Ming dynasty · 1351-1398

Zhu Yuanzhang: from beggar monk to Ming emperor

A peasant boy who lost his family to famine joined a rebellion against the Mongol Yuan and became the first Ming emperor in 1368. Students trace his rise on the map and weigh a ruler who rebuilt China's farms and purged his own officials.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 1351 to AD 1492
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

A peasant boy who lost his family to famine joined a rebellion against the Mongol Yuan and became the first Ming emperor in 1368. Students trace his rise on the map and weigh a ruler who rebuilt China's farms and purged his own officials.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Describe how Zhu Yuanzhang rose from poverty to found the Ming dynasty in 1368.
  • Explain why the Yuan dynasty lost control of China.
  • Weigh the achievements and the cruelty of the Hongwu emperor's reign.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1351

The Yuan crumbles

Open the map in 1351, when the Red Turban revolt broke out against the Yuan. Find the Huai River region between the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Why did revolts start among poor farmers hit by floods and famine?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1368

A capital on the Yangtze

Zoom in on Nanjing and turn on Cities. Zhu made it the first Ming capital and gave it a city wall about 35 km long. Why build the capital in the south?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1492

The Ming Empire

Drag the slider to 1492 and zoom out to see the Ming Empire. Compare it with the Yuan lands in 1300. Which lands did the Ming not hold?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Zhu Yuanzhang lost his parents to famine and begged as a monk. How might that have shaped the way he ruled?
  2. Why did a Chinese peasant leader find so many followers against the Mongol Yuan?
  3. He had every household and its land written into great registers. Why does a government need such records?
  4. He also had tens of thousands of officials and their families killed in purges. Can a ruler be good for farmers and cruel to officials at the same time?
  5. The new Ming banned private trade by sea. Why might a government turn away from the sea?
4

Game round

10 min

Rule History has no Ming emperor, so play Genghis Khan, whose descendants the Ming drove out of China. Let students take turns making rulings. Then compare with Zhu Yuanzhang: what did a peasant rebel need to win that a steppe conqueror did not?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.