Polity · 1375 CE – 1644 CE
Ming Dynasty
大明 · 明朝
- Peak recorded area
- 6,273,220 km²
- 1422 CE
- Rulers on record
- 7
- from 1398 CE
- Data series
- 59
- 1375 CE–1644 CE
Overview
The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, the majority ethnic group in China. Although the primary capital of Beijing fell in 1644 to a rebellion led by Li Zicheng, numerous rump regimes ruled by remnants of the Ming imperial family, collectively called the Southern Ming, survived until 1662.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
26 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 1644 CE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 42 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| City Pop Taiyuan11 obs · 1383 CE–1624 CE | 81.2Kpersons1624 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Suzhou10 obs · 1378 CE–1600 CE | 134Kpersons1600 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Beijing9 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 706Kpersons1600 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Fuzhou9 obs · 1381 CE–1600 CE | 78Kpersons1600 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Nanjing9 obs · 1391 CE–1600 CE | 194Kpersons1600 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
| City Pop Tsinkiang8 obs · 1400 CE–1608 CE | 56.2Kpersons1608 CE · Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban Population |
Economy
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP per capita PPP270 obs · 1375 CE–1644 CE | 1,366int'l $ (inflation adj.)1644 CE · Gapminder |
| GDP per capita23 obs · 1400 CE–1620 CE | 1,2622011 int'l $1620 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Agricultural Sophistication3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 1.12score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Monetary Complexity3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 1score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Sophistication3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 1score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Military Levels | 7levels1368 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Polity Territory3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 6.56score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Territory km²3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 3.7Msq km1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Admin Levels | 5levels1368 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Religious Hierarchy | 3levels1368 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Development
6 of 7 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Government Complexity3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 0.8182score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Hierarchy Levels3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 6.33score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Information Complexity3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 1score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Infrastructure3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 0.9083score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Largest Settlement Pop3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 5.85score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Religious Levels3 obs · 1400 CE–1600 CE | 3score1600 CE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Rulers
7 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Jianwen EmperorEmperor of China1398 CE – 1402 CE
- Yongle EmperorEmperor of China1402 CE – 1424 CE
- Hongxi EmperorEmperor of China1424 CE – 1425 CE
- Wanli EmperorEmperor of China1572 CE – 1620 CE
- Taichang EmperorEmperor of China1620 CE
- Tianqi EmperorEmperor of China1620 CE – 1627 CE
- Chongzhen EmperorEmperor of China1627 CE – 1644 CE
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Chinese
- Currency
- bimetallism, Great Ming Treasure Note
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Chandler/Modelski Historical Urban PopulationChandler 1987 / Modelski 2003
Chandler, T. (1987). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth; Modelski, G. (2003). World Cities: -3000 to 2000.
Compiled from published works (Chandler 1987; Modelski 2003)
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Gapminderv14 / systema globalis
Gapminder Foundation. Gapminder systema globalis dataset.
CC BY 4.0
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
Seshat Equinox 2020Equinox 2020
Turchin, P. et al. Seshat Global History Databank, Equinox 2020 release.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Ming Dynasty is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.