A Comparison; The Ming and Tokugawa Period

The Ming dynasty achievement in rebuilding the empire and restoring Chinese pride ushered in a period of unprecedented economic and cultural growth on Song foundations but going far beyond where the Song had left off. There was rapid commercialization of the economy as a whole, an accompanying rise in the number and size of cities, and perhaps a doubling of total trade. Tokugawa Ieyasu’s victory at Sekigahara in 1600 brought Japan the longest period of peace and stability in its history: it lasted until nearly the end of the shogunate I n1868. Rhodes Murphey discussed developments during the Tokugawa period saying, “A major result was economic and commercial growth. Such developments brought the country closer to the modern world.” (East Asia, A New History, pg. 264) Before the end of the Ming’s first century there was a growing turn to conservatism. This partially reflected the determination to reestablish the traditional Chinese way in all things after the Mongol humiliation, but it also stemmed from enhanced prosperity. An Italian missionary Matteo Ricci reported in the early seventeenth century on their conservatism saying, “Everything which the people need for their well-being and sustenance is abundantly produced within the borders of the kingdom.” (Rhodes Murphey, East Asia, A New Histoy, pg. 129) There was less incentive to seek change or be innovative at least in terms of official policy. Policy and administration was left to the conservative Confucian bureaucracy. Agriculture was regarded as the predominant source of wealth and as something to be officially promoted. The Ming government and most of its Confucian magistrates cared about the welfare of their people, at least until the final collapse and they even reformed the tax system to make it less burdensome for peasants. The Ming provincial