Ming Dynasty

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Ming Dynasty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Great Ming
大明 |
←  | 1368–1644 |  →
 
 → |
|
Ming China at its greatest extent under the reign of the Yongle Emperor |
Capital | Nanjing
(1368–1421)
Beijing
(1421–1644) |
Language(s) | Chinese |
Religion | Buddhism, Taoism,Confucianism, Chinese folk religion |
Government |Monarchy |
Emperor |
 - 1368–1398 | Hongwu Emperor |
 - 1627–1644 | Chongzhen Emperor |
History | |
 - Established inNanjing | January 23, 1368 |
 - Fall of Beijing to Li Zicheng | June 6, 1644 |
 - End of the Southern Ming | April, 1662 |
Area |
 - 1415[1] | 6,500,000 km2(2,509,664 sq mi) |
Population |
 - 1393 est. | 65,000,000  |
 - 1403 est. | 66,598,337¹  |
 - 1500est. | 125,000,000²  |
 - 1600 est. | 160,000,000³  |
Currency | Chinese cash, Chinese coin, paper currency (later abolished) |
Remnants of the Ming Dynasty ruled southern China until 1662, a dynastic period which is known as the Southern Ming.
¹The numbers are based on estimates made by CJ Peers inLate Imperial Chinese Armies: 1520–1840
²According to A. G. Frank, ReOrient: global economyin the Asian Age, 1998, p. 109
³According to A. Maddison, The World Economy Volume 1: A Millennial Perspective Volume 2, 2007, p. 238 |

Ming Dynasty |
Chinese | 明朝 |
[show]Transcriptions |
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Empire of the Great Ming |
Traditional Chinese | 大明帝國 |
Simplified Chinese | 大明帝国 |
[show]Transcriptions |
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| This article contains Chinesetext. Without proper rendering support,you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbolsinstead of Chinese characters. |

History of China |
ANCIENT |
3 Sovereigns and 5 Emperors |
Xia Dynasty 2100–1600 BCE |
Shang Dynasty 1600–1046 BCE |
Zhou Dynasty 1045–256 BCE |
 Western Zhou |
 Eastern Zhou |
   Spring and Autumn Period |
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IMPERIAL |
Qin Dynasty 221 BCE–206 BCE |
HanDynasty 206 BCE–220 CE |
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Three Kingdoms 220–280 |
  Wei, Shu and Wu |
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304–439 | | | | |
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  (Second Zhou 690–705) |
5 Dynasties and
10 Kingdoms
907–960 | LiaoDynasty
907–1125 | | | | |
Song Dynasty
960–1279 | | | | | |
  Northern Song | | W. Xia | | | | | |
  Southern Song | Jin | | | | | | |
Yuan Dynasty 1271–1368 |
Ming Dynasty 1368–1644 |
Qing Dynasty 1644–1911 |
MODERN |
Republic of China 1912–1949 |
People's Republic
of China
1949–present | Republic of
China (Taiwan)
1949–present | | | | |
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The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of Chinafrom 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history",[2]was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the MingcapitalBeijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng (who established the Shun Dynasty, soon replaced by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty), regimes loyal to the Ming throne — collectively called the Southern Ming — survived until 1662.
Ming rule saw the construction of a vast navy and a standing army of one million troops.[3] Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China hadtaken place in previous dynasties, the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiralZheng He in the 15th century far surpassed all others in size. There were enormous construction projects, including the restoration of the Grand Canal and the Great Walland the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. Estimates for the late-Ming population...