The Ming Dynasty
3 min readThe Ming Dynasty（1368-1644AD）
The Ming Dynasty （1368-1644AD）was the last native Chinese Dynasty.Bracketed in history by alien dynasties-the Yuan of the Mongols and the Qing of the Manchus-the Ming dynasty was purely Chinese，and its period of rule brought economic and social stability as well as cultural development.
The founder of the Ming dynasty，Zhu Yuanzhang （see Figure 13），also known by his reign name“Hongwu” ，came from a poor peasant familyin Fengyang County，Anhui Province.He depended on tending sheep for others when he was very young.He was orphaned at the age of 16 and he became a beggar.From then on hunger and coldness were his faithful friends.His parents and brothers all died in a plague.There was no one to look after him.To survive in the pitiless world，he had to enter a Buddhist temple to be a monk.Later，when the temple could not feed him，he left it and became a roaming monk，and managed to live by begging，a life similar to that of young Adolf Hitler.After Guo Zixing started a revolt against the Yuan，Zhu Yuanzhang joined him，and quickly distinguished himself as a brave and capable fighter.Before long he was made a general，and became the commander of the army after Guo Zixing died.He had been fighting Yuan troops north of the Changjiang River before he crossed it in 1355 AD and occupied Nanjing.Then he entered Zhejiang and expanded his base areas.
While Zhu Yuanzhang was growing powerful, many scholars from the landlord class came to help him, and he listened to their advice. He began to aspire to found a dynasty, forgetting about the interests of the peasants from whom he had emerged. After defeating rival rebel leaders, he brought South China under his control.
In 1367 he began the northern expedition.Supported and joint by the majority Han people，his forces first took Shandong，then Henan and Shaanxi.When the greater part of North China was cleared of Yuan troops，his army marched northward and was soon close to Dadu，now Beijing，the capital of the Yuan.The last Yuan emperor fled into the homeland of theMongols further north，and the Yuan dynasty came to an end in 1368AD.
Zhu Yuanzhang declared himself the emperor of the newdynasty-the Ming.In the same year，he made Nanjing his capital.The whole country was unified in 1387 with the recovery of Liaodong ，today’s Northeast of China.His reign was marked by the consolidation of imperial power，agrarian reconstruction，and intimidation of the landed and scholarly elite，a reflection of his commoner roots.In 1398 AD，after being the emperor for 30 years，Zhu Yuanzhang died at the age of 71.His eldest son had died before，so the throne was given to his grandson，Zhu Yunwen.
Zhu Yunwen，the grandson of the founder，took the throne when Zhu Yuanzhang died and the crowned prince died even earlier.But one of the young emperor’s uncles，Zhu Di，Zhu Yuanzhang’s fourth son，wanted to seize power.
Zhu Di was born on May 2nd，1360 AD.He grew up as a prince during the Ming Dynasty in a loving，caring environment.His father，Emperor Hongwu supplied nothing but the best education for his sons and eventually entitled them their own princedoms.Zhu Di was entitled as the Prince of Yan ，the area around Beijing.
When Zhu Di came to Beijing，the city had been devastated by famine and disease and was under threat of invasion from Mongolians from the north.He secured the northern borders and became an excellent field marshal in the process.Zhu Di had been very successful against the Mongols and impressed his father with his energy，risk taking ability，and leadership.Even Zhu Di’s troops praised his effectiveness-espe-cially when Emperor Hongwu rewarded them for their service.
