Dynasties of ChinaMing & Qing · The end of imperial rule
16 Ming emperors · AD 1368-1644 · 12 generations of succession
Founded by an emperor of humble origins, Ming sent Zheng He on seven ocean voyages. Its later emperors ruled from Beijing, where the dynasty ended in 1644.
Dynastic color · Vermilion
The Ming dynasty was the last unified dynasty established by the Han people in Chinese history. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Zhu Yuanzhang, who was born in poverty, joined the Red Scarf Army and defeated Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng and other heroes. In 1368, he proclaimed himself emperor in Yingtian Mansion (now Nanjing), and the country was named Daming. In the same year, the Northern Expedition conquered Dadu, ending Yuan Dynasty's rule in the Central Plains.
In the early Ming Dynasty, severe punishments were used to purge officialdom, the prime ministers were abolished, and the imperial power was unprecedentedly concentrated. In the Ming Dynasty, Chengzu Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing after seizing the throne through the Jingnan Campaign. He sent Zheng He to the Western Seas seven times to compile the "Yongle Dadian", and the country reached its peak. Since then, there have been turmoils such as the Tumu Crisis, the Seizing of the Gate, and the Great Ceremony Conference. After the mid-term period, eunuch dictatorship and party strife alternated, and finance and border defense became increasingly difficult.
In the early years of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng implemented reforms, which for a time filled the treasury. However, in the middle and late Wanli periods, government neglect, the rise of the Hou Jin Dynasty in the Northeast, and the successive years of famine brought about by the Little Ice Age finally led to a peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty. In 1644, Li Zicheng captured Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in Meishan, and Ming Dynasty was destroyed. The Nanming regime lasted for about twenty years in Jiangnan and Southwest China.
In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Zhongshu Sheng was abolished, the prime minister was dismissed, and the six ministries were directly subordinate to the emperor. Later, a cabinet was established to assist in government affairs, forming a decision-making structure in which the cabinet "voted" and the emperor and the chief ceremonial supervisor "approved the red".
Institutions such as Jinyiwei, Dongchang, and Xichang directly obeyed the emperor's orders and were in charge of detectives and criminal prisons. This was an outstanding manifestation of the high concentration of imperial power in the Ming Dynasty, and also opened the door for eunuchs to have exclusive power.
In order to defend against Mongolia in the north, Ming Dynasty established nine important towns along the border and built the Great Wall of masonry on a large scale. Most of the sections of the Great Wall seen today such as Badaling, Shanhaiguan, and Jiayuguan were built in the Ming Dynasty.
The land tax, corvee service and various miscellaneous taxes were combined and converted into silver to pay. The monetization of taxes and the large inflow of overseas silver made silver the main currency in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
The three masterpieces "Romance of Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin" and "Journey to the West" were written in the Ming Dynasty. "The Plum in the Golden Vase" pioneered worldly romance novels; "The Peony Pavilion" by Tang Xianzu represents the peak of legendary opera.
Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica", Song Yingxing's "Tiangong Kaiwu", Xu Guangqi's "Agricultural Policy Complete Book", Xu Xiake's "Xu Xiake's Travel Notes", have made a systematic summary of traditional medicine, technology, agriculture and geography.
Select a ruler to explore their reign, people and lasting legacy
Zhu Yuanzhang became the emperor in Yingtian Mansion, with the country name Daming and the reign name Hongwu. In the same year, Xu Da led his army to conquer Dadu, Emperor Shun of Yuan Dynasty went north, and Yuan Dynasty's rule in the Central Plains ended.
The prime minister Hu Weiyong was executed for treason, and then he abolished Zhongshu Sheng and dismissed the prime minister. The six ministries were directly responsible to the emperor. This ended the chief minister system that had lasted for more than a thousand years.
Emperor Wen was established to promote the reduction of vassal vassals, and King YanZhu Di raised troops in the name of "Qing Jun Side", which lasted four years to invade Nanjing. Emperor Jian Wen's whereabouts were unknown after a fire in the palace, and Emperor Zhu ascended the throne as Emperor Yongle.
Zheng He led a large fleet on seven voyages, visiting Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Arabian Peninsula, reaching as far as the coast of East Africa, more than half a century before Columbus sailed.
In the 19th year of Yongle's reign, the capital was officially moved to Beijing, with Nanjing as the remaining capital. The capital was moved north to strengthen control of the northern border, which was summarized by later generations as "the emperor guarding the country's gate".
Yingzong personally conquered Oirat at the instigation of the eunuch Wang Zhen, but was defeated and captured in Tumubao. Yu Qian, the minister of the Ministry of War, supported Zhu Qiyu, King of Yin, to ascend the throne, organized a battle to defend Beijing, and defeated Oirat.
Emperor Jingtai was seriously ill, so Shi Heng, Xu Youzhen and others supported the restoration of the Retired Emperor Zhu Qizhen and changed the Yuan Dynasty to Tianshun. Yu Qian, who helped turn the tide, was unjustly killed, and the government and the public deplored him.
Emperor Jiajing succeeded to the throne as a vassal king and insisted on respecting his biological father, Xingxian Wang, as the emperor. He fiercely opposed Yang Tinghe and other court officials. More than a hundred officials were punished by the imperial cane, and the imperial power further overwhelmed the civilian officials.
During the Jiajing period, Japanese pirates invaded the southeast coast. Qi Jiguang recruited miners and farmers from Yiwu to form the Qi Family Army, created the Yuanyang Formation, and fought with Yu Dayou and others in Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong, basically putting an end to the Japanese invasion.
Emperor Longqing lifted part of the maritime ban and allowed private merchant ships to trade from Yuegang, Fujian. After that, a large inflow of silver from America and Japan profoundly changed the economy of the Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant, implemented the Kao Cheng method to rectify the official administration, cleared the country's land, promoted the one-whip method, and appointed Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang to guard the border. The national treasury once accumulated more than ten million taels of silver.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent troops to invade North Korea twice. Ming Dynasty responded to the request and sent troops to aid North Korea. Together with the North Korean military and civilians, it took seven years to finally defeat the Japanese army, but it also consumed a lot of national power.
After the establishment of Nurhaci, the Jin Dynasty rebelled against the Ming Dynasty. The Ming army divided into four groups to attack, but Hou Jin concentrated his forces and defeated each one. The situation in Liaodong changed from offensive to defensive.
Shaanxi suffered from severe drought for consecutive years, and hungry people and border soldiers who owed wages started to revolt one after another. Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other troops moved to various places to fight, and rumors of "welcoming King Chuang but not receiving food" spread throughout the Central Plains.
Li Zicheng captured Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself in Meishan, and Ming Dynasty perished. Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan Pass, surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. The Qing army entered the Pass, defeated the Dashun army and took control of Beijing.
Named Bowen, he was proficient in classics, history, astronomy and the art of war. He assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in pacifying the heroes, formulating the founding regulations, and was granted the title of Uncle Chengyi. The people regard him as a magical strategist who can make calculations.
Zhu Yuanzhang, a fellow countryman, led his troops to defeat Zhang Shicheng, and then led his army in the Northern Expedition to conquer Dadu, ending Yuan Dynasty's rule in the Central Plains. He was known as the "Great Wall" by Zhu Yuanzhang for his strict military management.
His surname was Ma, a Hui nationality in Yunnan. He later became an eunuch in the King Yan Mansion. He was given the surname Zheng because of his meritorious service during the reign of Emperor Jingnan. He led the fleet on seven voyages to the Western Ocean, which promoted exchanges between China and foreign countries and was a feat in the history of world navigation.
After Tumu Crisis, he rejected the idea of moving south, supported Emperor Jingtai, supervised the battle outside Deshengmen and defeated the Oirat, saving Ming Dynasty from crisis. After being unjustly killed after the incident of seizing the door, there is a saying that "I am not afraid of being shattered to pieces".
Named Yangming, Longchang came up with the idea that "the heart is reason", "unity of knowledge and action" and "conscience" after enlightenment, and founded the Yangming School of Mind. He also quelled the rebellion of King Ning and made military achievements with his civil servants, which had an influence as far away as Japan and Korea.
He was an honest and upright official and restrained the powerful. He once prepared a coffin and wrote the "Public Security Shu" to directly accuse Emperor Jiajing of neglecting government affairs and was imprisoned. After his death, his family had no money left and he was called "Haiqingtian" by the people.
Established the Qi Family Army, created the Yuanyang Formation, won nine battles and nine victories in Taizhou, and quelled the Japanese invasion in the southeast with Yu Dayou and others. Later, he guarded Jizhou for sixteen years, built the Great Wall enemy tower, and wrote "New Book of Ji Xiao".
During the Longqing and Wanli periods, he presided over the government for ten years, implemented the imperial examination method and the one-whip method, and rectified border defense, which led to a brief resurgence of Ming dynasty. After his death, his family was liquidated and his family was confiscated, and he was rehabilitated during the reign of Tianqi.
It took nearly thirty years to visit the mountains and fields, refer to more than 800 kinds of literature, and write the "Compendium of Materia Medica", which contains more than 1,800 kinds of medicines and is known as the "Grand Book of Oriental Medicines."
He became the Minister of the Ministry of Rites and the Bachelor of Dongge University. He co-translated the first six volumes of "Elements of Geometry" with Li Madou, presided over the compilation of "Chongzhen Almanac", and compiled "The Complete Book of Agricultural Affairs". He was a pioneer in connecting China and the West.
The representative works "The Peony Pavilion", "The Purple Hairpin", "The Handan" and "The Nanke" are collectively known as the "Four Dreams of Linchuan". "The Peony Pavilion" describes the deepest feelings with the words "I don't know where the love comes from, but it goes deeper and deeper".
The book "Tiangong Kaiwu" systematically records the production technology of agriculture and handicrafts, with a large number of illustrations, and is known as the "Encyclopedia of Chinese Crafts in the Seventeenth Century".
In more than thirty years, he traveled to more than twenty provinces today, inspecting mountains, rivers, landforms and karst caves. His diary was compiled into "Xu Xiake's Travels", which has both scientific and literary value.
Defeat Nurhaci with the lonely city of Ningyuan, and defeat Hong Taiji in the battle of Ningjin. Later, he was jealous of Emperor Chongzhen for killing Mao Wenlong without permission and was executed for collaborating with the enemy.
The leader of the peasant army in the late Ming Dynasty, nicknamed "King Chuang". In 1644, he established the Dashun regime in Xi'an. In the same year, he conquered Beijing and overthrew Ming Dynasty. However, he was defeated in Shanhaiguan and died the following year.