For exploration pack two, it explores the conquest of China by the Manchus. In the excerpt, we looked at it centers around the inevitable collapse of the Chinese empire and the siege by the Manchus. The spreading of troops, the decline in the economy, and much more led to the kingdom’s destruction. The Manchu raiders could go straight into China’s heart with little effort.
“The Great Fall of China” explores the Chinese empire’s inevitable collapse, stating, “government lay in tatters around him, his officials paralyzed by financial and strategic bankruptcy, his army practically unpaid and barely functioning.” Comparisons to the Khan dynasty and Ming because of their reasons for the collapse. Both empires struggled because their empire was too vast, which inevitably led to their demise. However, the financial organization problem was different, with the Ming empire putting too much out and very little coming back into the kingdom. This can cripple an empire because that means not being able to pay for protection or other necessities. Another problem with the ming was how China’s social and living structures worked. The social system with peasants living on the outer rim of the empire has economically immobilized the economy. With most of the money being kept in the inner edges of the kingdom, the money wasn’t circulating through the realm leading to it not prospering. Other factors also plagued China, like famine and disease, which helped weaken it.
The other exciting piece was the “Massacre of Yangzhou,” which explored the perspective of a Chinese citizen falling under attack by the Manchus. This was an interesting piece because it conveyed the fear and confusion of Chinese citizens, which also explains their fear of the Manchus. The Chinese people lived in isolation, not understanding who the foreign invaders who are shown when “Suddenly a wave of several dozen horsemen was seen galloping desperately from north to south.” The use of horseback and the tactics used by the Manchus caused the villagers to be bewildered by the sudden attacks. The excerpt goes into detail about the brutality the Manchus used painting them in a almost barbaric light. The conquers cared little about the lives they were taking only caring about raping and pillaing. In the first hand account the narrator describes how he was struggling to survive “Just as i’d caught my breath, through the compound wall I heard the voice of my younger brother shrieking and the sound of a saber hacking—three strikes, and all was silent.” The Manchus attack took the Chinese empire by surprise and their conquest was a key piece of history.
Lovell, Julia. The Great Wall: China against the World, 1000 BC-AD 2000. 1st paperback ed. New York: Grove Press, 2007.
Struve, Lynn A. Voices from the Ming-Qing Cataclysm: China in Tigers’ Jaws. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.
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