Many dynasties have reigned in China for centuries and one of the most important has been the Ming Dynasty. But what is the history of that royal house, what is its origins, what is its legacy?
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, a dynasty that reigned between 1271 and 1368, there was a peasant uprising against the Mongols. A young peasant joined the rebels and served very well in various battles so he was promoted to general by a warlord named Guo Ziyi. After his death this young general named Zhu Yuanzhang, took control and advanced in conquering all of China. He began by taking over the city of Jiqiang, present-day Nanjing, and it was not bad at all.
After battles and military conquests in the year 1368 he proclaimed himself Emperor in that same city and founded the Ming Dynasty. That same year his huge army conquered present-day Beijing, then Dadu. When he died, he was succeeded by one of his grandsons but was dethroned by one of his uncles, Emperor Chengzu, who led China to a very prosperous period. It was during his reign that an imposing Chinese fleet sailed across the Indian Ocean.
It was also this Chinese emperor who founded the capital of his empire in Beijing in 1421. The debacle of the Ming Dynasty would begin some time later, after the death of Emperor Shenzong. The military defeats began, the problems with other ethnic groups, corrupt officials and other questions that led to a crisis that the following emperors could not resolve. The last Ming emperor ended up hanging himself in Beijing in 1644, ending one of the most important Chinese dynasties.