Hi Crobato,
At least we come to some agreement:
1. The Battle of Tumu did happen in 1449, it was a severe defeat for the Ming - 500,000 KIA or captured including YinZhong. Good thing was the evil
eunuch wang was among the killed.
2. Esen Hongtaiji, went over his head when he decided to go for Beijing.
He allowed Yu Qian to reconsolidate, and strenghten Beijing's defenses.
He also did not have proper siege equipment , and Beijing's walls are strong
and thick. Furthermore, the Ming also had heavy artillery.
3. Contributions the Yuan brought to China from the West :
a. Catholicism came to china - Links made with the Pope in Rome
That's because of Marco Polo. Nonetheless, these links were not strong enough, until reestablished by the Portugese (Jesuits) with the Ming Dynasty.
b. Superior mechanics and hydraulics from Persia - if you notice, the
mangonels of the persians have one thing superior to the chinese one's
, they have reduction gears . Hydraulics was also used to irrigate land
from lakes thousands of feet above sea level, biggest accomplishment
was in Yunnan, when a middle eastern governor brought by Kublai made this happen.
I don't know. I clearly doubt the Persians have better hydraulics and mechanics than China at that time, considering that Persia never had the immense irrigation projects China had.
I remember the TV show Building an Empire, where it featured China. It showed an irrigination project where engineers manage through a system of water drawn wheels and pumps, to irrigate land weel above sea level. Guess what, the system was made in the Qin Dynasty, long before what you were describing.
c. Astronomy , algebra, optics, from the Middle east and Persia - Alhazen
discovered the laws of reflection and refraction centuries before Isaac Newton.
And long before anyone else, the Chinese knew the exact reasons what caused an eclipse, and created huge intricate highly precise mechanical spheres to model the skies and track the stars.
Before the Greek Hipparchus created the first star catalogue of the Western world during the 2nd century BC, the 4th century BC astronomers Shi Shen and Gan De were the first in history to compile a star catalogue. Publishings of the two were known as Star Manual of Masters Gan and Shi (甘石星經), the world's first star catalogue. Although this catalogue in full was eventually lost over the centuries, luckily part of its content was referred to and used by other Chinese documents such as [Treatise on Astrology in the Kaiyuan Regin] (開元占經) during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (712 - 756 AD). After analyzing and providing summary on the work of Gan De and Shi Shen, Tang era astronomers mentioned the names of more than 800 stars that were found, 121 of them marked with positions. [1]
Another Chinese classic is the Star Manual of Master Wuxian (巫咸星經). Its authorship is still in dispute because it mentioned names of Twelve Countries, which did not exist in the Shang Dynasty, the era of which it was supposed to have been written. Moverover, it was customary in the past for the Chinese to forge works of notable scholars, as this could lead to a possible explanation for the inconsistencies found.
The Han Dynasty astronomer and inventor Zhang Heng (78 - 139 AD) not only catalogued some 2500 different stars, but also recognized over 100 different constellations. Zhang Heng also published his work Ling Xian, a summary of different astronomical theories in China at the time. In subsequent period of the Three Kingdoms (220 - 280 AD), Chen Zhuo (陳卓) combined the work of his predecessors, forming another star catalogue. This time 283 constellations and 1464 stars were listed. The astronomer Guo Shoujin of the Yuan Dynasty (1279 - 1368 AD) created a new catalogue which was believed to contain thousands of stars. Unfortunately, many of documents at that period were destroyed, including that of Shoujin. Imperial Astronomical Instruments (儀象考成) published in 1757 containing 3083 stars exactly.
[edit] Star maps
The Chinese drew many maps of stars in the past centuries. The most famous one is perhaps the map found in Dunhuang, Gansu. Uncovered by the British archaeologist Marc Aurel Stein in 1907, the star map was brought to the British Museum in London.
The map was drawn on paper and represents the complete sky with more than 1,350 stars. Though ancient Babylonians and Greeks also observed the sky and catalogued stars, no such complete record of the stars may exist or survive. Hence this is the oldest chart of the actual skies in the present.
Stars appearing on the chart were marked with three colors: black for the stars of Gan, yellow for the stars of Shi, and white fore the stars of Wuxian.
According to recently studies, the map may date the manuscript to as early as the 7th century AD (Tang Dynasty). Scholars believe the star map dating from 705 to 710 AD, which is the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang. Some experts from the West think the chart may be a copy of an earlier existing document. There are some texts (Monthly Ordinances, 月令) describing the movement of the sun among the sky each month, which was not based on the observation at that time.
[edit] Lunar and solar eclipses
The ancient Chinese astronomer Shi Shen (fl. 4th century BC) was aware of the relation of the moon in a solar eclipse, as he provided instructions in his writing to predict them by using the relative positions of the moon and sun.[1] The 'radiating influence' theory for a solar eclipse was proposed by the Chinese philosopher Wang Chong (27-97 AD), but he admits in his writing that it was nothing new. The Chinese astronomer and inventor Zhang Heng (78-139 AD) wrote of both solar eclipse and lunar eclipse in the publication of Ling Xian(靈憲), 120 AD (Wade-Giles):
The sun is like fire and the moon like water. The fire gives out light and the water reflects it. Thus the moon's brightness is produced from the radiance of the sun, and the moon's darkness (pho) is due to (the light of) the sun being obstructed (pi). The side which faces the sun is fully lit, and the side which is away from it is dark. The planets (as well as the moon) have the nature of water and reflect light. The light pouring forth from the sun (tang jih chih chhung kuang) does not always reach the moon owing to the obstruction (pi) of the earth itself—this is called 'an-hsü', a lunar eclipse. When (a similar effect) happens with a planet (we call it) an occulation (hsing wei); when the moon passes across (kuo)(the sun's path) then there is a solar eclipse (shih).[2]
Equipment and innovation
[edit] Armillary sphere (渾儀)
A method of making observation instruments at the times of Qing DynastyThe earliest development of the armillary sphere in China goes back to the astronomers Shi Shen and Gan De in the 4th century BC, as they were equipped with a primitive single-ring armillary instrument.[3] This would have allowed them to measure the north polar distance (去極度, the Chinese form of declination) and measurment that gave the position in a hsiu (入宿度, the Chinese form of right ascension).[3]
During the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC - 9 AD) additional developments made by the astronomers Luo-xia Hong (落下閎), Xiangyu Wang-ren, and Geng Shou-chang (耿壽昌) advanced the use of the armillary in its early stage of evolution. In 52 BC, it was the astronomer Geng Shou-chang who introduced the first permanently fixed equatorial ring of the armillary sphere.[3] In the subsequent Eastern Han Dynasty ( 23-220 AD) period, the astronomers Fu An and Jia Kui added the eliptical ring by 84 AD.[3] With the famous statesman, astronomer, and inventor Zhang Heng (78-139 AD), the sphere was totally complete in 125 AD, with horizon and meridian rings.[3] It is of great importance to note that the world's first hydraulic (i.e. water-powered) armillary sphere was created by Zhang Heng, who operated his by use of an inflow clepsydra clock (see Zhang's article for more detail).
[edit] Abridged armilla (簡儀)
Designed by famous astronomers Guo Shoujing in 1276 AD, it solved most problems found in armillary spheres at that time.
The primary structure of Abridged Armilla contains two large rings that are perpendicular to each other, of which one is parallel with the equatorial plane and is accordingly called “equatorial ring”, and the other is a double-ring which is perpendicular to the center of the equatorial ring, revolves around a metallic shaft, and is called “right ascension double-ring”.
The double-ring holds within itself a sighting tube with crosshairs. When observing, astronomers aim the star with the sighting tube, stars’ position can be read out at the dials of the equatorial ring and the right ascension double-ring.
A foreign missionary melted the instrument in 1715 AD. The survived one was built in 1437 AD, and was taken by Germany and stored in France Embassy in 1990 during Eight-Nation Alliance. Under the pressure of international public voice the German returned it to China. In 1933 it was placed in Purple Mountain Observatory for preventing it being destroy in war. In the 1980s it had already been eroded seriously and was nearly destroy. To deal with it Nanjing government spent 11 months to repair it.
[edit] Celestial globe (渾象) before Qing Dynasty
Celestial globe from Qing DynastyBesides star maps, the Chinese also make Celestial globes, which show stars position liked a star map and can present the actual sky in a specific time. Because of its Chinese name, the Chinese always make it up with Armillary sphere, which is just one word different (渾象 vs. 渾儀).
According to records, the first Celestial globe was made by Geng Shou-chang (耿壽昌) between 70BC and 50BC. In Ming Dynasty, celestial globe at that time was a huge globe, showing with the 28 mansions, celestial equator and ecliptic. But just like many other equipment, none of them survived.
[edit] Celestial globe (天體儀) in Qing Dynasty
Celestial globe was named 天體儀 in Qing Dynasty. The one in Beijing Ancient Observatory was made by Belgian missionary Ferdinand Verbiest (南懷仁) 1673 AD. Unlike other Chinese celestial globes, it employs 360 degrees rather than the 365.24 degrees (which is a standard in ancient China). It is also the Chinese-first globe which shows constellations near to the Celestial South Pole.
[edit] The Water-powered Armillary Sphere and Celestial Globe Tower (水運儀象台)
Starting designed by Su Song (蘇頌) and his colleagues in 1086 AD and finished in 1092 AD, this large instrument was made up of an armillary sphere (渾儀), a celestial globe (渾象)and a mechanical chronograph . However 35 years later the invading Jurchen army dismantled the tower in 1127 AD. The armillary sphere part was brought to Beijing, hence the tower was never successfully reinstated.
Fortunately two versions of Su Song’s book survived so studying the mechanism is possible. For further please see Su Song.
d.Metallurgy , particularly damascene technology developed in Damascus
, Syria for the creation of stainless steel blades and swords.
Sorry but it was the Chinese who discovered making steel and using blast furnaces first, centuries before the Middle East. This includes the creation of forged steel, laminar steel and stainless steel and the use of differential heat treatment. The Chinese were also the first to use single edged steel swords centuries before the Middle East.
e. Architechture- The city of Beijing or Dadu was designed by an Arab and
Nepalese named Alginger - the big white dagoba in Beihai park, is his tomb.
f. Some aspects of western architechture also was brought into China,
recent excavations of Kublai's old summer capitol in Shangdu or Xanadu,
showed these. In Kharakhorin, there was a water fountain made from
gold which sprouted wine made by a Frank. Marco and Nicolo Polo
also brought Italian artists to China.
The ancient city of Kyoto in Japan, is modeled after the ancient city of Chang'an, now Xian, in China.
Beijing itself had many architectural characteristics from Chang'an, one which even the Arabs were deeply impressed with when they reach to the eastern end of the Silk Road.
Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) was, with Constantinople (Istanbul) and Baghdad, one of the largest cities of the world at that time. The Japanese in 794 built their ancient capital, Heian-Kyo or Kyoto, modelled after the Tang Dynasty capital, Chang'an. As a result, the modern Kyoto reflects some characteristics of Tang Chang'an. Similarly, the Korean Silla dynasty modeled the layout of their capital of Gyeongju after the Tang capital.
"end of the Tang period, when the empire was in disarray, the "enormous size" of the city impressed an Arab visitor. The Tang period was one of the most noteworthy ones for the impact of Western products and fashions on Chinese elite culture, and the teeming markets of the capital played a significant role in the dissemination of such goods. Among the dominant figures at least under the early Tang (in fact their presence in China can be documented from several centuries prior to that) were Soghdian merchants from the region of Central Asia which encompasses today's Samarkand."
Overall, while Yuan had its contributions, it is hardly the most important Chinese dynasty, compared to the cultural, technical, artistic and military contributions by previous dynasties. Its main contribution was seating Bejing as the capital, but it had many negative effects as well. Beijing is far from the main Chinese proper, closer to Mongolia than the center of China. With the creation of palaces like the Forbidden Palace, the Emperor becomes isolated from the people, leading eunuchs to run the country. With that, corruption and arrogance set in.
