The Manchu and Japanese

The Manchu dynasty began with the overthrowing of the Ming dynasty. As the state expanded, the Manchu used the traditional Chinese bureaucracy to help rule (Upshur 549). For the most part they maintained a system of checks and balances in their government. As the Kamakura shogunate declined a series of civil wars followed paving the way for the Tokugawa shogunate. Unlike the Manchu they used a feudal government system, incorporating emperors. A point of difference from the two is their ruler’s origins. The Manchu owed their success to Nurhachi and his son Abahai who were of nomadic descent (549). Whereas the Tokugawa’s came from a royal line of descent. Both relied heavily on the textile industries which attracted traders from the western hemisphere such as Portugal and helped with the expansion of both economies (568). The Japanese would eventually ban all missionaries due to their success in converting the people. Missions in China were popular because they honored the Confusionist practice of ancestry worship. The Manchu dynasty of China and the Japanese both had powerful states grounded in the use of military and cultural advancement (572). Being that I am female neither of these areas has much appeal. Women played important roles in the textile industry of both Japan and the Manchu. In Japan famers sold their daughters to brothels, if they were ever to return to their village they were then wanted because of their worldly experience (567). Under the rule of the Manchu, poor women would work alongside their husbands and even the rich women were considered accomplished if they were able to learn to sew and embroider. The Manchu would seemingly be the better choice simply because they were not isolationist and embraced influence from outside