The Ming Dynasty Period

The Ming Dynasty Period, 1368 to 1644, restored native Chinese rule after the Yuan and is remembered for a massive program of maritime exploration under the eunuch admiral Zheng He, whose treasure fleets reached as far as East Africa decades before Europe's own age of oceanic exploration, before the dynasty turned inward and restricted overseas trade. The Ming rebuilt and extended the Great Wall in largely its present form, moved the capital to Beijing and constructed the Forbidden City, and presided over a long era of economic growth, urbanization and artistic achievement, particularly in porcelain and literature. The dynasty's final decades were undermined by fiscal crisis, factional court politics and peasant rebellion, and it fell in 1644 when the rebel leader Li Zicheng took Beijing, opening the way for the conquering Manchu Qing dynasty.