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1367
The Beginning...
Zhu Yuanzhang put an end to the Yuan Dynasty. He then moved his army to Jiqing where he set base, in order to control of China. Thus, the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is considered to be "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history" (Wikipedia). During this time trade flourished and influenced many countries in Asia as well as Europe. The traded things like tea, spices, and porcelain. Image: https://kknews.cc/history/65na2q.html -
1368
New Ruler
With the conquest of China, Zhu Yuanzhang became the first emperor of the dynasty when he defeated the Mongols. When he began his reign he took a new name, Hongwu meaning "Vast Magnificent Military." During his reign he named some of his family members as feudal princes. In addition, he made Nanjing the capital when he conquered it. -
1368
The Biggest Wall of Them All
In this year the construction of the Great Wall of China began. They built this 13,000 mile long wall in order to protect the Chinese Empire in order to keep out northern invaders. In response to threats from the north in the late 1500s, emperors began improving the wall using stone and clay bricks. The Great Wall of China took around 2,000 years to be completed. Image: http://www.canstockphoto.com/illustration/great-wall-china.html -
Period: 1368 to
The greatest, yet the harshest
The Ming Dynasty is known as one of the most stable and long lasting Chinese dynasties to have existed. Unfortunately, it is also known as one of the most totalitarian dynasty as a consequence of the Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. It began with the end of the Yuan Dynasty and ended with the Shun Dynasty. The trade that occurred during this time was beneficial because it caused there to be a net inflow of money which helped their economy greatly. -
1406
Imperial Palace
Later, the construction of the Forbidden City began which is now know as the Imperial Palace. In Chinese it is known as the Purple Forbidden City. This city became the capital of the empire and sat where the current capital, Beijing, is. The city was built to keep the emperor safe. Not only does it serve as a place for emperors, but it is also a ceremonial and political place. Now, it is a museum. Image: https://www.shutterstock.com/search/china+city?version=llv1&language=en -
1407
Vietnam is Ours... For Now
In this year the armies invaded what is now known as North Vietnam and started their fourth period of having control over them. The Ho Dynasty was ruling in Vietnam at this time and the Ming captured some members of this dynasty when they conquered. Eventually in 1428, an army led by Le Loi, emperor of Vietnam, fought back against the Ming army, defeating them, and finally getting control of Vietnam. -
1408
Books? Yes!
22,877 volumes which is about 370 million words is known as the Yongle Canon, the Chinese Encyclopedia. The emperor Yongle tasked some scholars to write these. It was finally finished after four years of working on it. It is the biggest encyclopedia in the world and it is fully handwritten. It provides an insight into ancient Chinese technology, philosophy, agriculture, etc. Image: http://www.junglekey.cn/search.php?query=Yongle+Encyclopedia&type=image&lang=zh®ion=cn&img=1&adv=1 -
1420
Thirteen
The 13 Tombs is known as one of the most important burial sites in China. 13 emperors were buried in this sacred place just outside of Beijing in Tianshou Mountain. Once the Imperial Palace was done, Yongle, the third Ming emperor, chose his burial site here and that is where the rest of the emperors decided to get buried too. The last emperor to be buried here was Chongzhen. Image: http://www.chinaexploration.com/TopAttractions/beijing-attractions/Imperial-Tombs-of-the-Ming-and-Qing-Dyna.html -
The End of the Ming Dynasty? Not just yet!
Chinese rebel Li Zicheng, known as "Dashing King," gathered some peasants with the goal of defeating the empire that the Ming Dynasty had established. He wanted to gain equality in land and having no grain taxes to pay. Thus, his fellow rebels and him decided to fight against the Ming army. Prior to this, he captured the city of Xiangyang and named himself King Xinshun creating his dynasty know as the Shun dynasty. Image: http://www.bestchinanews.com/History/50.html -
Rebels vs. Ming Army
With Li Zicheng in control of the rebels and getting more powerful, the Ming army was getting worried that they would get control of China. With that, the Ming's decided to flood Kaifeng, Yellow River, resulting in half of the population dying. The aim of this flood was to break the siege that the rebels, and Li Zicheng, had created. Due to this drastic event the rebels decided to make a come back. Image: http://historiarex.com/e/en/405-li-zicheng-ca-1606-1645-shun-dynasty -
Bye Bye Ming Dynasty
Following the act of the flood, the rebels with Li Zicheng went to Beijing to fight after the devastating event. The emperor, who was Chongzhen, was so scared that he decided to commit suicide by hanging himself in the Imperial Palace, Forbidden City. With that, the Ming Dynasty finally ended and Li Zicheng became the first emperor of the Shun Dynasty. After the suicide of Chongzhen, he was buried at the important site of the 13 tombs. Image: https://kknews.cc/history/ae3glav.html
