The Ming dynasty (1368–1644) was founded by a commoner, Zhu Yuanzhang (r. 1368–1398), who established Nanjing as his capital. In 1403 the Yongle Emperor, the third Ming ruler, relocated the capital to Beijing. The nearly 300-year span of the Ming Dynasty witnessed unprecedented population growth and economic expansion. In the last decades of the dynasty central authority was weakened by fiscal instability, crop failures, and court corruption, leading to the Manchu conquest and the capture of Beijing in 1644.

Ming artistic achievements include the production of exceptional porcelain vessels, paintings, lacquerware, cloisonné enamels, and silk textiles. The imperial pottery factory at Jingdezhen had already produced large quantities of porcelain vessels during the Yuan dynasty, but the city’s position as the main ceramic supplier for domestic and foreign markets was solidified during the Ming period. The Ming emperors commissioned the finest porcelains for palace use and for diplomatic gifts. The court also actively recruited painters from across the empire to serve in an imperial painting academy, emulating the academy of the earlier Southern Song Dynasty. Palace painters excelled in religious themes, narrative subjects, auspicious bird-and-flower motifs, and large-scale landscapes. Web resources here and here.

Flattened globular flask with a three-clawed dragon in reserve against a background of waves. Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration. Jingdezhen, Jiangxi, China. Ming Dynasty. 1403–1424. British Museum, London.