The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng, numerous rump regimes ruled by remnants of the Ming imperial family—collectively called the Southern Ming—survived until 1662.
The Forbidden City is a palace complex in Dongcheng District, Beijing, China, at the center of the Imperial City of Beijing. It is surrounded by numerous opulent imperial gardens and temples including the 22 ha (54-acre) Zhongshan Park, the sacrificial Imperial Ancestral Temple, the 69 ha (171-acre) Beihai Park, and the 23 ha (57-acre) Jingshan Park. It is officially administered by the Palace Museum.
The Wanli Emperor, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shenzong of Ming (明神宗), personal name Zhu Yijun (朱翊鈞), art name Yuzhai (禹齋), was the 14th emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. He succeeded his father, the Longqing Emperor. His reign of 48 years was the longest among all the Ming dynasty emperors. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, means "ten thousand calendars".
The Taichang Emperor, personal name Zhu Changluo, was the 15th emperor of the Ming dynasty. He was the eldest son of the Wanli Emperor and succeeded his father as emperor in 1620. However, his reign came to an abrupt end less than one month after his coronation when he was found dead one morning in the palace following a bout of diarrhea. He was succeeded by his son, Zhu Youjiao, who was enthroned as the Tianqi Emperor. His era name, "Taichang", means "grand prosperity." His reign was the shortest in Ming history.
The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums built by the emperors of the Ming dynasty of China. The first Ming emperor's tomb is located near his capital Nanjing. However, the majority of the Ming tombs are located in a cluster near Beijing and collectively known as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming dynasty. They are located within the suburban Changping District of Beijing Municipality, 42 kilometers (26 mi) north-northwest of Beijing's city center. The site, on the southern slope of Tianshou Mountain, was chosen based on the principles of feng shui by the third Ming emperor, the Yongle Emperor. After the construction of the Imperial Palace in 1420, the Yongle Emperor selected his burial site and created his own mausoleum. The subsequent emperors placed their tombs in the same valley.
The Jingtai Emperor, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Daizong of Ming (明代宗) and by his posthumous name as the Emperor Jing of Ming (明景帝), personal name Zhu Qiyu (朱祁鈺), was the seventh emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1449 to 1457. He succeeded his elder brother, Emperor Yingzong, who had been captured by the Mongols. "Jingtai", the era name of his reign, means "exalted view". He was overthrown in a palace coup led by Yingzong in February 1457, and died a month later.
The Nanjing Museum is located in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province in East China. With an area of 70,000 square metres, it is one of the largest museums in China, with over 400,000 items in its permanent collection. Especially notable is the museum's enormous collections of Ming and Qing imperial porcelain, which is among the largest in the world.
The Zhihua Temple is a Ming dynasty-era Buddhist temple in Beijing, China. It is located in the Lumicang (禄米仓) hutong, in the Chaoyangmen area of Dongcheng District, within the Second Ring Road to the north of Jinbaojie Street, west of the Yabaolu area. The temple was built in 1443 at the order of Wang Zhen, a powerful eunuch in the Rites Supervising Office of the court of the Zhengtong Emperor.
The Gate of China was a historical ceremonial gateway in Beijing, China, located near the center of latter-day Tiananmen Square. It was demolished in 1954. This gate formed the southern gate of the Imperial City during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was situated on the central axis of Beijing, to the north of Zhengyang Gate, and south of Tiananmen. Unlike these two defensive gates, the Gate of China was a purely ceremonial gateway, with no ramparts, but was a brick-stone structure with three gateways.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard was the imperial secret police that served the emperors of the Ming dynasty in China. The guard was founded by the Hongwu Emperor in 1368 to serve as his personal bodyguards. In 1369 it became an imperial military body. They were given the authority to overrule judicial proceedings in prosecutions with full autonomy in arresting, interrogating and punishing anyone, including nobles and the emperor's relatives.
The Ming Palace, also known as the "Forbidden City of Nanjing", was the 14th-century imperial palace of the early Ming dynasty, when Nanjing was the capital of China.
The Forbidden City was first built in the early-15th century as the palace of the Ming emperors of China. It is located in the centre of Beijing, China, and was the Chinese imperial palace from the early-Ming dynasty in 1420 to the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912, continuing to be home of the last emperor, Puyi, until 1924, since then it has been a museum.
The Eastern Qing tombs are an imperial mausoleum complex of the Qing dynasty located in Zunhua, 125 kilometres (78 mi) northeast of Beijing. They are the largest, most complete, and best preserved extant mausoleum complex in China. Altogether, five emperors, 15 empresses, 136 imperial concubines, three princes, and two princesses of the Qing dynasty are buried here. Surrounded by Changrui Mountain, Jinxing Mountain, Huanghua Mountain, and Yingfei Daoyang Mountain, the tomb complex stretches over a total area of 80 square kilometres (31 sq mi).
The que is a freestanding, ceremonial gate tower in traditional Chinese architecture. First developed in the Zhou dynasty, que towers were used to form ceremonial gateways to tombs, palaces and temples throughout pre-modern China down to the Qing dynasty (1644–1912). The use of que gateways reached its peak during the Han dynasty, and today they can often be seen as a component of an architectural ensemble at the graves of high officials during China's Han dynasty. There are also some que found in front of temples. Richly decorated, they are among the most valuable surviving relics of the sculpture and architecture of that period.
Dragon robes, also known as gunlongpao or longpao for short, is a form of everyday clothing which had a Chinese dragon, called long (龍), as the main decoration; it was worn by the emperors of China. Dragon robes were also adopted by the rulers of neighbouring countries, such as Korea, Vietnam, and the Ryukyu Kingdom.
The Kong Family Mansion was the historical residence of the direct descendants of Confucius in the City of Qufu, the hometown of Confucius in Shandong Province, China. The extant structures mainly date from the Ming and Qing dynasties. From the mansion, the family tended to the Confucian sites in Qufu and also governed the largest private rural estate in China. The Kong family was in charge of conducting elaborate religious ceremonies on occasions such as plantings, harvests, honoring the dead, and birthdays. Today, the mansion is a museum and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu".
Eastern Depot or Eastern Bureau was a Ming dynasty spy and secret police agency run by eunuchs. It was created by the Yongle Emperor.
The Ming Dingling is a mausoleum in China where the Wanli Emperor, together with his two empresses Wang Xijie and Dowager Xiaojing, was buried. Dingling is one of the thirteen imperial tombs at Ming tombs in Changping district 45 km north of central Beijing. The Dingling is the only tomb of a Ming dynasty emperor that has been excavated since the founding of the People's Republic of China, a situation that is almost a direct result of the fate that befell Dingling and its contents after the excavation.
Zhu Changxun (1586–1641) was the third son of the Ming dynasty Wanli Emperor. His mother, Noble Consort Zheng, was a favoured concubine and, in efforts to please her, the emperor attempted to have Zhu made heir apparent, but failed to overturn the rule of primogeniture. After the fall of the Ming, however, Zhu's son, Zhu Yousong, became emperor of the Southern Ming dynasty.
Mangfu, also known as mangpao, huayi, and python robe, sometimes referred as dragon robe although they are different garments, in English, is a type of paofu, a robe, in hanfu. The mangfu falls under the broad category of mangyi, where the mangfu is considered as being the classic form of mangyi. The mangfu was characterized by the use of a python embroidery called mang although the python embroidery is not a python snake as defined in the English dictionary but a four-clawed Chinese dragon-like creature. The mangfu was derived from the longpao in order to differentiate monarchs and subjects; i.e. only the Emperor is allowed to wear the long, five-clawed dragon, while his subjects wears mang. The mangfu was worn in the Ming and Qing dynasties. They had special status among the Chinese court clothing as they were only second to the longpao. Moreover, their use were restricted, and they were part of a special category of clothing known as cifu, which could only be awarded by the Chinese Emperor in the Ming and Qing dynasties, becoming "a sign of imperial favour". People who were bestowed with mangfu could not exchange it with or gifted it to other people. They were worn by members of the imperial family below of crown prince, by military and civil officials, and by Official wives. As an official clothing, the mangfu were worn by officials during celebration occasions and ceremonial events. They could also be bestowed by the Emperor to people who performed extraordinary services to the empire as rewards, to the members of the Grand Secretariat and to prominent Daoist patriarchs, imperial physicians, tributary countries and local chiefs whose loyalty were considered crucial to secure the borders. The mangfu is also used as a form of xifu, theatrical costume, in Chinese opera, where it is typically found in the form of a round-necked robe, known as yuanlingpao. In Beijing opera, the mangfu used as xifu is known as Mang.
