About 90 results for ‘Ming Dynasty’
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Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, described by some as "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Han Chinese. Although the Ming capital Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng, 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. Although private maritime trade and official tribute missions from China had taken place in previous dynasties, the tributary fleet under the Muslim eunuch admiral Zheng 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 Wall and the establishment of the Forbidden City in Beijing during the first quarter of the 15th century. Estimates for the late-Ming population vary from 160 to 200 million. Emperor Hongwu (ruled in 1368–98) attempted to create a society of self-sufficient rural communities in a rigid, immobile system that would have no need to engage with the commercial life and trade of urban centers. His rebuilding of China's agricultural base and strengthening of communication routes through the militarized courier system had the unintended effect of creating a vast agricultural surplus that could be sold at burgeoning markets located along courier routes. Rural culture and commerce became influenced by urban trends. The upper echelons of society embodied in the scholarly gentry class were also affected by this new consumption-based culture. In a departure from tradition, merchant families began to produce examination candidates to become scholar-officials and adopted cultural traits and practices typical of the gentry. Parallel to this trend involving social class and commercial consumption were changes in social and political philosophy, bureaucracy and governmental institutions, and even arts and literature. By the 16th century, the Ming economy was stimulated by trade with the Portuguese, the Somalis, the Spanish, and the Dutch. China became involved in a new global trade of goods, plants, animals, and food crops known as the Columbian Exchange. Trade with European powers and the Japanese brought in massive amounts of silver, which then replaced copper and paper banknotes as the common medium of exchange in China. During the last decades of the Ming, the flow of silver into China diminished greatly, undermining state revenues. This damage to the Ming economy was compounded by the effects on agriculture of the incipient Little Ice Age, natural calamities, crop failure, and sudden epidemics. The ensuing breakdown of authority and people's livelihoods allowed rebel leaders such as Li Zicheng to challenge Ming authority.
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Retraite dans la montagne
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- Portrayed subject:
- Death
- Landscape
- Mountain
- Tree
- Watercourse
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- Date:
- 15th century
- Ming Dynasty
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Paysage
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- Portrayed subject:
- Landscape
- Mountain
- Trail
- Valley
- Watercourse
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- Date:
- 16th century
- Ming Dynasty
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Paysage
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- Portrayed subject:
- Landscape
- Maritime flag
- Mountain
- Trail
- Tree
- Watercourse
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- Date:
- 16th century
- Ming Dynasty
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Paysage
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- Portrayed subject:
- House
- Landscape
- Mountain
- Tree
- Watercourse
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- Date:
- 16th century
- Ming Dynasty
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En bateau avec du vin, partir à l'aventure
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- Portrayed subject:
- Landscape
- Maritime flag
- Mountain
- Pine
- Watercourse
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Bambous et rochers
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- Portrayed subject:
- Bamboo
- Flower
- Iris (plant)
- Landscape
- Tree
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- Date:
- 16th century
- Ming Dynasty
