Ming dynasty

The Ming dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644, founded by Zhu Yuanzhang, who took the reign title Hongwu Emperor after leading the rebellion that ended Mongol Yuan rule. The dynasty made Nanjing its first capital before the Yongle Emperor moved the seat of government to Beijing in 1403, where it remained the primary capital through the dynasty's end. Described as the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the ethnic Han people, Ming China built a standing army that exceeded one million troops, constructed the Forbidden City, restored the Grand Canal, and connected and fortified the Great Wall into the form largely surviving today; the Yongle Emperor also sponsored the explorer Zheng He's seven major maritime expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The population grew from about 65 million in 1393 to roughly 160 million by 1600. Beijing fell to rebel forces under Li Zicheng on 25 April 1644, and the last Ming emperor took his own life; the Manchu-led Qing dynasty went on to conquer the remaining Ming territories.