MING DYNASTY

Pinyin Ming (13681644), Chinese dynasty that provided an interval of native rule between eras of Mongol and Manchu dominance. The Ming extended the Chinese empire into Korea, Mongolia, and Turkistan on the north and into Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma) on the south, exercising more far-reaching influence in East Asia than any other native rulers of China. Founded by Chu Yan-chang, a man of humble origins who later assumed the reign title of Hung-wu, the Ming became one of the most stable but also one of the most autocratic of all Chinese dynasties. The basic governmental structure established by the Ming was continued by the subsequent Ch'ing dynasty and lasted until the imperial institution was abolished in 1912. The civil service system was perfected; almost all the top Ming officials entered the bureaucracy by passing a government examination. The censorate, an office designed to investigate official misconduct and corruption, was made a separate organ of the government. Affairs in each province were handled by a commission of three officials, each of whom reported to separate bureaus in the capital. The position of prime minister was abolished; the emperor took over personal control of the government, ruling with the assistance of the especially appointed Nei-ko, or Grand Secretariat. The Ming government was gradually weakened by factionalism among civil officials, interference by palace eunuchs, the burdens of a growing population, and a succession of weak and inattentive emperors. In 1644 a rebel leader, Li Tzu-ch'eng, captured the capital, and the local Ming military commander requested aid from the Manchu tribesmen who had been encroaching on China's northern borders. The Manchu drove out Li Tzu-ch'eng and then remained, establishing the Ch'ing dynasty. Despite the many foreign contacts made during the Ming period, cultural developments were characterized by a generally conservative and inward-looking attitude. Ming architecture is largely undistinguished, although the best of it may have been in regional applications. For all its visibility, the Forbidden City, a palace built in Peking in the 15th century by the Yung-lo emperor (and subsequently enlarged and rebuilt), unsurpassed as a symbol of imperial power, architecturally represents a decline from the adventurous planning of the Sung period. The best Ming sculpture is found not in large statues but in small ornamental carvings of jade, ivory, wood, and porcelain. Although a high level of workmanship is manifest in Ming decorative arts such as cloisonn, enamelware, bronzework, lacquerwork, and furniture, the major achievements in art were in painting and pottery. While there were two main traditions in painting in the Ming period, that of literati painting (wen-jen-hua) of the Wu school and that of the professional academics associated with the Che school, artists generally stressed independent creation, impressing their work with strong marks of their personal styles. Ceramics saw many new developments, along with the continuation of established traditions. There were three major types of decoration: monochromatic glazes, including celadon, red, green, and yellow; underglaze copper red and cobalt blue; and overglaze, or enamel painting, sometimes combined with underglaze blue. The latter, often called blue and white, was imitated in Vietnam, Japan, and, from the 17th century, in Europe. Much of this porcelain was produced in the huge factory at Ching-te-chen in Kiangsi province. One of the period's most influential wares was the stoneware of I-hsing in Kiangsu province, which was exported in the 17th century to the West, where it was known as boccaro ware and imitated by such factories as Meissen. The Ming regime restored the former literary examinations for public office, which pleased the literary world, dominated by Southerners. In their own writing the Ming sought a return to classical prose and poetry styles and, as a result, produced writings that were imitative and generally of little consequence. Writers of vernacular literature, however, made real contributions, especially in novels and drama. Chinese traditional drama originating in the Sung dynasty had been banned by the Mongols but survived underground in the South, and in the Ming era it was restored. This was ch'uan ch'i, a form of musical theatre with numerous scenes and contemporary plots. The regional music theatre that had been permitted by the Mongols was now for a time banned by the Ming so that it could be purged of Mongol influence. What emerged was k'un ch, less bombastic in song and accompaniment than other popular theatre. Under the Ming it enjoyed great popularity, indeed outlasting the dynasty by a century or more. It was adapted into a full-length opera form, which also survived until the development of Peking opera under the Ch'ing dynasty.