SocietyEast Asia
The Ming dynasty
China expels the Mongols and turns inward
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After Zheng He's expeditions the fleet was abandoned and seafaring banned — a decision often presented as China's great error, but rational given that the threat came from the northern steppe, not the sea. Ming porcelain became the world's first global luxury good, and the silver from Potosí in Peru largely ended up here as payment.
For children
A peasant's son led the revolt that expelled the Mongols and became emperor. The Ming built the Forbidden City, rebuilt the Great Wall in the form we know, and ruled China for nearly three centuries.
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Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org