The Rise of the Ming Dynasty

The Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty (1206-1368) were enormously unpopular among the Chinese people, especially those working classes who suffered most and received least from their depredations. Revolts and rebellions sporadically broke out across the country in response to perceived hardship and when misrule and when natural disasters or mismanagement seemed to suggest that Heaven had withdrawn its mandate.

One of the most important revolts was by the Red Turbans, so named because of the headgear they wore to mark their allegiance. They were most active around the Yellow River region and were characterized by their belief that a new Maitreya Buddha was to be born and would act as their Messiah. At the same time, salt-field workers and boat workers also revolted on the lower Yangtze River. However, revolts need a powerful and successful leader to become successful, as well as general and widespread support among a sufficient set of people. The Red Turbans would probably have become no more than a footnote in the annals of history if it were not for the destitute Anhui peasant and orphan Chu Yuan-Chang who, by force of personality, strategy and no doubt a slice of luck or two, fought his way to leadership of a rebellion large enough to rout the Mongol overlords back to their Steppes and a long descent into obscurity.

Chu mounted the imperial throne under the name Hung-Wu and reigned from 1368-98. The subsequent triumphs of the Ming Dynasty included the completion of the Great Wall, the restoration of the existing canal system and its splendid architectural, military and administrative achievements. Ming Dynasty Chinese were certainly part of the most powerful and perhaps most glorious country in the world. Yet, despite the general belief that Hung-Wu was largely involved in simply restoring Chinese cultural norms, in fact he retained a number of important Mongol Yuan institutions, not least of which was the class structure. Under this, all people were to be allocated t one of three hereditary castes – soldiers, artisans and the bulk of the population would be peasants. A department in the central government would be responsible for each class.

Soldiers and their families were allocated land in strategically-selected areas and sent to settle there. This helped to spread Han Chinese civilization to outlying or lightly-held areas and, at the same time, the reach of the state. This strengthened the imperial state in Yunnan Province in the south, along the borders with the Steppe peoples and on areas of coastlines facing the dreaded Japanese pirates.

For more details, see (among many other possible sources) Franz Michael’s China through the Ages: History of a Civilization (Taipei: SMC Publishing Inc., 1994). Details on the Westview Press edition are here.