Upon leading a victorious rebellion against the
foreign Mongul rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, a
peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang seized control of
China and founded the Ming Dynasty in 1368.
As emperor, he founded his capital at Nanjing
and adopted the name Hongwu as his reign title.
Hongwu, literally meaning “vast military,” reflects
the increased prestige of the army during the
Ming Dynasty. Due to the very realistic threat
still posed by the Mongols, Hongwu realized that
a strong military was essential to Chinese
prosperity. Thus, the orthodox Confucian view
that the military was an inferior class to be ruled
over by an elite class of scholars was
reconsidered. During the Ming Dynasty, China
proper was reunited after centuries of foreign
incursion and occupation. Ming troops
controlled Manchuria, and the Korean Joseon
Dynasty respected the authority of the Ming
rulers, at least nominally.
Like the founders of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-
220 A.D.), Hongwu was extremely suspicious of
the educated courtiers that advised him and,
fearful that they might attempt to overthrow him,
he successfully consolidated control of all aspect
of government. The strict authoritarian control
Hongwu wielded over the affairs of the country
was due in part to the centralized system of
government he inherited from the Monguls and
largely kept intact. However, Hongwu replaced
the Mongul bureaucrats who had ruled the
country for nearly a century with native Chinese
administrators. He also reinstituted the
Confucian examination system that tested
would-be civic officials on their knowledge of
literature and philosophy. Unlike the Song
Dynasty (960-1279 A.D.), which received most of
its taxes from mercantile commerce, the Ming
economy was based primarily on agriculture,
reflecting both the peasant roots of its founder
as well as the Confucian belief that trade was
ignoble and parasitic.
Culturally, the greatest innovation of the Ming
Dynasty was the introduction of the novel.
Developed from the folk tales of traditional
storytellers, these works were transcribed in the
everyday vernacular language of the people.
Advances in printmaking and the increasing
population of urban dwellers largely contributed
to the success of these books. Architecturally,
the most famous monument of the Ming Dynasty
is surely the complex of temples and palaces
known as the Forbidden City that was
constructed in Beijing after the third ruler of the
Ming Dynasty, Emperor Yongle, moved the
capital there. Today, the Forbidded Palace
remains one of the hallmarks of traditional
Chinese architecture and is one of the most
popular tourist destinations in the vast nation.
Buddhist iconography of the Ming period is
characterized by an attempt to syncretize
elements of movement associated with Tibetan
iconography and simplistic sculptural styles of
China. It is likely that its body assumed a gentle
pose or maintained the thematic simplicity
apparent in the facial features. His hair is
combed tightly over a square shaped head,
dramatizing the length of his characteristically
elongated ears. The eyebrows, eyes, nose,
mouth, cheeks, and chin are carved with as little
detail as possible to convey the transcendental
nature of the Buddha from different stages of
absorption. The creation of images, both large
and small, highlights the devotional intent of
Buddhist art. The pious hoped to gain merit into
the next world by making an offering image of
the Buddha and of Bodhisattvas, beings who have
attained enlightenment but have elected to
remain in the world in order to assist mankind.
Images were also didactic, conveying aspects of
doctrine and belief. In the Ming period imposing
representations of many different Buddhist
deities were made. The strong shape and bold
face of this Buddha head give an impression of
inward contemplation, and the power of the
image lies in its static form. Slightly smiling, the
Buddha reveals his inner disposition of
benevolence and kindness, a trait the Buddha
cherished in its full capacity.
