Ep. 33 | The Ming Dynasty (Part 3)
In today’s episode, we look at Ming Dynasty China from the reigns of Xuande to Jiajing. This period in Chinese history was witnessing momentous changes. The dynasty suffers a terrible debacle in 1449. Portugal was becoming a regular visitor and sets up down in Macao.
This was also a time when evil self-serving eunuchs spread their tentacles throughout the government. By the close of the Jiajing emperor’s long reign, the best days of the Ming were already behind them.
From Dorgon to Daoguang things were pretty tame in the Qing. But once Empress Dowager Cixi grabs hold of the reigns of power, she allows her eunuchs, most notably An Dehai and Li Lianying, to do their worst.