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Zhu Yuanzhang was the first emperor of China's [[Ming Dynasty]], and the first dynastic founder to come from a genuinely humble, peasant, birth. Having led a successful rebellion to overthrow the [[Mongol]] [[Yuan Dynasty]] in [[1368]], he named himself the Hongwu Emperor, marking the beginning of a new dynasty, and came to be known as well as "Ming Taizu," or "Great Ancestor/Founder of Ming."
Zhu Yuanzhang was the first emperor of China's [[Ming Dynasty]], and the first dynastic founder to come from a genuinely humble, peasant, birth. Having led a successful rebellion to overthrow the [[Mongol]] [[Yuan Dynasty]] in [[1368]], he named himself the Hongwu Emperor, marking the beginning of a new dynasty, and came to be known as well as "Ming Taizu," or "Great Ancestor/Founder of Ming."
Hongwu is known for his autocratic style of rule, centralizing power in the hands of the emperor even further than it had been previously, by eliminating several of the top ministerial positions; his paranoia against others gaining power extended to the establishment of a powerful spy network, which was used to keep officials in line. Hongwu was extremely hard-working, looking over thousands of memorials a week, but this put an exceptional burden on his successors. He also created an overarching legal framework known as the Great Ming Code, which was meant to transform and regulate society in a new, Ming, form; it had some considerable lasting impacts, but Hongwu also frequently contradicted or undermined the Code through his judgements on individual matters.<ref name=schiro244>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 244.</ref>
This Code, and Hongwu's policy decisions otherwise, were heavily motivated, however, by a desire to restore the greatness of China after nearly a hundred years of Mongol rule. He restored the [[Chinese imperial examinations|civil service examination system]], and the [[National Academy]], and oversaw the establishment of a great number of schools across the empire.<ref name=schiro244/>
==Early Life==
==Early Life==
