Person

Hongwu Emperor

1328–1398 · 14th century · Also known as Zhu Yuanzhang

The Hongwu Emperor, born Zhu Yuanzhang, was a peasant-born rebel leader who founded the Ming dynasty in 1368. He drove the Mongol Yuan court out of China, ending the Yuan Dynasty. As emperor he built a highly centralised and autocratic state, laying the foundations of the Ming Empire.

Hongwu Emperor
Image: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 4 profiles

Ming EmpireFoundation, GovernanceMongol EmpireDeclineYuan DynastyDeclineRyukyu KingdomFoundation

Mentioned in 3 state histories

Dazhou (Zhang Shicheng)Han SongChen Han

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Hongwu Emperor. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/hongwu-emperor
MLA
“Hongwu Emperor.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/hongwu-emperor. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Hongwu Emperor.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/hongwu-emperor.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Hongwu Emperor’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/hongwu-emperor (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻