Zhu - Hongwu emperor and his policies Essay

The Mongols were ruled China during the early fourteenth century. China, already suffering losses due to food shortages, was hit hard by the Black Death. In fact, around 90 percent of the people of Hebei was whipped out due to the illness. The combination of famine and Black Death caused chaos and panic. Religious groups feared the end of the world and began to challenge the Mongol leaders of the Yuan dynasty. Eventually, a group known as The Red Turbans were able to drive the Mongols out of China. Their leader, Zhu Yuanzhang, made the southern city of Nanjing his new capital and created the Ming Dynasty. Zhu also declared himself the first emperor of the dynasty and began to reconstruct China's weakened society after he defeated rival rebel leaders. Zhu was known as The Hongwu emperor.
During Zhu's rule as emperor, he was able to reconstruct Nanjing and fortify it's walls. The Hongwu emperor wanted to have his son's to also be strong leaders. He sent his sons to the northern borders to fight off attacks from the Mongols trying to reclaim China. His sons, however, failed to follow his commands. This lead Zhu to reduce his son's power and select degree holders to create a bureaucracy. The Hongwu emperor continued to focus on education by reestablishing a school system to make the future government officials were educated. He also created government positions to oversee every aspect of the empire. Although government officials were running the empire, Zhu made sure to retain his power and checked up on his chosen bureaucrats to make sure they were doing their jobs properly.
To legitimize h is rule, Zhu took control of religion. Zhu was the performer of all religious sacrifices and made himself mediator between the human and supernatural realm. He kept cults and rituals classified. Local Buddhists and Daoists refused to abide by the state hierarchy and for the most part, they retained their independence and were left alone by the local administrators.
The bureaucracy gave the Ming dynasty stability and size. The emperor selected local residents to be local leaders in order to gain allegiance as well as taxes from smaller communities that were further away from the capital. Most of the local leaders selected had blood ties to the local communities. The emperor did allow the smaller communities to govern themselves for the most part. However, he would not hesitate anyone, including local leaders or people in his own bureaucracy if he felt his authority was threatened.
Thanks to the Ming stabilizing conditions in China, trade began to flourish once again. Silks and porcelains were among the popular Chinese goods that made long distance trade successful. China's southern ports were established as trading hubs. The Hongwu emperor was fearful that too much trading overseas would bring about the uprising of foreign merchants who would threaten his rule. Because of this, he banned private trade. After Zhu passed, trade exploded and his ban was ignored for the most part.