Ming Dynasty
Forbidden City and the treasure fleet
Hongwu's Founding
the peasant orphan who became emperor and built the most autocratic dynasty in Chinese history
1368–1398
Yongle and the Forbidden City
the usurper emperor who built Beijing, the Forbidden City, and the largest reference work in pre-modern history
1402–1424
Zheng He's Treasure Fleet
seven gigantic naval expeditions to East Africa, ninety years before Vasco da Gama, then the program was abandoned forever
1405–1433
The Eunuch Empire
Wang Zhen, the Tumu Crisis, the Great Wall rebuilt, and the autopilot empire of the mid-Ming
1435–1567
Single Whip and the Silver Globalization
Zhang Juzheng's reforms, the silver flood from Mexico and Japan, and the Wanli Emperor's thirty-year work strike
1567–1620
The Imjin War
Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea, the seven-year Ming intervention, and the bankruptcy that opened the door to the Manchus
1592–1598
The Late Ming Cultural Peak
the four great vernacular novels, Wang Yangming's philosophy, Donglin reform, and Ming porcelain as the global luxury good
1572–1620
The Manchu Conquest
Wei Zhongxian, the Manchu rise, Li Zicheng's rebellion, the Chongzhen Emperor's suicide on Coal Hill, and the Qing founding
1620–1662