of an academy of painting in the capital, organized efforts could be made in this direction. There was not much progress in terms of creativity and originality in painting, but the technique became more sophisticated and the importance of technical skill increased.

Chinese pottery

All over the world, a special type of pottery is called China clay. Behind it is the history of centuries and the power of excellent production. Even in the Ming period, very beautiful porcelain utensils were made everyday use and also decorative things. Their specialty was very lightness, extraordinary brightness, and fine painting, these are excellent examples of handicraft. They had a special place in the construction of China. China's porcelain was the best in the whole world until the porcelain utensils of France took their place.

5.      Urbanization and Impact

The distinction between what was town and country was blurred in Ming China, since suburban areas with farms were located just outside and in some cases within the walls of a city. Not only was the blurring of town and country evident, but also of socio-economic class in the traditional four occupations, since artisans sometimes worked on farms in peak periods, and farmers often travelled into the city to find work during times of dearth. A variety of occupations could be chosen or inherited from a father's line of work. Merchant bankers was engaging in a proto-banking system involving notes of exchange. Virtually every town had a brothel where female and male prostitutes could be had. Pederasty with a teenage boy was seen as a mark of elite status, regardless of sodomy being repugnant to sexual norms. Public bathing became much more common than in earlier periods.

 Thus, the Ming art of China remained the same in some areas, in some the situation became worse than before and in some excellent constructions were done. But overall, the traditional compositions continued. In the absence of originality, Ming art did not have a special place in history. But it is also not true that cultural inertia had come in this period. The first 100 years during the Ming reign can be called the rise and the subsequent 200 years of decline.