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Yuanzhang was born into poverty and spent part of his childhood wandering the country and several years begging for a Buddhist monastery. After a militia burned it down, he joined a rebel group. He quickly rose up in ranks and would later invade Nanjing. -
One of the greatest exports from the Ming Dynasty was its porcelain. The techniques used to create these pieces were developed in the Tang Dynasty, but were perfected by the Ming Dynasty. The Jingdezhen factory was made in 1368 to produce wares that were very popular in Europe and for the imperial court. -
Yuanzhang led the rebellion that would defeat the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. From there, he made Mamboing the capital of the newly announced Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty would live on for many years and would become well-known for their cultural and economic expansion, literature and drama, and porcelain. -
The Great Wall of Chins required a lot of maintenance in order to stay strong. However, by the time the Ming Dynasty came into power, the required significant repair. The Mongols were a constant threat so the Ming Dynasty used their money to maintain, strengthen, and grow the wall. -
Zhu Di comes into power after years of civil war against his nephew. After coming into power, he gave his assistant, Ma He, the new name of Zheng He. With this, in 1403, Yongle ordered the construction of the Treasure Fleet and placed Zheng He as the commander of the fleet. -
Zheng He's first voyage began in Taicang and they sailed westward to present day Vietnam. He met with the king to present him gifts to which he was very pleased with. From there, the fleet traveled across the Indian Ocean to India to trade spices and other goods as well as visit courts to create and build new relations. -
Emperor Yongle ordered the construction of the Forbidden City in 1406. After construction was complete, the capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. The Forbidden City then became the site for each emperor's residence and the new heart of the empire. -
Zheng He's second voyage was very similar to the first. They again traveled through the Indian to delegate with the rulers, offering gifts and showing China's peaceful intentions. However, Sri Lanka's king was not interested in China's attempts to which he plundered the fleet, ending with Zheng He capturing him and taking him to China. -
Zheng He's third voyage was a bit less memorable and impressive than his fourth voyage. This voyage included stops in India on his way out. On the way back, he stopped at Samudra, the most northern tip of Sumatra. -
On his most impressive voyage, Zheng He took 63 large ships and a crew of over 27,000 men to the Malay Peninsula, to Sri Lanka, Calicut in India, all the way to the Maldives, the Laccadive Islands, and to the Hormuz on the Persian Gulf. On this trip they traded silk, spices and other goods with other rulers. When he returned, he brought back representatives from other places for Yongle to meet and learn from. -
In this voyage, Zheng He revisited many of the same places he had been to before including Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and Eastern Africa. He brought letters and riches to the different rulers he met. He also sailed into new territory from the Somali coast down to Kenya before returning back to China. -
This was Zheng He's shortest voyage. He was ordered to return to China but before he returned, he was able to revisit Mogadishu and Thailand. He then came back to China with part of the fleet and ordered the rest of the fleet to continue the journey. -
Following 14 years of construction, the Forbidden City was complete. The Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing where he would live in the Forbidden City. Beijing has even continued be the capital of China today. -
In August of 1424 Emperor Yongle died from sickness. The next emperor took over and halted all expeditions. Zheng He continued to work on the royal court under the emperor working on building a large temple. -
Around 10 years after his sixth voyage, Zheng He was sent on his seventh and final voyage. He traveled from Asia to Arabia and to Eastern Africa before arriving in Calicut, India. During this journey he temporarily split from the fleet to make his hajj to Mecca. -
During his final voyage, Zheng He died from an illness. It isn't completely clear what happened to him, but according to a few resources he was buried at sea and his tomb is in China. Zheng He's voyages expanded China's political influence and created trade relations with other nations. -
During his first reign as Zhengtong Emperor, he was held captive during a battle. He was eventually released and put on house arrest. The emperor at the time died and there was no heir to the throne so Yingzong took the throne under the name Tianshun. He was emperor for the next seven years, making him the sixth and eight emperor of the Ming Dynasty. -
European Christian missionaries began to enter China and show the world what it was like. Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit priest from Italy, started the first Catholic Mission in 1583. He embraced the Chinese culture and language and translated Chinese literature into Latin. -
In 1642, rebels destroyed the Yellow River which caused a large flood. The flooding killed hundreds of thousands of people. Social order and smallpox broke out, allowing two rebel leaders to take control. They each took separate parts and declared their own dynasties. -
The Ming Dynasty became very corrupt by the end of its reign. Heavy taxes on peasants, the Little Ice Age, rebellions and riots, as well as the flooding from the Yellow River contributed to the fall of the Ming Dynasty. Finally, the last Ming emperor committed suicide and the new Qing Dynasty took over.