History Atlas

How The Past Is Known
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Historical Figure

Hongwu Emperor

Also Known As Zhu Chongba · Zhu Yuanzhang · Taizu (temple name)
Monarchs and Rulers

The Hongwu Emperor, born Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398), was the founder and first emperor of China's Ming dynasty, reigning from 1368 until his death. Born into a poor peasant family and orphaned young, he rose through the ranks of a rebel movement against the collapsing Mongol Yuan dynasty to become its leading commander, ultimately capturing the Yuan capital and proclaiming a new dynasty in 1368. As emperor he rebuilt China's administrative and legal systems, restored Han Chinese rule after nearly a century of Mongol governance, and centralized imperial power through often brutal purges of rivals and officials, establishing patterns of governance that shaped the Ming dynasty for the rest of its nearly three-century existence.

Facts
Birth Year
1328 1
Death Year
1398 1
Role
Founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398 1
Birth Date
1328-10-21 1
Death Date
1398-06-24 1
Birthplace
Hao Prefecture, Henan Jiangbei 1
Death Place
Ming Palace, Zhili (Nanjing) 1
Classification
Gender
Male 1
Role
Role (category)
Monarch / Royalty 1
FAQs

Was the Hongwu Emperor ever a Buddhist monk?

Yes. He entered a Buddhist monastery after his family died in a plague and lived as a novice monk.

Yes. After his parents and one of his brothers died in a plague epidemic in 1344, Zhu Yuanzhang entered a local Buddhist monastery. For the next three years he wandered as a novice monk, begging for alms and learning the landscape and people of eastern Henan and western Anhui. He returned to the monastery in 1348 and stayed four years, during which he learned to read and write and studied the basics of Buddhism.
Connections

In Era

The Post-Classical and Medieval Period, Eras
Source Wikipedia: Hongwu Emperor
In the Other Atlases

Originated In

Fengyang

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Hongwu Emperor
Wikipedia
  • Infobox, Born field
    Born Zhu Chongba 21 October 1328 in Hao Prefecture, Henan Jiangbei
  • Infobox, Died field
    Died 24 June 1398 (aged 69) Ming Palace, Zhili
  • Lead paragraph
    personal name Zhu Yuanzhang
  • Infobox, Temple name field
    Taizu
  • Hongwu Emperor: Gender
    The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 - 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
  • In Era: The Post-Classical and Medieval Period, lead paragraph, lifespan
    Infobox: born 21 October 1328efn-lr |21 October 1328 is the Julian calendar equivalent of t; died 1398-6-24
View the Source
Wikidata: Hongwu Emperor
Wikidata Q9957, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source

Take a Related Quiz

Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.