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8 - Delimiting the Realm Under the Ming Dynasty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 January 2021

By
David M. Robinson
Edited by
Yuri Pines ,
Michal Biran  and
Jörg Rüpke
Yuri Pines
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Michal Biran
Affiliation:
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Jörg Rüpke
Affiliation:
Universität Erfurt, Germany
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Summary

This chapter examines the construction and representation of borders in China under the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). It considers the spatial dimensions of the Mongol empire, which was the Ming dynasty’s immediate predecessor. It examines the Ming court’s efforts to conquer or coopt Mongol power-holders and their territories, its plans to establish lasting control over those regions and their peoples, and its discursive and administrative strategies to describe and regulate issues of diversity and distance. The chapter reviews changes in the Ming dynasty’s geopolitical engagement in eastern Eurasia, tracing the dynasty’s loss of territory and influence along the northern and western borders and simultaneously a steady expansion of state institutions into the southwestern frontier. The essay concludes with developments during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including responses to early Western European agents of empire in East Asia and, more broadly, the expansion of Chinese interest into maritime Asia.

Keywords

distancediversityhistorical memorymaritime Asiamilitary institutionsMing dynastyMongol legacyZhu DiZhu Yuanzhang
Type
Chapter
Information
The Limits of Universal Rule
Eurasian Empires Compared
 , pp. 284 - 315
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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