China: Mythical lion statue near the Ming Xiaoling (Tomb of Emperor Hong Wu, r. 1368-1398), Zijin Shan, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province

Emperor Hongwu, 1st ruler of the Ming Dynasty (r. 1368-1398). Personal Name: Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhū Yuánzhāng Posthumous Name: Gaodi, Gāodì Temple Name: Taizu, Tàizǔ Reign Name: Ming Hongwu, Ming Hóngwǔ The Hongwu Emperor was the founder and first emperor (1368–98) of the Ming Dynasty of China. His era name, Hongwu, means 'vastly martial'.

In the middle of the 14th century, with famine, plagues and peasant revolts sweeping across China, Zhu became a leader of an army that conquered China, ending the Yuan Dynasty and forcing the Mongols to retreat to the Mongolian steppes. With his seizure of the Yuan capital (present-day Beijing), he claimed the Mandate of Heaven and established the Ming Dynasty in 1368.

Nanjing dates back to the beginning of the Warring States Period (403–221 BCE). Between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE, Nanjing was the capital of the Southern dynasties at a time when non-Chinese were in command in northern China. After various natural disasters and a peasant rebellion, the new Sui dynasty moved the imperial capital to Xi’an (589 CE) and destroyed Nanjing, along with almost all of its cultural and historical relics.

Nanjing regained national importance at the beginning of the Ming dynasty, when its first emperor, Hongwu (Zhu Yuanzhang), set up the seat of government here in the Southern Capital until it was transferred to Beijing in 1421.

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia