Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant passages that can help answer the question.
Query: Who was the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty?
The founder of the Ming dynasty was the Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), who is also known variably by his personal name "Zhu Yuanzhang" and his temple name "Taizu of Ming" (literally "Great Ancestor of Ming"). He was the first emperor of the Ming dynasty. His regnal name, Hongwu, means "vastly martial".
Emperor Gaozu of Han (; 256 BCE – 1 June 195 BCE), born Liu Bang (劉邦), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 – 195 BCE. He was one of the few dynasty founders in Chinese history who was born in a peasant family.
Emperor Renzong of Song (30 May 1010 – 30 April 1063, Chinese calendar: 14 April 1010（the 3rd year of Dazhongxiangfu, 大中祥符三年） - 29 March 1063 (the 8th year of Jiayou, 嘉祐八年)), personal name Zhao Zhen, was the fourth emperor of the Song dynasty in China. He reigned for about 41 years from 1022 to his death in 1063, and was the longest reigning Song dynasty emperor. He was the sixth son of his predecessor, Emperor Zhenzong, and was succeeded by his cousin's son, Zhao Shu who took the throne as Emperor Yingzong because his own sons died prematurely. His original personal name was Zhao Shouyi but it was changed by imperial decree in 1018 to "Zhao Zhen", which means 'auspicious' in Chinese.
The Qin dynasty (秦朝) was established in 221 BCE after Qin Shi Huang, King of Qin, conquered his final independent neighbour, the state of Qi. It is now recognised as the first Chinese imperial dynasty in the modern sense of the term; in recognition of this, its rulers were for the first time titled "Emperor" (皇帝), a title of which the components are drawn from legend, higher than the previous title "King" (王). The ancestral name of the family was Ying (嬴), although it is anachronistic to regard this as a family name in the modern sense: it would not have been used together with a given name. The titles of the Qin emperors were literally regnal numbers: "Qin Shi Huang" (秦始皇), in full "Qin Shi Huangdi" (秦始皇帝) means literally "the first Emperor of Qin", "Qin Er Shi" (秦二世), in full "Qin Er Shi Huangdi" (秦二世皇帝) means "the second Emperor of Qin", and so forth.
At the same time, the Ming dynasty was fighting for its survival against fiscal turmoil and peasant rebellions. On April 24, 1644, Beijing fell to a rebel army led by Li Zicheng, a former minor Ming official who became the leader of the peasant revolt, who then proclaimed the Shun dynasty. The last Ming emperor, the Chongzhen Emperor, hanged himself from a tree in the imperial garden outside the Forbidden City. When Li Zicheng moved against him, the Ming general Wu Sangui shifted his alliance to the Manchus. Li Zicheng was defeated at the Battle of Shanhai Pass by the joint forces of Wu Sangui and Manchu prince Dorgon. On June 6, the Manchus and Wu entered the capital and proclaimed the young Shunzhi Emperor as Emperor of China.
In ancient China, the rulers of the Shang ("c". 1600 – "c". 1050 BC) and Zhou ("c". 1050 – 256 BC) dynasties were referred to as kings (王 "wang"). By the time of the Zhou dynasty, they were also referred to as Sons of Heaven (天子 "Tianzi"). By 221 BC, the King of Qin, Ying Zheng, conquered and united all the Warring States of ancient China. To elevate himself above the Shang and Zhou kings of old, he accepted the new title of emperor (皇帝 "huangdi") and is known to posterity as the First Emperor of Qin ("Qin Shi Huang"). The new title of emperor was created by combining the titles for the Three Sovereigns ("Sanhuang") and Five Emperors ("Wudi") from Chinese mythology. This title was used by each successive ruler of China until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911.
Scattered Ming remnants still existed after 1644, including those of Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) who established the Kingdom of Tungning on Taiwan (Formosa). Despite the loss of Beijing and the death of the Chongzhen Emperor, Ming power was by no means totally destroyed. Nanjing, Fujian, Guangdong, Shanxi, and Yunnan were all strongholds of Ming resistance. However, there were several pretenders for the Ming throne, and their forces were divided. Each bastion of resistance was individually defeated by the Qing until 1662, when the last southern Ming emperor died, the Yongli Emperor, Zhu Youlang. The last Ming princes to hold out were the Prince of Ningjing Zhu Shugui and Prince Zhu Honghuan (朱弘桓), son of Zhu Yihai, who stayed with Koxinga's Ming loyalists in the Kingdom of Tungning until 1683. Koxinga's grandson Zheng Keshuang surrendered to the Qing dynasty in 1683 and was rewarded by the Kangxi Emperor with the title "Duke of Haicheng" (海澄公) and he and his soldiers were inducted into the Eight Banners,
For the first time, all Chinese lands were unified under one powerful ruler. In that same year, King Zheng proclaimed himself the "First Emperor" (始皇帝, "Shǐ Huángdì"), no longer a king in the old sense and now far surpassing the achievements of the old Zhou Dynasty rulers. The emperor made the He Shi Bi into the Imperial Seal, known as the "Heirloom Seal of the Realm". The words, "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (the emperor) lead a long and prosperous life." (受命於天，既壽永昌) were written by Prime Minister Li Si, and carved onto the seal by Sun Shou. The Seal was later passed from emperor to emperor for generations to come.
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 1711 – 7 February 1799) was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. Born Hongli, the fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1735 to 8 February 1796. On 8 February, he abdicated in favour of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor—a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power as the Emperor Emeritus (or Retired Emperor) until his death in 1799; he thus was one of the longest-reigning "de facto" rulers in the history of the world, and dying at the age of 87, one of the longest-lived. As a capable and cultured ruler inheriting a thriving empire, during his long reign the Qing Empire reached its most splendid and prosperous era, boasting a large population and economy. As a military leader, he led military campaigns expanding the dynastic territory to the largest extent by conquering and sometimes destroying Central Asian kingdoms. This turned around in his late years: the Qing empire began to decline with corruption and wastefulness in his court and a stagnating civil society.
The Qin dynasty () was the first dynasty of Imperial China, lasting from 221 to 206 BC. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), the dynasty was founded by Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of Qin. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the Legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the fourth century BC, during the Warring States period. In the mid and late third century BC, the Qin state carried out a series of swift conquests, first ending the powerless Zhou dynasty, and eventually conquering the other six of the Seven Warring States. Its 15 years was the shortest major dynasty in Chinese history, consisting of only two emperors, but inaugurated an imperial system that lasted, with interruption and adaptation, until 1912 CE.
The short reigns of Emperor Wu's grandsons, Xiao Zhaoye and Xiao Zhaowen (his first son predeceased him), were dominated by Xiao Luan, Emperor's Wu's first cousin. He killed them in turn and crowned himself as Emperor Ming of Southern Qi. Using the government secretaries (典簽官), he slaughtered all the descendants of Emperors Gao and Wu. Emperor Ming soon became very ill and started following Daoism, changing his whole wardrobe to red. He also passed an edict making officials try to find silver fish (銀魚). He died in 498 and was succeeded by his son Xiao Baojuan, who killed high officials and governors at whim, sparking many revolts. The final revolt in 501 started after Xiao Baojun killed his prime minister Xiao Yi, leading his brother Xiao Yan to revolt under the banner of Xiao Baojun's brother who was declared Emperor He of Southern Qi. Xiao Baojun was killed by one of his generals during the siege of his capital at Jiankang, and after a short puppet reign by Emperor He, Xiao Yan overthrew the Southern Qi and established the Liang dynasty.
Emperor Xian, the last emperor of the Han dynasty, was a descendant of the first emperor Liu Bang. Lasting for over 400 years (the first to last for more than a century), the Han Dynasty is regarded as one of the golden ages of Chinese history. The Han Dynasty was interrupted by the reign of the usurper Wang Mang, who declared the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD); on this basis, the Han Dynasty is generally divided into the Western Han (206 BC – 9 AD and 23–25 AD) and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). The rulers of the Shu Han, one of the three successor states to the Han Dynasty during the Three Kingdoms period, were descended from the Han imperial family, and considered themselves a continuation of the Han Dynasty; they are included below.
Ruzi Ying (; 5 – 25), also known as Emperor Ruzi of Han and the personal name of Liu Ying (劉嬰), was the last emperor of the Chinese Western Han Dynasty from 6 CE to 9 CE. After Emperor Ai of Han and Emperor Ping died without heirs, Wang Mang chose the youngest of the available successors in order to maintain his power in the government. The child Ying was soon deposed by Wang Mang who declared the Xin Dynasty in place of the Han. During Xin Dynasty, Ying was under effective house arrest—so much so that as an adult, he did not even know the names of common animals. Before and after the Xin Dynasty was overthrown in 23 CE, many ambitious people claimed to be restoring the Han dynasty. In 25 CE, a rebellion against the temporary Gengshi Emperor used the former Emperor Ruzi as a focus, and when the rebellion was defeated, he was killed. He is often viewed as an innocent child who was the victim of tragic circumstances. (The expression "Emperor Ruzi" is a misnomer, as he never assumed the throne and was only named crown prince. Nevertheless, he is commonly referred to as such.)
Officially, the current Emperor of Japan, Akihito is the 125th in line from the first emperor Jimmu, who is variously believed to have reigned in the 1st or 7th century BC. The earliest documentary evidence is only for the 29th emperor, Kinmei (AD 509–571); however, this is sufficient such that even the most conservative of estimates still places the Japanese imperial family as among the oldest lines in the world today.
The Han dynasty was founded by the peasant rebel leader (Liu Bang), known posthumously as Emperor Gao ("r". 202 –195 BC) or Gaodi. The longest reigning emperor of the dynasty was Emperor Wu ("r". 141–87 BC), or Wudi, who reigned for 54 years. The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang, but he was overthrown in 23 AD and the Han dynasty was reestablished by Liu Xiu, known posthumously as Emperor Guangwu (r. 25–57 AD), or Guangwu Di. The last Han emperor, Emperor Xian ("r". 189–220 AD), was a puppet monarch of Chancellor Cao Cao (155–220 AD), who dominated the court and was made King of Wei. In 220 AD, Cao's son Pi usurped the throne as Emperor Wen of Wei ("r". 220–226 AD) and ended the Han dynasty.
In 221 BC, Ying Zheng, who was king of Qin at the time, proclaimed himself "Shi Huangdi" (始皇帝), which translates as "first emperor". "Huangdi" is composed of "huang" ("august one", 皇) and "di" ("sage-king", 帝), and referred to legendary/mythological sage-emperors living several millennia earlier, of which three were "huang" and five were "di". Thus Zheng became Qin Shi Huang, abolishing the system where the "huang"/"di" titles were reserved to dead and/or mythological rulers. Since then, the title "king" became a lower ranked title, and later divided into two grades. Although not as popular, the title 王 "wang" (king or prince) was still used by many monarchs and dynasties in China up to the Taipings in the 19th century. 王 is pronounced "vương" in Vietnamese, "ō" in Japanese, and "wang" in Korean.
The new Later Liang emperor created Li Chu the Prince of Jiyin and moved him from Luoyang to Cao Prefecture (曹州, in modern Heze, Shandong), and put his mansion under heavy guard, with a fence of thorns surrounding it. In 908, he had Li Chu poisoned to death, and gave Li Chu the posthumous name of "Ai" (哀, "lamentable"). In 928, by which time Li Keyong's adoptive son Li Siyuan was ruling as the emperor of Jin's successor state Later Tang (as Emperor Mingzong), which claimed to be the legitimate continuation of Tang Dynasty and which had earlier destroyed Later Liang, Emperor Mingzong's officials suggested that a temple be built to honor Emperor Ai. Emperor Mingzong had such a temple built at Cao Prefecture. In 929, Emperor Mingzong's officials further suggested giving Emperor Ai a more proper (i.e., more Tang-traditional) posthumous name of Emperor Zhaoxuan Guanglie Xiao, with a temple name of Jingzong, but they also pointed out that since Emperor Ai's temple was not among the imperial ancestral temples, a temple name was not proper. Therefore, only the new posthumous name was adopted, and the temple name was not. Traditional histories thus referred to him mostly as Emperor Ai but also at times as Emperor Zhaoxuan.No family recorded in official histories; Song dynasty general Li Gang was claimed to be a descendant through a son named Li Xizhao (李熙照)
Emperor Ai of Tang (27 October 89226 March 908), also known as Emperor Zhaoxuan (), born Li Zuo, later known as Li Chu (), was the last emperor of the Tang dynasty of China. He reigned—as but a puppet ruler—from 904 to 907. Emperor Ai was the son of Emperor Zhaozong.
The Kangxi Emperor's reign of 61 years makes him the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history (although his grandson, the Qianlong Emperor, had the longest period of "de facto" power) and one of the longest-reigning rulers in the world. However, since he ascended the throne at the age of seven, actual power was held for six years by four regents and his grandmother, the Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.
One might incorrectly infer from viewing historical timelines that transitions between dynasties occur abruptly and smoothly. Rather, dynasties were often established before the complete overthrow of an existing reign, or continued for a time after they had been effectively defeated. For example, the conventional date 1645 marks the year in which the Qing dynasty armies overthrew the preceding Ming dynasty, according to the dynastic cycle of China. However, the Qing dynasty was established in 1636 (or even 1616, albeit under a different name), while the last Ming dynasty pretender was not deposed until 1663. This change of ruling houses was a messy and prolonged affair, and the Qing took almost twenty years to extend their control over the whole of China. It is therefore inaccurate to assume China changed suddenly and all at once in the year 1645.
The Warring States period ended in 221  after the state of Qin conquered the other six kingdoms, reunited China and established the dominant order of totalitarian autocracy. King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty. He enacted Qin's legalist reforms throughout China, notably the forced standardization of Chinese characters, measurements, road widths (i.e., cart axles' length), and currency. His dynasty also conquered the Yue tribes in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Vietnam. The Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after the First Emperor's death, as his harsh authoritarian policies led to widespread rebellion.
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 within the suburban Changping District of Beijing Municipality, north-northwest of Beijing city center. The site, on the southern slope of Tianshou Mountain (originally Huangtu 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 (Forbidden City) in 1420, the Yongle Emperor selected his burial site and created his own mausoleum. The subsequent emperors placed their tombs in the same valley.
From the Yongle Emperor onwards, 13 Ming dynasty emperors were buried in the same area. The Xiaoling tomb of the first Ming emperor, the Hongwu Emperor, is located near his capital Nanjing; the second emperor, the Jianwen Emperor, was overthrown by the Yongle Emperor and disappeared, without a known tomb. The "temporary" emperor, the Jingtai Emperor, was also not buried here, as the Tianshun Emperor had denied him an imperial burial; instead, the Jingtai Emperor was buried west of Beijing. The last Ming emperor buried at the location was the Chongzhen Emperor, who committed suicide by hanging (on 25 April 1644). He was buried in his concubine Consort Tian's tomb, which was later declared as an imperial mausoleum "Si Ling" by the emperor of the short-lived Shun dynasty, Li Zicheng, with a much smaller scale compared to the other imperial mausoleums built for Ming emperors.
Zhu Qizhen was the son of the Xuande Emperor and his second wife, Empress Sun. At the beginning of the Zhengtong reign, the Ming dynasty was prosperous and at the height of its power as a result of the Xuande Emperor's able administration. The Zhengtong Emperor's accession at the age of eight made him the first child emperor of the dynasty – hence the Zhengtong Emperor was easily influenced by others, especially the eunuch Wang Zhen. At first, Wang Chen was kept under control by Grand Mother Empress Zhang, Zhengtong's grandmother and the unofficial regent, who collaborated closely with three ministers, all with the surname Yang (hence the common name "Three Yangs"), thus the good administration continued. In 1442 though, Empress Zhang died, and the three Yangs also died or retired around that time. The emperor began to completely rely on Wang Zhen for advice and guidance.
The Ming dynasty (1368–1644), after the Han and Tang dynasties, was another high point in Chinese power. The first Ming emperor, the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398), was the head of the Red Turban Rebellion when he routed the rival rebel Chinese leaders and then forced the Mongols of the Yuan dynasty to flee north, back into the Mongolian steppe. The Ming dynasty made a string of conflicts with the Mongols thereafter, some of which were successful, and others of which were not. An example of the latter would be the Tumu Crisis in 1449, where the Zhengtong Emperor was captured by the Mongols and not released until a year later.