The

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

was a dynasty of China that existed from 1368 to 1644, succeeding the

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

-led

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

and falling amidst much political turmoil to the short-lived

Shun dynasty The Shun dynasty (), officially the Great Shun (), was a short-lived Chinese dynasty that existed during the Ming–Qing transition. The dynasty was founded in Xi'an on 8 February 1644, the first day of the lunar year, by Li Zicheng, the leader ...

. Sixteen emperors ruled over the whole of

China proper China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions popu ...

spanning 276 years. Following the collapse of the Ming dynasty in 1644, members of the Ming imperial family continued to rule parts of southern China until 1662; this regime is known as the

Southern Ming The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun forces ...

in historiography.

Emperors

Southern Ming

Other Ming claimants included

Zhu Benli Zhu Benli (), or the Dingwu Emperor (), is claimed to be the last emperor of the Southern Ming. He inherited the title Prince of Han (韓王). His identity and existence however is of some dispute, and Zhu Youlang is generally taken to be the las ...

, Prince of Han (1646–1663) and Zhu Changqing, Prince of Huai (1648–1661). If Zhu Benli existed, he would be the last legal emperor of Southern Ming from the execution (1662) of Zhu Youlang. However, Zhu Benli's identity and existence are disputed, and

Zhu Youlang The Yongli Emperor (; 1623–1662; reigned 18 November 1646 – 1 June 1662), personal name Zhu Youlang, was a royal member to the imperial family of Ming dynasty, and the fourth and last commonly recognised emperor of the Southern Ming, reigni ...

is generally taken to be the last emperor of Southern Ming. Ming prince

Zhu Shugui Zhu Shugui (1617 – 21 July 1683), courtesy name Tianqiu (天球) and art name Yiyuanzi (一元子), the Prince of Changyang (長陽王; 1645–1646), later the Prince of Ningjing (寧靖王), was a royal member of the Ming and the last of t ...

carried out his duties in the Kingdom of Tungning in the name of the last Southern Ming emperor until 1683.

Individuals posthumously recognized as emperors

This is a list of individuals who did not reign as emperor during their lifetime but were later recognized as Ming emperors posthumously.

Timeline

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Hongwu Hongwu () (23 January 1368 – 5 February 1399) was the era name of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty of China. Hongwu was also the Ming dynasty's first era name. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Hongwu * C ...

(1368–1398 CE) " bar:02 from: 1398 till: 1402 color:MG text:" Jianwen (1398–1402 CE) " bar:03 from: 1402 till: 1424 color:MG text:"

Yongle Yongle () (23 January 1403 – 19 January 1425) was the era name of the Yongle Emperor, the third emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Yongle * Vietnam ** ''Thiệu Thành'' (紹成, 1401–1 ...

(1402–1424 CE)" bar:04 from: 1424 till: 1425 color:MG text:"

Hongxi Hongxi () (20 January 1425 – 7 February 1426) was the era name of the Hongxi Emperor, the fourth emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Hongxi *Japan ** ''Ōei'' (応永, 1394–1428): era name ...

(1424–1425 CE) " bar:05 from: 1425 till: 1435 color:MG text:"

Xuande Xuande () (8 February 1426 – 17 January 1436) was the era name of the Xuande Emperor, the fifth emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Xuande * Vietnam ** ''Thiên Khánh'' (天慶, 1426–142 ...

(1425–1435 CE) " bar:06 from: 1435 till: 1449 color:MG text:" from: 1457 till: 1464 color:MG text:" Yingzong (first reign; 1435–1449 CE / second reign; 1457–1464 CE) " bar:07 from: 1449 till: 1457 color:MG text:" Jingtai (1449–1457 CE) " bar:08 from: 1464 till: 1487 color:MG text:" Chenghua (1464–1487 CE) " bar:09 from: 1487 till: 1505 color:MG text:" Hongzhi (1487–1505 CE) " bar:10 from: 1505 till: 1521 color:MG text:"

Zhengde Zhengde () (24 January 1506 – 27 January 1522) was the era name of the Zhengde Emperor, the 11th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Zhengde * China ** ''Mingzheng'' (明正, 1511): Ming per ...

(1505–1521 CE) " bar:11 from: 1521 till: 1567 color:MG text:"

Jiajing Jiajing () (28 January 1522 – 8 February 1567) was the era name of the Jiajing Emperor, the 12th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Jiajing * China ** ''Tianyuan'' (天淵, 1546): Ming peri ...

(1521–1567 CE) " bar:12 from: 1567 till: 1572 color:MG text:"

Longqing Longqing () (9 February 1567 – 1 February 1573) was the era name of the Longqing Emperor, the 13th emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Longqing * Vietnam ** ''Sùng Khang'' (崇康, 1568–1 ...

(1567–1572 CE) " bar:13 from: 1572 till: 1620 color:MG text:"

Wanli Wanli was the era name of the Chinese Ming dynasty. Wanli may also refer to: *Wanli Emperor (1563–1620), the 14th emperor of the Chinese Ming dynasty *Wanli District, Nanchang, district of Nanchang, Jiangxi, China *Wanli District, New Taipei, a ...

(1572–1620 CE) " bar:14 from: 1620 till: 1620 color:MG text:" Taichang (1620 CE) " bar:15 from: 1620 till: 1627 color:MG text:" Tianqi (1620–1627 CE) " bar:16 from: 1627 till: 1644 color:MG text:"

Chongzhen Chongzhen () (5 February 1628 – 25 April 1644) was the era name of the Chongzhen Emperor, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty of China. Chongzhen was also the Ming dynasty's final era name. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with C ...

(1627–1644 CE) " bar:17 from: 1644 till: 1645 color:NM text:"

Hongguang Hongguang () (28 January – 17 August 1645) was the era name of the Hongguang Emperor of the Southern Ming. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Hongguang * China ** ''Shunzhi'' (順治, 1644–1661): Qing dynasty — era name of ...

(1644–1645 CE) " bar:18 from: 1645 till: 1646 color:NM text:"

Longwu Longwu () (18 August 1645 – 4 February 1647) was the era name of the Longwu Emperor of the Southern Ming. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Longwu * China ** ''Shunzhi'' (順治, 1644–1661): Qing dynasty — era name of the ...

(1645–1646 CE) " bar:19 from: 1646 till: 1647 color:NM text:"

Shaowu Shaowu () is a county-level city in northwestern Fujian province, People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the Wuyi Mountains and bordering Jiangxi province to the west. It has more than 100,000 inhabitants. The local dialect co ...

(1646–1647 CE) " bar:20 from: 1646 till: 1661 color:NM text:"

Yongli Yongli () (5 February 1647 – 1 June 1662) was the era name of the Yongli Emperor of the Southern Ming. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Yongli * China ** ''Dingwu'' (定武, 1646–1664): Southern Ming — era name of Zhu Ben ...

(1646–1662 CE) " barset:skip Legend: * denotes

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

emperors * denotes

emperors

Notes

References

{{Ming dynasty topics . .