History of the Ming dynasty

This article is about the history of the Ming dynasty. For the historical text and source book, see History of Ming.

A Ming porcelain jar with a scene of cavalrymen fighting, from the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (1522–1566), Guimet Museum, Paris.
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The Ming dynasty (23 January 1368 – 25 April 1644), officially the Great Ming, founded by the peasant rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang, known as the Hongwu Emperor, was an imperial dynasty of China. It was the successor to the Yuan dynasty and the predecessor of the short-lived Shun dynasty, which was in turn succeeded by the Qing dynasty. At its height, the Ming dynasty had a population of 160 million people,[1] while some assert the population could actually have been as large as 200 million.[2]

Ming rule saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of 1,000,000 troops.[3] Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China took place in previous dynasties, the size of the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng He in the 15th century surpassed all others in grandeur. There were enormous projects of construction, including the restoration of the Grand Canal, the restoration of the Great Wall as it is seen today, and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. The Ming dynasty is, for many reasons, generally known as a period of stable effective government. It had long been the most secure and unchallenged ruling house that China had known up until that time. Its institutions were generally preserved by the following Qing dynasty. The civil service dominated government to an unprecedented degree at this time.[4] During the Ming dynasty, the territory of China expanded (and in some cases also retracted) greatly. For a brief period during the Ming dynasty northern Vietnam was included in the Ming dynasty's territory.[5] Other important developments include the moving of the capital from Nanjing to Beijing.[6]

Outside of metropolitan areas, Ming China was divided into thirteen provinces for administrative purposes. These provinces were divided along traditional and to a degree also natural lines. These include Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Huguang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou.[7] These provinces were vast areas, each being at least as large as England.[8] The longest Ming reign was that of the Wanli Emperor, who ruled for forty-eight years. (1572–1620). The shortest was his son's reign, the Taichang Emperor, who ruled for only one month (in 1620).[9]

  1. ^ Fairbank, 128.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ebrey cambridge 197 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Ebrey et al., East Asia, 271.
  4. ^ Denis C Twitchett, Frederick W. Mote (The Cambridge History of China, Volume 8: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 2 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK: 1998) pg. 9
  5. ^ Denis C Twitchett, Frederick W. Mote (The Cambridge History of China, Volume 8: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 2 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK: 1998) pg. 10
  6. ^ Denis C Twitchett, Frederick W. Mote (The Cambridge History of China, Volume 8: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 2 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK: 1998) pg. 11
  7. ^ Denis C Twitchett, Frederick W. Mote (The Cambridge History of China, Volume 8: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 2 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK: 1998) pg. 12
  8. ^ Denis C Twitchett, Frederick W. Mote (The Cambridge History of China, Volume 8: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 2 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK: 1998) pg. 14
  9. ^ Denis C Twitchett, Frederick W. Mote (The Cambridge History of China, Volume 8: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 2 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK: 1998) pg. 16