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Upon leading a victorious rebellion against the
foreign Mongul rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, a
peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang seized control of
China and founded the Ming Dynasty in 1368. As
emperor, he founded his capital at Nanjing and
adopted the name Hongwu as his reign title.
Hongwu, literally meaning “vast military,” reflects
the increased prestige of the army during the
Ming Dynasty. Due to the very realistic threat still
posed by the Mongols, Hongwu realized that a
strong military was essential to Chinese
prosperity. Thus, the orthodox Confucian view
that the military was an inferior class to be ruled
over by an elite class of scholars was
reconsidered. During the Ming Dynasty, China
proper was reunited after centuries of foreign
incursion and occupation. Ming troops controlled
Manchuria, and the Korean Joseon Dynasty
respected the authority of the Ming rulers, at
least nominally.
Like the founders of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-
220 A.D.), Hongwu was extremely suspicious of
the educated courtiers that advised him and,
fearful that they might attempt to overthrow him,
he successfully consolidated control of all aspect
of government. The strict authoritarian control
Hongwu wielded over the affairs of the country
was due in part to the centralized system of
government he inherited from the Monguls and
largely kept intact. However, Hongwu replaced
the Mongul bureaucrats who had ruled the
country for nearly a century with native Chinese
administrators. He also reinstituted the
Confucian examination system that tested
would-be civic officials on their knowledge of
literature and philosophy. Unlike the Song
Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.), which received most of
its taxes from mercantile commerce, the Ming
economy was based primarily on agriculture,
reflecting both the peasant roots of its founder
as well as the Confucian belief that trade was
ignoble and parasitic.
Culturally, the greatest innovation of the Ming
Dynasty was the introduction of the novel.
Developed from the folk tales of traditional
storytellers, these works were transcribed in the
everyday vernacular language of the people.
Advances in printmaking and the increasing
population of urban dwellers largely contributed
to the success of these books. Architecturally,
the most famous monument of the Ming Dynasty
is surely the complex of temples and palaces
known as the Forbidden City that was
constructed in Beijing after the third ruler of the
Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle, moved the
capital there. Today, the Forbidded Palace
remains one of the hallmarks of traditional
Chinese architecture and is one of the most
popular tourist destinations in the vast nation.
Chinese architecture is one of the more distinct
styles of building. Perhaps the most
characteristic element is the pagoda roofs that
end in dramatic curves. This sculptural tile
would have been situated on that curved edge of
a Ming Dynasty temple. Depicting a horse and
rider, this work was placed on the roof in order
to frighten away any evil spirits that might
attempt to infiltrate the sacred space. The rider,
apparently a soldier, is decorated in ochre-
glazed armor that covers his body. Both his
hands are positioned as if they once held
something. Most probably weapons, perhaps
swords, rendered in wood, that have
deteriorated over the centuries. Although this
detail has disappeared, the vibrant hues of the
blue and ochre glaze remain as brilliantly colorful
as ever. The horse’s saddle, mane and tail are all
a beautiful deep blue glaze, some of which has
dripped over the other elements of the work,
creating a marvelous pattern. Blue-glazed
ribbons decorating the riders swirl in the breeze,
just like the wavy winds that blow at the horse’s
feet. When one considers that this remarkable
architectural sculpture is just the tip of the
temple, the beauty of the completed temple
must be truly astounding.
- (H.718)
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