The Ming Dynasty's Destructive Appetite For Silver | Empires of Silver | Absolute History

In 1581, China's Emperor sparked a global demand for silver, changing the course of history forever. This was how Spain's silver trade with China shaped the New World, funding America's Industrial Revolution and driving the growth of cities worldwide. Uncover the conflicts and consequences as silver becomes both a source of power and a catalyst for China's 'century of humiliation.' Join us on a journey that reveals the intricate connections between China and the rest of the world.
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[@pdruiz2005]

At 1:44. Fun fact: This silver smithing that created jewelry with silver threads as fine as human hairs--that started in China during the Tang Dynasty between 600 AD and 900 AD. At a museum (forget which one) I once saw a crown of one of the Tang emperors that had been discovered by archeologists. Wow! That crown had threads of gold and silver so fine that they did look like human hairs. I was mighty impressed that such sophisticated techniques could be discovered over 1,500 years ago.

[@geoms6263]

Fun fact: i don´t like it

[@kuchikopi4631]

​@@geoms6263 fun fact, you couldn't afford to buy silver...

[@lt419]

Fun fact - in Mongolia 🇲🇳 silver also means money. So when someone asks " Do you have silver" means Do you have money 💰.

[@vegassincity702]

Same as mexico we call it plata or money.😊😊

[@BOOMER751]

Same in French. Argent=Money=Silver. I think it's very common in many languages.

[@nidohime6233]

@@vegassincity702 In Spain too, just not that often.

[@keatkhamjornmeekanon7616]

Same as Thailand. เงิน (Ngern) means both silver and money.

[@crewmatewillthrowthesehand7600]

Same in Myanmar. Ngwe

[@pdruiz2005]

Fun fact: the modern word in Chinese for bank, 銀行, means "silver repository" or "silver case." That's how central silver was to Chinese civilization and history.

[@TheBillaro]

Not sure where you get repository and case from. 行 has a lot of different meanings depending on how it's paired. with ying it means bank. The etymology of 行 is a step on the left side of the character and a stop radical on the right. it can mean 'live of business', 'line', profession or circulation. but where did you get your translation from?

[@JerkeryLooter]

银行is a Japanese-invented word, Japanese learn how to operate the modern bank system first. Then all modern bank in east asian countries use 银行 to show they are different from钱庄（Money House）. In ancient China，Bank is 钱庄, literally means money house

[@brucechen6708]

银行is imported from Japanese...

[@siroyiryuu]

@@TheBillaro Your speech is very impolite. The term "金融(finance)" comes from Japan, but the term "银行(bank)" was introduced from China to Japan. It is obvious that you do not understand Chinese and Japanese, so you cannot read relevant Chinese and Japanese history books. The earliest person to translate the English word "银行bank" into "bank" was 邝其照(Kuang Qizhao), a native of Guangdong, China. According to the meaning of Chinese characters, "行" has a larger scale than "店", while "silver" has always been a precious metal currency used in China. Kuang Qizhao translated large institutions engaged in currency business as "银行(bank)". The Japanese originally translated BANK as "金馆(Kankan, Gold shop)". In 1870, when Finance Minister Hirobumi Ito proposed to establish a new financial institution, he saw Kuang Qizhao's "Chinese English Dictionary" which translated BANK as a 银行, thinking it was more appropriate than their original translation of "金馆(Kankan)". Therefore, it was adopted in the "《国立银行条例》(National Bank Regulations)" published in 1872 (Meiji 5Year).

[@siroyiryuu]

@@JerkeryLooter Not understanding Chinese and Japanese characters leads to incorrect understanding of foreign history. The term 金融(finance) was coined by Japan, but the term 银行(bank) was coined by the Chinese.

[@DragonsAndDragons777]

This channel is a million million times better than the History channel on TV

[@jonfox8010]

So is watching paint dry

[@TomasFunes-rt8rd]

Yes, but is it GOOD ?

[@silverchairsg]

History channel: The Ming Emperor ordered his subjects to procure as much silver as possible, to secretly craft silver weapons to prepare for a possible alien invasion.

[@cw4608]

It used to be good but devolved rather quickly

[@crazyquilt]

This is part 2 of a series called Empires of Silver, which is really good, but my favorite part in the entire series is the silver lacework shown near the end of this episode. Absolutely mindboggling work, and not to be missed!

[@Albion80s]

Those ornaments were given to Catherine The Great in 1745, nearly 300 years ago and China possesses that level of technology. Fast forward to today's technology in the semiconductor industry, it probably can explain why many of the industry leaders, companies like TSMC, Nvidia, AMD, Huawei, Yangtze Memory etc are headed by Chinese.

[@heythave]

Those were intricate pieces.

[@noreply-7069]

This is part 1 actually.

[@sirpasta4927]

What's part 1?

[@cdfdesantis699]

Fascinating. Knew silver was integral to China's imperial economy, but not how it all started. Thanks.

[@SherwenGermanavic]

I support your comment 🇯🇲🇬🇧💯

[@cdfdesantis699]

@@SherwenGermanavic Thank you! 🇺🇸 🇯🇲 🇬🇧 🙂

[@polar3553]

你了解的古代中国或者说中国只是片面的，一般外国人了解的中国只是被日本或者被满族统治时的中国，或者留着辫子的满清帝国

[@polar3553]

白银只是在古代中国遇到葡萄牙人后获得大量白银

[@mistertok1]

Brilliant documentary. Instant classic for me. I def learned something new. Wow, can’t wait to watch part 2. Great job!

[@rebekkariblet4500]

Awesome video and thank you for sharing 😊❤

[@omerta926]

Incredible documentary!!! Super fascinating subject, great narration and overall direction/production. Subscribed

[@gentrynavat9744]

Unparalleled production to create this series! Wow, truly amazing!

[@TheSmarq17]

Ulterior motives are always more interesting than the face story. I love studying history for this exact reason. It's amazing how connected the world already was before even the "discovery" of the Americas, but once the value of this was figured out, the world just grew beyond the imaginations of the people of the time. Certainly looking back now it's something very intriguing to see and try to understand.

[@bill4056]

The beauty of history is seen if there is an interconnection between the History of other countries because you will validate the History if it was really the one that was taught in school because most of the History taught in school is different from the real events that was told by the living people.

[@stefthorman8548]

Funfact, the bronze age required international trade, that's why when it collapsed, iron was experimented on to get good

[@pdruiz2005]

At 39:31. This is also the first time I've heard of this "Tea Road." Fascinating. It started in southern China and ended in the glittering Russian capital of St. Petersburg. The Russians definitely have a tea culture, with those elaborate, exquisite samovars heating up the water with the tea. I can imagine all the fine ladies and gentlemen of St. Petersburg getting their tea fix on fine porcelain in gorgeous little tea rooms. More civilized a picture than the grungy teahouses of dank London. LOL.

[@RK-cj4oc]

Lol, 99% of russia would not even be able to drink the tea. Instead being forced to live in tiny farm houses litterally owned by their landlords that could treat them as their property. At least in those dank teahouses in Britain the peasants could decide to go their and spens their own earned money. Britain is not ideal. But your moronic idea of russian tea culture is just delusional.

[@EroticOnion23]

I heard that in Russian prisons they would boil and concentrate the tea so much that the finished product is essentially a psychedelic drug...😆

[@mrs_faragonda]

Huge thank you for such a deep researching of the topicccc

[@lewis123417]

This was facisnating. Hope we get part 3

[@659in]

Keep making more!

[@algrand52]

Fantastic documentary. I'm from the Philippines but knew little about Manila's role in Spain's trade of silver with the Ming Dynasty. The annual run of the galleons from Manila to Acapulco and back was known as the Galleon Trade and continued uninterrupted for 250 years.

[@drmodestoesq]

And an amazing thing about the Galleon trade is they went north of Hawaii and south of Hawaii to take advantage of the trade winds. And for 250 years they never accidentally sailed into the Hawaiian islands.

[@siroyiryuu]

The history education in the Philippines is poor and mainly focuses on describing very few facts to shape the Philippine national consciousness. Therefore, the influence on any major country in the region is not briefly mentioned. In this regard, the history education in Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan is the same. Small and medium-sized countries that emerged from the anti colonial wave after World War II are facing this problem.

[@alma09876]

​@@siroyiryuuyes, you're correct. The history education in these countries are only focusing on the "dates" when these events had happened, BUT not even providing tge detailed explanation about WHY and HOW these history had happened.

[@alma09876]

Not many knew that the "ulterior motive" of the King of Spain for conquering the Philippines was to ESTABLISH TRADE WITH CHINA - so that the King of Spain will gain new wealth, and that the wealth he will gain from that trade with China will be used for "bribing" the Roman Catholic Pope in Rome, for which he seek to be appointed as the Roman Emperor - thereby he can control most of the European Crowns including Germany, Austria, England, France and Russia. The so called "discovery of the Philippines" by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 was not really by an accident, because Magellan used to sail in the Far East prior to his voyage in the Philippines. Magellan had served the Portuguese in Mallaca prior to 1521, so already knew and aware about the southern islands of the Philippines. When Magellan first visited the island of Cebu, he saw the presence of many Chinese merchants (they called Chinese junk), hence this reinforced their desire to establish trading post in the Far East. Thus, the Galleon Trade was formed, which sustained the appetite of Europeans for Chinese porcelain and silk.

[@MT-kr8cn]

@@alma09876 If history is told as it should be without idolysing and lying, we would be very shocked what really happened.

[@postscript5549]

Thank you for this interesting, informative podcast.

[@Danchell]

Wow. What a history. Very engrossing. Thank you.

[@annleeloveskitten1888]

I'm sorry to point out that the historical figures at 5:18 are wearing the wrong custumes if it is Ming Dynasty (1368-1644AD) that you are talking about. Ming Dynasty, like the vast majorities of dynasties in China's thousands-year-long history, was established by Han Chinese who had their own costumes and hairstyles that were totally different from that of Manchurians who established Qing Dynasty (1644-1911AD).

[@annleeloveskitten1888]

About the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, there's another important factor that the documentary doesn't mention: natural disasters including severe famines.

[@johnsterling5425]

subscribed. so glad i found this channel.

[@joshhoffman1975]

Fascinating, thanks! 😃👍👊

[@calisthenicsnoob9990]

Yong Le encyclopedia created in the Ming dynasty has been the largest encyclopedia in the history of the world until surpassed by wikipedia- in the internet age. This shows how impressive China was in the past.

[@mbr5742]

And still it was british warships forcing the unequal treaties on China. Perry at Edo bay. Not chinese fleets on the Solvents or Japanese on the Potomac

[@calisthenicsnoob9990]

@@mbr5742 thus the great cycles of powers in history

[@annleeloveskitten1888]

@@mbr5742 Is it because China was never strong enough to do so or is it because in nature China is never as a predator as the West was and still is?

[@_Wai_Wai_]

@@mbr5742 By the time British Warships arrived in China, it was no longer the Ming.

[@_Wai_Wai_]

@@mbr5742 And look at Britain today? Just a minor island off the Coast of Europe. No one really take the Brits seriously anymore.

[@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands]

The Chinese did not wear tails until the Manchu, the Ming did not wear them...

[@user-gu8qi4me8x]

I actually genuinely agree with you and finally some one who l found in the comment section that actually has a functioning brain for once

[@kebinchen8585]

The love of silver continues to the next 300 years of Qing Dynasty.

[@CARL_093]

a very good educational documentary

[@marcusestube]

This is great, but you can start at 5:10. Everything before that is just teasers of points that are covered later.

[@siroyiryuu]

Banks originated in the Tang Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (847-858 AD), the "Golden Bank" appeared in Suzhou. In the second year of the Jiayou reign of the Northern Song Dynasty (1057 AD), when 蔡襄Cai Xiang was in charge of Fuzhou, he wrote the 《教民十六事》"Sixteen Teachings to the People", in which the sixth article was "Banks Rolling, Blowing, Selling, and Selling Many Complaints", which was the earliest time when the term "bank" appeared alone. In the sixth year of the Qiandao reign of the Southern Song Dynasty (1170), banks, flower markets, chicken markets, Zhenhuai Bridge, Xinqiao, Lanqiao, and Qinghua Bridge were all located in the city of Jiankang (now Nanjing). It can be seen that banks already existed in Nanjing at that time and became a "market".

[@tomstieve]

Thank you

[@robbindilger5811]

Fascinating ❤❤

[@robbindilger5811]

990 views... And rising...

[@ac1455]

37:00 makes sense. Already one time foreigners managed to smuggle out state secrets of silk production back to eastern Rome, so it’s understandable they didn’t want a repeat but with tea.

[@olefella7561]

The fact that we get free documentaries on KZbin by Absolute History is truly a gift. 👏👏👏👏👏 May I also remind you the fact that our Native American population in our motherland, the Continent of America before the European Colonizers arrived, was around 15 millions, while the European population in their motherland, the Continent of Europe was around 25 millions. Today, Native American population is 15 million, while the European population, in the Continents of America + Europe, is a staggering TWO BILLION! A shocking sad truth. 😔 In my humble opinion, it's about time to decolonize the Colonized lands, and return it to rightful owners Native American people. Notorious global cardinal crimes the Christian West has committed, and benefited a great deals, such as Slavery & Colonialism had long been over, why on earth is notorious Colonization still lingering on, may I ask? 😔

[@stellviahohenheim]

is it free? what about the ads?

[@nomastersnogods9303]

My jaw dropped as I learned Native American population in their motherland, the Continent of America before the European Colonizers arrived, was around 15 millions, while the European population in their motherland, the Continent of Europe was around 25 millions. Today, Native American population is 15 million, while the European population, in the Continents of America + Europe, is a staggering TWO BILLION.. it is a shockingly sad truth. 😔

[@nomastersnogods9303]

'Slavery, Colonialism and Colonization' are all evil things done by evildoers. Speaking of Native American people who have not occupied an inch of European land, or slaughtered a single European in Europe; while European Colonizers have occupied both North & South America lands and terminated 99.9% of Natives population. - Speaking of Europe which is actually a huge livable Continent with 45 nations. Russia alone is a ginormous nation which occupies nearly half of Europe with a relatively small population. Nearly half of mainland Asia, from Siberia to Far-East Asia also is inside Russia. - The 'land grab' is more of the same in Asia-Pacific region where European Colonizers such as Britain and Russia have already Colonized half of Asia, stretching from Australia/New Zealand, to Siberia/Far-East, all in Asia-Pacific region.😔 You can't discover a place if people are already there for 20,000 long years. Native Americans came from Asia 20,000 years ago when Europeans came from the Middle-East some 40,000 years ago. Moreover, this land is their one and only ASSET. The beloved motherland their ancestors forebears had lived through thick and thin, endured through hardships of all sorts for so long. With their main ASSET being taken away from them, their IDENTITY, their DIGNITY, their POPULATION and most of all, their FUTURE are all but gone.That's a sad truth indeed. All they, indigenous Native people need is their beloved motherlands back, the lands that their ancestors' forebears had lived through thick and thin, endured through hardships and all for tens of thousands of years. May I ask why not let Native Americans have Europe, since Europeans have had both North/South America Continents already? A fair deal? Remember the saying, "You can't have your cake and eat it too" and "A man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do". 😔 For more truths, pls read the insightful, informative multi-page comment by 'Lonely Alaskan' at, "Complete History Of Indigenous America Before Colonialism", on KZbin.

[@nomastersnogods9303]

The Christian West would commit and practice a great many cardinal sins, many of them knowingly, such as centuries-long global, - 'Colonization', - 'Genocide', - 'Slavery', - 'Colonialism', - 'Global Warming', etc which benefits them enormously for centuries worldwide; then they would initiate and take a measure to ban those practices worldwide, and take credit for it. [Note: Today's global warming is caused in large part by nearly two centuries of excessive coal burning, mainly in the West]. 😔 For honest truths, pls read the insightful and informative multi-page comment by 'Lonely Alaskan' at, "Complete History Of Indigenous America Before Colonialism", on KZbin.

[@NurseVic-sy5nd]

We feel your pain, your emotions and your silent message to the world.. You are not forgotten and will never be forgotten. The land is the most valuable thing because there's no more land left in the world. "May I ask why not let Native Americans have Europe, since Europeans have had both North/South America Continents already? A fair deal? Remember the saying, You can't have your cake and eat it too and A man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do." The truth of the matter is that indigenous Native People would forever be the subject of scapegoat, and victimized by the Colonizers of their lands, as long as they occupy those vast rich bountiful lands in order to justify their occupation. In other words, the Colonizers are 'Living in Denial'/ 'Living in Sin'. In the case of Native Americans; centuries long systematic effort to keep them weak with a relatively small, marginalized & disenfranchised population, so that they would never be able to reclaim their vast bountiful motherland, ever again. In other words, all it takes is to create an artificial environment where Native people of the Colonized land remain poor, weak, powerless and their population at the bare minimum.. The sad truth is the fact that the plight of indigenous Native Americans are the most marginalized and forgotten case in history. By the way, the two most sacred Christian doctrines are, - Thou shalt not kill., - Thou shalt not steal. 😔

[@vegamoonlight]

The Century of Humiliation started during the Qing Dynasty after this. The period of the Ming Dynasty was also a beginning period of the West in establishing itself as a naval power in which kingdoms in Europe were looking for the gold and spices of the Far East including China. The title seems intriguing and the introduction is somewhat debatable as to the role of the Ming Dynasty's alleged obsession of silver that 'purported' to have attracted a slew of European colonials to the Far East.

[@PrimeChaosVC]

Because the commentary is meant to mislead the audience into thinking that China was the reason the Wests are genocidal colonia powers. Are, because they still are doing it with Neo Colonialism. Things has gotten very political now. Even this video shows signs of western propaganda warfare conducted to undermined China because they don't tout Western political BS.

[@user-gv1jy3id8w]

No .I’m hanese ,but i think Qing more great than Ming .

[@lorenzoyang1333]

@@user-gv1jy3id8w Then you are pathetic and ignorant, in the Qing Dynasty China was essentially a colony of the Manchus.

[@PoisonelleMisty4311]

The Ming Dynasty was a period of Chinese history known for its advancements in art, culture, and architecture. Some key features include: 1. The construction of the Great Wall of China was expanded and strengthened during the Ming Dynasty. 2. The development of porcelain production reached new heights, leading to the creation of exquisite art pieces known as Ming porcelain. 3. The establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing, a vast imperial palace complex that served as the home to emperors for centuries. 4. The flourishing of literature, poetry, and drama during this time, with notable authors such as Tang Xianzu and Wu Cheng'en. 5. The voyages of the explorer Zheng He, who undertook several expeditions to Southeast Asia, India, and Africa, showcasing the Ming Dynasty's naval prowess. Overall, the Ming Dynasty is celebrated for its cultural achievements, architectural masterpieces, and exploration, making it a significant period in Chinese history.

[@yogi9631]

Great dock 👍👍

[@nicbahtin4774]

Had to find out more about the single whip law in my Ming EU4 playthrough

[@gerald1495]

same wtf

[@MysticChronicles712]

Always more interesting than the face tale are ulterior motives. Historical studies is my passion for this reason. It's astonishing how connected the world was before the "discovery" of the Americas, but once the value was realized, it spread beyond the imaginations of the time. Looking back, it's fascinating to see and understand.

[@Frezzed]

Which song is this 15:20 ? I feel like I've heard it before somewhere :D

[@fromra8569]

Is there part two??

[@tropics8407]

Fascinating 😳

[@thephysicalsilverfox3474]

The most undervalued asset in the world...... . At the moment

[@tsinoy]

Yes, silver was one of the main imports from New Spain/Mexico through Manila on to China through the Galleon Trade. Some of the silver that landed in Manila were used for church decorations such aa frontales, candelabras, etc. for the sanctuary. Amazing works of art. Have seen some of them up close. Such details.

[@hhwippedcream]

So good! Thank you.

[@JY-vh3be]

Interesting.

[@byhyew]

Fantastic production! I've never thought of China's deep participation of global trade centuries ago. Our standardized education basically begins at the Opium War.

[@hongruicui2806]

well, someone used to say "everything is connected to everything else"

[@lillysnet9345]

The C series "Nothing gold can't stay" cover some of the history. Indeed I recently discovered Chinese movies and I am ficinated with their history and social orders.

[@jacknicky9785]

This is a propaganda piece of BS. Justifying why the Opium War is necessary. 😂

[@user-yy9hk9od9u]

It's not just a century of humiliation. It's from the fall of the Ming Dynasty to Xi jin ping.

[@emmitstewart1921]

I love seeing this view of China's history from a more Chinese point of view. It is already changing many of my previous ideas. For one thing, so many of the (usually fictional) accounts I have read told of the Emperor demanding payment in gold for this or that, particularly tea. From this account, I see that Silver seems to be the preferred means of payment. This makes sense because, due to its scarcity, Gold simply could not drive such a huge economy.

[@gagamba9198]

Strange. I've been reading Chinese history for decades and never have I come across the Ming emperors demanding gold only for tea. Vassal states would send gold along with other luxurious/rare objects (ginseng, furs, ivory, gems, pearls, horses, spices, etc) as tribute, but this tribute wasn't commerce per se. The embassy often brought additional goods to sell/barter on the side, as did officials travelling with the embassy to do so on their own. Being chosen to join an embassy's tribute mission to China was highly sought after for the riches one could earn. Ming dynasty sumptuary laws restricted gold to the imperial household. Of course, laws are only as good as their enforcement. Laws banning Yuan (Mongol) style of dress were long ignored. Gold was used mostly for rituals (such as burials) and ornamentation like jewellery, embroidered ranks on officials' clothing (for example the five-clawed dragon reserved for the emperor), plaques given to imperial officials, and decorative objects such as vases, boxes, incense cencers, etc. By late Ming (Emperor Wanli) sumptuary laws were regularly ignored by those with the wealth to buy gold. Though much is written about China's export of tea, porcelain, silk, etc, there was also a large outflow of gold from China to Japan (chiefly), SE Asia, India, and Europe. This is rarely mentioned in histories of the China trade. A good paper of this is 'Myth and Reality of China's Seventeenth-Century Monetary Crisis' by Richard von Glahn - you may read it for free on jstor. Antonio de Morga, a former colonial administrator in Manila writing in Mexico around 1609, confirmed that Chinese merchants greatly favoured silver over gold, accepting only silver coins as a means of payment: 'for they do not like gold, nor any other goods in exchange, nor do they carry any to China.' Missionary Sebastiao Manrique, who recounted that Spaniards in Manila, where he worked from 1637 to 1638, said that in the eyes of the Chinese, 'silver is blood.' The Chinese desired only one particular form of bullion: silver. Gold, a net import a century earlier, flowed out of China during the 'silver century.' Silver poured into China because the Chinese market valued it more highly than anywhere else in the world; at the same time bronze coin and gold departed through Ming China's porous frontiers, pulled by the magnetic power of external markets. Did China have enough gold to use it for domestic commerce? I don't know. Certainly is was too valuable for day-to-day commerce amongst the Chinese, which was conducted with copper-based (bronze) coins. China is the world's largest gold producer presently, and has been so for many years. Was all this gold accessible in the 17th century? Probably not. But China had significant problems with counterfeit coins and debasement at the time, and the cost of minting coins was so cost prohibitive Ming ceased doing so for many years. Moreover, there was an outflow of Chinese coins to neighbouring countries to be used for their own domestic economies.

[@emmitstewart1921]

@@gagamba9198 Very interesting. The ignorance of anything to do with China, especially among those writers who set their novels in that country, is amazing. As was pointed out in the 1958 novel The Ugly American. That novel pointed out the folly of trying to deal with a country where our Embassy didn't even bother to hire staff members who spoke the local language. The country in that instance was a thinly disguised Vietnam. America read the book, acknowledged the problem, and changed nothing. My generation paid the price of that mess-up. China is an even more complex situation, and we need to end our ignorance there. This series can go a long way to that end if we pay attention to it.

[@jacknicky9785]

In those early days, China knows the printed currency is untrustworthy, only the tangible Silver that can be trusted. Similarly, the present day American’s fiat currency is just another scam like the Spanish era. Nothing better than a currency that is backed with Gold now.

[@pascal5142]

amazing documentary! maby a bit china friendly, maby leaving out some things about gunpowder, but still mazing thanks for doing this

[@abdullahansari437]

Can you turn up the music? Can still hear someone whispering

[@Chris-fn4df]

“Ooooh shiny! We so rich and cultured. Okay we buy opium now. Aww, what happened?”

[@motsuuuu]

imagine expending the energy to be racist for no reason at all, kinda depressing tbh…蹩脚的英语是故意的不是吗……

[@DK-yz9xk]

Lmao how sad is Your life chris, dont worry man we here for u

[@ariesiv2790]

Haha good one

[@ariesiv2790]

Haha good one

[@cw4608]

I grew up believing China was an isolationist country but am learning that is not necessarily so. Very interesting.

[@hiyukelavie2396]

What gave you that impression?

[@annleeloveskitten1888]

@@hiyukelavie2396 MSM propaganda, I guess

[@noreply-7069]

It depends. They heavily restricted trade to only few ports and were isolationalist at times.

[@andrzejszpak688]

They were isolationist but not in the way you think. They allowed trade, however they heavily restricted it. They rarely allowed foreigners to dock at any port other than those designated for trade or enter the interior lands of China.

[@noreply-7069]

@@andrzejszpak688 It ebbed and flowed. Some emperors laid heavy restrictions while others eased them or didn't really enforce the strict rules and regulations and also individual powerful Chinese merchants gained power and influence. It's quite interesting. Foreign trade absolutely played a significant role especially in the later Qing Empire.

[@bold810]

My Century of Humiliation started the day I decided to file for Divorce. Thankfully, the Jan Dynasty, much like the Han Dynasty, is now Ancient History. 😅

[@pdruiz2005]

At 6:40. The Ming Dynasty was founded in part on reviving pre-Song notions of governance. The Song Dynasty, having ruled from 960 AD to 1279 AD, was seen as decadent and weak, and the Yuan Dynasty, having ruled from 1279 AD to 1368 AD, was seen as Mongol barbarians besmirching the purity of China. So the Ming Dynasty wanted to revive the old ways. One of the old ways was to tax in kind instead of through money. The Song and Yuan had taxed with paper money, so the Ming refused to do that. But that meant the Ming emperors had a terribly inefficient and complex taxation system rife with tax dodging. They had to think of another way for the Ming government to tap the vast wealth of China. Silver appeared to be it.

[@widodoakrom3938]

True

[@pdruiz2005]

At 29:09. Fascinating. So the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty and the conquest of China by the Qing Dynasty in the 1640s was precipitated, in huge part, by Manila silver galleons sinking one after another in the late 1630s. The Ming soldiers don't get paid, so they rebel and turn against the Ming emperors, allowing the Qing forces to come through the Great Wall to conquer Beijing. I did not know that. Here I thought the Ming had been overthrown due to bad harvests and the endemic corruption of the Ming court by the 1620s and 1630s. But in reality it was silver shortages that then meant no soldiers were paid. And rebellious solders are the devil's play thing...

[@arnoldsaunders6073]

I read something about the Ming inviting the Jurchens to assist them in their wars. The Jurchens decided to overthrow the Ming, and create their own dynasty called the Qing.

[@linshitaolst4936]

The invasion of the Qing army also meant shouting the politically correct slogan of "avenging the Ming Emperor", indicating that the prestige of the Ming Dynasty still existed

[@woonliangsoh]

There was also a mini ice age in the 16th century which caused famine in China and caused many rebellions

[@xenxx1192]

Ming also lose a lot of silver during imjin war because they send it to support Korea in defense of japanese invasion. After that, Ming emperor spend time resting in forbidden palace and let eunuch run the government which further lead to corruption

[@PrimeChaosVC]

Ming Dynasty fell to rebellion, the Jurchens or Manchus merely take this as an excuse to cease power and conquered China, establishing the Qing Dynasty.

[@00Klingon]

History may not repeat itself, but it certainly does rhyme. Those who are ignorant of history are in danger of suffering similar consequences. What may seem invincible today could easily collapse tomorrow.

[@mohokhachai]

Give me agility and memory

[@diolin2502]

老外分不清“明朝”和“清朝”的区别，有好多处明明说的是明朝，图片却是清朝的辫子头，看的啼笑皆非。

[@mr.cookie7308]

Silver is almost as entertwined into Chinese history as is Rice, that is not an understatement.

[@swallowedinthesea11]

That's räcist.

[@mr.cookie7308]

@@swallowedinthesea11 Im Chinese, so its not racist.

[@thephysicalsilverfox3474]

​@@swallowedinthesea11 you mean rice ist.😂😂

[@EroticOnion23]

Just did some calculations, so if during the Ming dynasty 1500s, 50 taels (50 x 37.5g = 1875g / 31.1 = 60.29 Toz) was equal to 16 tons of rice, this means that as rice is around $600/ton today, they valued silver relative to today's money at minimum (16 x $600 = $9600 / 60.29 Toz = $159/Toz). This of course would be on the low end, since with modern agricultural machinery/fertilizers, etc. rice is far easier to produce today (i.e. rice was worth more in the 1500s). Regardless, a far cry from the ~$23/Toz paper silver on the market at the moment...🤔

[@Liberty2358]

The word for money in Cantonese translates to "Silver Paper".

[@jacku8304]

Yes, Ngan Chee in Cantonese means "Silver Paper".

[@magusnight]

this has that same vibe as greatest events of wwii in colour

[@imy0urmind]

History repeats itself.

[@williamwilliam5066]

Makes me think of that Aliens film, "yeah but they're just animals man, how can they turn off the electrity?"

[@TheQahan]

Started good but it would be better if only talk about Ming period. qing part was quick and not very organized probably due time limitation.

[@daymonklotz]

moment of silence for the lost sunk silver😢

[@Tommykey07]

Overlooks one important detail about the decline of the Ming. The Wanli emperor, who reigned from 1580s to 1620, basically stopped trying to run the country and became a palace recluse, eating too much and becoming morbidly obese. The Ming were also strained from militarily intervening to aid Korea against Japanese invasion in the 1590s.

[@garmatey3816]

lol wasn’t expecting her to say “what the silver represents is well, basically…..how much money you have.”

[@swansonnnn]

I love this video. But why are the thumbnail and the video title both negative towards China when this has been mostly positive? I understand that part 2 will cover the Century of Humiliation, but part 1 is mostly *silver*, positive for them.

[@hongruicui2806]

a benign clickbait i guess

[@khankrum1]

Perhaps the USA is in a similar situation with depending upon cheap imported goods!

[@wmccinema]

One of the influences of Steve Jobs to keep their items in silver color because it withstood the year of time in terms of aesthetics.

[@Eonclaire]

Century of humiliation is in Qing dynasty not Ming , when 5 western countries ransacked a weak China lol

[@gagamba9198]

Qing, yes. The rest of what you've written is a no. If we scrutinise the phrase 'century of humiliation', humiliation began in 1644 (though a claim of a couple of decades earlier has validity) when the Ming Dynasty was toppled by the Manchus but the period was much longer than a century, ergo the phrase is inaccurate. With the establishment of Qing dynasty and the following decades of war between the Manchu and Han loyalists of Ming a two-tier system was established. Manchu bannermen (and their allies) were atop it. They were guaranteed employment and many positions in gov't were restricted to Manchu only. It was colonial rule + apartheid. Han were not allowed to live in Manchu districts, were forbidden to migrate to Manchuria and Mongolia (until late 19th century), could not wed Manchus, were not allowed to dress like Manchu, etc. Even the legal system was divided. For a Han to bring charges against a Manchu, the leader of the accused's banner had to agree. If a Manchu was convicted, he was sent to a special Manchu-only jail (that really wasn't much a jail). Really it was about two-and-half centuries of humiliation... of the Han by the Manchu. The Han loathed the Manchu, who they considered barbarians. (Yes, there were Han who collaborated.) There were several insurrections by Han intended to drive the Manchu out but these failed. Even during the Anglo-Sino Wars the Manchu spent much of their time looting and massacring Han because they believed the Han were aiding the British. And though there is evidence of this, most Han were apathetic because they had no affinity for the Manchu. Upon the 1911 revolution tens of thousands of Manchu were massacred in revenge by the Han, Manchu women allowed themselves to be enslaved as concubines to avoid being killed, and Manchu who survived hid their Manchu ethnicity. The CCP understands that westerners don't know the details of Manchu rule and they fall for simple slogans. Reading your comment, they're right. I encourage you to read James Millward, Pamela Kyle Crossley, Mark C Elliot, Edward J M Rhoads, William T Rowe, Julia Lovell, and Paul A Cohen. If you prefer a Chinese historian's work debunking 'century of humiliation', read Mao Haijian's _The Qing Empire and the Opium War: The Collapse of the Heavenly Dynasty_ (天朝的崩溃 : 鸦片战争再研究).

[@weirdshit]

@@gagamba9198 "Century of humiliation" or "hundred years of national humiliation" is a term used in China to describe the period of intervention and subjugation of the Qing dynasty and the Republic of China by Western powers and Japan from the First Opium War to the People's Republic winning the Civil War in 1949. Wikipedia. Not any tom dick or harry book can correct that fact.

[@arnoldsaunders6073]

The Western powers have produced a version of history they suits them. It bears no resemblance to the truth.

[@weirdshit]

@@Garrus-wt9lz there are chinese all over the world, why dont you ask them for their opinion on this. LOL. Do take note that it happened during 1800s, and not during communist era.

[@widodoakrom3938]

The fall of ming due too overflowed silver by Spanish empire

[@AmericanMeiling]

Loved everything 💖 The ladies were so beautiful , the Miao silver craftsman , the Queens dream of China 🥰 Cool

[@WagnSund]

On 23.09 You make Brasil Spanish, it was Portuguese!!!

[@samlee86421]

The background music is sooooo annoying!

[@RPcropland]

I disagree, were you expecting rap?

[@antoniop570]

Completely ignores the first global trade, global coin and globalisation done by Portugal (they even had the only trade post in China itself - Macau). Not to mention that the queen Catherine was having tea brought by her countrymen Portuguese traders 150 years before this video mentions.

[@DavidGS66]

Error alert: this is about Qing aka Manchu Dynasty not Ming Dynasty. Ming Dynasty overthrew Mongols until Manchus conquered China in 1644.

[@lydiajim5988]

Yeah, and this video starts before then.

[@nickl1177]

Plenty to learn by China. Trade must be backed proportionately by military might for without it, China cannot expect fair trade.

[@user-mh7dt1di9y]

9:10~10:20: The guy in red robe and rabbit ear hat looks like a depiction of King Sejong, the person credited for creating the Korean written language, Hangul. It seem Korean and an inaccurate use of that content.

[@user-kc4lr7he4x]

没文化就多读书，韩国贵族穿了中国明朝的服饰

[@YaminoSeigi]

The trading situation doesn't change much in the present

[@harbinger6562]

Some good repeating history ❤️🇨🇳🦾😇👋

[@steventan2550]

If you doubt the real worth of a certain fiat money do you accept and keep it as a store of value?

[@michaelstone3069]

8:06

[@Karyabs]

Spain plundered almost all the gold and silver from South America but is almost broke.

[@ariesiv2790]

Elaborate pls

[@widodoakrom3938]

Hyperinflation too much amounts of silver and gold

[@albertoht5753]

In one year, more gold is extracted from Latin America than Spain extracted in all of history. Furthermore, 80% stayed in America. Currently there is nothing left.

[@leskobrandon8998]

Tea is an addictive drug? 😄

[@GreenHotDogz]

Everything is a drug when you think about it.

[@1HeatWalk]

Caffeine like coffee

[@lesterchua2677]

They printed too many 银票(silver notes) with too little physical silver to back it up. Sounds familiar?

[@user-wp5no6cn2b]

"Middle Kingdom" doesn't refer to "the center of the world", but between heaven and earth

[@JG1G1]

the last dynasty is Qing, not Ming.

[@drmodestoesq]

James Flint had another claim to historical fame. Along with Samuel Bowen, he introduced the soybean into American agriculture.

[@widodoakrom3938]

Spanish empire overflowed ming dynasty with too much amounts of silver making hyperinflation bcs the worth of silver plummeted

[@boonnathan9827]

Great news in Australia. The government is finally cracking down on visas for the Chinese.

[@arnowisp6244]

Far too many taking Advantage of Australia Property Markets.

[@annleeloveskitten1888]

I am sorry to say that I don't agree with your claim that "A period of peace and stability begins, unparallel in Chinese history" at 33:00. The most peaceful and prosperous period in China's history certainly isn't during the rein of Kangxi emperor of Qing Dynasty.

[@boden8138]

It’s the nickel content in low grade silver that you are reacting to. Pure silver is hypoallergenic.

[@christiansimon3749]

Well look at them now ..

[@angloedu5499]

All great societies come and go. China’s century of humiliation was but of several important events which shape the world and its societies. In the ancient east of Egypt and the Persians, up and coming civilizations deposed one another through war and then administration. Moral to the story, nothing lasts forever and nothing is guaranteed.

[@sens36]

Narrator sounds like a British Liam Neeson.

[@user-ct7kj6nt7f]

The silver that Spain plundered from Mexico and Peru

[@annleeloveskitten1888]

Black tea and green tea are from the same plant - camellia. Back then when tea trade started between China and Britain, what the Brits wanted was green tea, which was easily perishable during its long journey to Britain. To meet customers' demand, the Chinese adopted a new method of processing tea leaves and created black tea. Since then, black tea had become the favorite drink of aristocratic Brits.

[@annleeloveskitten1888]

BTW, tea, especially green tea, is good for those who want to lose weight or stay slim.😄

[@AxisBelgium]

A very limited take, but interesting nonetheless.

[@desmondkwang5945]

The so called century of humiliation is not that of the Chinese, it's of the Manchu's who took over from the real Chinese - The Ming in 1644. The real Chinese had by end of the Manchu rule in 1911 suffered almost three centuries of second class citizenship and forced to wear the manchurian braids.

[@mohokhachai]

I give you eternal silver

[@abuhammad]

The fact that China does not need an outside commodity in history is almost the same today. You can attribute that to the ruling class only need limited commodities from outside, and the vast population is in poverty. You can make parallels between how the Chinese state got accumulated wealth and how the Spanish got their silver.