110 Million people, ca. 1200
60-85 Million people, ca. 1300
Little Ice Age?
36 exceptionally cold winters in 14th c.
Changes in course of Yellow River: View map
Late Jin, 1194
Early Yuan, 1289
Late Yuan, 1324
Serious epidemics, 1340s-1350s
How do Hansen (p. 340) and Brook (64-68) differ on whether it was the bubonic plague?
Born Fengyang, Anhui Province
Drought, locusts, and epidemic
Wandered for 3 years
Studied in monastery, 1348-52
Monastery burned, 1352
Fighting between Yuan and Red Turbans
Smart
Imposing
Ugly
Red Turban Rebel, 1352-68
*Red Turbans
Popular Religion with elements of White Lotus Buddhism and Manichaeism
Prince of Radiance (Manichaen leader of Light)
Maitreya (Buddha of the Future)
Followers
Landless wanderers
24 loyal officers
Expanded following by recruiting other leaders
Paranoia
Keys to success
Established base at Nanjing, 1355
Military and Economic advantages
Military leadership
Stabilized farming populace
Downgrading of Red Turban ideas
Anomalous in Chinese history
Northern Campaign, Nov. 1367
Ming Dynasty founding, Jan. 1368
Capture of Beijing, Sept. 1368
Compassion toward farmers
Favored agriculture over commerce
Autocratic, paranoid and cruel toward government officials
Great purges
Eliminated office of Prime Minister, 1380
Purge
Reestablished examination system, 1384