Before the Ming Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty had been part of the Song Dynasty, which was the Mongols and China united as one dynasty. But, a shift in power allowed for the Mongols to take over. Once the Mongols took over the Chinese, they removed the Chinese culture. Hongwu had to later restore it when the Mongols were overthrown in 1368. So, when Hongwu finally reestablished the culture, he had to prevent it from losing it again. That was the same mentality the people of China had when the Manchu took over and tried to assimilate the Chinese. Yet, the Manchu failed at altering the Chinese culture. They did have some success in changing tiny things, such as the Dyarchy system. It allowed for positions to be equal so the Manchus and the Chinese were culpable at the provincial level, but below that the Chinese were …show more content…
The change in politics is like the Manchu population in China; it made such a tiny impact since the Chinese still outnumbered the Manchu. When the Manchus recognized that they had to bring ethnic Chinese people into the top ranks of imperial administration, they used the Dyarchy system. The Dyarchy system became a solution to make politics equal between the Manchus and the Chinese. The system made positions equal between the Manchus and the Chinese. For example, within the Grand Secretariat, there were six members, three were Manchurian, and the other three were Chinese. This change was a significant change in the Qing Dynasty, but it was the only major change that worked.
In total, the Ming and Qing dynasties were a series of continuity. Both continued many things, such as agriculture and culture, but some changes, such as politics, played a role in how they became shaped. The changes the Qing had were the smallest changes, and the changes weren’t strong enough changes. The Qing didn't get the ball rolling during their time of rule, but the Chinese people within their reign changed the Qing. So, in total, the Ming and Qing were a series of continuity because the Qing couldn’t assimilate the Chinese, but the Chinese had assimilated the