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Encyclopedia · Dynasties

Ming dynasty

明朝Míngcháo1368–1644

The dynasty (1368–1644) that built the Forbidden City and most of the Great Wall seen today, ruling first from Nanjing and then Beijing.

The Ming was founded in 1368 by Zhu Yuanzhang, a man from a poor farming family who rose through the rebellions against the Mongol Yuan dynasty and ruled from Nanjing as the Hongwu Emperor. His son, the Yongle Emperor, moved the capital to Beijing, where the Forbidden City was completed in 1420, and sent Admiral Zheng He on great fleet voyages across the Indian Ocean. Much of what visitors picture as “old China” is Ming: most of the brick Great Wall near Beijing, the Temple of Heaven, many surviving city walls and the blue-and-white porcelain of Jingdezhen. The dynasty ended in 1644, when rebels captured Beijing and the last Ming emperor took his own life; the Manchu Qing then took the city. Ming emperors’ tombs can be visited in both Nanjing and Beijing.

Hall of Supreme Harmony on its marble terrace in the Forbidden City
Hall of Supreme Harmony on its marble terrace in the Forbidden CityPhoto: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0

Where to see it in China

BeijingForbidden City (Palace Museum) 故宫博物院The imperial palace the Yongle Emperor completed in 1420, home to Ming and later Qing emperors.BeijingMing Tombs 明十三陵The valley where 13 Ming emperors are buried, with the great hall at Changling and an underground palace at Dingling.NanjingMing Xiaoling Mausoleum 明孝陵The tomb of the founding Hongwu Emperor, approached by a Sacred Way of stone animals and officials.NanjingMing City Wall and Zhonghua Gate 南京城墙·中华门The wall of the first Ming capital, the longest surviving city wall in China, with the vast Zhonghua Gate.BeijingMutianyu Great Wall 慕田峪长城A restored, forested stretch of the brick Ming wall, with a cable car and toboggan.

Where we mention it

Related entries

DynastiesQing dynasty 清朝China’s last imperial dynasty (1644–1912), founded by the Manchus, whose palaces and gardens fill Beijing, Shenyang and Chengde.Arts and craftsPorcelain 瓷器The hard, white, high-fired ceramic that China invented; Jingdezhen has made it for a thousand years, and English simply calls it “china”.Places and buildingsHutong 胡同The narrow lanes of old Beijing, lined with grey-brick courtyard houses; walking or cycling them is the best way to see everyday city life.Legends and novelsLegend of the White Snake 白蛇传A Chinese folk legend of a white snake spirit who becomes a woman, marries a mortal and is imprisoned under Leifeng Pagoda on West Lake.Legends and novelsJourney to the West 西游记A Ming-dynasty novel in which the Monkey King Sun Wukong escorts a Tang monk to India, loosely based on the real pilgrim Xuanzang.Ideas and beliefsFeng shui 风水The traditional Chinese practice of siting houses, palaces, cities and tombs in harmony with hills, water and the flow of qi.

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-10-05

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