13. Ming Dynasty Map
(AD 1368 to 1644 - 277 Years)

A Han Chinese peasant and former Buddhist monk turned rebel army leader, founded the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644 AD). Having its capital first at Nanjing, and later at Beijing, the Ming reached the zenith of power during the first quarter of the fifteenth century. The Chinese fleet sailed the China seas and the Indian Ocean, cruising as far as the east coast of Africa. Internally, the Grand Canal was expanded to its farthest limits and proved to be a stimulus to domestic trade. The stability of the Ming Dynasty, which was without major disruptions of the population (then about 100 million), economy, arts, society, or politics, promoted a belief among the Chinese that they had achieved the most satisfactory civilization on earth and that nothing foreign was needed or welcome. Long wars with the Mongols, incursions by the Japanese into Korea, and harassment of Chinese coastal cities by the Japanese in the sixteenth century weakened Ming rule, which became, as earlier Chinese dynasties had, ripe for alien takeover. In 1644 the Manchu took Beijing from the north and became masters of North China, establishing the last imperial dynasty.