Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty
Encyclopedia
Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty is a 2006 Chinese television series based on the biography of Zhu Yuanzhang
, founding emperor of the Chinese Ming Dynasty
.
in China, as the government sinks into corruption, while rebel forces have sprouted throughout the land to overthrow the dynasty. Somewhere in the wilderness, a cowherd boy named Zhu Chongba stands on a huge rock and proclaims to his fellows, "I, Emperor Zhu, will reward each of you with a large piece of rice cake when I ascend to the throne one day!" At around the same time, his parents have already died of starvation at home.
To give his parents a proper funeral, Zhu becomes a novice monk at a local monastery and spends part of his childhood there. A few years later, the monastery is destroyed and he has no choice but to become a beggar. One day, he encounters Yuan soldiers and narrowly escapes death, but is captured by some rebels, who suspect that he is a spy and want to kill him. At this critical moment, he is saved by a girl, and joins Guo Zixing's rebel army later.
Zhu Chongba proves his capability on the battlefield and wins the favour of Guo Zixing. Guo marries his goddaughter, Lady Ma, to Zhu, and gives Zhu a new name, Yuanzhang. From that moment onwards, Zhu Yuanzhang starts his journey towards becoming an emperor. He earns the support of talented men, such as Xu Da
, Chang Yuchun
, Lan Yu
, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen; triumphs over his nemesis Chen Youliang
at the Battle of Lake Poyang
; overthrows the Yuan Dynasty; and finally establishes the Ming Dynasty
.
Zhu initiated a beginning for a golden era of China under the reigns of his successors. He implemented land reforms to prevent peasants from being abused by wealthy landlords and bureaucrats; harshly punished officials found guilty of corruption; drafted the Code of the Great Ming; introduced policies to help the country recover from the effects of war. However, Zhu also used ruthless and brutal means to consolidate power: he killed some of his subjects who had contributed greatly to the founding of his empire, fearing that they may rebel against him.
Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty on xinhuanet.com Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty plot synopsis Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty official website on Chinese Drama Legend
Hongwu Emperor
The Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by his temple name Taizu of Ming , was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...
, founding emperor of the Chinese Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
.
Plot
Turmoil engulfs the final years of the Mongol-ruled Yuan DynastyYuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
in China, as the government sinks into corruption, while rebel forces have sprouted throughout the land to overthrow the dynasty. Somewhere in the wilderness, a cowherd boy named Zhu Chongba stands on a huge rock and proclaims to his fellows, "I, Emperor Zhu, will reward each of you with a large piece of rice cake when I ascend to the throne one day!" At around the same time, his parents have already died of starvation at home.
To give his parents a proper funeral, Zhu becomes a novice monk at a local monastery and spends part of his childhood there. A few years later, the monastery is destroyed and he has no choice but to become a beggar. One day, he encounters Yuan soldiers and narrowly escapes death, but is captured by some rebels, who suspect that he is a spy and want to kill him. At this critical moment, he is saved by a girl, and joins Guo Zixing's rebel army later.
Zhu Chongba proves his capability on the battlefield and wins the favour of Guo Zixing. Guo marries his goddaughter, Lady Ma, to Zhu, and gives Zhu a new name, Yuanzhang. From that moment onwards, Zhu Yuanzhang starts his journey towards becoming an emperor. He earns the support of talented men, such as Xu Da
Xu Da
Xu Da was a Chinese military general who lived in the early Ming Dynasty and contributed to the founding of the dynasty. Apart from being a friend of the Hongwu Emperor, founding emperor of the dynasty, Xu was also the father of Empress Xu, who would marry the third ruler of the Ming, the Yongle...
, Chang Yuchun
Chang Yuchun
Chang Yuchun , style name Boren and pseudonym Yanheng , was a Chinese Muslim military general. He was a follower of the Ming Dynasty's founder, Zhu Yuanzhang, and contributed greatly to the founding of the dynasty...
, Lan Yu
Lan Yu (general)
Lan Yu was a Chinese general who contributed to the founding of the Ming Dynasty. His ancestral home was in present-day Dingyuan County, Anhui. In 1393 Lan was suspected and accused of plotting a rebellion and eventually put to death by the Hongwu Emperor...
, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen; triumphs over his nemesis Chen Youliang
Chen Youliang
Chen Youliang was the founder of the insurgent state of Dahan in the late Yuan Dynasty period of Chinese history.-Biography:...
at the Battle of Lake Poyang
Battle of Lake Poyang
The naval battle of Lake Poyang took place 30 August – 4 October AD 1363 and was one of the final battles fought in the fall of China's Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty...
; overthrows the Yuan Dynasty; and finally establishes the Ming Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
.
Zhu initiated a beginning for a golden era of China under the reigns of his successors. He implemented land reforms to prevent peasants from being abused by wealthy landlords and bureaucrats; harshly punished officials found guilty of corruption; drafted the Code of the Great Ming; introduced policies to help the country recover from the effects of war. However, Zhu also used ruthless and brutal means to consolidate power: he killed some of his subjects who had contributed greatly to the founding of his empire, fearing that they may rebel against him.
Cast
- Hu JunHu JunHu Jun is a Chinese actor of Manchu ethnicity. He is known for his dramatic roles in various films and television series.-Filmography:-External links:***** - Official recognition fan site...
as Zhu YuanzhangHongwu EmperorThe Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by his temple name Taizu of Ming , was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...
(Zhu Chongba)- Zhou Ti as teenage Zhu Chongba
- Ju Xue as Empress Ma
- Yin Guohua as Hu WeiyongHu WeiyongHu Weiyong was the last Chancellor of China Ming Dynasty from 1373 to 1380.-Biography:Hu Weiyong was born in HaoZhou, Anhui Province . In 1363 Hu contributed a large number of warship to Zhu Yuanzhang to use for battle with Chen Youliang...
- Zheng Xiaoning as Liu Bowen
- Chen Changhai as Li Shanchang
- Ebusi as Xu DaXu DaXu Da was a Chinese military general who lived in the early Ming Dynasty and contributed to the founding of the dynasty. Apart from being a friend of the Hongwu Emperor, founding emperor of the dynasty, Xu was also the father of Empress Xu, who would marry the third ruler of the Ming, the Yongle...
- Yang Hongwu as Tang He
- Hou Xiangling as Zhu BiaoZhu BiaoZhu Biao was Emperor Hongwu's first son and Crown Prince of the founder of the Ming Dynasty. He was supposed to be soft hearted. He once questioned his father why many of the ministers and generals who were pioneers of the Empire were being killed or banished...
- Zhou Zhengbo as Yang Xian
- Qian Yifei as Song LianSong LianSong Lian , style name Jinglian , was a literary and political adviser to the Ming dynasty founder, and one of the principal figures in the Mongol Yuan Dynasty Jinhua school of Neo-Confucianism...
- Xu Shouxin as Lü Xu
- Zeng Ang as Lan YuLan Yu (general)Lan Yu was a Chinese general who contributed to the founding of the Ming Dynasty. His ancestral home was in present-day Dingyuan County, Anhui. In 1393 Lan was suspected and accused of plotting a rebellion and eventually put to death by the Hongwu Emperor...
- Li Haifeng as Chang YuchunChang YuchunChang Yuchun , style name Boren and pseudonym Yanheng , was a Chinese Muslim military general. He was a follower of the Ming Dynasty's founder, Zhu Yuanzhang, and contributed greatly to the founding of the dynasty...
- Yao Changjiang as Erhu
- Gan Tingting as Yu'er
- Chen Ming as Liu Lian
- Wang Yuzhang as Guo Zixing
- Lü Yiding as Guo Tianxu
- Bao Depan as Sun Deya
- Li Ming as Chen YouliangChen YouliangChen Youliang was the founder of the insurgent state of Dahan in the late Yuan Dynasty period of Chinese history.-Biography:...
- Yao Yuxing as Chen LiChen LiChen Li , was the second and the last emperor of Dahan regime in late Yuan Dynasty in China. He reigned for two years from 1363 - 1364 before forced to surrender to Zhu Yuanzhang. He was then created Marquis Guide. In 1372, he was sent to Korea and died there...
- Gao Huailiang as Zhang ShichengZhang ShichengZhang Shicheng （1321－1367）was one of the leaders of the Red Turban Rebellion in the late Yuan Dynasty China. Later he established the Kingdom of Dazhou with reigning name Tianyou .-Life:...
- Li Jieni as Han Lin'er
- Tu Men as ToktoghanToktoghanToktoghan , also called "The Great Historian Tuotuo", was a Yuan Dynasty official historian and high minister of the Yuan emperor. With the purge and murder of him, the Yuan court might have lost its last chance to defeat the Red Turban Rebellion, which started in the early 1350s.- Biography...
- Liu Dong as Dahu
- Zhou Yang as Li Jin
- Zheng Jie as Wu Feng
- Ren Suyun as Ma Sandao
- Ran Weiqun as Lu Mingyi
- Gao Sen as Master Peng
- Yang Si as Qian'er
- Xu Ailin as Qing'er (Xiaoqing)
- Zhou Junhao as Zhu YunwenJianwen EmperorThe Jianwen Emperor , with the personal name Zhu Yunwen , reigned as the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty...
- Qian Lin as Zhu DiYongle EmperorThe Yongle Emperor , born Zhu Di , was the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China from 1402 to 1424. His Chinese era name Yongle means "Perpetual Happiness".He was the Prince of Yan , possessing a heavy military base in Beiping...
Releases
- The series was released in Japan under the title 大明帝国 朱元璋 in a three box DVD set.
External links
Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty on Sina.comSina.com
SINA is an online media company for China and Chinese communities around the world. SINA operates four major business lines: Sina Weibo, SINA Mobile, SINA Online, and SINA.net. SINA has over 100 million registered users worldwide...
Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty on xinhuanet.com Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty plot synopsis Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty official website on Chinese Drama Legend