China Collection: Online Gallery - Armchairs - Ming armchairs - Ming armchairs brown lacquer

Revival and Collapse

Hongwu(1368-1398)
Yongle(1403-1424)
Kangxi(1661-1722)
Qianlong(1736-1795)
Ming Dynasty : 1368 - 1644
The rebel leader Hung-Wu, also called Chu Yuan-chang, established the Ming Dynasty after throwing out the Mongols in 1368 A.D., but his power was still fairly weak after the Mongol invasion. His rule extended only from the Great Wall to the east of Tibet - smaller borders than modern China or than in T’ang Dynasty China, on which he  modelled his government by trying to keep as power centralised, and especially in his own hands Read more

Shanxi

literally means ‘Mountains’ West’, referring to the fact that it lies west of the Taihang Mountains.  Its one-character abbreviation is Jin, after the state of Jin that existed there during the Spring and Autumn period.
Shanxi borders Hebei to the east, Henan to the south, Inner Mongolia to the north and the province with nearly the same name, Shaanxi, to the west.  Shanxi’s capital is Taiyuan.
For centuries, Shanxi was a trade and banking centre and the term ‘Shanxi merchant’ was synonymous for wealth. The well-preserved city of Pingyau still shows signs of Read more