How did the Mongol domination end?

With the death of Kublai Khan in 1294, the decline of Mongol rule begins. The imperial authorities failed to subjugate the northern nomadic tribes. The strife began. Riots broke out, the Mongol officials were enriched, while the Chinese peasants became more and more impoverished.

One of the rebels was Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398), who experienced all the hardships of peasant life during the years of Mongol rule. During the great famine, he took refuge in a Buddhist monastery. At the age of 23, he joined the rebels and, leading them, won victories one after another. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang conquered Dadu, present-day Beijing, expelled the Mongols, and established the Ming Dynasty in Nanjing. In the following decades, he systematically strengthened and expanded his power and adopted the imperial name Taizu. He proceeds to restore the country, frees the peasants from taxes and transfers land allotments to them. With the establishment of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), China freed itself from foreign domination.

The Ming Dynasty's splendid period begins with its third Yongle Emperor, who reigned from 1402 to 1424. He moved the capital from Nanjing back to Beijing and set about building an imperial city, which partially survives to this day.

Who built the "forbidden city"?

The Imperial City is the longest residence on earth. It was surrounded by a 7-kilometer wall, and its area was 720,000 square meters. m. The city consisted of numerous palaces, temples, houses, gardens and lakes. All buildings were covered with yellow roofs (yellow is the color of the emperor). Inside the imperial city there was a "forbidden city" - a palace ensemble, where the uninitiated were forbidden to enter under pain of death.

Yongle himself lived in a luxurious palace for only 4 years.

Before the Ming Dynasty came to power, China was politically fragmented. During the three centuries of Ming rule, the unity of the empire was managed to be maintained. To protect against the Mongols, they fortified the Great Wall. They improved the canal network, but above all they revived the traditions of the Chinese dynasties. However, the desire to rely on the country's historical past has increasingly isolated China from the rest of the world, inevitably dooming it to cultural stagnation.

The Ming era was also the era of great navigators. China has not only expanded its borders on land, but has also become a major maritime power. The Portuguese and Spanish navigators had yet to make great discoveries, while the Chinese already possessed excellent shipbuilding techniques.

Who turned China into a maritime power?

At the Ming court, eunuchs were the emperor's advisers and servants. They exercised widespread control, subordinating even the secret police. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were supposedly 70,000 eunuchs in the imperial court.

One of them was the Muslim Zheng He. He was originally from Annan, his real name is Ma, in 1404 he changed it to Chinese. He made a career serving in the female quarters of the Yongle Emperor, then as a military leader. However, he became famous for seven sea expeditions, which he visited from 1405 to 1433. He sailed to Southeast Asia, Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the east coast of Africa.

Zheng He's fleet consisted of several hundred huge junks. Supplying more than 20,000 sailors and covering such gigantic distances is in itself an amazing achievement. In addition to the sailors, countless detachments of translators, doctors and officials served on the ships.

More than 300 ships took part in the first voyage. The first three expeditions were sent to India. The next target was Hormuz in the Persian Gulf and the East African coast. Thanks to Zheng He's expeditions, China's trade ties with many countries were strengthened. Unlike European navigators, who, several centuries after the Chinese, made expeditions to Far East, Zheng He did not build bases, countries were subjected to tribute only in connection with an opportunity.

China in the XIV-XV centuries. Ming Empire

On January 23, 1368, the leader of the one who fought against the Mongol rule in the lower reaches of the river. The Yangtze of the rebel group Zhu Yuanzhang was declared in Yingtian (Nanjing) by the emperor of the new empire - Ming. In September of the same year, his troops captured the capital of the country under the Mongols - the city of Dadu (Beijing). The Mongol court fled north, the Yuan empire fell. Over the next three years, the Ming troops cleared almost the entire territory of China from the Yuan authorities and completed the unification of the country by joining Yunnan (1382) and Liaodong (1387).

The administrative apparatus of the Ming empire began to take shape even before its proclamation, in the rebel camp of Zhu Yuanzhang. The history of the formation of the new government shows that the popular movement, the main force of which was the peasantry and, therefore, along with the anti-Mongolian orientation, features of social protest were inherent, already at an early stage was under the control of the top leaders who sought to consolidate their leading position in the traditional forms of Chinese statehood. Back in 1356, the local Secretariat (xing-zhongshusheng) and the Military Council (xing-shumiyuan) were created in Nanjing, as well as the Six Departments - the highest executive bodies that existed only in the central government apparatus. For control over agriculture regions subordinate to Zhu Yuanzhang are being established special management(intiansy).

In the headquarters of Zhu Yuanzhang, his comrades-in-arms and associates, who helped him and fought with him even earlier - Li Shanchang, Xu Da, Tang He, Song Lian, and others, played a large role. But along with them, Zhu Yuanzhang began to attract the former who served Yuan officials and military leaders.

In 1361, the leadership of the "red troops" granted Zhu Yuanzhang the title of gong - one of the highest in the hierarchy of nobility, in 1367 he proclaimed himself a van - a ruler one step inferior to the emperor. The path to the throne was drawn up within the framework of traditional concepts.

In the first years after the proclamation of the Ming Empire, its administrative apparatus copied the Tang-Sung samples of the 7th-12th centuries, as well as some Yuan orders. However, this structure, which in no way removed the emperor himself from power, did not suit Zhu Yuanzhang, who received the throne in a long struggle with rivals and did not even trust his closest associates. Therefore, he soon embarked on a radical transformation of the administrative apparatus, the main goal of which was to strengthen the centralization and personal power of the sovereign in every possible way.

The local administration was reformed first. In 1376, instead of local secretariats, provincial governments (buzhengsy) were created. In addition, each province established an Inspection Administration (anchasi), which performed judicial and control functions, and a local military command (duzhihuisi). All three of these bodies (san si) were independent of each other and reported directly to the central government. Thus, local power was fragmented and, to a greater extent than before, subordinated to the center. The lower floors of the local administration remained the same: the provinces were divided into regions (fu), districts (zhou) and counties (xian).

Chief among the reforms was the transformation of the central administration. In 1380, accusing Chancellor Hu Weiyong of conspiracy and treason, Zhu Yuanzhang liquidated the posts of chancellors and the entire Palace Secretariat subordinate to them. By special decree it was forbidden to restore them ever. Thus, the more than a thousand-year tradition of the existence of officials at the court, who to some extent shared their leadership functions with the emperors, was stopped. Six departments became directly subordinate to the emperor, and their chiefs were at the top of the administrative ladder.

In 1380, a reform of the high military command was also carried out. Instead of one Main Military Directorate, five Regional Directorates were created. Their command functions were shared with the War Department, and all of them were again directly subordinate to the emperor himself. In 1382 the Chamber of Censors was reformed. They were ordered to serve as the "ears and eyes" of the emperor.

In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang tried to create a kind of alternative to the traditional administrative apparatus in the person of specific rulers, who became the numerous sons of the emperor. They received a headquarters (palace) in one of major cities countries, a certain staff of their own officials, troops subordinate to them, various privileges, generous provision and, most importantly, the widest, but not clearly defined, local powers determined by the personal orders of the emperor. In the person of his blood relatives endowed with power, Zhu Yuanzhang hoped to create a support for his personal power in the field, to further strengthen control over the local administration.

As a result of the described reforms, all the main threads of governing the country were concentrated directly in the hands of the emperor. However, he alone could not cope with the flow of papers that came to the court and demanded a decision, the number of which in some weeks exceeded a thousand. For their consideration in 1382, several special secretaries, dasueshi, were appointed. Initially, they only summarized the content of cases of non-primary importance. But gradually they received more and more powers: they prepared decisions, draft decrees and orders, etc. At the beginning of the XV century. they were united in the Intra-Palace Secretariat (neige). Over time, the new Secretariat more and more replaced the emperor and became in fact the highest administrative body, similar to the former Palace Secretariat, headed by chancellors. The autocracy of the emperor, which reached its apogee at the end of the 14th century, gradually again entered the framework of those legally unformed restrictions that had been developed by the Chinese political tradition. The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang against this background looks more like an exception than a rule. Its features were generated by the acuteness of the situation.

Having no hereditary rights to the throne, having won it in a fierce struggle with many applicants and constantly fearing a new explosion of the popular movement, the founder of the Ming dynasty was distinguished by extreme suspicion and cruelty. He saw terror as one of the means of strengthening his power. The persecution fell on the bureaucracy, the titled nobility, the old military cadres. They were carried out in campaigns, in each of which tens of thousands of people were subjected to repression.

For trial and reprisals in 1382, a special paramilitary unit was created at the court - Jinyi-wei (Brass robes). It obeyed only the emperor. In 1386, a decree was promulgated encouraging general surveillance and denunciation of one another. Strict police control was established on all roads.

Created at the end of the XIV century. the atmosphere of terror left a certain imprint on the entire subsequent domestic political life of the country during the Ming period with its continued secret services, random punishments and executions, and the arbitrariness of individual emperors. In 1420, another punitive and detective institution was created - Dongguan, and in 1477 the third - Siguan. All this was reflected in the political culture of China in the late medieval period.

After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang in 1398, the closest advisers to the new emperor, Zhu Yunwen, began to carry out counter-reforms. The most significant among them was an attempt to abolish the appanages distributed by the founder. The resistance of the specific rulers resulted in an armed uprising by one of them - Zhu Di - against the government. The bloody and destructive war lasted almost 3 years (1399-1402) and ended with the overthrow of the ruling monarch and the accession of Zhu Di. New repressions and reshuffles in the ruling elite followed. In 1421, and practically even earlier, the capital was moved to Beijing (Beijing) - the center of the former appanage of Zhu Di. Pankin remained in the position of the second capital, but in fact all management was concentrated in the north - in Beijing.

Not wanting to put up with the growing separatism of the appanage rulers, the government of Zhu Di (1402-1424) took a number of steps to curb their strength: they gradually took away their troops, and partially their subordinate officials, individual rulers were deprived of destinies. The political strength of the appanages was finally broken after the suppression of a new attempted coup-rebellion by Han-wang in 1426. However, the appanage system, having lost its original meaning - to serve as a support for the throne in the province, continued to be preserved until the end of the Ming dynasty.

Acute collisions arise in connection with the capture of Emperor Zhu Qizhen (Ying Zong) by the Oirats at the Battle of Tumu in 1449 and the removal from the throne of his direct heir by one of the specific rulers - Zhu Qiyu (Jing Zong). In 1456, Zhu Qizhen, who returned from captivity, managed to regain the throne. However, these events did not cause any measurements in the order of administrative management of the country established by that time.

As for the traditional bureaucratic apparatus, the persecution of the end of the XIV century. didn't change any general his activities, nor his position in society and the methods of staffing the bureaucracy. There were 9 official ranks, each of which had two ranks - the main (senior) and equated (junior). Certain official posts could only be occupied by officials of the rank corresponding to this post. In the early years of the Ming Empire, it was widely practiced to be promoted to officials without examination. But over time, when selecting for official positions, the system of examinations finds more and more use. During the Ming period, its three-stage structure was finally formed: successive trials at the level of counties and regions, provinces, and then in the capital.

Bypassing exams, graduates of privileged schools, in particular, the metropolitan school of Gots-zyjian, could be nominated for official positions.

The organization of the regular army was based on the system of garrisons (wei) and guards (so), introduced in 1368. The garrison was supposed to be 5600 soldiers and commanders. It was divided into 5 thousand guards (1120 people each), consisting of hundreds of guards (112 people each). It was assumed that thousands of guards should stand in each area. Such a system of distribution of troops shows that the purpose of the army was seen not only in repelling attacks from outside, but also in maintaining internal peace. In practice, the number of garrisons could be more or less than the established figure, and the deployment of guards in each area was also not punctually maintained. Total population troops ranged from 1-1.2 million to 2 million people.

Established in 1375, the local military commands in the provinces disposed of the garrisons stationed there. Above the local Military Commands were five Regional Military Directorates. The military department led the recruitment of the army and the appointment of officers, the Department of Public Works - the supply of weapons, the Department of Taxes - supplies. During hostilities, the command of the troops was entrusted to commanders specially appointed by the emperor. They obeyed only the emperor himself. At the end of the war, they surrendered their powers. Such a system was aimed at keeping the main threads of military command in the hands of the emperor.

Initially, the army consisted of soldiers subordinate to Zhu Yuanzhang from the time of the uprising, as well as recruits recruited from among the population. The offenders subject to punishment were also recruited as soldiers. Subsequently, military status was made hereditary for soldiers. They, along with their families, were assigned to a special military estate (jun hu). Upon the death of the "main warrior", he was to be replaced by one of his sons, and if there was no son, one of the former fellow villagers.

Soldiers were supplied with food and clothing from the treasury. To reduce the cost of supplying the army from the very beginning of the Ming Dynasty, a system of military settlements with the allocation of land to soldiers was widely practiced. Only 0.2-0.3% of military settlers carried out security service, and the rest were engaged in agriculture.

The drafting of the code of laws of the new empire, called "Da Ming Lu", began even before its proclamation - in 1367. Then it was repeatedly altered and supplemented. The norms established in the 7th-8th centuries were taken as the basis of the legislation. in the Tang Empire. In the future, the code was overgrown with additions. Along with "Da Ming lu", the normative norms that had legislative power were set forth in the "Highly Compiled Great Orders" ("Yu zhi da gao") and the "Testaments of the Royal Ancestor" (Zu xun lu) prepared with the direct participation of Zhu Yuanzhang. , as before, many decrees and manifestos of the Ming emperors.

In foreign policy, the main task of the Ming Empire was to prevent the possibility of a new Mongol conquest of the country. Sufficiently successful battles with the Mongols went on almost continuously until 1374, then in 1378-1381 and 1387-1388. At the beginning of the XV century. Mongol raids intensified again, and starting from 1409, Zhu Di undertook a number of campaigns in Mongolia with the aim of defeating the enemy, but not expecting to capture his territory. The first trip ended in failure. But in 1410, the Chinese managed to defeat the main Mongol forces. In subsequent campaigns, which lasted until 1424, China used the internecine struggle among the Mongol feudal lords, taking the side of some of them against others. In 1449, the Oirat (Western Mongolian) Khan Esen, having united a significant part of Mongolia, utterly defeated the Chinese army, captured the emperor who led it, and laid siege to Beijing. However, the besieged under the leadership of the commander Yu Qian repelled the onslaught. After the new unification of Mongolia at the end of the 15th century. peace was concluded with her in 1488. However, from 1500 Mongol raids began again.

The Central Asian part of the Great Silk Road remained outside the control of the Ming Empire. From here at the end of the XIV - beginning of the XV century. she was threatened by the power of Timur, relations with which escalated. But during the campaign against China that began in 1405, Timur died, and his troops turned back.

From the beginning of the XV century. China is taking active steps to the south. In 1406, he intervenes in the internal struggle in Vietnam and occupies it. But the growing resistance of the people forced the Chinese troops in 1427 to leave the country. In 1413, the Chinese finally subdued the peoples who lived in the territory of the present province of Guizhou. In the 40s of the XV century. Chinese troops capture some areas in Northern Burma. From 1405 to 1433 to the countries South Seas and further to India, Arabia and Africa, 7 grandiose expeditions of the Chinese fleet under the leadership of Zheng He are sent. In different campaigns, he led from 48 to 62 big ships(excluding small boats). On board the squadron were from 27 to 30 thousand soldiers and sailors, craftsmen, merchants, clerks, etc. The main purpose of these voyages was to establish diplomatic and, at the same time, trade relations with overseas countries in the form of a regular exchange of embassy missions.

The Ming Empire fully embraced the traditional Chinese concept of the universality of the emperor's power and the predetermined vassalage of all foreign countries. The arrival of foreign embassies, interpreted in China as a manifestation of such vassalage, was stimulated in every possible way by the first rulers of the Ming Empire, which was born in the struggle against foreign rule and needed to strengthen its authority. The peak of activity to stimulate embassies falls at the beginning of the 15th century. But since the 40s of the XV century. the imperial court, after a struggle of different opinions about the rationality of such a policy, refuses active efforts in this direction. The ambassadorial exchange begins to decrease steadily.

Zheng He's expeditions contributed to the emergence and expansion of Chinese colonial settlements in the countries of the South Seas. However, they did not change the general nature of China's relations with overseas countries: their vassalage remained purely nominal and largely artificially created by the Chinese side through ritual camouflage.

Since the rebels of Zhu Yuanzhang built their administrative apparatus on traditional foundations, their economic and its key link - agrarian policy from the very beginning was based on the old principles that had developed long before the time described. This does not mean that there are no innovations in it. But in general, the rebel power of Zhu Yuanzhang did not change the foundations of the previously existing situation in land ownership and land use in the territory under its control.

Initially, the needs of the army and the ruling elite were provided by collecting the so-called camp food (zhai lap). It was not regular and was hard on the population. After the establishment in 1356 of the Administration of arable fields (intyansi), the compilation of register lists of taxpayers began. Around 1360, the collection of "camp food" was abolished, and the needs of the army and the administrative elites began to be provided by the taxes received.

Even during the struggle for power, Zhu Yuanzhang began to practice organizing military settlements for the self-sufficiency of the army, stimulating the cultivation of abandoned and virgin lands, distributing land holdings of the military nobility and service holdings to officials. These undertakings on a wider scale were continued after 1368.

By the end of the XIV century. in the country, 8,507,623 qing of cultivated land were taken into account (qing - 100 mu, mu - approximately 4.6 a). All land in the Ming Empire was divided into two main categories - state, or state (guan tian), and private (min tian). The fund of state lands at the beginning of its existence expanded significantly due to the fact that, to what was inherited from previous times, lands were added to the treasury, confiscated from opponents of the new regime and left ownerless as a result of wars and devastation. Their area correlated with private property as 1:7, i.e. accounted for 1/8 of the total cultivated fund, which exceeded 1 million qing. The state lands housed the possessions of aristocrats and officials allocated to them from the treasury, fields assigned to educational institutions, gardens and pastures, etc. But the bulk of them was occupied by military and civilian settlements (juntun, mintun).

The settlers cultivated over 890 thousand qing of arable land, which accounted for more than 10% of the total cultivated area in the country. The average allotment of a military settler was 50 mu of land, but depending on its availability and quality, it could range from 20 to 100 mu. The treasury provided them with seeds, inventory, working cattle. Their products were confiscated in different ways: either in the form of a tax of 0.1 shi from each mu, or the entire crop went to common barns, and from there the content of 0.5 shi of grain was paid (1 shi at Ming - 107.37 liters) per a person per month, or a certain share was separated into "serving workers", and the rest was divided among the workers. The allotments of military settlers were not legally hereditary. But in practice, the system of replacing a warrior with a member of his own family led to frequent cases inheritance of the selected area.

Civilian settlements were organized from landless or land-poor peasants who were resettled in areas where there was an excess land fund, as well as from those recruited to raise virgin lands in marginal and inconvenient places, and from exiled criminals. Settlements were made up of 80-100 households. The tax on them was either 0.1 shi per 1 mu of land, or a tenth of the crop. The government of Zhu Yuanzhang, in the conditions of post-war devastation and the associated reduction in sown areas, was actively involved in the development of abandoned and virgin lands, seeking to expand the circle of taxpayers and thereby replenish the resources of the treasury. In the Beijing area alone, 254 civilian settlements were established.

A certain amount of state land was in the use of peasants who were not organized into settlements. Some of them, together with the land, were transferred to the disposal of representatives of the royal family, the nobility and officials. In the 70s of the XIV century. nobility and officials received land from the court both for permanent possession and for holding in return for salaries. These holdings were calculated not by the area of ​​​​fields, but by the amount of income brought in. However, in 1392, all official lands of officials and part of the holdings of the titled nobility were taken back to the treasury and replaced by salary payments, which was dictated by the desire to prevent them from becoming privately owned.

However, the bulk of private estates did not consist of court grants. Large and medium landownership, based on the exploitation of the labor of the tenant, had existed for many hundreds of years by the time the Ming Empire was created. And the new government has not changed the current situation, leaving the relationship between tenants and landlords outside their competence. Some redistribution of the zeyli took place in the middle of the 14th century. not only at the will of the authorities, who confiscated it from their opponents, but also spontaneously, in the process of a broad insurrectionary movement that swept the country. In 1368, the Ming government recognized the property rights of the "strong houses", i.e. landowners, on the lands they seized during the uprising. The noted partial redistribution of land occurred mainly in the northern regions of the country.

While not encouraging the growth of large private land ownership and fighting against illegal methods of increasing land ownership, which led to a reduction in the number of taxpayers and the area of ​​state lands (seizure of land by force, forgery and concealment when taking into account the cultivated area, etc.), the Minsk government at the same time itself provided opportunities for such growth. By a decree of 1368, it was allowed to cultivate abandoned lands and not pay taxes on them for three years. In 1380, in five northern provinces and a number of regions, it was allowed to raise new under the same conditions. Finally, in 1391, both the nobility and commoners were allowed to occupy any number of uncultivated lands that they could cultivate as property. Naturally, both landowners and peasants could use the marked decrees. But the strongest and those who had the necessary means and influence for this purpose received the preferential opportunities, i.e. above all the privileged strata and the landowners.

The main channel for the redistribution of land and the growth of large landed property at the end of the XIV-XV centuries. there remained its buying from the ruined or impelled to that by other circumstances of the owners. The government insisted on compulsory registration Each transaction, but the possibility of buying and selling land was not stopped.

The Minsk government paid close attention to the strictest accounting of the population and its property for taxation. On a national scale, such a census was carried out in 1370. But the most complete register was compiled in 1381 - the so-called Yellow Register. In addition, in 1387 they carried out a general measurement of land and compiled a detailed land cadastre with field drawings - the so-called Fish Scale. Village chiefs were required to report annually on changes to be made to the registers. Their general revision was prescribed to be carried out every 10 years.

The former system of "two taxes" (liang shui) - summer and autumn - was put at the basis of tax collections. They were paid in kind - those types of products that were grown in the area, and mainly grain. From each mu of state land was supposed to be about 5.9 liters of grain, private land - 3.5 liters. In practice, however, these tax rates fluctuated depending on local conditions. On public lands they had II, on private lands -10 gradations. These rates have also changed over time. In 1430, on state lands, they already amounted to 10.7 to 107.3 liters per mu.

From 1376 it was allowed to pay taxes in terms of silver, copper coins and banknotes. But at the end of the XIV century. the share of in-kind tax revenues was still very small - less than 2% of the total. This situation began to change from the 30s of the 15th century, when the share of silver in taxes increased in certain regions of Central-South China.

For the convenience of collecting taxes, in 1371 a system of tax elders (liangzhang) was introduced. Each of them was responsible for the timely collection and delivery to the destination of taxes from the area, which was supposed to pay 10 thousand shi of grain. The elders were appointed from wealthy local residents. In submission to them was given 1 accountant, 20 hangers and 1000 carriers. The carriers were the peasants serving this duty in turn.

In addition to taxes, peasants and landowners who were not part of the academic and service class were obliged to bear, as in former times, labor duties. They were divided into household, per capita and additional (different). The number of workers allocated by each yard depended on its property status and the number of tax workers.

As a result of all these measures in the XIV century. a rather harmonious system of exploitation of the overwhelming majority of the population was created, covering both state and privately owned lands. At the same time, the owners of private land paid slightly lower taxes than workers on public lands.

The aspirations of the government of Zhu Yuanzhang boiled down to strengthening a rather simplified scheme: the all-powerful monarch, through an obedient bureaucratic apparatus that does not have independence, collects taxes from as many taxpayers as possible - mostly independent smallholders - and tax funds make it possible to maintain the army, officials, and bring income to the ruling elite go to other state needs. This meant that tax rates should be relatively moderate. This ideal was traditional for Chinese social and political thought in antiquity and the Middle Ages. But he did not leave room for development and therefore could not be sustained in practice. If under Zhu Yuanzhang, thanks to the marked increase in state lands and small-peasant property, as well as the harsh measures of the government, it was possible to maintain it in some, albeit very far from perfect, form, then from the beginning of the 15th century. more and more deviation from the norms accepted as an ideal is observed. The main reason for this, as before, was the steadily developing process of concentration of land in the hands of landowners and the erosion of small-scale farming and the state land fund, associated with a decrease in the number of taxpayers and an increase in private exploitation through rent.

The area of ​​taxed cultivated land from 8.5 million qing in 1393 decreased by 1502 to 6.2 million qing (and according to some sources - up to 4.2 million qing). At the same time, the number of taxable households (from 1393 to 1491) decreased by 1.5 million, and taxpayers - by approximately 7 million. was not observed, but due to the growth of rental relations within the framework of private land ownership, which found all sorts of legal and illegal ways to evade taxes.

The ruling elite of the empire is actively involved in the appropriation of private property. The sources indicate that from the middle of the XV century. specific rulers, relatives of the emperor in the female line and palace eunuchs "everywhere seized state and private arable fields." Government attempts to fight these prohibition orders had little effect. Struggling with unauthorized seizures of land, from 1425 the imperial court itself began to distribute to the aristocratic elite the so-called manor fields (zhuang tian), numbering in the hundreds, and later thousands of qing. From the second half of the 60s of the XV century. emperors themselves secure such possessions; they were called "imperial estates" (huang zhuang). By 1489 there were five such estates with a total area of ​​12.8 thousand qing.

The system of military settlements also gradually decomposed. Their lands were captured by the military authorities and eunuchs, whose power and influence at the court increased markedly from the end of the 15th century. By this time, the total revenues to the treasury from military settlements amounted to only a tenth of the income they originally provided.

From the second quarter of the 15th century. the register lists of taxpayers are becoming more and more chaotic and confusing, the tax burden is becoming heavier, the process of the transition of peasants "under the protection" of the nobility and large landowners, the flight of peasants from the land, is intensifying. Reports of a significant number of fugitives appear from the first years of the 15th century. Attempts by the authorities to put the fugitives back on the ground had only a limited effect. Individual popular uprisings also broke out.

However, the noted process of a gradual departure from those established at the end of the 14th century. Orders did not lead the country's agriculture to any serious crisis until the end of the 15th century.

Due to the historical circumstances described in the previous chapters, the most developed economically in general and industrial and commercial in particular were the central-southern regions of the country. Of the more than 30 cities that were major centers of crafts and trade, only 1/4 was located in the north, and 1/3 was concentrated in the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu. In the noted most developed region, more trading and fishing settlements arose than in other parts of the empire, which quickly turned into cities - zhen and shi. In only one county of Wujiang in the second half of the XV century. there were 3 shi and 4 zhen. Moreover, the handicraft core of such centers grew more and more.

The population of large cities still numbered in the hundreds of thousands. For example, 245,112 people lived in Suzhou in 1379. After the transfer of the capital in 1421, Beijing was growing rapidly. By the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. its population was about 600 thousand people. Bias political center countries to the north caused the growth of cities in the surrounding county. But at the same time, this displacement inevitably, although not directly, weakened the possibilities for further socio-economic development of the most promising southeastern regions in this respect, which had lost their proximity to the capital, which meant so much under the conditions of the imperial order.

At the end of the XIV-XV centuries. more clearly than before, the economic specialization of individual regions of the country is indicated. Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou and Huzhou were famous for silk weaving, Suzhou and Songjiang for cotton weaving, Jingdezhen for porcelain, Yixing for ceramics, Guangdong and Sichuan for sweets, Shandong for lacquer, Jiangxi for jewelry, Fujian and Sichuan for tableware, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian - paper, Yunnan - copper and lead, Foshan - iron, etc. It was at the turn of the XIV-XV centuries. wide use received the cultivation of cotton and the production of cotton fabrics. Iron production was kept at the level of about 4.7 thousand tons per year. Still at a high level for its time, both in quantity and quality, the production of silk, porcelain, and jewelry kept. Shipbuilding successes can be illustrated by the ships of the Zheng He squadron: they were three-, four-masted, about 40-50 m long, carried from 50 to 360 tons of payload and 600 people, had internal waterproof bulkheads, impregnation and coating of the hull special formulations, marked waterline, etc. Of the mining industries, salt mining has been widely developed. Only in the Lianghuai region (in Jiangsu) there were 29 salt mining sites.

Contributing to the development of small-scale peasant economy, the Ming government in the early years took a course towards strengthening and expanding state crafts and trades. The scope of state-owned production can be judged, for example, by the fact that 18,000 artisans who served their service worked annually in Beijing. At the beginning of the XV century. in Zunhua, state-owned iron-smelting furnaces were built, which served 2,500 workers. in Jingdezhen at the end of the 14th century. there were 20 state-owned furnaces for firing porcelain, and in the second half of the 15th century. - 50 ovens.

The Department of Public Works (gong bu), partly the Department of Taxes (hu bu), a special palace handicraft department (neifu wujianju), as well as military and local authorities were engaged in the organization and management of state-owned production. Its main labor force was made up of artisans allocated to a separate estate, obliged by duties. The register lists of artisans compiled by 1385 included 232,089 households (there were about 300,000 in the 15th century). The main part of them alternately - 1 time in 3 years for 3 months - was involved in work in the capital, other large cities, construction and field facilities. Soon, the terms began to vary from 1 year to 5 years, and later - from 2 to 4 years. Their supply and provision with raw materials and other means of production was undertaken by the state. The road to the place of work they paid for themselves.

From the beginning of the XV century. some of the artisans (about 27 thousand) were transferred to work out duties at their place of residence (zhu zuo). They worked for the treasury from 10 to 20 days a month, which was harder than the norms for alternate working off, but did not require separation from their workshop and travel costs.

In 1485, permission was given to buy off duties with silver. This began to be practiced primarily in silk weaving and testified to the unprofitability and gradual displacement of forced labor in state-owned craft. But progress here was still slow.

There was a small number (approximately 3 thousand) of military artisans, i.e. yards of artisans who were in the military class.

The main production unit in the Chinese craft of the late XIV-XV centuries. the shop-workshop continued to remain, where the owner and members of his family worked. These small workshops, as before, united into professional guild associations (khan, tuan). Having worked or paid duties, the artisan acted as a private producer, selling his products independently or through intermediary buyers. Thus, state and private craft were directly connected. The parallel existence of large-scale state-owned production interfered with the normal development of private crafts, narrowing the demand for products, introducing harsh managerial methods into the organization of production, tearing workers away from their work to carry out duties, etc.

During this period, especially from the 15th century, information appears about the existence of separate large workshops organized by private owners (dohu). This primarily applies to weaving. However, there were still few such workshops even in the most economically developed regions, and wage labor here did not lose its enslaving character.

The progress noted above in the specialization of individual regions of the country in the predominant production of any product contributed to the further development of trade. Buyers and brokers who have formed intermediary offices (yakuai, yahan, yadyan) are becoming increasingly important in this interregional trade. At the end of the XV century. the income of such offices became so significant that the government repeatedly tried to put them under its strict control and use them for its own selfish purposes. Along with this merchant trade, petty trade of artisan shopkeepers and peddling continued to flourish in cities and towns. Some urban-type settlements developed primarily as trading centers (shi), and trade in them prevailed over handicrafts. At the same time, in petty trade, the division between it and handicraft has not yet occurred. Craftsmen, in Beijing for example, were listed as "shopkeepers" (fluff).

In the early years of the Ming empire, the collection of trade tax was streamlined: the number of customs offices was reduced and a single rate was established at 1/30 of the value of the goods. However, already at the end of the 20s of the XV century. trade tax on the transport of goods by water was levied in various ways: depending either on the amount of goods and the distance of their transportation, or on the size of the boat or ship.

The policy of the state in relation to trade was not consistent. On the one hand, trading activities recognized

In China long years internal stability was maintained: it was the period between 1400 and 1550 when the Ming dynasty reached the heights of power. Beginning in the middle of the 16th century, problems began to appear. Along the northern border, the Mongols again gained strength. At the beginning of the 16th century, the scattered tribes of Mongolia united under the hand of Dayan Khan, but this process reached its full development under his son Altan Khan, who ruled for fifty years, starting in 1532. In the 1540s, the Mongols launched raids into Shanxi province and around Beijing - they captured more than 200,000 captives and a million head of cattle and horses in a single month in 1542. By 1550, they were already besieging Beijing and forced the Chinese to start paying indemnities with horses again. In 1552 they conquered the lands of northern Shanxi and then captured the old capital of Karakorum. After defeating the Kirghiz and Kazakhs, by the 1570s they had achieved control over most of Tibet. By the time the Ming dynasty concluded a peace treaty with them, the Mongols had subjugated almost all of central Asia. In the south, there was a growing problem of piracy, which the Chinese blamed on the Japanese, although the largest groups were subordinated to Wang Chi, a Chinese merchant from Anhui who also traded with Southeast Asia.

And yet the most difficult were internal problems. Many of these were rooted in the nature of the land tax, which provided two-thirds of the government's revenue. Quotas for each area were established in 1385, at the beginning of the Ming reign. As the population grew and its distribution changed with the introduction of new lands, the government faced a challenge familiar to other pre-industrial empires: how to relate taxes to the actual distribution of wealth. Even the relatively powerful Chinese government failed to tame the local landowners, who were able to avoid any major redistribution of the tax burden. This led to important consequences. Although the army units stationed in various areas owned the land to feed the communities of peasant soldiers, they also depended on the collection of local taxes. The population grew, and the general food shortage, along with the misallocation of taxes, deprived the army of food and support. Soldiers began to desert, and by the end of the fourteenth century, only a tenth of their intended strength remained in many units. To some extent, the central government circumvented these problems by recruiting mercenaries - as in Europe, usually these were people for whom military service remained the only alternative to starvation. However, the government had to deal with rising costs for the maintenance of mercenaries - in XVI century the sums increased eightfold as the size of the army on the northern frontier increased and more and more expensive firearms were required for it.

Until the early 1590s, income was barely enough to cover these costs. Then, within a few years, the government managed to build up large reserves thanks to the development of trade and the influx of silver from America. However, the reserves were still not enough to finance the long and very costly war in Korea in 1593-1598, when the Japanese, led by Hideyoshi, invaded there. Although the Chinese were victorious, the state was left with almost no money. The attempt to remedy the situation by establishing new taxes and increasing the old ones only led to growing discontent and a series of revolts, both in the villages and in the cities. In the 1620s, the Ming government, seeing the impossibility of maintaining a mercenary army, conducted conscription in many border areas, but this only led to uprisings in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou. Within government bodies, conflict between administrators, court favorites and eunuchs grew, corruption intensified and conspiracies against the emperor were increasingly organized. A Muslim uprising swept through the northwestern provinces, mainly caused by the shift in trade routes leading to the Central Asian regions. Bad weather also played an important role. In 1627-1628, droughts and crop failures in northern Shanxi caused the formation of large bands of peasants, deserters, and soldiers fired because they had nothing to pay; they roamed the countryside and even plundered the cities. In the early 1630s, these gangs grew even more, as the situation in the villages worsened, and the trouble affected other provinces - Hebei, Henan and Anhui. The government and the army could not mobilize enough forces to put down these uprisings. By the early 1640s, the Ming dynasty was on the verge of collapse. In northern China, rebel leaders, especially Li Zicheng (a former shepherd and worker at the government post office), were intent on deposing the Ming rulers as they themselves seized more and more territory and established their own administration on it. In February 1644, Li Zicheng, in his capital Xian (renamed from Chang-an), proclaimed a new Shun dynasty. Two months later, his troops entered Beijing, and the last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, committed suicide. In September 1644, former soldier Zhang Xianzhong, who ruled Sichuan, established the "Great Kingdom of the West".

China, apparently, was at the beginning of another period of collapse or the establishment of a new regime, as was the case with the seizure of power by the Ming Dynasty about three hundred years ago. But instead, the state was captured by another group of nomads from the Great Steppe - the Manchus. They belonged to the Jurchen people and descended from those rulers who conquered northern China from the Song Empire and owned it in 1115-1234 before falling under the blows of the Mongol conquerors. In 1589, they were allied with the Chinese and fought alongside them against the Japanese in Korea in the 1590s. The slow disintegration of Ming power gave them the opportunity to establish their control over northeastern China, where the Chinese and various nationalities lived interspersed, who were formerly nomads, and then switched to a settled way of life. The Jurchen nobility organized their troops along Chinese lines and made extensive use of a variety of firearms invented by the Chinese. These units were called "banners" and distinguished by the colors of their standards. They were created in 1601 and were divided into "internal banners" (consisting of the Jurchens and their direct descendants) and "external banners" (consisting of representatives of other nationalities). For almost a hundred years, they remained the most formidable military force in eastern Eurasia. The Jurchens expanded their empire under Nurhaci - they captured Liaoyang in 1621 and made Mukden their capital in 1625. By this time, they were already dependent on bilingual Chinese officials who acted as intermediaries between them and the Chinese nobility in the areas subject to the Jurchens; they held most of the key posts in the administration, often hereditary. Many received the privilege - the opportunity to join the "internal banners" as paoi, "close to home."

The most active period of the Jurchen expansion came under Abagay (1627-1643). In 1635 they adopted the name Manchu, and a year later they changed their family name from the historical Jin to Ta-Jin (i.e. "great Jin"). Southward expansion proved relatively easy as the Ming power disintegrated. By 1638, the Manchus had subjugated all of Korea, followed by Manchuria, and by 1644 they were in control of the Amur basin. In 1644, the rebel leader Li Zhu-chen was defeated, after which the Jurchen-Manchus occupied Beijing. Over the next few years, they subdued northern China without much difficulty. By 1647, the Manchus had reached Canton to the south, but there they faced a more cohesive Chinese force. They were led by various leaders from the Ming Dynasty who tried to maintain power over this rich land and restore the dynasty, as did the Southern Song Dynasty in the 1120s. In 1647, Yun-li was proclaimed the new emperor of Ming - he recaptured Canton and established control over most of southern China. However, in 1648 he was forced to retreat to Yunnan, where internal strife, especially among the Ming warlords, prevented effective organization of resistance against the Manchus. Nevertheless, Yun-li continued to act, and only in 1661 was he captured in northeastern Burma and executed. The successful capture of the south posed new problems for the leaders of the Manchus, especially with regard to the generals (among whom were the military leaders of the Ming armies who had gone over to their side), who, in fact, carried out conquests for the Manchus. Wu Sangui, who defeated Yun-li, controlled Yunnan, Guizhou, Hunan, Shanxi and Gansu. In 1673, he rebelled and, with the help of other military commanders and governors of southern China, founded the Zhou Empire, which lasted until 1681. By the mid-1670s, it looked like this empire was about to retake northern China and end Manchu rule. Some of his supporters were seen as treasonous, but it was only after Wu's death in 1678 that the rebellion came to an end, and the Manchus gained full power over the south by the early 1680s.

The Manchus also had to deal with widespread piracy off the southern coast. The pirates were commanded by one of the prominent supporters of the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong (known to Europeans as Koxinga). By the mid-1650s, he could, if desired, mobilize more than 2,000 warships and an army of up to 100,000 people. Only after an unsuccessful attempt to capture Nanjing in 1659 did its power begin to decline. By 1661 he was driven back to Taiwan, where he defeated and expelled the Dutch. He sent ambassadors to Manila and the Philippines, where there was only an insignificant Spanish garrison - 600 people. The Spanish governor decided to retire to Mindanao, but before that he ordered the massacre of all Chinese residents - at least 6,000 people were killed in Manila, and about 30,000 people throughout the Philippines. The Spaniards were saved only by the death of Zheng Chenggong in 1662. The Dutch failed to capture Taiwan; the Manchus did so in 1683. By this time, the power of the Manchus in China had strengthened, and a long period of internal unrest came to an end. From the 1680s, a period of strong internal stability and prosperity began in China, which lasted until the middle of the 19th century.

The sixteen emperors of the Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644 for 276 years. A new empire took over in a popular uprising and was overthrown in a Peasants' War the army of Li Zicheng and the Manchus who invaded China, who had previously established in Manchuria.

The man under whose leadership the Yuan Dynasty fell was from a poor peasant family who earned their livelihood by farming and washing the golden sand. Zhu Yuanzhang was 40 years old when he overthrew the Mongol Yuan Dynasty and became emperor under the throne name of Tai Zu as a result of a prolonged uprising of the Red Turbans. The new ruler made the city his capital, surrounding it with a thirty-mile wall.

The thirty-year reign of Emperor Tai Zu was marked by cruel repression, when any, even the most insignificant offense was punished by death. Not forgetting his origin, the emperor tried to protect the peasants: officials who used their power to oppress the common people were met with severe punishment from stigmatization to confiscation of property, hard labor and execution.

Despite the brutal rule of Tai Zu, relative calm was established inside the country, and the economic situation in the country also improved. The empire managed to strengthen its positions in Manchuria, liberate the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan from the Mongols, and even burn Karakorum. However, a more serious problem in this era was the raids of Japanese pirates.

After the death of the emperor in 1398, the legitimate heir Jian Wen, a gentle and educated man, who was killed in 1402 by the arrogant and power-hungry prince Zhu Di, the middle son of the first Ming emperor, did not last long in power. In 1403, the prince proclaimed himself emperor. To prove his legitimacy as the Son of Heaven, Zhu Di ordered scholars to rewrite the history of China's ruling dynasties.

In general, despite the usurpation of the throne and cruel terror at the very beginning of his reign, historians evaluate Zhu Di as a brilliant ruler.

To calm the mood of the population and riots, the emperor encouraged Buddhist rites and, adhering to traditional Confucian norms, revised the administrative structure of the empire, thus eliminating contradictions between individual tribes.

The emperor paid special attention to the fight against corruption and secret societies. Thanks to the newly restored examination system, a new generation of officers and officials was attracted to the government.

The new ruler also took measures to restore the economy: production of food and textiles was increased, new lands in the Yangtze Delta were developed, rivers were cleared, and the Great Canal of China was rebuilt and expanded, which contributed to the development of trade and navigation.

As for foreign policy, the reign of Emperor Zhu Di was more successful at sea than on land. Huge ocean-going vessels were built at the shipyards of Nanjing - nine-masted junks, reaching 133 m in length and 20 m in width. The Chinese fleet, numbering 300 such ships, led by Admiral Zheng He (one of the court eunuchs) made trips to Southeast Asia, Ceylon, India and even the Persian Gulf, as a result of which many rulers were taken prisoner, and the Ming court became to receive tribute from distant states. These expeditions greatly expanded the influence of the empire and became the greatest maritime exploration in the history of mankind, several decades ahead of the European era of great geographical discoveries.

It was Zhu Di who moved the capital of the Ming Empire to and ordered the construction, work on which was completed in 1420. However, fate gave the emperor only a few years to enjoy the new palace: in 1424, the ruler died, returning from a campaign against the Mongols.

The throne briefly passed to his eldest son, who died less than a year later of a heart attack. Then the power passed to the grandson of Zhu Di named Xuan Zong. Peace has returned to the country, and the borders have also become calm. Diplomatic relations with Japan and Korea began to develop. After the death of the emperor in 1435, Chinese historians will call him the model of a Confucian monarch, versed in the arts and inclined to benevolent government.

The emperor's heir was one of his two sons, the young Ying Zong, who was barely 6 years old, so the real power was in the hands of the regency council, consisting of three eunuchs, among whom Wang Jin was the main one. The situation in the country became unsettled: droughts, floods, epidemics, severe forced labor, which again fell upon the peasants, who were forced to participate in large-scale construction work, gave rise to several uprisings, among which the last two were suppressed with difficulty.

At the same time, Mongolian troops began to attack the northern lands of China. The emperor, who by that time was 22 years old, under the leadership of Wang Jin, who was not versed in military affairs, gathered a half-million army and moved on the enemy. The unprepared army was completely defeated by the enemy, and Ying Zong was captured. This became one of the greatest military defeats in history.

The next emperor was the half-brother of the captive ruler, who took the throne name Jing Zong. He successfully repelled the attack of the Mongols, including saving Beijing, reforming the army, and carrying out large-scale restoration work. However, his brother was soon released from captivity and during palace coup Ying Zong was once again declared emperor. Jing Zong died a few months later - according to some sources, he was strangled by one of the palace eunuchs.

After the death of Ying Zong, his son Xian Zong (Zhu Jiangshen) took the throne. During his reign, it was restored and finally completed. According to some estimates, the embodiment of this greatest fortification on earth cost the lives of 8 million people. Xian Zong's reign was also notable for the 10-year war against the Mongols, as a result of which the raiding situation was stabilized.

In addition to the childless official wife, the emperor had an older wife - Mrs. Weng, his former nanny, who was twice as old as the emperor. After the death of the only child Wen, she did everything possible to prevent the appearance of an heir from other concubines, not stopping even before the murders, but she miscalculated. From a casual relationship with a girl from the Yao tribe, the emperor had a son, whose appearance was hidden from Lady Weng. Xian Zong was shown the boy when he was already 5 years old. It was this child who became the next emperor.

As usual, with the advent of a new ruler, executions and exiles followed: the new emperor got rid of greedy eunuchs, officials who received their positions with the help of money or intrigues, dishonest clergy and depraved favorites of the previous imperial couple.

Xiao Zong (the throne name of the emperor) strictly followed Confucian principles, cared for the well-being of the people, performed all the necessary rituals, appointed Confucians to high positions and was devoted to his only wife, Lady Chan. Actually, this lady was his only weakness, which caused significant damage to the state treasury, because. the empress was extravagant, and titles and lands went to her relatives and friends.

At the court, the number of eunuchs again increased, the number of which exceeded 10 thousand people. In fact, this huge apparatus began to operate in parallel with the civil administration, constantly competing with each other for positions and influence on the emperor. The situation only worsened together after Xiao Zong's death, when his 13-year-old son Wu Zong became emperor.

Zong did not get the positive qualities of his father: not only did he prefer the company of eunuchs to the society of his legal wife, he also became a real alcoholic, terrifying the whole country. It is said that while traveling around the country, the emperor kidnapped women from their homes, and this was just one of his few pastimes. Wu Jing eventually died at the age of 21 in 1522 childless, leaving no legitimate heir behind.

After another palace intrigue, the 15-year-old cousin of Emperor Shi Zong ascended the throne. This man was distinguished by vindictiveness and a strong temper: even the concubines were afraid of him, and several of them even dared to attempt an assassination, however, the emperor was saved, and women were subject to a painful execution.

The emperor ruled for 44 years, but no special achievements occurred during this period. Shi Zong led a reclusive life in the Palace of Eternal Life in the western part of the Forbidden City and continued his isolationist policy, fearing spies and dangerous alliances from abroad. Therefore, trade that could improve the economic situation in the country remained banned, as a result of which the country's east coast suffered from Japanese pirate raids and lived in smuggling.

Emperor Shi Zong, increasingly retiring from business, became interested in divination and the search for the elixir of immortality. The emperor's chief Taoist adviser prescribed him pills containing red lead and white arsenic, which greatly undermined the ruler's health. In 1567, the emperor, whose mind was already completely weakened, died in the Forbidden City.

His eldest son Long-qing became the heir, but his reign lasted only 5 years and the emperor practically did not interfere in the affairs of the country.

In 1573, the throne was taken by his son Shen Zong (Wan-li), who was distinguished by reasonableness and a sober approach to government. However, every year his interest in politics faded, contradictions increased between the monarch and officials. It is said that in the second half of his reign, the emperor completely began to ignore the officials who, trying to attract his attention, gathered in crowds near the Forbidden City and, kneeling, shouting the name of Wan-li.

But, in addition to the poorly coordinated work of the government, a threat from the West began to approach China, which was still unclear at that time, but subsequently brought irreparable troubles to the Celestial Empire. At the end of the 60s of the 16th century, the Portuguese settled in Macau, who from 1578 began to engage in trade, having received permission from China to purchase goods in Canton. This drew the attention of the Spaniards to Asia, who sent an expedition to colonize Manila, where Chinese domination had already been established. In 1603, a military conflict broke out in the Philippines, and the Chinese were expelled from the archipelago.

In addition to this war, which claimed the lives of 20 thousand people, internal uprisings periodically arose in China, the authorities undertook punitive campaigns against the recalcitrant Miao tribe, as well as against the Japanese who invaded Korea. But the decisive role in the fall of the Ming dynasty was played by a military campaign against the Jurchens, a tribal union of the Mongols and Tungus, which arose in the 12th century and was forced out to the northeastern lands. Mixing with migrants from Korea and other peoples, they became known as the Manchus.

At the end of the 16th century, one of the Manchu leaders, 24-year-old Nurkhatsi, united many Manchu aimaks under his rule, creating an empire and declaring himself emperor. To save Manchuria from vassalage, Nurhatsi undertook a number of successful military campaigns against China, which again led to economic crisis in the empire, tax increases and popular uprisings. In addition, the failures undermined the emperor's health: Shen Zong died in 1620.

After the death of the emperor, the situation in the country only worsened. The population by that time exceeded 150 million people. The constant reduction of silver entering the treasury, inflation, congestion in cities, the gap between the poor and the rich, piracy, natural disasters again caused popular uprisings. Peasants were especially hard hit by the economic crisis: for several years, severe winters raged in northern China, causing a severe famine, during which cases of cannibalism were noted. Many families were forced to sell their children into slavery, the younger generation was looking for any means of subsistence - many of them poured into the cities, others began to join the ranks of robbers, women became servants or prostitutes.

In addition to internal uprisings in China, there was also external threat: In 1642, the Manchus resumed their raids, eventually capturing 94 cities. Power ruling house was finally weakened: the Manchus and rebels besieged the emperor from all sides. In 1644, peasant rebels led by Li Zicheng approached Beijing. The last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, refused to run and hanged himself in a house on a hill in the imperial palace complex in order, according to Chinese beliefs, to ascend to heaven on a dragon. Another 20 years later, the Manchus executed the Ming prince Yun-li, who had fled to Burma. Thus ended the 300-year era of the Ming Dynasty.

The reign of the Ming Dynasty dates from 1368-1644.

Until the accession of the dynasty, the power of the Mongol conquerors (the Mongol Yuan dynasty, which reigned at the end of the 13th century) remained in China. Mongol domination fell as a result of a broad popular movement led by Zhu Yuan-chang.

Zhu Yuanzhang, a peasant, later a wandering monk, then a soldier, and finally a rebel leader, was declared emperor of the new empire and became the founder of the Ming dynasty. In a short time, the Ming troops expelled the Mongols from the country and completed the unification of the country.

However, despite the victory of the rebel forces, the foreign policy danger continued to persist. The final expulsion of the Mongol feudal lords and local rulers loyal to them from the outlying provinces continued for almost 20 years after the founding of the Ming dynasty. In addition, the forces of the Mongol khans outside of China had not yet been broken, and there was a threat of a new invasion. In addition, on the way to victory and power, Zhu Yuanzhang had to overcome the resistance of not only the Mongol conquerors, but also other rival rebel groups, among which there were many powerful and influential feudal lords. Therefore, after accession to the throne, the new emperor was forced to take certain steps to stabilize the situation in the country.

Zhu Yuan-chang pursued a policy of strengthening the army and military power, as well as improving the economic life of the country. The main direction of his policy was to strengthen the imperial power, for which purpose a system of destinies was created, headed by the sons of the emperor. According to the plan of Zhu Yuanzhang, the introduction of the appanage system was supposed to ensure the strengthening of the central authority along several lines at once. First, it raised the primacy of the entire royal house. Secondly, the appearance in areas remote from the center of persons directly connected with the emperor and possessing considerable political influence (albeit without clear rights) served as a counterbalance to the local authorities. The duality of government in the provinces was artificially created, which, if necessary, could be used by the center in its own interests. Thirdly, the location of many destinies in the outlying territories also assumed their defensive purpose in case of external danger.

However, in reality, the calculations of Emperor Zhu Yuan-zhang did not materialize. Over time, the vans (rulers of destinies) began to strive for more and more local power, for less dependence on the center, and then for separatism. In doing so, they hindered centralization rather than ensured it. At the same time, the despotic methods of the emperor's rule gave rise to mass discontent and powerful unrest, which resulted in peasant wars. And often the leaders of these movements found support from local rulers.

In 1398, after the death of Zhu Yuan-zhang, his grandson Zhu Yun-wen ascended the throne. The main direction of his activity was attempts to abolish the destinies that had become dangerous. This policy has led to conflict between the central government and the local authorities. At the head of the rebellious forces stood one of the vans, the son of Zhu Yuan-zhang, Zhu Di. The confrontation between the emperor and the destinies resulted in the "Jingnan" war (1399-1402), which ended in the victory of Zhu Di. He became the third emperor of the Ming dynasty, deposing his nephew Zhu Yun-wen from the throne.

After ascending the throne, Zhu Di found himself in opposition to the forces that he had recently led. Not wanting to put up with the growing separatism of the appanage rulers, the government of Zhu Di (1402-1424) took a number of steps to curb their strength: they gradually took away their troops, and partially their subordinate officials, individual rulers were deprived of appanages; the confrontation between the local authorities and the center continued. It culminated in the rebellion of the specific ruler Han-wang, after the suppression of which the government finally abandoned the idea of ​​seeking support in the person of the specific rulers. Instead, Zhu Di took the path of duplicating the administrative apparatus and moving the military and economic center to the north of the country, moving his capital from Nanjing to Beijing.

At the same time, Zhu Di, unlike his predecessors, significantly limited the influence of the titled nobility, which consisted of the emperor's relatives and the so-called honored dignitaries who received titles from the emperor. Honored dignitaries could be both representatives of ancient aristocratic families, and nominees of new emperors - Zhu Yuan-zhang and Zhu Di himself. The emperor retained her former privileges for the titled nobility, but mercilessly punished for any sins and violations of the established law.

By the method of threats, encouragement and checks, Zhu Di tried to achieve the ideal work of the bureaucratic apparatus. The bureaucracy in this period was one of the essential strata of the ruling class. The bureaucracy was formed mainly from representatives of wealthy families. It was also an integral part of the state machine. Zhu Di recognized the role that the bureaucracy traditionally played in the life of the country and even exalted its importance - opposing the titled nobility and giving them wider powers than any of his predecessors. However, at the same time, he tried to establish tighter control over it, subordinating the bureaucracy to the needs of the central government.

In addition to strengthening the bureaucratic apparatus, the emperor pursued a policy of strengthening military power. Having taken the throne as a result of a military victory, Zhu Di could not underestimate the importance of a regular army. However, the desire of the emperor to reward his military associates by granting former commanders of lands and estates led to the erosion of the officer corps. At the same time, in an effort to increase the size of the army, the emperor allowed to attract military service people who have committed a crime or are being prosecuted by the law. Thus, the activities of the emperor led to the weakening, and then the disintegration of the army.

On the other hand, the administrative and economic policy of the imperial government and the achievement of a certain balance in relations with the specific rulers, in general, the successful suppression of the indignation of the masses, further internal colonization and the pursuit of an active foreign policy - all this strengthened the position of Zhu Di on the throne. During his reign, the domestic political situation in the country noticeably stabilized.

In general, during the first century of its existence, the Ming dynasty pursued a successful policy, both internal and external, although there were different kind incidents. So, in 1449, one of the Mongol khans, the leader of the Oirat tribe Esen, managed to make a successful expedition deep into China up to the walls of Beijing. But that was just an episode; practically nothing threatened the capital of Ming China, as well as the empire as a whole.

The Ming emperors after Zhu Di, with rare exceptions, were mostly weak rulers. Affairs at their courts were usually run by temporary workers from among the relatives of the empresses or eunuchs.