Since ancient times, the Chinese considered their state to be the center of the world. They called it the middle, or heavenly, state. All the surrounding peoples were barbarians for the Chinese and were considered as subjects of the emperor. In the XVI-XVIII centuries. Korea, Vietnam, Burma, Tibet were vassals of China.

At the head of the Chinese state was the emperor, who had unlimited power, which he inherited. In governing the country, the emperor was assisted by the state council, which included his relatives, scientists and advisers. The government of the country was carried out through three chambers. The first chamber included six departments: ranks, rituals, financial, military, department of punishments, department of public works. The other two chambers prepared imperial decrees and oversaw ceremonies and receptions in honor of the emperor.

A special chamber of censors controlled the actions of officials throughout China. The country was divided into provinces, which were divided into districts and counties, they were ruled by officials of various ranks.

The Chinese state bore the name of the ruling dynasty in the country: from 1368 to 1644. - "empire of the Ming dynasty", since 1644 - "empire of the Qing dynasty".

By the beginning of the XVI century. China was already a state of high culture with a developed education system. The first stage of the education system was the school, where boys studied, whose parents could pay for education. After the final exam in primary school it was possible to enter a provincial school, in which the study of hieroglyphs continued (and there are about 60 thousand of them in Chinese, 6-7 thousand were memorized at school, learned people knew 25-30 thousand), and also students mastered calligraphy - the skill to write beautifully and clearly with ink. Students of the school memorized the books of ancient authors, got acquainted with the rules of versification and compilation of treatises. At the end of the training, they took an exam - they wrote a poem in verse and an essay. Only an educated person could become an official.

Among the Chinese officials there were many Izhi-vopistsev poets. in China in the 16th century. crafts for the manufacture of silk and porcelain were already developed. Porcelain and silk fabrics were decorated with various designs using high quality paints.

The three main pillars of the Chinese state for many centuries were three teachings: Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Confucius developed his teachings in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e., and it took important place in the worldview of the Chinese and in the XVI-XVIII centuries. Traditional society in China was built on the Confucian principles of filial piety and respect for elders. Loyalty, humility, kindness and compassion, a high sense of duty, education were the main features of a noble and worthy person.

Founder of Taoism Lao Tzu- expounded his teachings in the book "Tao Te Ching". Gradually, Taoism turned from a philosophy into a religion (“dao” in Chinese means “the way”). Taoism taught that a person can escape the torment of hell and even become immortal. To do this, one must follow the principle of "non-action" in one's life, that is, step aside from active social life, become a hermit, seek the true path - Tao.

Buddhism entered China from India at the beginning of the 1st millennium CE. e. and by the 16th century. had a very strong position and a huge impact on the life of traditional society. By this period, many temples and Buddhist monasteries were built in China.

All three teachings were great importance to maintain and strengthen the foundations of the Chinese state, they were the main pillars of traditional Chinese society.

China in the 16th-18th centuries

Chapters from the book: History of the countries of foreign Asia in the Middle Ages. M., 1970.

Culture of China in the period of late feudalism

In the XVI-XVIII centuries. Chinese culture, while remaining feudal in content, was enriched by many new achievements. Under the influence of important shifts that took place during this period in the country's economy, the first cracks appeared in traditionalism, inertia and scholasticism that dominated cultural life. New, fresh trends have emerged. However, progressive tendencies have not received sufficient scope for their development. The establishment of the Manchu-Qing regime, which brought with it the intensification of all forms of spiritual oppression, interrupted their growth. The reactionary policy of the Manchu rulers caused significant damage to Chinese culture, although it could not completely stop its development.

From the 16th century in China, in connection with the progress of handicraft production, interest in the natural and applied sciences has noticeably increased, major works have appeared in these areas. who spent half of his life hiking in the mountainous regions of the country, laid the foundations of Chinese geomorphology and speleology.The famous physician Li Shi-zhen (1518-1593) created a multi-volume pharmacopoeia "General Review of Trees and Herbs" ("Ben Cao Gangmu"), in which he described about 1900 medicines of plant, animal and mineral origin.In 1637, a kind of technical encyclopedia by Song Ying-sin appeared - "On products created by heaven and obtained by labor" ("Tian gong kai wu"), covering the development of Chinese crafts. at the same time, the scientist and dignitary Xu Guang-chi, who was familiar with European missionaries and studied Latin, compiled the “Agricultural Encyclopedia” (“Nongzheng Quanynu”), which described the state of agricultural production. affinity in China and partly in Europe.

Interest in practical knowledge began to penetrate into the sphere of philosophy and the humanities, although the positions of traditional dogmatism, conservatism and schemes divorced from life seemed especially strong here. In official philosophy, gentlemen continued

adhere to the idealistic concepts of Sung Neo-Confucianism. His followers were increasingly attracted to sophistry, abstract reasoning. This was started by the famous philosopher Wang Yang-ming (1472-1528), who argued that consciousness is the basis of the world. individual person that everything around is a product of the human mind, an illusion born in thoughts. Wang Yangming's intuitionism was a natural product of the development of Chinese subjective idealism, a kind of "pinnacle" of orthodox feudal philosophy.

The growing struggle between the feudal lords and the peasantry, the aggravation of internal contradictions among the ruling class, one way or another, were reflected in the field of ideology. From the 16th century voices of protest against the dominance of idealism in philosophy began to be heard more often. The first to speak was the materialist philosopher Wang Ting-hsiang (1471-1544), who argued that matter is the basis of the world, that the laws of the objective world are manifested in the course of its movement and development and are known through practical experience. The freethinker Li Zhi (1527-1602) resolutely fought against the dogmatism of Confucian orthodoxy. He subverted the authority of Confucius, opposed the blind worship of his dogmas. For his free-thinking, Li Zhi was persecuted by the Minsk authorities, his writings were burned as "heretical", he himself died in prison.

In the situation of the beginning crisis of the feudal system and the emergence of elements of capitalist relations, the emergence of new social forces in the cities and their entry into the anti-feudal struggle in the 17th century. in China, a progressive trend of social thought arises, which is sometimes called the early Chinese enlightenment. This trend arose as a reaction to feudal oppression in all areas of the country's life, especially in the sphere of ideology. The views of its representatives objectively reflected the demands of various social groups(urban trade and business strata, enlightened small landlords and shenypi, part of the working population), which constituted a kind of anti-feudal opposition. The early Chinese enlighteners sharply criticized the idealistic philosophy of neo-Confucianism and the school of Wang Yang-ming, their scholasticism and metaphysics, and tried to move on to solving practical issues related to real life.

Peasant War 1628-1645 and the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty posed acute social problems for progressive Chinese scientists, pushed them in search of an ideal system of government. The Manchurian conquest greatly increased dissatisfaction with the despotic regime and made the enlightenment movement even more acute and focused. The peculiarities of the social and political conditions of the then feudal China led to the fact that in the views of advanced thinkers, elements of criticism most often prevailed over positive ideas; they looked for the ideal of society in the "golden age" of antiquity, in the original "pure" Confucianism, and considered personal perfection and wisdom the key to establishing a good system of government. The strength of their teachings was hatred of despotism and tyranny, protest against feudal fetters and restrictions, a distinct humanistic coloring of their works, ideas of struggle against enslavers and the assertion of China's national dignity.

Outstanding representatives of this advanced thought in China in the 17th century. were patriotic scholars Huang Zong-hsi (1610-1695), Gu Yan-wu (1613-1682) and Wang Fu-chih (1619-1692); all three were versatile

erudite scientists who created works on various branches of knowledge (philosophy, history, philology, etc.). There was much in common in their life path and in political form: they actively participated in the armed anti-Manchu struggle, and after its defeat they remained irreconcilable opponents of foreign power, wandered, were persecuted and deprived, but until the end of their days they did not lose the staunchness of patriots, did not go to serve the Manchus.

The philosophical positions of Huang Tsung-hsi, Gu Yan-wu, and Wang Fu-chih are close to materialism; in the political field, they advocated limiting the despotic power of the emperor, stood up for the freedom of the individual, freedom of thought, science without superstition. The statements of Huang Tsung-hsi contain a demand for the abolition of the feudal system of land tenure and the equal distribution of fields among the peasants. Wang Fu-chih rejected the call for a "revival of antiquity", asserting the superiority of later times, and using historical examples he proved the usurping nature of the Manchu power.

Three prominent Chinese scholars made great contributions in various specific areas of knowledge: the critical study of ancient texts, epigraphy, phonetics, geography, mathematics, etc.

Their philosophical and social ideas were continued and developed by prominent scientists Tang Zhen and Yan Yuan, the materialist philosopher Dai Zhen (1724-1777), and others.

In the field of Chinese fiction, the most important phenomenon of the period of late feudalism was the emergence of the satirical novel.

The earliest of the works of this genre is Wu Cheng-en's Journey to the West (Xi Yu Ji) (late 16th century). This novel has a fantastic plot, which is based on the legends about the trip to India of the Tang monk Xuan Zang. It describes in a satirical manner the life of celestials - gods, spirits, etc., in the images and characters of which the features of ordinary earthly people with their inherent shortcomings and weaknesses clearly appear. The heavenly hierarchy is depicted as very similar to the earthly one. This is the hidden satirical meaning of the novel.

The anonymous author of the novel Jin, Ping, Mei (beginning of the 17th century), using the example of the history of the rise and fall of one family, develops a broad picture of the decomposition of the entire feudal society, satirically denounces representatives of many social groups of his time: large dignitaries and small employees, military and merchants , usurers and monks, landowners and their servants.

An even larger phenomenon in the literature of late feudal China was the novel “A Dream in a Red Chamber” (“Hong Lou Meng”) by Cao Xue-qin (mid-18th century), also built on an everyday plot and raising satire to the broadest social generalization: Sharp criticism of the Manchu -Qing bureaucracy - the most inert and conservative layer of the then Chinese feudal society - contained the novel "An Unofficial History of Confucians" ("Zhulin Wai-shi") by Wu Jing-tzu (mid-eighteenth century).

At the beginning of the Qing period, the short story, fantastic in form and sharply satirical in ideological content, became widespread. The most prominent artist who worked in this genre was Pu Song-ling (1640-1715). His famous Liao Zhai Tales of the Extraordinary (Liao Zhai Zhi Yi) is one of the most famous works of art late feudal China.

The spread of allegorical devices in the literature of the Qing period was a consequence of the policy of cruel suppression of the free thought of Chinese writers, pursued by the Manchu rulers. Government control permeated all areas of spiritual life and, above all, the sphere of feudal education and literary activity. One of the most important channels of this control was the examination system. It was used not only to select persons pleasing to the Qing court for the staff of officials, but also to distract educated Chinese from urgent problems, demands real life. The main subject at all levels of official examinations under the Manchus was an abstract and scholastic "eight-part composition" on abstract topics from the Confucian canons. Preparation for this kind of exams required many years of stupid cramming, which stifled all sorts of initiative, talent and ability.

In an effort to turn Chinese scholars and writers into their devoted servants, the Qing rulers provided them with well-paid literary and editorial commissions. At the expense of the treasury, voluminous encyclopedias and dictionaries were compiled, works of ancient and medieval Chinese literature were republished, from which, by order of the court, all places objectionable to the Manchus were cut out. A large group of scientists, artists, calligraphers, engravers was engaged in the acquisition of the fund of the imperial library - compiling the "Complete collection of books in four departments" ("Siku tsyuanypu"). This work also pursued censorship goals.

Those of the educated Chinese who dared to protest against Manchu rule were subjected to the most severe repression. The Qing authorities mercilessly set fire to Chinese historical and literary works that told about the struggle of the Chinese people against various foreign invaders. The authors of such works were sent to execution. But not only living Chinese patriots fell victim to the reprisals of the Manchu rulers. The "literary inquisition" fell upon the long-dead authors of "seditious" books; the graves of these persons were torn up, and the corpses were desecrated; surviving relatives were subjected to cruel punishments. During the most active period of the Qing "literary inquisition" under Emperor Qianlong, 13,862 various books were publicly burned; From 1335 to 2320 book titles underwent a complete ban, and consequently, widespread destruction. The "black lists" included the epic tales of the Chinese people, glorifying national heroes, many novels, short stories and stories of the everyday genre, recognized by the Qing censors as "immoral". Prohibited books, under pain of severe punishments, were taken from the population and destroyed.

The falsification of Chinese historical documents and writings was extremely widely practiced. A striking example is the presentation of the history of the Manchus, their invasion of China, the peasant war of 1628-1645. and other important issues in the Ming Dynastic History (Ming shi), compiled in 1739. All this caused great damage to Chinese historical literature.

Cradle of ancient civilization. China is considered the most ancient cradle of civilization on our planet. The Chinese are proud of their antiquity and the richness of their history and culture. To emphasize the exceptional position that, in their opinion, their homeland occupies, they still call it "Zhongguo" - "Middle State". Until the 20th century The Chinese also called their country “Tianxia” (“Celestial”), “Zhong-hua” (“Middle Flower”), “Zhong-yuan” (“Middle Plain”), “Zhen-dan” (“Eastern Dawn”) and "Tian-chao" ("Heavenly Dynasty").

In our country, the country of the Hans, as the Chinese still call themselves, has received the name "China". It came from the Mongolian-Turkic people "Khitan", who occupied until the XII century. AD area in the northeast of modern China. In the Russian language, the word "Kitan" passed from the neighboring Turkic peoples with the sound "China". In Western Europe, the country became known as "Sina" or "China", from the English "China", i.e. "Qin" - a Chinese dynasty that existed in the III century. BC.

The Chinese, calling their country the "Middle State", since ancient times believed that their land is in fact the "center of the universe." They were convinced that by Heaven itself they were destined for the role of carrying civilization to the surrounding peoples, who were referred to only as "barbarians". Even the wars that were waged in the XIX century. against the Middle State, the European powers, the Manchu rulers referred to it as nothing more than an “uprising” or a “rebellion of the barbarians”. The French in 1884-1885 were called "rebellious vassals", and the British - "rebels", "half human, half animal".

Sky, emperor, ancestors. China is one of the few countries where the cult of veneration of Heaven has been combined with the cult of ancestor worship. Moreover, on earth this unity was embodied by the emperor, who was respectfully called "Tian-tzu" ("Son of Heaven"), as well as "Huangdi" - "Supreme Ruler on Earth." The emperor was considered the unlimited ruler of his subjects and their property. The position of the emperor was emphasized and highlighted in every possible way. So, for example, no one except the emperor and members of his family had the right to wear yellow clothes, the color of the sun. Almost all items used by the emperor were yellow, including tiles on the walls and roofs of the imperial palaces. None of the subjects were allowed to use the color yellow.

In China, they were sure that the emperor was responsible for all living beings living on earth. They talked about it like this: “There is no land that does not belong to the emperor; whoever eats the fruits of this land is a subject of the emperor."

The Chinese nation was traditionally viewed as one big family headed by the emperor. In China, the saying was widely used: "The Sovereign is the father and mother of the people." All members of this "family" were ordered to show filial love and respect for the emperor. Traditional relations emperor - subjects, father - son, husband - wife, senior - junior assumed respect, obedience, duty. According to a tradition dating back to the great Confucius, who lived in the VI-V centuries. BC, the Chinese had to strictly follow the rules, of which there were about 3 thousand.

Temporary workers. However, in early XIX v. the power of emperors in China was limited to the chambers of his imperial palace in the Forbidden City, a fenced-off quarter in the capital of the Qing Empire - Beijing. In fact, all affairs in the state on behalf of the emperor were run by various temporary workers, as a rule, these were the chief eunuchs at the court of the emperor. Naturally, they did not have time to take care of the affairs of the prosperity of the state. Taking the opportunity, they actively climbed into the treasury of the state, spending money on personal needs.

So, at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries. the state was actually ruled by the courtier Heshen, whose fortune was equal to the annual income of the empire. There were legends about his palace among the people. Allegedly, it was a copy of the imperial palace. The vineyard in the palace garden was made by the most skillful jewelers from pure silver, gold and precious stones. The trunks and branches were of silver and gold, and the berries were of diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and corals.

In fact, everything in the country was run by Chinese officials - shenshi, who in Europe were known as "tangerines", so called by the Portuguese (from the Portuguese "mandar" - "rule, rule").

The desire of the Chinese for strict regulation in everyday life was transferred to relations with other peoples.

The Manchus preserved China as an independent state. Abahai forbade the Manchus to wear the Chinese costume. All Chinese are required to wear their Manchu hair style.

The state system is intact. At the head of the state, Bogdykhan is an emperor with unlimited hereditary power. All the land was considered to belong to him, all on earth were his subjects. Twice a year, the emperor performed religious ceremonies: in the temple of Earth and in the temple of Heaven. His decrees were announced from the walls of the forbidden city. His face was forbidden to be seen, called by name. The emperor could only be called by the motto of his reign. All decisions of all state bodies were formalized as coming from the name of the emperor.

The State Council is an advisory structure. The State Council included the Manchurian princes.

A system of vacancies has been introduced. A list of posts that can only be held by Manchus and a list of posts that can be held by both Manchus and Chinese are defined.

Dasyuashi - 4 people Chancellors: 2 Manchus and 2 Chinese.

Only the Manchus can use the great state seal. Each dasyuashi has 2 deputies: 1 Manchu and 1 Chinese.

The system of 6 ministries has been preserved:

• - military;
• - judicial;
• - tax;
• - ceremonies;
• - ranks;
• - public works.

There are 2 officials at the head of the ministry: 1 Manchu and 1 Chinese. Each chief has several deputies: 1 Chinese and from 3 to 7 Manchus. Tracking system.

False denunciation was punished according to the principle of returnable accusation - the scammer received social status on the one to whom he denounced. It was forbidden to report on older relatives, with the exception of the murder of a father, you can report on your mother.

Kuishi Dafu (translated as "Supreme Censor") monitored the officials. To conduct foreign affairs, a chamber for dependent territories - Lifanyuan - is being created.

The country is divided into 18 provinces (qingu, xunfu). Dongbemei ("northeast") is the name of the northeastern part of the country, including the easternmost part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Heilongjiang Province, Liaoning Province, and Jilin Province. Northeast China is considered the domain of the Qing Dynasty. The provinces were divided into 10 regions. The regions were divided into districts. Desyatidvorka is the lowest administrative unit.

Bauji - the principle of mutual responsibility. The government officials are Chinese. It was forbidden for namesakes to work at the same institution. The system of exams for admission to the service was preserved - 3-stage exams.

Confucianism is a state ideology that includes 9 books. Officials must know them. Candidate for officials had to write an essay on given topic, consisting of 8 parts and with a certain number of hieroglyphs.

The country was ruled by 20,000 officials, 7,000 military officials. Shenshi - class of officials, the most privileged: 20 ranks. Each rank has a strictly regulated system of behavior: clothing, travel, home, etc., a regulated number of wives.

Nun - peasants;

Gong - artisans;

Shang - merchants.

1647 - The Manchus adopted a criminal code. The concept of "shadow" has been preserved. Any relative of a high-ranking person was considered to be in that person's shadow.

The Manchus stood outside the estate system. Marriages between Manchus and Chinese are prohibited. There were separate courts and separate prisons for the Manchus.

The armed forces consisted of two parts: the 8th banner army and the green banner troops. The troops of the green banner consisted of the Chinese. The 8th banner army was maintained at the expense of its own lands. 250 mu of land per warrior, 100 mu = 6 ha.

The financial crisis as a consequence of the Imjin War was one of the many problems that the Wanli Emperor (1572-1620) had to face from the beginning of his reign. At the beginning of his reign, he surrounded himself knowledgeable advisors and showed himself to be a clever and sober ruler. His secretary of state Zhan Zhouzhen (in office from 1572 to 1582) managed to create an effective system of communication between senior officials. But in the future there was no one who could, after his departure from the post, maintain this system in working order; officials immediately after this split into opposing political factions. Every year, Wanli got more and more tired of state affairs and eternal squabbles between ministers, more and more often preferring to remain within the walls of the Forbidden City, and the access of officials to the emperor became more and more difficult.

Officials irritated Wanli with importunate questions about the succession to the throne, and advisers annoyed them with their projects regarding the administration of the state. The philosophical dispute over the teachings of Wang Yangming (1472-1529) split the imperial court and the entire educated elite of the country into two rival factions, one of which supported and the other rejected some of the orthodox views inherent in neo-Confucian teachings. Tired of such disputes, Wanli became disgusted with his duties, practically stopped giving audiences to court officials, lost interest in studying Confucian classics, refused to read petitions and documents, and approve candidates for the highest government positions. The power of the educated class weakened more and more, while it was taken over by the eunuchs, who turned into intermediaries between the idle emperor and his officials; in fact, members of the government, faced with the need to obtain the sanction of the emperor regarding a certain issue, were forced to seek the favors of high-ranking eunuchs and bribe them with bribes simply so that the necessary information reached the emperor.

At the beginning of the 16th century, the negative consequences of those processes that originated in the period of the formation of the Ming dynasty and developed latently were clearly manifested. By the marked milestone, a significant, albeit informal, change in the structure of power was revealed, which led to the decomposition of the ruling elite. While maintaining all the attributes of unlimited autocracy, the actual removal of emperors from the direct conduct of state affairs takes place. Real power was concentrated in the hands of the palace administration - the secretaries of the Palace Secretariat (Neige) and favorite nominees, mostly eunuchs.

The largest landowners in the XVI-XVII centuries. were the emperors of the Ming dynasty. Back in the 16th century the first imperial estates in the Ming period were created, the number of which subsequently grew continuously. As a rule, the lands of these estates were cultivated by quitrent peasants attached to them. Representatives of various groups of the feudal nobility were among the large landowners. The lands granted to them were considered hereditary.

The land holdings of the titled nobility were huge, and the source of their growth was not only grants, but also direct seizures of pastures, abandoned lands, wastelands, as well as the lands of peasants and small feudal lords.

The expansion of the land holdings of the service nobility also took place by annexing the lands of those persons who sought her patronage. Chinese sources cite numerous data that small landowners, seeking to get rid of taxation and arbitrariness on the part of the authorities, came under the protection of powerful feudal lords, transferring their lands to them or fictitiously recording them in the name of feudal lords. The ruling dynasty tried to intervene in this spontaneous process of transition under "protection", even to suspend it, since it led to a reduction in tax revenues, because the feudal nobility was exempted from paying taxes. Persons who came under “protection” began to be branded as “traitors”, “scoundrels”, and imperial decrees were issued against them.

However, these measures could not destroy the institute of commendation, since a significant part of the nobility was interested in its preservation and, taking advantage of the weakening of the central government, sabotaged the activities of the latter in every possible way. As a result, at the end of the XVI and at the beginning of the XVII century. the practice of commendation became even more widespread.

A special category of landownership was state lands, which were transferred to officials who did not have titles of nobility for service in the state apparatus. These lands, called "official fields", were transferred into possession for a period of service, and upon dismissal or voluntary resignation from service, they were returned to the treasury.

Peasant land use was small, parcel. Even at the beginning of the reign of the Minsk dynasty, which came to power as a result of a popular uprising, the peasantry achieved some redistribution of land: some of the landless peasants received abandoned wastelands or virgin lands for cultivation, as well as working cattle. The land was transferred to the peasants in hereditary possession, over time it became their property and could be freely sold. The size of peasant holdings was not the same, they depended on the population and the availability of free land in a particular area.

The holders of state land constituted the second group of peasants. In terms of numbers, they exceeded the peasants - small owners and differed from them in that they were more dependent on the feudal state apparatus and the class of feudal lords as a whole.

The third group of peasants, the most numerous, were the holders or tenants of private land, i.e. lands that were wholly owned by the feudal lords.

The general trend in the development of agrarian relations in the XVI-XVII centuries. there was the growth of large-scale private feudal landownership, the reduction of state landownership and, in particular, the absorption of small peasant landownership. A significant part of the peasant lands was captured by the feudal lords. Many peasants, having lost all or part of their land, became sharecroppers.

In the XVI century. handicraft production in China reached high level. By this time, in a number of branches of production, there were large state workshops based mainly on serf labor, and private enterprises where the labor of hired workers was used.

In terms of its organization and social essence, handicraft and manufacturing production in the 16th-17th centuries. divided into 4 types: 1) rural home craft; it served not only the domestic, but also the foreign market; it was mainly women who were engaged in it; it was most widespread in the southeastern regions; 2) urban small craft; small workshops included, as a rule, the head of the family - the master, family members and sometimes a small number of students; 3) state, or state, enterprises and 4) private manufactory.

State production played almost leading role, being predominant in its scope and significance. In the state enterprises of that time, craftsmen of 188 specialties were represented. Hard, essentially hard labor at state enterprises, especially in mining, forced the population to evade duties, to flee from their homes.

The development of crafts and manufactory in the Minsk period led to the expansion of old and the emergence of new cities, which became in the XVI-XVII centuries. centers of handicraft production and trade.

The largest cities, which were both administrative, political and economic centers, were Nanjing and Beijing. Beijing at the beginning of the 16th century. the population reached 660 thousand people. An increase in the taxation of trade and an increase in the arbitrariness of the feudal authorities caused sharp discontent among the merchants and their Active participation in city traffic.

Thus, we can say that in the XVI-XVII centuries. The growth of the productive forces in China was reflected in the development of handicrafts, the improvement of agricultural techniques, and the further development of commodity production and monetary relations. In the feudal Minsk Empire, elements of new, capitalist production relations appeared (manufactory was born and developed).

Zhu Yijun (Wanli) ascended the throne at the age of 9, the government was entrusted to the minister Zhang Juzheng (Џ€ѕUHe, en: Zhang Juzheng), who took over the regency, who led the country in 1572-1582 until his death. High-yielding potatoes and corn imported from America were introduced, leading to an abundance of food, and subsequently to a significant increase in population. Taxes were streamlined, privileges for officials were reduced, the state was highly centralized.

These years are distinguished by the prosperity and stabilization of the empire, the flourishing of trade and crafts, the population of China has reached 100 million people.