Nat Geo 7th grade - Chapter 8 Section 3.1

A Chinese peasant, Zhu Yuanzhang, led a long but successful rebellion against the Mongols and eventually ousted them, starting the Ming Dynasty. Hongwu, as he called himself, set out to rebuild China. His was a very autocratic reign, but he supported and improved the lives of peasants and restored the government back to Confucian values.

Hongwu’s son Yongle succeeded him; both he and his father were described as paranoid, ruthless tyrants. Yongle continued the rebuilding of China. He sponsored Zheng He’s sea expeditions (Lesson 3.2) and encouraged education and writing literature. He also changed the capital to Beijing, where he had the Forbidden City built.