January 23, 1368: The Hongwu Emperor ascends to the throne of China, beginning the Ming Dynasty. The Dynasty lasted until 1644, covering 276 years of Chinese history. Zhu Yuanzhang became Hongwu Emperor and ruled over approximately 72,700,000 people. He ruled for 30 years and established his capital at Nanjing. He replaced Mongol bureaucrats with his own Han Chinese associates.
Dynastic rule began in China before 2700 BC with the Three August Ones and the Five Emperors ruling for over 600 years. Dynasties lasted for as few as 15 years and up to hundreds of years. They spanned the centuries from thousands of years BC to 1912 when the final dynasty – Qing – fell to rebellion and poor leadership as well as a changing landscape in world affairs.
The penultimate dynasty was responsible for building a vast military structure. There was a huge navy with many four-masted ships displacing as much as 1,500 tons as well as a standing army of 1,000,000 troops. By 1600 the population of China had reached 150,000,000 so the percentage of military to citizens was still less than 1%. The nation produced more than 100,000 tons of iron ore per annum or roughly 2 pounds per inhabitant. They also printed many books using movable typeface.
The founder of the Ming Dynasty had a legal code drawn up that was overseen by the Emperor himself. His code was comprehensive and easily understood. Loopholes were eradicated in order to prevent minor authorities from being able to erroneously interpret the law. The laws addressed family relationships and improved the treatment of slaves.
Hongwu embraced Confucianism, especially the elevation of agriculture and the parasitic view of merchants. Even so, commerce increased throughout the Ming Dynasty even in these early stages.
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Comments
The Chinese culture is old, and it is huge. This is a nice summary of an era for those of us who do not know as much about it as we should.
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