32.6 The far east: a.d. 1701 to 1800

The far east

Back to The Far East: A.D. 1601 to 1700

China and manchuria

The K' and Hsi reign of Sheng Tsu of the Ch'ing or Manchu Dynasty continued until 1722 as a period of great cultural achievement. Then there was a short reign of Shih Tsung in the Yung Cheng period, which included inconclusive wars against Mongols and western tribesmen. Finally in 1736 Kao Tsung became the Ch'ien Lung Emperor to reign for almost the rest of the century. He was an able and learned man, but he kept the western world away from China by repulsing English attempts at increasing international trade. (Ref. 101 ) Imperial domination of that type had controlled the economy and general course of industry for many generations and the end result of- that could be seen by 1736 when the once busy blast furnaces, coke ovens and steel plants were abandoned entirely. These basic industries, which later led to the Industrial Revolution in Europe, came to a dead end in China as a direct result of the absence of a free market economy. Officials habitually distrusted successful entrepreneurs and a going enterprise was either taken over as a state monopoly or was subjected to such taxes and artificially imposed prices that continued successful operation was impossible. One exception to this situation appears in the Co-Hong, a group of merchants authorized by the Peking government in 1726 to set up in competition with the Europeans, particularly the Indies Company. Lasting until 1771, the Co-Hong was the source of some huge Chinese fortunes. (Ref. 292 )

Jesuit missionaries had been active in China for a long period and in order to get better rapport with the people, they had compromised with some Chinese customs and belief s. This upset the pope and he banned the Jesuit activity in China and eventually disbanded the whole order. But the pope's action infuriated the Chinese emperor and he promptly banned all missionary activities, although Priests were allowed to stay in Peking as astronomers, calendar makers and engineers. Increasing isolation behind monastic walls caused Chinese Buddhism to fade gradually in importance and Confucianism dominated. European intellectuals marveled at a great, prosperous and powerful country without benefit of clergy or hereditary aristocracy. This was one of China's great ages, with striking growth of agriculture, trade and population as well as massive scholarly and artistic efforts. Blue and white porcelain with transparent enamels went to every European city. In 1793 Kin-te-chin had 3,000 furnaces for baking porcelain. Su-Ch'u had between 3,000 and 4,000 silk-looms. It is hard to believe in the light of these accomplishments that both soap and underwear were still unknown in China. Horses were rare and Chinese were still using wooden saddles and ropes instead of reins. Furthermore, much of their equipment was primitive. Although there were textile looms in the towns, the countryside weavers used elementary horizontal looms of a type still used today by certain nomads in North Africa. Was this lack of good mechanization because labor was so plentiful and cheap? (Ref. 131 , 213 , 292 )