Ming China

In the 1300s, the Mongol grip on China weakened. A revolt drove out the last Yuan (Mongol) emperor, and in 1368 a Buddhist monk calling himself Ming Hong Wu became China’s new ruler. The Ming dynasty ruled China for almost 300 years.

Under Ming Hong Wu, the first Ming emperor, Chinese self-confidence and national pride returned. An able and efficient ruler, Hong Wu established peace and prosperity. He reformed Chinese society by abolishing slavery and by confiscating large estates and redistributing them among the poor. China began to reassert its power over its neighbours, and its strong army was able to fight off foreign attacks.

At sea, Chinese ships made a series of voyages during the early 1400s as far as Africa and Arabia. The fleets were commanded by Admiral Zheng He.

Ming emperors supported the arts and built many fine palaces. From 1421, they lived within the Forbidden City of Beijing, a huge complex of palaces, temples and parks. Only the emperor’s family and the officials and servants of the royal household were permitted inside the Forbidden City.

China’s first contacts with European traders began in the 1500s, when Portuguese ships arrived. By 1557, the Portuguese had set up a settlement in Macao.

The Chinese rarely looked beyond their borders and after the mid-1500s the government banned voyages overseas. Ming rule lasted until 1644.

CROSSBOW

An arrow fired from a powerful Chinese artillery crossbow could travel up to 200 metres and pierce a wooden shield. The Chinese developed a number of other ingenious weapons, including gunpowder rockets and bombs, which they first used about AD 1000.