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Chinese Isolationism Analysis

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The Ming and Qing era of Chinese history from 1450-1800 is historically seen as the period of Chinese isolationism and refusal to interact with the outside world, especially Europe, in any major manner outside of minor trading contracts. An era where the largest empire in the modern world stopped expanding and instead focused on the overall stability of the realm. It can be argued that the Ming and Qing dynasties distanced themselves so far from the rest of the world that it ultimately led to their decline in influence over world affairs while European superpowers such as Portugal and the Netherlands continued to expand their colonial presence. Although this is what is perceived about the time, there are some instances where China “opened its’ …show more content…

As Matthew Ricci journeyed to China he wrote at the beginning of his journal, “It is, therefore, by keeping such records that I hope to rescue from oblivion the story of the entrance of our Society into the vast dominion of China, whose borders have been closed for so many ages, and likewise of the first fruits of Christianity gathered by this noble race”. It is here that Ricci proclaims his intention of the vertical conversion of China or the idea that in able to convert the whole of China, he must first get close to the Chinese nobility and convert them. A few passages later he described his mission to China in …show more content…

Despite the fact that Ricci’s success in conversion was limited, high-level bureaucrats in China noticed the fact that he was successful in understanding the complicated and self-proclaimed “superior” language culture of the Chinese, and in doing so Ricci successfully managed to survey the Chinese Empire’s interior and the noble culture to gain a better understanding of Chinese society as a whole. For example, Ricci wrote extensively in his journal on how “No one is permitted to carry arms within city limits, not even soldiers or officers…, Fighting and violence among the people are practically unheard of…[and] When the King dies, in order to prevent the rise of factions...no son or male relative of the King, other than the legitimate heir of the King, is permitted to remain in the royal city”(Ricci 58-59) None of these concepts could have possibly been verified without first gaining access to inland of China, and Ricci completed this

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