Ironically and typically, the enormity of the Ming Dynasty’s wealth and power is one possible explanation of what eventually led to its fall. Believing that they did not need anything else, the emperors put an end to China’s exploration of the world, closed its doors, and retired to lives of pleasure, and turned over the running of government to their ministers and eunuchs, which led to dysfunctional infighting, corruption, weakness, and vulnerability to attack. There was a shift away from pragmatic scientific study and innovation toward pedantic scholarship. As we’ll see in Chapter 12, this
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