HUNG-WU, lunnew. The name given to the period of years (1368-98 t during whie'l Chu Yuan-Chang.the founder of the Chinese dynasty of Ming reigned, and commonly trans ferred by Europeans to the Emperor himself. He was a native of the Province of Ng.andiwei, and was born in 1328, the second suit of a poor laborer. At 17 Chu entered a monastery as a novice, but in the troubles of the times this was burned down by rebels under the command of a maternal uncle of his. whose forces he joined. He was given a small command. scored victory after vic tory: and in 1355. on the death of his uncle. he was offered the post of assistant genera lis•imo. Declining this offer, he recovered from the Mon gols, then the ruling dynasty. the whole left hank of the Yang-tse, and proclaimed himself Prince of Wu. Within two years he had become master of Kiang.-si and part of ('h'-kiang: sent his gen eralg. north in 1367. in 131;8 mounted the throne as Hung-wil, called his dynasty the Sling. or 'Illustrious,' and made his capital at the city which has since been known as Nanking. 'the southern capital.' In the same year he recovered the provinces of Enh-kien, the two Kwang, and Shan-si. and brought Shensi under his sway in
1369. III the following year the last Mongol Emperor died. the dynasty founded by Kublai Khan came to an inglorious end. and China was once more free from the yoke of aliens. In 1371 Sze-•huen and Liao-tung fell before him, and Yunnan in 1381.
Ilung-wil proved an able administrator. and be came a liberal patron of edneation and of litera ture. Be organized the present system of literary examinations. established a new penal code, abol ished mutilation as a punishment. regulated taxes and placed the coinage on a proper basis. made Buddhism and Taoism State religions. and pro hibited eunuchs from holding Ake. lie also re established the customs of the Tang dynasty (618-9071 and labored for the welfare of his people. lie had 21 sons, all of whom became princes, and set nine of them as governors over as many provinces. lie died in 1398, and is known in history as Tai-tsu, his Temple name. Ile is popularly' known, however, as the 'Beggar King,' in allusion to his early poverty. Sec Ri.musat, Nouveaux meganges asiatiques (2 vols., Paris, 1329).