- The founder of the Ming Dynasty
- peasant who led the rebellion against Mongols
- created a military system that stopped commanders from having excessive power. They also distributed land to the poor , and introduced paper money.
- They emphasized Confucian principles and implemented changes to the fishing industry and agriculture that resulted in the growth of trade and an increase in number of people
Hongwu was the one to oversee a revival of Han Chinese power and establish a dynasty which saw unimaginable economic growth as well as a boom of art. A brutal ruler who centralised the government and overhauled the failing agriculture system of China,
Hongwu brought stability to China mostly through fighting the civil war and creating the Dynasty. The Ming concentrated on stabilizing the system, though in some instances at the expense of some liberty and lives for certain citizens. He also engaged in large scales of land reform as well as actions against estates with large amounts of land as well as trying to make villages of peasants be in line with an imaginary ideal. In China’s history, never before was travel as restricted as in the Ming but at the same time, Hongwu fixed roads and initiated the essential reforms that would be followed by his death the movement for reform and travel.
Childhood and early life
Hongwu’s story is an iconic fairytale about rags-to-riches. The rags portion could be long and gruelling, but when he reached the wealth part, he was one of the richest and most powerful men on the planet for the next 30 years. The 1328 year old was born, in Anhui province in eastern China and referred to as Zhu Yuanzhang, the future family of the emperor’s peasants suffered from extremely low income, and his parents frequently found themselves in need of moving home in order to avoid the rent-collectors.
In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang joined a group of rebels. Here, Zhu showed his natural ability in leadership. He eventually rose to become the second-in-command. The bandit leader known as Kuo Tzuhsing, who in 1352 led a massive force to strike and capture Hao-chou and was angry with Zhu, but was able to reconcile after Zhu got married to Kuo’s adopted daughter who was ma, who was the daughter of the prince Ma. It was in 1353 that Zhu took over Ch’u-chou (now Ch’u District, which is located in Anhwei Province, an area west of Nanking). Zhu continued to be awarded important commissions and gained an audience, many of whom became official under the first Ming dynasty. When Kuo Tzu-hsing’s death occurred around 1355 Zhu was appointed the leader of the rebellion army.
In defeating rival national leaders Zhu declared himself the emperor in 1368, setting up his capital in Nanjing and taking the title of Hongwu as his reigning title. He sacked the previous Yuan emperor out of China the following year, and restored the nation through 1382. His regime was a dictatorship He eliminated the post of the central chancellor, and made the next levels of the administration be directly accountable to the president. He banned eunuchs from participation in the administration and designated civilians to manage the military’s affairs.
In The Overthrow of the Yuan Dynasty
Under the control of Zhu, Zhu appointed two generals Hsu Ta, and the Ch’ang Yu’ch’un to lead troops to fight the northern. In 1368, Zhu declared himself to be the Ming Emperor in Nanjing and decided to adopt “Hongwu” (Vastly Martial) as the title of his reign. He employed the slogan ‘Exiling from the Mongols in returning Hua (Hua ) as an appeal to get people in the Han Chinese into supporting him. The battles in the north proved successful as well, in addition, Shantung as well as Honan provinces (south of Peking) accepted Ming authority. In August 1368, Ming troops invaded Peking (Dadu). The Mongol Emperor Shun Ti fled to Inner Mongolia as the rule of the Yuan dynasty was brought to an end. In 1382 China became unified under the reign of Ming.
It’s the Red Turbans & Fall Of The Yuan
The Yuan dynasty ruled China from the Mongol invasions of the 3rd half of the 13th century CE however, it was gradually losing control. In the midst of plagues, famines and floods, massive rebellions, and banditry and revolts, they Mongol rulers, in particular fighting over power and were unable to stop numerous revolts.
He promoted land cultivation and reduced taxes to aid in the recovery from the war’s aftermath. In his time the Emperor fought fervently against corruption. He also created the bodyguard system of the imperial government, known as the Uniform Guard Embroidered (jinyi wei). As a way to consolidate his rule, he changed the mechanism of censorship by reforming the structure within the Censorate (yushi tai) and named it “Ducha yuan”. Zhu also directed the compilation and promulgation the Great Ming Code (Daming lu). In the 1390s, to establish the throne’s authority, Zhu Yuanzhang executed many officials and cashiered a number of generals who had been involved in the establishment of the Dynasty.
Economic Recovery
- Ming Emperors worked to recover from the ravages of disease and nomadic rule.
when constructing a central government
- The new rules mandated workers to repair irrigation systems, and
The production of agricultural products soared in the wake of this.
- Also, they promoted production of lacquerware, porcelain, as well as fine
Silk and cotton textiles.
- They didn’t actively encourage trade with other countries.
Hongwu Rule
In Hongwu his reign, Mongol bureaucrats that had ruled the state for more than an entire century during the Yuan Dynasty were replaced by Han Chinese. Zhu changed the traditional Confucian examination systemthat made the selection of state bureaucrats or civil employees on the basis of excellence and understanding of philosophy and literature which included the Classics. Candidates for positions within the Civil Service or officers’ corpses of the army of 80,000 was required be able to pass the traditional tests for competition in accordance with the Classics. This was required by the Classics. Confucian scholars gentry who were who were marginalized by the Yuan for more than 100 years, had once more took on the role of the dominant group as a part of China. Chinese state.
Death & Legacy
On the tenth of the five lunar months of 1398 (the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign), Zhu Yuanzhang died in Nanjing at seventy-one years old (by the traditional count). In the name of the temple “Great Progenitor” (Taizu) the deceased was buried in the Piety Filial Mausoleum (Xiaoling) within Nanjing.
Hongwu has 26 sons but his carefully crafted son was to be his child Zhu Biao, whom he shared with Empress Ma. However, Biao’s death early in 1392 CE was the cause of a reshuffle of the ruling class of the court that could have disastrous consequences. When Hongwu passed away around 1398 CE his heir was replaced with his second option of the heir to Biao’s oldest grandson, Zhu Yunwen (aka Huidi) He was given the title of Jianwen, the reigning The Emperor (r. 1398-1402 CE).
