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Ming dynasty
1368–1644· Empire, kingdom or state· Asia
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
A Chinese dynasty, founded by a peasant-born rebel, that ruled China for nearly 300 years after driving out the Mongols.
See it on the History map →What happened
Zhu Yuanzhang, born poor, led rebels who drove out the Mongol Yuan in 1368 and became the Hongwu Emperor. His son, the Yongle Emperor, moved the capital to Beijing and built the Forbidden City (1406–20). The Ming sent Zheng He's fleets, rebuilt the Great Wall, and helped Korea repel Japan's invasions of 1592–98. Blue-and-white porcelain sold worldwide, paid for with silver from Japan and Spanish America. Rebels and the Manchus toppled it in 1644.
Why it matters
It shaped the China many people picture today, from the Great Wall and Forbidden City to porcelain, and its demand for silver helped knit the first global economy.
How we know
The official Ming History; the 'Veritable Records' of each reign; surviving buildings in Beijing; Ming porcelain found in shipwrecks and sites worldwide.
Still debated
Why the Ming fell is debated: fiscal crisis, factional politics, Little Ice Age droughts and famines, or swings in silver imports.
Inside this (1)
Connections (5)
▸Great Wall of China was rebuilt in stone by Ming dynastyWell documented
The connection
Earlier walls were mostly rammed earth. After Mongols captured a Ming emperor in 1449, the Ming spent heavily on frontier defense, and from the late 1400s rebuilt key sections in brick and stone with watchtowers. Most of the wall visitors see today, such as Badaling and Mutianyu near Beijing, is Ming work.
When and how
Northern China, especially the 1470s–1600s; generals like Qi Jiguang oversaw building near Beijing in the 1560s–80s.
How we know
Dated, inscribed bricks and stone tablets on the wall; Ming military records; a 2009 Chinese survey measuring the Ming walls at about 8,850 km (5,500 miles).
Debates and open questions
Whether the wall was worth its huge cost is debated: raiders still broke through, and in 1644 the Manchus entered when a Ming general opened a gate.
▸Mongol Empire (Genghis Khan) was expelled from China by Ming dynastyWell documented
The connection
Mongol Yuan rule in China weakened in the 1300s through famines, Yellow River floods, runaway paper-money inflation and succession fights. Rebel armies such as the Red Turbans rose up. One rebel leader, Zhu Yuanzhang, founded the Ming and took the Yuan capital Dadu (Beijing) in 1368. The Mongols fled to the steppe, where they remained a threat.
When and how
China, 1351–1368; Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, took Dadu in 1368, and the last Yuan emperor fled north to Mongolia.
How we know
The Yuan History compiled under the Ming; Ming court records; Korean records, since Goryeo watched the change closely.
Debates and open questions
How much resentment of foreign Mongol rule, versus economic collapse and natural disasters, drove the revolt is debated.
▸Ming dynasty sent out Zheng He's treasure fleetsWell documented
The connection
The Yongle Emperor, who seized the throne in 1402, sent Zheng He's fleets to display Ming power, enroll foreign rulers as tribute-paying vassals and gain trade goods. The official Ming History adds that he hoped to find his deposed nephew, who had vanished. Later officials ended the costly voyages, and the Ming restricted private overseas trade.
When and how
Ports near Nanjing and in Fujian, 1405–1433; seven voyages, six under Yongle and the last under his grandson, the Xuande Emperor.
How we know
The Ming History's biography of Zheng He; court records; the inscribed stones Zheng He erected describing his voyages.
Debates and open questions
Why the Ming stopped is debated: cost, Mongol threats in the north, or officials' hostility to court eunuchs; a story says the voyage records were burned.
▸Ming dynasty fell to Qing dynastyWell documented
The connection
By the 1640s the Ming were crippled by famine, debt, falling silver imports and peasant revolts. In April 1644 rebel leader Li Zicheng captured Beijing and the last Ming emperor hanged himself. Ming general Wu Sangui let Manchu armies through the Great Wall at Shanhai Pass; they drove out Li and took Beijing. Southern Ming loyalists held out until 1662.
When and how
Northern China, 1644, from Beijing to Shanhai Pass; the Chongzhen Emperor, Li Zicheng, Wu Sangui and the Manchu regent Dorgon.
How we know
Ming and Qing official histories, private diaries, and reports by Korean envoys document the collapse and conquest in detail.
Debates and open questions
How much the cold and droughts of the 'Little Ice Age' and silver shortages, versus government failure, caused the Ming collapse is debated.
▸Joseon dynasty of Korea was a close ally and tributary of Ming dynastyWell documented
The connection
Joseon's founder sought Ming recognition, and Korea sent regular tribute missions to Beijing, receiving gifts, trade and royal investiture in return. Joseon ran its own internal affairs. When Japan invaded Korea in 1592, Ming armies fought alongside Korean forces until 1598. Many Joseon elites stayed loyal to the Ming's memory after it fell in 1644.
When and how
Hanyang (Seoul) and Beijing, from 1392 to 1644; Ming troops fought in Korea during the Imjin War, 1592–1598.
How we know
Joseon's Sillok annals and records of embassies to Beijing; Ming court records; travel diaries of Korean envoys.
Debates and open questions
How to describe the tribute system is debated: a hierarchy of subordination, a ritual diplomacy that protected Korea's autonomy, or both.