The Ming and Qing Dynasties ruled China for a combined seven centuries from the 14th through the 20th centuries. The Ming Dynasty, controlled by ethnic Han from 1368 to 1644, was replaced by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty that ruled from 1644 to 1912. Both of these Chinese Dynasties ultimately fell because of weaknesses, but during these centuries they both endured major events that not only shaped each dynasty but also all of China. The Ming Dynasty's ability to sustain order through government and the Qing Dynasty's development of the economy, infrastructure, and culture would characterize each dynasty but also help lay the basis for modern China. While each of these dynasties experienced such events, they were distinctly different in nature. As Ebray (267) writes, "Although the Ming was overthrown by peasant rebellions of the usual sort, the next dynasty was founded not by a warlord or rebel leader but by the chieftains of the Manchus, a non-Chinese people." Each dynasty faced different challenges, from conflict between nomads and peasants to social pressures from increasing population, that its efforts to resolve resulted in a significant impact on China and its people. This analysis will highlight some of the major events of the Ming and Qing Dynasties that not only shaped them but also affected all of China.
The Ming Dynasty would eventually collapse due to the threat of Mongol invaders and Japanese pirates. The Manchus would take advantage of these threats that had weakened the Ming and overthrow the dynasty, forming the Qing Dynasty. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries however, significant events occurred during a period that was rich in terms of economics, art, and culture. Under Ming rulers, the Great Wall of China was restored in one of the most remarkable feats of construction ever achieved by man (Ebrey 208). Other construction projects like the Forbidden City were erected in part to p...