The Ming Dynasty was the penultimate dynasty of China, which ruled from 1368 to 1644. It succeeded the Yuan Dynasty , of Mongol origin. Its successor would also be a foreign dynasty, the Manchu Dynasty of the Qing.
Origin
After the death of Emperor Kublai Khan in 1294, the power of the Yuan Dynasty, which ruled the entire Chinese Empire from the so-called city of Kanbalik (now the capital Beijing ); and after the succession of the Khan; the Mongol Yuan dynasty entered a clear decline at the beginning of the 14th century, where the emperors who succeeded Kublai did not have enough political power inside and outside the imperial courts, enough capacity to sustain the empire and much less face the national rebellions which would have originated approximately at the beginning of the 16th century AD, nor the support of the Chinese national aristocracies, which would begin to sympathize and even support and organize their own rebellions, although, at first the rebellions were ideologically and politically divided, even with deep differences. But perhaps, the most important rebellion and the one that would unify the different rebel factions into a single front: this is how the rebellion that gave rise to the Ming Dynasty was formed.
Economy
The Ming Dynasty was a time of economic growth and cultural splendour, when the first commercial contacts between China and the Western powers took place, specifically with Portugal in the 16th century and with the East India Company, the West Indian Company of England , in the 17th century and later, in the 18th century, whose mercantilist intervention would bear fruit in the opening of the Chinese market and later with the colonisation by Great Britain and to a lesser extent France , of powerful textile interests and raw materials obtained in the Chinese Ming Empire.
Trade with the Western powers and with Japan , which the Ming Dynasty had long sought to prevent, would lead to a commercialisation of society similar to that which had occurred during the Song dynasty.
Another important factor to consider within this dynasty is the contribution made by the Eunuchs during the ocean explorations in the Ming Dynasty at the beginning of the 15th century. Later, the Eunuchs would become part of the internal politics of this period, so their influence within the imperial courts would be important in the rise, decline and collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
Emperors of the Ming Dynasty
- Zhū Yuánzhāng ( 1368- 1398 ) known as the Hongwu Emperor .
- Zhū Yǔnwén (1398-1402 )known as the Jianwen Emperor .
- Zhū Dì (1402-1424 )known as the Yongle Emperor .
- Zhū Gāochì (1424-1425 )known as the Hongxi Emperor .
- Zhū Zhānjī (1425-1435 )known as the Xuande Emperor .
- Zhū Qízhèn ( 1436- 1449 ; 1457 – 1464 ) known as the Zhengtong Emperor .
- Zhū Qíyù (1449-1457) known as Emperor Jingtai.
- Zhū Jiànshēn (1464-1487 )known as the Chenghua Emperor .
- Zhū Yòutáng (1487-1505 )known as Emperor Hongzhi .
- Zhū Hòuzhào (1505-1521 )known as the Zhengde Emperor .
- Zhū Hòucōng (1521-1566 )known as the Jiajing Emperor .
- Zhū Zǎihòu (1566-1572 )known as the Longqing Emperor .
- Zhū Yìjūn (1572-1620 )known as Emperor Wanli .
- Zhū Chángluò (1620) known as Emperor Taichang.
- Zhū Yóujiào (1620-1627 )known as Emperor Tianqi .
- Zhū Yóujiǎn (1627-1644 )known as the Chongzhen Emperor .
Emperors of the Southern Ming Dynasty
- Zhū Yóusōng ( 1644– 1645 ) known as Emperor Hongguang , Prince of Fu.
- Zhū Yùjiàn (1645-1646 )known as Emperor Longwu , Prince of Tang.
- Zhū Chángfāng(1645) known as Prince of Lu (Luh).
- Zhū Yǐhǎi( 1645-1653 ) known as Prince of Lu (Lou).
- Zhū Yùyuè (1646-1647 )known as Emperor Shaowu , Prince of Tang.
- Zhū Yóuláng ( 1646-1662) known as Emperor Yongli , Prince of Gui.