MING DYNASTY (1368 to 1644)

1. MING DYNASTY(1368 to 1644) Members: John ChristopherTambago Bebviet Franz Bulagao Shaira Gabrillo Liza Grace Cuizon

2. Early Reign • Zhu Yuanzhang • the founder of Ming Dynasty • implemented a series of policies to reduce the peasants' burden and to resume the production of the whole society. • He focused much attention on the punishment and prevention of corruption among court officials. • he sent his sons to supervise the local administration so as to strengthen his hold on imperial power. • his grandson Zhu Yunwen took over the throne • (reign only lasted for four years, ending in a coup launched by Zhu Di)

3. Having restored Chinese rule to China, the first Ming emperor tried to model his rule after that of the Han, but the Ming fell far short of the Han's accomplishments. • The land under Ming domination was less than under either the Han or the T'ang. • In culture, as well, the Ming lacked the Han's creativity and brilliance • The Ming was a period of restoration and reorganization rather than a time of new discovery. • The Ming followed a typical dynastic cycle: initial rehabilitation of the economy and restoration of efficient government, followed by a time of stability and then a gradual decline and fall.

4. In the last century of its existence, the Ming Dynasty faced numerous internal and external problems: official corruption and taxation. • Because the Ming bureaucracy was relatively small, tax collection was entrusted to locally powerful people who evaded paying taxes by passing the burden on to the poor. • In the 1620s a struggle between the inner group of eunuchs and the outer circle of scholar-officials led to the execution of about 700 scholars.

5. Emperors of Ming Dynasty

6. Ming Taizu(Zhu Yuanzhang) 1368 - 1398 Ming Huizong(Zhu Yunwen) 1399 - 1402 Ming Chengzu(Zhu Di) 1403 - 1424 Ming Xuanzong(Zhu Zhanji) 1426 - 1435 Ming Yingzong(Zhu Qizhen) 1436 - 1449, Ming Renzong(Zhu Gaochi ) 1425

7. Ming Daizong(Zhu Qiyu) 1450 - 1457 Ming Yingzong(Zhu Qizhen) 1457 - 1464 Ming Xianzong(Zhu Jianshen) 1465 - 1487 Ming Shizong(Zhu Houcong) 1522 - 1566 Ming Wuzong(Zhu Houzhao) 1506 - 1521 Ming Xiaozong(Zhu Youtang) 1488 - 1505

8. Ming Shenzong(Zhu Yijun) 1573 - 1620 Ming Muzong(Zhu Zaihou) 1567 - 1572 Ming Guangzong(Zhu Changluo 1620 Ming Xizong(Zhu Youxiao) 1621 – 1627 Ming Weizong(Zhu Youjian 1628 - 1644

9. ECONOMY: • Economically, the Ming Dynasty was a period during which the feudal society began to show the declining trend while the capitalismstarted to originate. • the handicraft industry in the southern areas developed rapidly • promoted market economy and urbanization • the porcelain making industry reached an unprecedented level • a series of commercial metropolises including Beijing, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Xian and Chengdu were successively formed

10. Administration • Ming administration had only one Department, the Secretariat, that controlled the Six Ministries. • Ming provincial bureaucracy contained three commissions: one civil, one military, and one for surveillance.

11. Grand Secretaries assisting the emperor, with paperwork handled by them under Yongle's reign The Six Ministries: • Ministry of Personnel was in charge of appointments, merit ratings, promotions, and demotions of officials, as well as granting of honorific titles. • Ministry of Revenue was in charge of gathering census data, collecting taxes, and handling state revenues, while there were two offices of currency that were subordinate to it.

12. Ministry of Rites was in charge of state ceremonies, rituals, and sacrifices; it also oversaw registers for Buddhist and Daoist priesthoods and even the reception of envoys from tributary states. • Ministry of War was in charge of the appointments, promotions, and demotions of military officers, the maintenance of military installations, equipment, and weapons, as well as the courier system

13. Ministry of Justice was in charge of judicial and penal processes, but had no supervisory role over the Censorate or the Grand Court of Revision. • Ministry of Works was in charge of government construction projects, hiring of artisans and laborers for temporary service, manufacturing government equipment, the maintenance of roads and canals, standardization of weights and measures, and the gathering of resources from the countryside.[

14. ACHIEVEMENTS • porcelain • art • literature • architecture • decorative arts • production of ceramics increased dramatically with the popularity of blue and red underglaze.

15. The Ming created the double fire process which was discovered when an object was first fired at the high temperature needed for porcelain. • White floral designs also became popular during the Ming Dynasty.

16. Ming architects produced the splendor of the Forbidden City, the emperor's residence, in Beijing. • Blue and white porcelain became the normal form

17. The Forbidden City of Ancient China

18. Great Wall of China

19. A great cultural development of the Ming Dynasty was that of the novel. These novels developed from the writings of Chinese story tellers. As a result, they were written in the everyday language, not the language of the nobility. • Wood-cut and block-printing of art also became more popular at this time.

20. Encyclopedias were written containing important information from a variety of fields, such as geography, music and medicine. • Seafaring • Science • Medicine • Geography • Literature

21. DECLINE AND FALL The turning point of the Ming Dynasty from prosperity to decline was the reign of Emperor Shenzong. In the early period, under the wise assistance of a skillful chancellor, Zhang Juzheng, Emperor Shenzong made much improvement in the national economy, agriculture, water conservancy and military affairs. However, after the death of Zhang Juzheng, the emperor began to neglect state affairs. In his late reign, the Ming army was defeated by the leader of the so-called 'Latter Jin' regime - Nurhachu in the Battle of Sarhu. Since then, the Ming court fell into a passive state in confrontation with the 'Latter Jin' set up by Nuzhen ethnic minority.

22. The end of the Ming Dynasty started from the last emperor, Emperor Weizong's reign - the reign went by the name Chongzhen. The crisis of the Ming Dynasty was caused by the corruption of the court officials and the domination of the eunuchs. In that period, both the exploitation from the ruling class and natural disasters in successive years caused the people to live in extreme hardship. 

23. In 1628, dozens of rebel military forces launched battles in the northern area of Shaaxi Province. Among them, one of the leaders of the rebel army was named Li Zicheng, and he was deeply trusted and supported by most peasants. • In 1644, Li Zichengcaptured Xian and founded a new regime called Dashun. In the same year, Emperor Weizong hanged himself in Jingshan Hill of Beijing, signifying the end of the Ming Dynasty. • lasted for 276 years.

24. REFERENCES: • http://ww.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/later_imperial china/ming.html • http://wsu.edu/~dee/MING/DECLINE.HTM • http://library.thinkquest.org/J0110667/Ming.html

25. Thank you! We hopes YOU learned something… Sir Marco hopes YOU did not sleep during OUR presentation… “Had a nice day?” - Donnie