Ming Dynasty 1368-1644
Last Updated 11/17/2007

Founding
Ming Dynasty was founded by a Han Chinese peasant.
This former Buddhist monk became a rebel army leader.
He is known as Hongwu Emperor.



Hongwu 1st Ming Emperor
Hongwu created laws that improved the peasant life.
He kept the land tax low.
He kept the granaries stocked to guard against famine.
He maintained the dikes on the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers.
He lacked the vision to push trade.
He felt agriculture should be the country's source of wealth.
Trade was ignoble and parasitic.

Capitals
First capital was at Nanjiing.
Nanjiing means "southern capital."
Second capital was at Beijing (Peking).

Religion
Daoism
Confucianism
Buddhism



Zenith of Power 1400-1425 AD
Chinese armies reconquered Annam (northern Vietnam).
Kept the Mongols in check.
Chinese fleet sailed the China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Sailed to the east coast of Africa.
Asian nations sent tribute to the Chinese emperor.
Grand Canal was expanded for domestic trade.
Ming Dynasty was the first to accept foreigners into their country.
Portuguese, Dutch, English, and Spanish were allowed in.

Accomplishments
A great cultural development of the Ming Dynasty was that of the novel.
These novels developed from the writings of Chinese story tellers.
they were printed using movable type.
They were written in the everyday language, not the language of the nobility.
They were divided into chapters at the points where the storyteller would have stopped to collect money.
Wood-cut and block-printing of art also became more popular at this time.
Blue and white porcelain became very popular.
Encyclopedias were written containing important information from a variety of fields, such as geography, music and medicine. Dictionaries were also written.
The Ming produced thousands of toms of iron a year.
imperial Palace was built



Great Wall of China
The building of the Great Wall was another accomplishment.
Great Walls had been built in earlier times.
Three main Chinese dynasties built the Great Wall of China.
The Qin (221 BC-207 BC), Han (206 BC - 220 AD) and Ming (1368 AD-1644 AD).
Most of what is seen today was either built or repaired by the Ming.
The brick and granite work was enlarged.
The watch towers were redesigned and cannons were placed along the wall.
The Chinese call it “Wan Li Chang Cheng” which means “Wall of 10,000 Li”. (10,000 li= 5,000 km)
The Great Wall is 7,200 km long.
Height wise, it is 4.5m to 9m.
Depth wise, it is 4.5m to 8m.
The entire structure was built by hand using stone, bricks, soil, sand, straw, wood, or clay.

Dragons
Dragons occupy a very important postion in Chinese mythology.
It shows up in arts, literature, poetry, architecture, songs, and many aspects of the Chinese conscience.
The origin of Chinese dragons is unknown, but centainly pre-dates the written history.

Money
From the very beginning of the Ming Dynasty, money was a problem.
At first, paper currency was used.
Inflation made the currency worth 1/70 of its original value.
This led to a return to the use of copper coins.
The government did not make enough coins and counterfeiting became a problem.
The provinces were required to mint their own coins.
Some of them added lead to the coins, which depleted their value.
Due to the abundance of counterfeit coins, their value again declined.

Beginning of Isolation
In 1433 AD, the Chinese decided to end the voyages.
They withdraw their ships, and forbid private overseas trading.
The cost of these large-scale expeditions was prohibitive.
There was a preoccupation with northern defenses against the Mongols.
Conservative officials found the concept of expansion and commercial ventures alien to Chinese ideas of government.
Opposition at court also may have been a contributing factor.
There was a belief among the Chinese that they had achieved the most satisfactory civilization on earth.
Nothing foreign was needed or welcome.

Decline of the Ming
Pressure from the powerful Neo-Confucian bureaucracy led to the reurn of the farming society.
Long wars with the Mongols.
Incursions by the Japanese into Korea.
Harassment of Chinese coastal cities by the Japanese in the sixteenth century weakened Ming rule.
Fighting against the Manchus depleted the resources of the Ming.
By 1643, there was no money anywhere: all the treasuries in the country were bare.
In 1644, the Manchus took Beijing from the north.
The Manchus became masters of north China.
They established the last imperial dynasty, the Qing (1644- 1911).

Ming Emperors

Bibliography
"Ming Dynasty," Retrieved 17 Nov. 2007 fromhttp://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/later_imperial_china/ming.html.

"The Chinese Regain Power,"  July 1987.  Retrieved 17 Nov. 2007 from http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID%2Bcn0021).