Three Hundred Years of the Ming Dynasty: A Complete Record of Its Rise and Fall

A sweeping history of the Ming dynasty. From the founding of the dynasty by Zhu Yuanzhang, the beggar who became emperor, to the Chongzhen Emperor's suicide on Jingshan Hill, this book offers a detailed account of the lives of all sixteen Ming emperors, power struggles within the Grand Secretariat, eunuch interference in government, and the threat of Japanese pirates. Through an examination of the Ming ideal of "unyielding clarity," the author portrays the dynasty's prosperity and rigidity under autocratic rule, guiding you through the full story of a dynasty that was among the proudest and most conflicted in Chinese history.