Hongwu ( Chinese : 洪武 ; pinyin : Hóngwǔ ; Wade–Giles : Hung-wu ; lit. 'vastly martial'; 23 January 1368 – 5 February 1399) was the era name ( nianhao ) of the Hongwu Emperor (reigned 1368–1398), the Chinese emperor who founded the Ming dynasty that ruled China from 1368 to 1644. It was also the first era name of the Ming.
7-595: On 23 January 1368 ( Wu 2, 4th day of the 1st month), Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor of the Great Ming dynasty in Yingtian Prefecture , with the era name "Hongwu". During the Hongwu period, there was no war in the country, and society quickly recovered from the war in the late Yuan dynasty. The population increased rapidly and the economy developed quickly. This period is known in historiography as
14-467: The "Reign of Hongwu" (洪武之治). The emperors only used one era name during their reigns since the Hongwu Emperor began to form a practice. ( Emperor Yingzong of Ming had two era names due to his abdication and later restoration, while the rest used one era name.) This was known as the yī shì yī yuán zhì (一世一元制; lit. "one-era-name-for-a-lifetime system"). On 24 June 1398 (Hongwu 31, 10th day of
21-675: The 5th leap month), the Hongwu Emperor died. On 30 June (16th day of the 5th leap month), Imperial Grandson-heir Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne as the Jianwen Emperor . The following year, the era was changed to Jianwen . On 18 July 1402 (Jianwen 4, 18th day of the 6th month), the Yongle Emperor, who had usurped the throne through the Jingnan campaign , abolished the Jianwen era name and renamed it Hongwu 35. The following year,
28-486: The Longfeng era name, and used the dynastic name "Wu" era, called "Wu 1" (吳元年) and "Wu 2" (吳二年). Only Yu Ben (俞本)'s Ji shi lu (紀事錄) records the change of era to "Wuyuan" (吳元), called "Wuyuan 1" (吳元元年, "the first year of Wuyuan") and "Wuyuan 2" (吳元二年, "the second year of Wuyuan"). Zhu Honglin (朱鴻林) believes that " Wuyuan yuannian " (吳元元年) was not a clerical error; whether it was the official era name "Wuyuan" or "Wu", which
35-670: The Western Wu regime prior to Zhu Yuanzhang 's establishment of the Ming dynasty . On New Year's Day of 1364 (Han Song Longfeng 10, Yuan Zhizheng 24), Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself the Prince of Wu (吴王) in Yingtian Prefecture and established the Western Wu regime. He nominally respected the Han Song regime but suspended the Longfeng era name. In December 1366 (Han Song Longfeng 12, Yuan Zhizheng 26), Han Lin'er, emperor of Han Song,
42-471: The era was changed to Yongle . According to Xia Xie (夏燮)'s Ming Tongjian (明通鑑), since Zhu Di had started his rebellion at Beijing in 1399 (Jianwen 1), he had begun restoring the Hongwu era name in his conquered areas, and after the Jingnan campaign, he had ordered the whole country to reuse the Hongwu era name. Wuyuan (era) Wuyuan (31 January 1367 – 23 January 1368) was the regnal year used by
49-617: Was drowned in a shipwreck while crossing the Yangtze River . Zhu Yuanzhang took the next year (1367) as "Wu 1" (吳元年, "the first year of Wu" or "the first year of the Prince of Wu's reign" ). On 23 January 1368 (Wu 2, 4th day of the 1st month), Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in Yingtian Prefecture, establishing the Ming dynasty with the era name " Hongwu ". According to the documents, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped using
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