ABSTRACT
The Ming state took shape within a rebellion against the Mongol Yuan dynasty. The leader of the rebellion, Zhu Yuanzhang, had grown up in poverty and famine in the Huai region of North China. Initially the rule of the founding emperor’s grandson, Zhu Yunwen promised more orderly government operations. The most senior remaining official in charge of military policy, acting in the tradition of decisive leadership by officials, successfully made the case that it was possible to ensure safety militarily while remaining in the north. Another senior official stepped forward and worked out a clarification of imperial authority with the empress dowager: the emperor’s brother would serve as regent for the emperor’s son and heir apparent. Variations in the operations of the state under decisive emperors in the early Ming period were similar to those of decisive emperors across the whole history of the Chinese imperial system. Such differences were to be expected with authority centered on the emperor.
