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.

This miniature procession consists of ten attendants, a horse, and palanquin. The attendants wear aqua blue robes with long flowing sleeves and a white lapel.  Their tall rounded red caps accentuate their dignified appearance as the folds of their robes reveal the shape of their humble posture typified by slouched shoulders and a lowered head.  As Chinese statuette art prescribes, the faces are created individually, owing to their distinctive expressions and features.  Even the horse is portrayed with its own personality and characteristics; its large stylized nostrils, gaping mouth, erect tail and muscularity convey a sense of strength and prestige.  The white horse is well groomed with its black mane combed and parted, its tail brushed and curled upward, and its body lavishly adorned with emerald green and amber trappings.  Glazed in the same color scheme as the other figures, the palanquin is elegantly constructed with a small diamond pattern designed screen on both sides, an arched, arabesque open entry, and curved hip roof.    

This Ming set of glazed figurines depicts an aspect of Chinese political and social life.  Tributary processions were common protocol at this time, the emperor requiring provincial lords to pay tribute and tax on a regular basis. Processions were also held for funerals, marriages, and rituals differing in grandeur depending on the status of the individuals involved and nature of the ceremony.  The palanquin served as the primary form of transportation for the elite who often traveled with several attendants.