The Ming Dynasty started in 1368. The Ming Dynasty was the last native dynasty in Chinese History. The Ming Dynasty made a lot of donations to art and culture. They made porcelain and ceramic art. The Ming Dynasty donated a lot of time and money on sea explorations. The founder of the Ming Dynasty was Zhu Yuang Zhang (Chu Yuan-Chang) also know as the Hong We (Hung-Wu) emperor.
Zhu came from a rural family. He expelled the Mongolian rulers. He setup his capital at Nanjing (Nanking). The army was maintained by giving the traditional military families public land to setup military colonies. The Ming government was almost a self-governing body. It had more than 20,000 positions. The main structure of the Ming government didn’t permit and independent legal system. Zhu had a son Zhu Di (Chu Ti), the Yongle (Yung-lo) emperor. Zhu Di moved the Ming capital to the city of Beijing (Peking) in 1421. Zhu Zhangji was the fifth Ming Emperor. He was also the grandson of Zhu Di. On 1644, Manchus took over the Ming Dynasty and it was no more. The dynasty lasted for 276 years.