Ming dynasty

"Ming" redirects here. For other uses, see Ming (disambiguation) and Ming Dynasty (disambiguation).

Great Ming 大明 Dà Míng
1368–1644
Ming territory in 1415
Capital	Nanjing (1368‍–‍1644) Beijing (1403‍–‍1644)
Common languages	Mandarin (official) other Chinese languages Turki Old Uyghur Tibetan Mongolian Jurchen and others
Religion	Heaven worship Taoism Confucianism Buddhism Chinese folk religion Islam Roman Catholicism
Government	Absolute monarchy
Emperor
• 1368–1398 (first)	Hongwu Emperor
• 1627–1644 (last)	Chongzhen Emperor
Historical era	Early modern
• Established in Nanjing	23 January 1368
• Beijing designated as capital	28 October 1420
• Fall of Beijing	25 April 1644
• End of the Southern Ming	1662
Area
1400	3,900,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi)
1450	6,500,000 km2 (2,500,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1393	65,000,000
• 1500	125,000,000
• 1600	160,000,000
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Per capita	19.8 taels
Currency	Paper money (1368‍–‍1450) Bimetallic (copper cashes and silver taels)
Preceded by Succeeded by Yuan dynasty Later Jin Shun dynasty Xi dynasty Southern Ming Qing dynasty
Chinese name
Chinese	明朝
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Míngcháo Bopomofo ㄇㄧㄥˊ ㄔㄠˊ Wade–Giles Ming2 ch'ao2 Tongyong Pinyin Míngcháo IPA [mǐŋ ʈʂʰǎʊ] Wu Suzhounese Min2 zau2 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Mìhng chìuh Jyutping Ming4 ciu4 IPA [mɪŋ˩ tsʰiw˩] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Bêng tiâu Tâi-lô Bîng tiâu
Dynastic name
Chinese	大明
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dà Míng Bopomofo ㄉㄚˋ ㄇㄧㄥˊ Wade–Giles Ta4 Ming2 Tongyong Pinyin Dà Míng Wu Romanization Da men Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Daaih Mìhng Jyutping Daai6 ming4 IPA [taj˨ mɪŋ˩] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tāi-bêng Tâi-lô Tāi-bîng