Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)

POLITICAL CHANGE

Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-98): First Ming ruler, known in his lifetime as the Hongwu Emperor and posthumously as Ming Taizu, who was born into poverty, became a Buddhist monk in his youth and finally a rebel leader of the anti-Mongol Red Turbans (of the White Lotus Society) secret society in 1352. Under his military leadership the Chinese effectively toppled the weakened Yuan court in 1368. The Zu Xun or "Ancestral Warnings" comprised Ming Taizu's code of law and public ethics.

Grand Secretariat (1382) as the emperor's personal advisors

The Examination System returns with the "Eight-legged essay"

INTELLECTUAL CHANGE

Social values and obligations are not external forces, but are contained in our minds.

Wang Yangming (1472-1529): Ming philosopher, who developed an individualist interpretation of Confucianism that brought sagehood within reach of everyone. According to Wang, Confucian enlightenment found in the “Mind-heart (xin)” was discoverable through self-cultivation. While Zhu Xi’s brand of Neo-Confucianism stressed the study of the Confucian classics as a means to self-cultivation, Wang emphasized self-awareness and the unity of knowledge and action, ideas with ties to principles of Zen Buddhism.

SOCIAL CHANGE

Official class now comprised of scholars without secure family prestige or military training.

Unemployed local gentry as an "estate" in Ming society

Donglin Academy (1620-60's): famous late Ming private academy that challenged forces of corruption and lax rule at court. Its members were persecuted for their radical views.

Single Whip Tax (1522): the court economic reform policy that consolidated taxes into a single silver payment of one tael (ounce) annually.

The Further Rise of Merchants & Long-distance Trade