The Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644, founded by Zhu Yuanzhang, who took the reign title Hongwu Emperor after leading the rebellion that ended Mongol Yuan rule. The dynasty made Nanjing its first capital before the Yongle Emperor moved the seat of government to Beijing in 1403, where it remained the primary capital through the dynasty's end. Described as the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the ethnic Han people, Ming China built a standing army that exceeded one million troops, constructed the Forbidden City, restored the Grand Canal, and connected and fortified the Great Wall into the form largely surviving today; the Yongle Emperor also sponsored the explorer Zheng He's seven major maritime expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The population grew from about 65 million in 1393 to roughly 160 million by 1600. Beijing fell to rebel forces under Li Zicheng on 25 April 1644, and the last Ming emperor took his own life; the Manchu-led Qing dynasty went on to conquer the remaining Ming territories.
Facts
Government Type Government type (class) Classification
Status (Extant or Former) FAQs
Why did the Ming dynasty fall?
Court factions, corruption, overspending and peasant rebellion left the Ming unable to resist the Manchu invasion of 1644.
The Ming emperors were eventually beset by the same old problems that had troubled earlier regimes: court factions, infighting and corruption, together with government overspending and a disenchanted peasantry whose discontent fuelled rebellions. Impoverished by these troubles, the Ming could not resist the invasion of the Manchus, who established the Qing dynasty from 1644.
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In Era
Source Wikipedia: Ming dynasty
Source Wikipedia: Ming dynasty
Preceded By
Source Wikipedia: Ming dynasty
Succeeded By
Source Wikipedia: Ming dynasty
In the Other Atlases
Government Type
Also in Society and Culture Atlas: the government type of this subject.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Ming dynasty
WikipediaIntroduction
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644
Infobox
Government: Absolute monarchy
Ming dynasty: Status
Beijing fell to rebel forces under Li Zicheng on 25 April 1644, and the last Ming emperor took his own life; the Manchu-led Qing dynasty went on to conquer the remaining Ming territories.
- Preceded By: Yuan dynasty
- Succeeded By: The Qing Dynasty
In Era: The Post-Classical and Medieval Period, lead paragraph and infobox, existence dates
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.
In Era: The Early Modern Period, lead paragraph and infobox, existence dates
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.
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