
The Hongwu Emperor, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
As famine, plagues and peasant revolts increased across China proper in the 14th century, Zhu Yuanzhang rose to command the forces that conquered China proper, ending the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and forcing the remnant Yuan court (known as Northern Yuan in historiography) to retreat to the Mongolian Plateau. Zhu claimed the Mandate of Heaven and established the Ming dynasty at the beginning of 1368 and occupied the Yuan capital, Khanbaliq (present-day Beijing), with his army that same year.
The emperor abolished the position of chancellor, drastically reduced the role of court eunuchs, and adopted draconian measures to address corruption. He encouraged agriculture, reduced taxes, incentivized the cultivation of new land, and established laws protecting peasants' property. He also confiscated land held by large estates and forbade private slavery. At the same time, he banned free movement in the empire and assigned hereditary occupational categories to households. Through these measures, Zhu Yuanzhang attempted to rebuild a country that had been ravaged by war, limit and control its social groups, and instill orthodox values in his subjects, eventually creating a strictly regimented society of self-sufficient farming communities.
The emperor built schools at all levels and increased the study of the classics as well as books on morality. Neo-Confucian ritual manuals were distributed and the civil service examination system for recruitment into the bureaucracy was reintroduced.
Ming dynasty
References
- Andrew, Anita N.; Rapp, John A. (2000), Autocracy and China's Rebel Founding Emperors: Comparing Chairman Mao and Ming Taizu, Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 978-0-8476-9580-5.
- Atwell, William S. (2002), 'Time, Money, and the Weather: Ming China and the 'Great Depression' of the Mid-Fifteenth Century', The Journal of Asian Studies, 61 (1): 83โ113, doi:10.2307/2700190, JSTOR 2700190.
- โโโ (2005). 'Another Look at Silver Imports into China, ca. 1635-1644'. Journal of World History. 16 (4): 467โ489. ISSN 1045-6007. JSTOR 20079347.
- Broadberry, Stephen (2014). 'CHINA, EUROPE AND THE GREAT DIVERGENCE: A STUDY IN HISTORICAL NATIONAL ACCOUNTING, 980โ1850' (PDF). Economic History Association. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- Brook, Timothy (1998), The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China, Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-22154-3.
- Chang, Michael G. (2007), A Court on Horseback: Imperial Touring & the Construction of Qing Rule, 1680โ1785, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-02454-0.
- Chen, Gilbert (2 July 2016). 'Castration and Connection: Kinship Organization among Ming Eunuchs'. Ming Studies. 2016 (74): 27โ47. doi:10.1080/0147037X.2016.1179552. ISSN 0147-037X. S2CID 152169027.
- Crawford, Robert B. (1961). 'Eunuch Power in the Ming Dynasty'. T'oung Pao. 49 (3): 115โ148. doi:10.1163/156853262X00057. ISSN 0082-5433. JSTOR 4527509.
- 'Definition of Ming'. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
- Dennerline, Jerry P. (1985). 'The Southern Ming, 1644โ1662. By Lynn A. Struve'. The Journal of Asian Studies. 44 (4): 824โ25. doi:10.2307/2056469. JSTOR 2056469. S2CID 162510092.
- Dillon, Michael (1999). China's Muslim Hui community: migration, settlement and sects. Richmond: Curzon Press. ISBN 978-0-7007-1026-3. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- Ebrey, Patricia Buckley; Walthall, Anne; Palais, James B. (2006), East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, ISBN 978-0-618-13384-0.
- Ebrey, Patricia Buckley (1999), The Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-66991-7.
- Elman, Benjamin A. (2000). A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-92147-4.
- Elman, Benjamin A. (1991). 'Political, Social, and Cultural Reproduction via Civil Service Examinations in Late Imperial China' (PDF). The Journal of Asian Studies. 50 (1): 7โ28. doi:10.2307/2057472. ISSN 0021-9118. JSTOR 2057472. OCLC 2057472. S2CID 154406547.
- Engelfriet, Peter M. (1998), Euclid in China: The Genesis of the First Translation of Euclid's Elements in 1607 & Its Reception Up to 1723, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-10944-5.
- Fairbank, John King; Goldman, Merle (2006), China: A New History (2nd ed.), Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-01828-0.
- Fan, C. Simon (2016). Culture, Institution, and Development in China: The economics of national character. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-24183-6.
- Farmer, Edward L., ed. (1995). Zhu Yuanzhang and Early Ming Legislation: The Reordering of Chinese Society Following the Era of Mongol Rule. Brill. ISBN 9004103910.
- Frank, Andre Gunder (1998). ReORIENT: Global Economy in the Asian Age. Berkeley; London: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-21129-2.
- Gascoigne, Bamber (2003), The Dynasties of China: A History, New York: Carroll & Graf, ISBN 978-0-7867-1219-9.
- Geiss, James (1988), 'The Cheng-te reign, 1506โ1521', in Mote, Frederick W.; Twitchett, Denis (eds.), The Cambridge History of China: Volume 7, The Ming Dynasty, 1368โ1644, Part 1, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 403โ439, ISBN 978-0-521-24332-2.
- Goldstein, Melvyn C. (1997), The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet and the Dalai Lama, Berkeley: University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-21951-9.
- Hargett, James M. (1985), 'Some Preliminary Remarks on the Travel Records of the Song Dynasty (960โ1279)', Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews, 7 (1/2): 67โ93, doi:10.2307/495194, JSTOR 495194.
- Hartwell, Robert M. (1982), 'Demographic, Political, and Social Transformations of China, 750โ1550', Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 42 (2): 365โ442, doi:10.2307/2718941, JSTOR 2718941.
- Herman, John E. (2007). Amid the Clouds and Mist: China's Colonization of Guizhou, 1200โ1700 (illustrated ed.). Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 978-0674025912.
- Ho, Ping-ti (1959), Studies on the Population of China: 1368โ1953, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-85245-7.
- โโโ (1962). The Ladder of Success in Imperial China. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231894968.
- Hopkins, Donald R. (2002). The Greatest Killer: Smallpox in History. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-35168-1.
- Hucker, Charles O. (1958), 'Governmental Organization of The Ming Dynasty', Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 21: 1โ66, doi:10.2307/2718619, JSTOR 2718619.
- Jiang, Yonglin (2011). The Mandate of Heaven and The Great Ming Code. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0295801667.
- Kinney, Anne Behnke (1995). Chinese Views of Childhood. University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-1681-0. JSTOR j.ctt6wr0q3.
- Kolmaลก, Josef (1967), Tibet and Imperial China: A Survey of Sino-Tibetan Relations Up to the End of the Manchu Dynasty in 1912: Occasional Paper 7, Canberra: The Australian National University, Centre of Oriental Studies.
- Kuttner, Fritz A. (1975), 'Prince Chu Tsai-Yรผ's Life and Work: A Re-Evaluation of His Contribution to Equal Temperament Theory' (PDF), Ethnomusicology, 19 (2): 163โ206, doi:10.2307/850355, JSTOR 850355, S2CID 160016226, archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2020.
- Langlois, John D., Jr. (1988), 'The Hung-wu reign, 1368โ1398', in Mote, Frederick W.; Twitchett, Denis (eds.), The Cambridge History of China: Volume 7, The Ming Dynasty, 1368โ1644, Part 1, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 107โ181, ISBN 978-0-521-24332-2.
- Lane, Kris (30 July 2019). 'Potosรญ: the mountain of silver that was the first global city'. Aeon. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- Leslie, Donald D. (1998). 'The Integration of Religious Minorities in China: The Case of Chinese Muslims' (PDF). www.islamicpopulation.com. The 59th George E. Morrison Lecture in Ethnology. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 December 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- Lipman, Jonathan N. (1998), Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in Northwest China, Seattle: University of Washington Press.
- Maddison, Angus (2006). Development Centre Studies The World Economy Volume 1: A Millennial Perspective and Volume 2: Historical Statistics. Paris: OECD Publishing. ISBN 978-92-64-02262-1.
- Manthorpe, Jonathan (2008). Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-230-61424-6.
- Naquin, Susan (2000). Peking: Temples and City Life, 1400โ1900. Berkeley: University of California press. p. xxxiii. ISBN 978-0-520-21991-5.
- Needham, Joseph (1959), Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 3, Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth, Cambridge University Press, Bibcode:1959scc3.book.....N.
- โโโ (1965), Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 2, Mechanical Engineering, Cambridge University Press.
- โโโ (1971), Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics, Cambridge University Press.
- โโโ (1984), Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 6, Biology and Biological Technology, Part 2: Agriculture, Cambridge University Press.
- โโโ (1987), Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 7, Military Technology; the Gunpowder Epic, Cambridge University Press.
- Ness, John Philip (1998). The Southwestern Frontier During the Ming Dynasty. University of Minnesota.
- Norbu, Dawa (2001), China's Tibet Policy, Richmond: Curzon, ISBN 978-0-7007-0474-3.
- Perdue, Peter C. (2000), 'Culture, History, and Imperial Chinese Strategy: Legacies of the Qing Conquests', in van de Ven, Hans (ed.), Warfare in Chinese History, Leiden: Koninklijke Brill, pp. 252โ287, ISBN 978-90-04-11774-7.
- Plaks, Andrew. H (1987). 'Chin P'ing Mei: Inversion of Self-cultivation'. The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel: Ssu Ta Ch'i-shu. Princeton University Press: 55โ182. JSTOR j.ctt17t75h5.
- Robinson, David M. (1999), 'Politics, Force and Ethnicity in Ming China: Mongols and the Abortive Coup of 1461', Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 59 (1): 79โ123, doi:10.2307/2652684, JSTOR 2652684.
- โโโ (2000), 'Banditry and the Subversion of State Authority in China: The Capital Region during the Middle Ming Period (1450โ1525)', Journal of Social History, 33 (3): 527โ563, doi:10.1353/jsh.2000.0035, S2CID 144496554.
- โโโ (2008), 'The Ming court and the legacy of the Yuan Mongols' (PDF), in Robinson, David M. (ed.), Culture, Courtiers, and Competition: The Ming Court (1368โ1644), Harvard University Asia Center, pp. 365โ421, ISBN 978-0-674-02823-4, archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2016, retrieved 3 May 2016.
- โโโ (1 August 1995). 'Notes on Eunuchs in Hebei During the Mid-Ming Period'. Ming Studies. 1995 (1): 1โ16. doi:10.1179/014703795788763645. ISSN 0147-037X.
- โโโ (2020). Ming China and its Allies: Imperial Rule in Eurasia (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 8โ9. ISBN 978-1108489225.
- Schafer, Edward H. (1956), 'The Development of Bathing Customs in Ancient and Medieval China and the History of the Floriate Clear Palace', Journal of the American Oriental Society, 76 (2): 57โ82, doi:10.2307/595074, JSTOR 595074.
- Shepherd, John Robert (1993). Statecraft and Political Economy on the Taiwan Frontier, 1600โ1800. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2066-3.
- Shi, Zhiyu (2002). Negotiating ethnicity in China: citizenship as a response to the state. Routledge studies โ China in transition. Vol. 13 (illustrated ed.). Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-415-28372-4. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- So, Billy Kee Long (2012). The Economy of Lower Yangzi Delta in Late Imperial China: Connecting Money, Markets, and Institutions. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-50896-4.
- Song, Yingxing (1966), T'ien-Kung K'ai-Wu: Chinese Technology in the Seventeenth Century, translated with preface by E-Tu Zen Sun and Shiou-Chuan Sun, University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.
- Spence, Jonathan D. (1999), The Search For Modern China (2nd ed.), New York: W. W. Norton, ISBN 978-0-393-97351-8.
- Sperling, Elliot (2003), 'The 5th Karma-pa and some aspects of the relationship between Tibet and the Early Ming', in McKay, Alex (ed.), The History of Tibet: Volume 2, The Medieval Period: c. AD 850โ1895, the Development of Buddhist Paramountcy, New York: Routledge, pp. 473โ482, ISBN 978-0-415-30843-4.
- Swope, Kenneth M. (2011). '6 To catch a tiger The Eupression of the Yang Yinglong Miao uprising (1578-1600) as a case study in Ming military and borderlands history'. In Aung-Thwin, Michael Arthur; Hall, Kenneth R. (eds.). New Perspectives on the History and Historiography of Southeast Asia: Continuing Explorations. Routledge. ISBN 978-1136819643.
- Taagepera, Rein (September 1997). 'Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia'. International Studies Quarterly. 41 (3): 475โ504. doi:10.1111/0020-8833.00053. JSTOR 2600793.
- The Great Ming Code / Da Ming lu. University of Washington Press. 2012. ISBN 978-0295804002.* Tsai, Shih-shan Henry (1996). The Eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty. Albany: SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2687-6.
- โโโ (2001). Perpetual Happiness: The Ming Emperor Yongle. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-80022-6.
- 'Tsunami among world's worst disasters'. BBC News. 30 December 2004. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
- Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). 'East-West Orientation of Historical Empires'. Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2). ISSN 1076-156X. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- Wang, Gungwu (1998), 'Ming Foreign Relations: Southeast Asia', in Twitchett, Denis; Mote, Frederick W. (eds.), The Cambridge History of China: Volume 8, The Ming Dynasty, 1368โ1644, Part 2, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 301โ332, ISBN 978-0-521-24333-9.
- Wang, Jiawei; Nyima, Gyaincain (1997), The Historical Status of China's Tibet, Beijing: China Intercontinental Press, ISBN 978-7-80113-304-5.
- Wang, Yuan-kang (2011). 'The Ming Dynasty (1368โ1644)'. Harmony and War: Confucian Culture and Chinese Power Politics. Columbia University Press. doi:10.7312/wang15140. ISBN 9780231151405. JSTOR 10.7312/wang15140.
- Wang, Richard G. (2012). The Ming Prince and Daoism: Institutional Patronage of an Elite. OUP USA. ISBN 978-0-19-976768-7.
- White, William Charles (1966), The Chinese Jews, Volume 1, New York: Paragon Book Reprint Corporation.
- 'Who invented the toothbrush and when was it invented?'. The Library of Congress. 4 April 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2008.
- Wills, John E., Jr. (1998), 'Relations with Maritime Europe, 1514โ1662', in Twitchett, Denis; Mote, Frederick W. (eds.), The Cambridge History of China: Volume 8, The Ming Dynasty, 1368โ1644, Part 2, Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 333โ375, ISBN 978-0-521-24333-9.
- Wong, H.C. (1963), 'China's Opposition to Western Science during Late Ming and Early Ch'ing', Isis, 54 (1): 29โ49, doi:10.1086/349663, S2CID 144136313.
- Wylie, Turrell V. (2003), 'Lama Tribute in the Ming Dynasty', in McKay, Alex (ed.), The History of Tibet: Volume 2, The Medieval Period: c. AD 850โ1895, the Development of Buddhist Paramountcy, New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-30843-4.
- Xie, Xiaohui (2013). '5 From Woman's Fertility to Masculine Authority: The Story of the White Emperor Heavenly Kings in Western Hunan'. In Faure, David; Ho, Ts'ui-p'ing (eds.). Chieftains into Ancestors: Imperial Expansion and Indigenous Society in Southwest China (illustrated ed.). UBC Press. ISBN 978-0774823715.
- Xu, Xin (2003). The Jews of Kaifeng, China : history, culture, and religion. Jersey City, NJ: KTAV Publishing House. ISBN 978-0-88125-791-5.
- Yaniv, Zohara; Bachrach, Uriel (2005). Handbook of Medicinal Plants. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-1-56022-995-7.
- Yuan, Zheng (1994), 'Local Government Schools in Sung China: A Reassessment', History of Education Quarterly, 34 (2): 193โ213, doi:10.2307/369121, JSTOR 369121, S2CID 144538656.
- Zhang Tingyu; et al. (1739). History of Mingย (in Chinese) โ via Wikisource.
- Zhang, Wenxian (2008). 'The Yellow Register Archives of Imperial Ming China'. Libraries & the Cultural Record. 43 (2): 148โ175. doi:10.1353/lac.0.0016. ISSN 1932-4855. JSTOR 25549473. S2CID 201773710.
- Zhang, Yuxin; Xiang, Hongjia (2002). Testimony of History. China: China Intercontinental Press. ISBN 978-7-80113-885-9.
- Zhou, Shao Quan (1990). 'ๆไปฃๆ้ฅฐๆข่ฎบ' [On the Costumes of Ming Dynasty]. ๅฒๅญฆๆๅ (in Chinese) (6): 34โ40.