Royals › Monarch / Emperor

Zhu Yuanzhang

Founding emperor of the Ming, a former monk who rose through the Red Turban armies, defeated his rivals and reigned as the Hongwu Emperor from 1368

Also known as Mingtai Zu · Zi Guorui

Zhu Yuanzhang, originally named Chongba, courtesy name Guorui, came from a tenant-farming family in Zhongli, Haozhou (Fengyang, Anhui). Famine and plague killed his parents and elder brother in 1344, and he became a novice at the Huangjue monastery before joining Guo Zixing's Red Turban forces in 1352. He took Jiqing in 1356 and renamed it Yingtian (modern Nanjing), defeated his rivals Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, and in 1368 proclaimed the Great Ming at Yingtian under the reign title Hongwu, sending Xu Da to take the Yuan capital that year. In 1380 he used the Hu Weiyong case to abolish the Central Secretariat and the office of chancellor; he also had household and land registers compiled, issued the Great Ming Code and purged meritorious officials in the Hu and Lan Yu cases. He died in 1398 with the temple name Taizu and the posthumous title Emperor Gao, and was buried at Xiaoling in Nanjing, where the Kangxi Emperor later left an inscription ranking his rule above Tang and Song.

Life and times

  1. 1328 CEBornYuanMing
  2. 1367Founding of MingTook partage 39Zhu Yuanzhang defeated rival warlords, sent armies north to capture Dadu, and founded the Ming dynasty at Nanjing.
    1. Zhu Yuanzhang Defeats Chen Youliang1363age 35In 1363, Zhu Yuanzhang's fleet fought Chen Youliang on Lake Poyang; Chen's force was defeated, and Chen died during the breakout.
    2. Zhu Yuanzhang Builds Nanjing Palacec. 1366age 38Construction of the Nanjing Ming Palace began in 1366 and continued through the early Ming, forming a formal front-court and inner-residence layout.
    3. Ming Founded with Fish-Scale Registers1368age 40Founding Ming in Nanjing in 1368 CE, Emperor Hongwu launched national cadastral land surveys (Fish-Scale Registers) and tax ledgers.
  3. 1380Chancellor AbolishedTook partage 52After the Hu Weiyong case, Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the chancellery and made the Six Ministries report directly to the emperor.
    1. Hongwu Abolishes Central Chancellery OrganAfter Hu Weiyong was executed in 1380, the Hongwu Emperor abolished the Secretariat and the office of chancellor and placed the Six Ministries directly under the throne.
  4. 1398 CEDied
  5. 1399Jingnan CampaignPrecursorPrince Zhu Di rebelled under the banner of Jingnan, captured Nanjing, displaced the Jianwen emperor, and took the throne as Yongle.

Works

  1. Treasures · Brushwork1
    1. Dajun TieMing dynastyA letter from Zhu Yuanzhang to a commander

Family tree

  1. Direct kin
    Zhu Yuanzhang
    Son
    Zhu Di
    Son
    Zhu Su
    Adopted son
    Mu Ying
    Seventeenth son
    Zhu Quan
    Children
    Zhu Yunwen
  2. Other kin1
    1. Li WenzhongSister's son · 1339 CE–1384 CE

Connections

  1. Shared events1
    1. Toghon Temur (Emperor Shun of Yuan)1320 CE–1370 CE
  2. Rulers and officials8
    1. Liu BowenAdviser · 1311 CE–1375 CE
    2. Xu DaMeritorious minister · 1332 CE–1385 CE
    3. Hu WeiyongChancellor · Birth unknown–138…
    4. Chang YuchunGeneral · 1330 CE–1369 CE
    5. Li ShanzhangChancellor · 1314 CE–1390 CE
    6. Feng ShengGeneral · Birth unknown–139…
    7. Lan YuMeritorious minister · Birth unknown–139…
    8. Deng YuGeneral · 1337 CE–1377 CE