Front Page News

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     Just yesterday, China's very own Zhu Yuanzhang- a poor citizen-decided to take control of  the government and begin a new dynasty. Yuanzhang is the first emperor of the new dynast he calls the Ming.  Previous to this decision by Yuanzhang was the fall of the Yuan dynasty.
     "My family and I are extremely grateful for being given this wonder opportunity," says Yuanzhang.  "Being poor to start with was difficult but now we can turn our lives around."
     Yuanzhang also says he will work hard and long to be able to get China on the right path to recovery from the last 

Opinion/Editorial

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            Emperor Hongwu just decided that he is going to reconstruct the Great Wall.  This is a very bad idea because there is so much to rebuild and it won’t all be done under the control of one emperor.  The wall will take too long to rebuild and will take several emperors-with different ideas-to fully restore the wall.  There also will be a lot of people working on the wall other than doing their own jobs to support their families. I understand that once the wall is fully rebuilt, it will be stronger than ever.  At the same time parts of the wall that are being rebuilt to become strong will also become weaker and easier for enemies to attack.  In conclusion, the reconstructing of the Great Wall is a bad idea.

Land Expantion, War, Maps

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     This is a map of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).  The red shows the land that the Ming dynasty ruled.  The blue doted lines are the locations of the Great Wall.  The black doted lines are the boundaries of current day China and Mongolia.  The rest of the light blue lines are rivers.  The little green dot is the capital Beijing.  The Ming expanded into many other countries like Southeast Asia and the Ryukyu Islands and goes beyond present day China's boarders.  The dynasty before the Ming was the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368).  The Yuan expanded beyond the current boarders of China in all directions.  As you can see the the Ming is a lot smaller compared to the Yuan.

Interview

Interviewer - Good morning.  I appreciate you taking time to come out here.  Are you ready to get started?
Hongwu - Yes, I'm ready.


Interviewer - Being the first emperor of a new dynasty must have been difficult.  What were some of your concerns or worries about having so much power?
Hongwu - There is always pressure being the first of anything.  My main concern was that my methods or laws would fail my county.  I wanted to make sure that everything I did while I was emperor would make people happy as well benefit my country. Also I was worried that people would start loosing respect for me later on in my life.  After I considered this I made new laws saying that anyone who was against me would be severely punished.  Anyone who did not support me was arrested and brought to jail.


Interviewer - That's very interesting Emperor Hongwu.  Now, the Great Wall is apart of your land.  What are some of the wall's purposes? How has it help you and your people?
Hongwu - Oh yes, the Great Wall.  It has helped me and my people a great deal.  The wall is located in the north.  Near where the Mongols are settled.   The wall helps our people know where the boarders are as well as the Mongols.  The Mongols and my country are forever in war.  The Great Wall also helps keep the Mongols away from my people.


Interviewer - Now, you mentioned war.  Can you explain the government officials different roles?
Hongwu - There are three ministries; the Chancellery, the Bureau of Military Affairs, and the Censorate.  Each person in these branches have different symbols to indicate their rank in the government.  Each rank has images of animals or birds.  Civil officials wore birds and military officials wore animals.  Each one of the badges has a color also and the officials have colored silk hats to match the badges.  We also have each village choose who will decide punishments and enforce laws.  That way we will have more people protecting our land.


Interviewer - It seams like you have your government under control.  What are some of your hopes twards your dynasty once your are gone?
Hongwu - Mainly my hope is to have my people happy.  Also that the government stays under control and nothing falls apart right away.  I also hope that future emperors continue to grow and innovate the ways of our culture today.

Inventions and Innovations

    The bristled toothbrush was invented in China during the Ming dynasty.  It was invented during the reign of emperor Hangzi in 1498.  The bristled toothbrush's uses are to keep your teeth clean and healthy.  At the time not everyone was able to to get bristled toothbrushes.  The toothbrushes were originally made from pig bristles which are pig skin/fur.
    The toothbrush was created and modified over thousands of years.  However the bristled toothbrush was created in 1498.  Prior to the invention people used sticks with flared edges called chew sticks.  Later pig bristles were used.  However there was not a mas production of the toothbrushes until the 1700's.
    The toothbrush has really changed peoples lives in many ways.  For example, now that we have toothbrushes oral hygiene is a lot better than it used to be.  Also almost everyone in the world uses toothbrushes now.  The toothbrush has also impacted a lot of people.  As time goes by many different kinds of toothbrushes will be made but we have the Ming dynasty to thank for that.

Major Events

    At the begining of the fifteenth century, the third Ming emperor, YongLe built and amazing section of China's capital Bejing, better known as The Forbidden City.  It was said that YongLe's tutor (a monk) had a dream about The Forbidden City.  In the dream he invisioned a glorious city that had a purple theme to it.  In the city YongLe would be able to communicate with the devine world and maintain harmoney between the two.  Purple is a ver important color because only the emperor used it.  He would use it to sign his name on documents and his walls and other accecories would also be purple.
    After the dream was made the monk told YongLe and he built the city with the intesions of making it his new home.  That all came true.  His home became known as 'Zi Jin Ch`eng' which means 'the purple city of polestar of which you cannot enter'.  YongLe believed that the important buildings should be constructed in a symetrical fasion. 
    The construction of The Forbidden City started during YongLe's 5th year in power and lasted 14 years and used about 1 million workers and 100,000 artisan to complete the city.  A lot of the city still exists today however some parts are no longer there due to weather errosion.  Today it is a great tourist attraction and many people want to visit The Forbidden City.

Bibliography

Art, Suzanna Struass. China’s Later Dynastiesf. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

“Forbidden City History.” History of the Forbidden City. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.kinabaloo.com/‌fcb.html>.

Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://www.metmuseum.org/‌toah/‌hd/‌ming/‌hd_ming.htm>.

“Ming Dynasty 1368-1644.” PUAM Asian Art Collection. Princeton Unicersity Art Museum, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2012. <http://etcweb.princeton.edu/‌asianart/‌timeperiod_china.jsp?ctry=China&pd=Ming>.

Stefoff, Rececca. China. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

The World Book Encycleopedia. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.