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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 reinstated 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.
Traditionally in Chinese art, representations of
civic officials symbolized the order of
government. However, this gorgeous sculpture
of a civic official, created during the Ming
Dynasty, symbolizes more than mere
government, it symbolizes the return of the
ethnic Chinese to power. Aesthetically, the work
recalls similar depictions of civic officials created
during the T’ang Dynasty, a golden age of
Chinese culture. Surely this visual link to the
glories of the past is not unintentional. This
official stands upon a substantial base, revealing
his revered position within society. He is no
mere administrator; he is the embodiment of the
will of the Emperor. An elegant robe with long
overflowing sleeves frames his body. The tall cap
with a chinstrap marks his official status. His
facial features and groomed goatee reveal his
native Chinese ethnic origins. Remnants of the
original pigment that once covered this work are
still visible, including orange highlights on the
robe and black on his facial hair, cap, and shoes.
- (H.1094)
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