The Dawn of European Expansion into Asia

The 15th century marked the beginning of Europe’s fervent pursuit of overseas colonies, with Portugal leading the charge. In 1498, Vasco da Gama’s armed merchant fleet rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached Calicut on India’s southwestern coast. Establishing a foothold in Goa, Portugal transformed it into a base for commercial and political expansion in the East. By 1511, they seized Malacca, the bustling hub of Asian trade, before turning their attention to China.

That same year, Portuguese traders forcibly anchored at Tuen Mun Island near Dongguan, Guangdong. Their attempts to secure official trade relations with the Ming court were rebuffed, yet they refused to leave, resorting to piracy, kidnapping, and smuggling. In 1522, after a failed raid in Xinhui’s Xicao Bay, they were driven off by Ming forces. Fleeing to Fujian and Zhejiang, they colluded with Japanese pirates (wokou) until another Ming military campaign forced their retreat to Langbai Port in Guangdong.

The Deceptive Seizure of Macau

Determined to secure a permanent base, the Portuguese exploited a storm in 1553 as a pretext to request permission to dry goods on Macau’s shores. Through bribery, they gained approval from Guangdong official Wang Bai, initially erecting temporary shelters. Over years, they expanded into permanent structures, fortifications, and even self-governance, effectively colonizing the territory. By 1573, they formalized their occupation by paying “rent” to the Ming, though local authorities retained nominal control. By 1887, the weakened Qing dynasty signed the Sino-Portuguese Treaty, cementing Portugal’s hold over Macau—a colonial legacy born of subterfuge.

The Donglin Movement: A Challenge to Eunuch Tyranny

As Ming governance decayed under eunuch dominance, the Donglin faction emerged as a moral and political opposition. Eunuchs like Wei Zhongxian monopolized power, imposing brutal taxes (e.g., mining and commercial levies) that alienated both peasants and the Jiangnan gentry—many of whom had commercial interests.

In 1594, disgraced official Gu Xiancheng founded the Donglin Academy in Wuxi, attracting reform-minded scholars and ousted officials. The academy became a nexus for critiquing corruption, advocating fair taxation, and condemning eunuch abuses. Their slogan—“Care for the nation, care for the people”—resonated widely, but drew fierce retaliation.

The Reign of Terror Under Wei Zhongxian

The Tianqi era (1621–1627) saw Wei Zhongxian’s dictatorship reach grotesque heights. With a network of spies (e.g., the Eastern Depot and Embroidered Uniform Guard), he orchestrated purges using blacklists like The Donglin Roll of Honor. In 1624, Donglin leader Yang Lian accused Wei of 24 crimes; he and others like Zhou Shunchang were tortured to death. Wei’s cult of personality escalated—officials built shrines hailing him as “Nine Thousand Years” (a near-emperor’s title), while dissenters faced execution.

The Donglin’s resistance, though crushed, laid groundwork for Wei’s downfall after the Chongzhen Emperor’s ascension in 1627. Yet factional strife persisted, weakening the Ming on the eve of its collapse.

The Yongle Encyclopedia: A Monument of Lost Knowledge

Amid these upheavals, Ming China’s cultural zenith endured. Commissioned by Emperor Yongle in 1403, The Yongle Encyclopedia aimed to compile all known texts. Over 2,000 scholars worked for five years, producing 11,095 volumes with excerpts from 7,000 rare books. Unlike later encyclopedias, it preserved entire works verbatim—many now extinct.

Tragically, only 215 original volumes survive today. The 1900 Boxer Rebellion saw foreign troops loot most copies; extant pages are scattered globally. Since 1960,中华书局’s facsimile editions have revived fragments of this literary Everest.

Legacy and Lessons

Portugal’s Macau gambit and the Donglin’s struggle reveal early modernity’s tensions: colonial ambition versus sovereignty, autocracy versus reform. Meanwhile, The Yongle Encyclopedia stands as a testament to knowledge’s fragility—and humanity’s duty to safeguard it. Together, these narratives illuminate an era where power, ideology, and culture collided, shaping East Asia’s trajectory into the modern world.