The Ming conquest of Yunnan was the final phase in 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 ...
expulsion of
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 ...
-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 fif ...
rule from
China proper in the 1380s.
Background
The
Hongwu Emperor had sent envoys to Yunnan in 1369, 1370, 1372, 1374, and 1375 to request for its submission. Some of the envoys were killed and this was the pretext under which an invasion was launched against the regime in Yunnan, then still loyal to the
Northern Yuan.
War
Some 250,000 to 300,000 Han and Hui Muslim troops were mobilized to crush the remaining Yuan-held territory in
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
in 1381.
The Ming General
Fu Youde led the attack on the Mongol and Muslim forces of the Northern Yuan. Also fighting on the Ming side were Generals
Mu Ying
Mu Ying (1345–1392) was a Chinese military general and politician during the Ming dynasty, and an adopted son of its founder, the Hongwu Emperor.
When the Ming dynasty emerged, the Hongwu Emperor's military officers who served under him were g ...
and
Lan Yu, who led Ming loyalist Muslim troops against Yuan loyalist Muslims.
The
Prince of Liang,
Basalawarmi, committed suicide on January 6, 1382, as the Ming dynasty Muslim troops overwhelmed the Northern Yuan's Mongol and Muslim forces. Mu Ying and his Muslim troops were given hereditary status as military garrisons of the Ming dynasty and remained in the province.
Aftermath
Duan Gong, whose ancestors were the rulers of the
Dali Kingdom prior to the Mongol conquest, and had administrated the region under the Yuan dynasty, refused to accept Ming administration. He made it clear that Dali could only be a tributary to the Ming. Fu Youde attacked and crushed Duan Gong's realm after a fierce battle. The Duan brothers were taken captive and escorted back to the Ming capital.
The Ming Generals Lan Yu and Fu Youde castrated 380 captured Mongol and Muslim captives after the war. This led to many of them becoming
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...
s and serving the Ming Emperor. One of the eunuchs was
Zheng He
Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...
.
In western Yunnan and Guizhou, Ming soldiers also crushed local rebellions. The Ming soldiers then married local
Han,
Miao Miao may refer to:
* Miao people, linguistically and culturally related group of people, recognized as such by the government of the People's Republic of China
* Miao script or Pollard script, writing system used for Miao languages
* Miao (Unicode ...
, and
Yao women; their descendants are called "
Tunbao", in contrast to newer Han colonists who moved to Yunnan in later centuries. The Tunbao still live in Yunnan today.
See also
*
Ming campaign against the Uriankhai
The Ming campaign against the Uriankhai, or the Battle of Jinshan (), was a 1387 offensive military expedition of the Ming dynasty's army led by General Feng Sheng against the Uriankhai horde of the Mongol chieftain Naghachu in Manchuria. It co ...
*
Ming–Turpan conflict
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{Ming dynasty topics
Conflicts in 1381
Conflicts in 1382
Wars involving the Ming dynasty
Wars involving the Northern Yuan dynasty
14th century in China
Military history of Yunnan
1381 in Asia
1382 in Asia
Transition from Yuan to Ming