Hongwu

Episode 35: The Rise of the Ming

Foundations of Eastern Civilization

Dr Craig Benjamin (2013)

Film Review

Manchu* leader Hongwu, who led led the successful uprising against the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, became the first Ming emperor in 1368. One of only three peasants to become emperor, Hongwu endeavored to obliterate all evidence of Yuan rule. Under his influence, the Chinese nobility gave up Yuan names and supported a renewed emphasis on classical (Zhou Dynasty) history and Confucianism. The Ming emperors also rebuilt the Great Wall (to thwart further nomad incursions), which fell into disrepair during the Southern Song Dynasty (see The Industrial Revolution of the Song Dynasty).

There was a steady decline in China’s military and naval prowess under the Ming. During the 1440s the Mongols returned to decimate several Ming armies, and in 1445, they capture the Ming emperor.

Led astray by powerful and corrupt eunuchs, it was typical for Ming emperor to withdraw into the Forbidden City, where all his daily activities were carefully choreographed with much pomp and ceremony. There he enjoyed hundreds of concubines while thousands of eunuchs ran the country.

Under the Ming, no commoners were allowed to wear clothing similar to the emperor’s or even use the written characters in his name. Commoners had to kowtoi (kneeling three times with nine successive head knockings) in his presence, and flogging and other harsh legalist** punishments were common.

Civil unrest increased greatly during the 17th century, when the Ming government proved too inept to organize food relief during several severe famines. Eventually Manchu nomads from Manchuria joined forces with civilian dissidents. In 1644 ruling eunuchs failed to inform the last Ming emperor Zhu Youjian of the approach of the rebel army’s approach until it was too late for Zhu to rally his military forces. After killing most of his family, Youjian hanged himself.

*The Manchu were a nomadic East Asian ethnic group originating in Manchuria. In modern China, they are an officially recognized minority ethnic group.

**See Great Ideas of the Zhou: Legalism

Film can be viewed free with a library card on Kanopy.

https://www.kanopy.com/en/pukeariki/watch/video/5808608/5808683