Instruct: Given a question, retrieve passages that can help answer the question.
Query: Who was the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty?
The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (Chinese:朱元璋; Wade–Giles:Chu Yuan-chang), was the founding emperor of China's Ming dynasty.
From the Yongle Emperor onwards, 13 Ming dynasty emperors were buried in the same area. The Xiaoling tomb of the first Ming emperor, the Hongwu Emperor, is located near his capital Nanjing; the second emperor, the Jianwen Emperor, was overthrown by the Yongle Emperor and disappeared, without a known tomb. The "temporary" emperor, the Jingtai Emperor, was also not buried here, as the Tianshun Emperor had denied him an imperial burial; instead, the Jingtai Emperor was buried west of Beijing. The last Ming emperor buried at the location was the Chongzhen Emperor, who committed suicide by hanging (on 25 April 1644). He was buried in his concubine Consort Tian's tomb, which was later declared as an imperial mausoleum "Si Ling" by the emperor of the short-lived Shun dynasty, Li Zicheng, with a much smaller scale compared to the other imperial mausoleums built for Ming emperors.
In 1368, a Han Chinese revolt known as the Red Turban Rebellion toppled the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China. Zhu Yuanzhang then established the Ming dynasty, ruling as the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398). It is not clear how much the early Ming court understood the civil war going on in Tibet between rival religious sects, but the first emperor was anxious to avoid the same trouble that Tibet had caused for the Tang dynasty. Instead of recognizing the Phagmodru ruler, the Hongwu Emperor sided with the Karmapa of the nearer Kham region and southeastern Tibet, sending envoys out in the winter of 1372–1373 to ask the Yuan officeholders to renew their titles for the new Ming court.
Ming Dynasty in 1566 is a Chinese television series based on the events in the reign of the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming dynasty. It was first broadcast on Hunan TV in China in 2007.
Prince of Qi (), was a first-rank princely peerage used during Ming dynasty, this peerage title was created by Hongwu Emperor. The first Prince of Qi was Zhu Fu, 7th son of Hongwu Emperor. He was awarded the title by his father. This peerage had 3 cadet commandery prince peerages. This peerage later abolished by Jianwen Emperor in 1399, and abolished again by Yongle Emperor in 1406. After Zhu Yujian enthroned as Longwu Emperor of Southern Ming, he restored Zhu Fu's princely title. Chongzhen Emperor also posthumously 3rd son of Taichang Emperor, Zhu Youji (朱由楫) as prince under title of Prince of Qi.
In 1725, the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing dynasty bestowed the hereditary title of Marquis on a descendant of the Ming dynasty imperial family, Zhu Zhiliang, who received a salary from the Qing government and whose duty was to perform rituals at the Ming tombs, and was also inducted the Chinese Plain White Banner in the Eight Banners. Later the Qianlong Emperor bestowed the title Marquis of Extended Grace posthumously on Zhu Zhuliang in 1750, and the title passed on through twelve generations of Ming descendants until the end of the Qing dynasty.
In 1725 the Qing Yongzheng Emperor bestowed the hereditary title of Marquis on a descendant of the Ming dynasty Imperial family, Zhu Zhilian (朱之璉), who received a salary from the Qing government and whose duty was to perform rituals at the Ming tombs. The Chinese Plain White Banner was also inducted in the Eight Banners. Later the Qianlong Emperor bestowed the title Marquis of Extended Grace posthumously on Zhu Zhilian in 1750, and the title passed on through twelve generations of Ming descendants until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912. The last Marquis of Extended Grance was Zhu Yuxun (朱煜勳). In 1912, after the overthrow of the Qing dynasty in the Xinhai Revolution, some advocated that a Han Chinese be installed as Emperor, either the descendant of Confucius, who was the Duke Yansheng, or the Ming dynasty Imperial family descendant, the Marquis of Extended Grace.
From the Shang to Sui (581–618 AD) dynasties, Chinese rulers (both kings and emperors) were referred to by their posthumous names in records and historical texts.[10] Temple names, first used during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han (r. 157–141 BC), were used exclusively in later records and historical texts when referring to emperors who reigned during the Tang (618–907 AD), Song (960–1279 AD), and Yuan (1271–1368 AD) dynasties.[10] During the Ming (1368–1644 AD) and Qing (1644–1911 AD) dynasties, a single era name was used for each emperor's reign and became the preferred way to refer to Ming and Qing emperors in historical texts.[11]
Those who became emperor are listed in bold, with their years of reign. In China, Ming emperors are best known by their temple names, which are given second below, after the personal name. (The Jianwen Emperor was not awarded a temple name: his posthumous name, Huidi (惠帝), is used instead.) The names given in bold are era names, the form by which Ming emperors are most commonly known in English, but which technically refer to the timespan of an emperor's reign rather than to the emperor himself. (Xingzong and Ruizong are temple names: they never actually ruled, but Xingzong was posthumously granted an emperor's title and Ruizong was raised posthumously to the status of emperor by his son, the Jiajing Emperor, in the Great Rites Controversy.) The imperial family's original family name was Zhu (朱), but the Hongwu Emperor opted for the dynastic name Ming (明) (as were all but one imperial Chinese dynasties), meaning "brilliant". The numbers here indicate the seniority in birth of an emperor's sons as the Ming Dynasty was the only Chinese dynasty to have the eldest surviving son succeed the throne in continuous fashion (though not for the Yongle and Jingtai Emperors, both of whom usurped the throne; the Jiajing – see above, and Chongzhen Emperors – succeeded sonless brother), not unlike the Salic Law practised in some contemporary European monarchies (except that the eldest son by a non-principal consort was duly considered). After the fall of the dynasty in 1644 and the Chongzhen Emperor's suicide, a series of Ming princes based in the south of China claimed the imperial title, their court being known as the Southern Ming dynasty. These claimants are given with their era names, and the timespans of their purported reigns in brackets. Their purported periods of rule are given in brackets. In 1662, Koxinga regained control of Taiwan from the Dutch colonial regime, and established a state for those who wished restore the Ming dynasty to power. This state lasted until 1683, when it submitted to the Qing dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who became the founder and first Emperor of the Ming dynasty, began building a palace in what was then known as Jiankang in 1367. At the time, he was self-styled "King of Wu". The palace was built outside the existing city of Jiankang, and was completed by 1368. With its completion, Zhu proclaimed the Ming Dynasty; with himself as the first emperor, known as the Hongwu Emperor; and that Jiankang, now Yingtian, was the "southern capital" (""nanjing"") of his empire. For the next few years, few changes were made to the palace in Nanjing as the Emperor focused on building the "middle capital", located in his home town of Fengyang.
The Yuan remnants retreated to Mongolia after the fall of Yingchang to the Ming in 1370, where the name Great Yuan () was formally carried on, and is known as the Northern Yuan dynasty. According to Chinese political orthodoxy, there could be only one legitimate dynasty whose rulers were blessed by Heaven to rule as Emperor of China (see Mandate of Heaven), and so the Ming and the Northern Yuan denied each other's legitimacy as emperors of China, although the Ming did consider the previous Yuan which it had succeeded to be a legitimate dynasty. Historians generally regard Ming dynasty rulers as the legitimate emperors of China after the Yuan dynasty, though Norther Yuan rulers also claimed to rule over China, and continued to resist the Ming under the name "Yuan" or "Northern Yuan".
The founder of the Ming dynasty was the Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), who is also known variably by his personal name "Zhu Yuanzhang" and his temple name "Taizu of Ming" (literally "Great Ancestor of Ming"). He was the first emperor of the Ming dynasty. His regnal name, Hongwu, means "vastly martial".
Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty is a Chinese television series based on the life of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty. Directed by Feng Xiaoning and starring Hu Jun as the emperor, the series was first aired on CCTV in China in 2006.
In 1725, the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing dynasty bestowed the hereditary title of Marquis on a descendant of the Ming dynasty imperial family, Zhu Zhiliang, who received a salary from the Qing government and whose duty was to perform rituals at the Ming tombs, and was also inducted the Chinese Plain White Banner in the Eight Banners. Later the Qianlong Emperor bestowed the title Marquis of Extended Grace posthumously on Zhu Zhuliang in 1750, and the title passed on through twelve generations of Ming descendants until the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912. The last Marquis of Extended Grance was Zhu Yuxun.
The Rule of Ming and Zhang (明章之治) refers to the reigns of Emperor Ming (r. 58-75) and Emperor Zhang (r. 75-88) of the Eastern Han dynasty, which was considered the golden age of that dynasty. Both Emperors Ming and Zhang were generally regarded as able administrators who cared about the welfare of the people and who promoted officials with integrity. After Emperor Zhang's death, the dynasty began to gradually decline.
The Mongol-led Yuan dynasty was replaced by the Ming dynasty in 1368. In 1387, Ming forces defeated the Mongol commander Naghachu's resisting forces who settled in the Haixi area and began to summon the Jurchen tribes to pay tribute. At the time, some Jurchen clans were vassals to the Joseon dynasty of Korea such as Odoli and Huligai. Their elites served in the Korean royal bodyguard. The Joseon Koreans tried to deal with the military threat posed by the Jurchen by using both forceful means and incentives, and by launching military attacks. At the same time they tried to appease them with titles and degrees, traded with them, and sought to acculturate them by having Jurchens integrate into Korean culture. Despite these measures, however, fighting continued between the Jurchen and the Koreans. Their relationship was eventually stopped by the Ming dynasty government who wanted the Jurchens to protect the border. In 1403, Ahacu, chieftain of Huligai, paid tribute to the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty. Soon after that, Möngke Temür, chieftain of the Odoli clan of the Jianzhou Jurchens, defected from paying tribute to Korea, becoming a tributary state to China instead. Yi Seong-gye, the Taejo of Joseon, asked the Ming Empire to send Möngke Temür back but was refused. The Yongle Emperor was determined to wrest the Jurchens out of Korean influence and have China dominate them instead. Korea tried to persuade Möngke Temür to reject the Ming overtures, but was unsuccessful, and Möngke Temür submitted to the Ming Empire. Since then, more and more Jurchen tribes presented tribute to the Ming Empire in succession. The Ming divided them into 384 guards, and the Jurchen became vassals to the Ming Empire. During the Ming dynasty, the name for the Jurchen land was Nurgan. The Jurchens became part of the Ming dynasty's Nurgan Regional Military Commission under the Yongle Emperor, with Ming forces erecting the Yongning Temple Stele in 1413, at the headquarters of Nurgan. The stele was inscribed in Chinese, Jurchen, Mongolian, and Tibetan.
The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty of China. The first Ming emperor's tomb is located near his capital Nanjing. However, the majority of the Ming tombs are located in a cluster near Beijing and collectively known as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty (). They are within the suburban Changping District of Beijing Municipality, north-northwest of Beijing city center. The site, on the southern slope of Tianshou Mountain (originally Huangtu Mountain), was chosen based on the principles of "feng shui" by the third Ming emperor, the Yongle Emperor. After the construction of the Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) in 1420, the Yongle Emperor selected his burial site and created his own mausoleum. The subsequent emperors placed their tombs in the same valley.
In 1368, the first year of Ming dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor launched a northern inspection. He was accompanied by Liu Bowen and Yang Xian. When they reached Yangzhou, the emperor saw Yangzhou was in ruins as a result of long term war during the transition from the Yuan dynasty to the Ming dynasty. Liu Bowen recommended Yang Xian to the Hongwu Emperor, saying that Yang Xian was the right person to rebuild Yangzhou city. The emperor agreed and appointed Yang Xian as the Governor of Yangzhou and promoted him to the third rank of Officials. Yang Xian refused the third rank officials promotion and promised to rebuild Yangzhou prosperity in five years as eight rank officials. The Hongwu Emperor was very pleased and returned to the capital with Liu Bowen.
Prince of Yi (), was a first-rank princely peerage used during Ming dynasty, this peerage title was created by Chenghua Emperor. The first Prince of Yi was Zhu Youbin, who was 6th son of Chenghua Emperor.
The Yuan remnants retreated to Mongolia after the fall of Yingchang to the Ming dynasty in 1370, where the name Great Yuan was formally carried on, known as the Northern Yuan dynasty or simply Northern Yuan. The Genghisid rulers of the Northern Yuan also buttressed their claim on China, and held tenaciously to the title of Emperor (or Great Khan) of the Great Yuan (Dai Yuwan Khaan, or 大元可汗) to resist the Ming who had by this time become the real ruler of China. According to the traditional Chinese political orthodoxy, there could be only one legitimate dynasty whose rulers were blessed by Heaven to rule as Emperor of China (see Mandate of Heaven), so the Ming also denied the Yuan remnants' legitimacy as emperors of China, although the Ming did consider the previous Yuan which it had succeeded to be a legitimate dynasty.
Xu Da (1332–1385), courtesy name Tiande, was a Chinese military general who lived in the late Yuan dynasty and early Ming dynasty. He was a friend of Hongwu Emperor, the founder and first ruler of the Ming dynasty, and assisted him in overthrowing the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and establishing the Ming dynasty. He was also the father of Empress Xu, who married the third Ming ruler, the Yongle Emperor.
After the fall of Beijing to Li Zicheng's rebels (and, soon thereafter, to the Qing dynasty) in 1644, the Nanjing Ming Palace briefly became the seat of the Prince of Fu, who was crowned the "Hongguang Emperor" in Nanjing in an attempt to continue the Ming dynasty (one of a series of short-lived regimes known collectively as the Southern Ming dynasty). By this time only a small portion of the palace was intact, and the Hongguang Emperor set about rebuilding some sections of the palace.
At the same time, the Ming dynasty was fighting for its survival against fiscal turmoil and peasant rebellions. On April 24, 1644, Beijing fell to a rebel army led by Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official who became the leader of the peasant revolt, who then proclaimed the Shun dynasty. The last Ming emperor, the Chongzhen Emperor, hanged himself from a tree in the imperial garden outside the Forbidden City. When Li Zicheng moved against him, the Ming general Wu Sangui shifted his alliance to the Manchus. Li Zicheng was defeated at the Battle of Shanhai Pass by the joint forces of Wu Sangui and Manchu prince Dorgon. On June 6, the Manchus and Wu entered the capital and proclaimed the young Shunzhi Emperor as Emperor of China.
His reign also experienced heavy fiscal and military pressures, especially during the final years of the Wanli era when the Manchus began to conduct raids on the northern border of the Ming Empire. Their depredations ultimately led to the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644. It has been said that the fall of the Ming dynasty was not a result of the last Ming dynasty emperor’s Chongzhen Emperor's rule, but instead due to the lingering consequences of the Wanli Emperor's gross neglect of his duties as Emperor.
The Ming dynasty (1368–1644), after the Han and Tang dynasties, was another high point in Chinese power. The first Ming emperor, the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), was the head of the Red Turban Rebellion when he routed the rival rebel Chinese leaders and then forced the Mongols of the Yuan dynasty to flee north, back into the Mongolian steppe. The Ming dynasty made a string of conflicts with the Mongols thereafter, some of which were successful, and others of which were not. An example of the latter would be the Tumu Crisis in 1449, where the Zhengtong Emperor was captured by the Mongols and not released until a year later.