Ming Dynasty
The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) is the Chinese dynasty founded by Zhu Yuanzhang (temple name Taizu, reign title Hongwu; 1328–1398, reigned from 1368), the second of only two commoners to become emperor of China. Following the Mongol Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), the Ming marks an era of Chinese cultural restoration. The restoration, however, was by no means a replica of earlier Han Chinese models; it signified a time of reform and redefinition. The Ming reforms, in turn, strongly influenced Chinese government and society for about six hundred years. As the last native dynasty to rule China, the Ming inspired Chinese revolutionaries at the turn of the twentieth century who overthrew the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and founded China's first republic.
Political Changes
For the Ming founder Hongwu, the first urgent tasks were to unify the country and to consolidate his regime. During Hongwu's thirty-year reign, Ming authority was gradually extended into Outer Mongolia in the north, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces in the south, Sichuan in the west, Guizhou and Yunnan in the southwest, Hami in the northwest, and Manchuria in the northeast. By 1398, the Ming controlled the whole of modern China and had established tributary relations with neighboring regions.
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