Ming Taizu on the Yuan Dynasty: between Ethnicity and Legitimation

Ming dynasty has often been depicted as the victorious restoration of Han Chinese domination on Mongol tribes. I will try to show that the negative references to the origin of the foreign Yuan, which apparently are at odds with the praise to Qubilai, are instrumental in the construction of Ming Taizu’s legitimacy as the founder of a new dynasty. The Yuan legacy was, in fact, profound, as demonstrated by the institutional, legal and military elements derived from the previous dynasty. For this purpose, I will examine specific statements by Ming Taizu both on the Yuan dynasty and on its founder Shizu (Qubilai), recorded in official sources such as the Veritable Records, and I will also draw on some more “personal” writings, such as the Ming Taizu ji 明太祖集, among the huge number of documents written by the emperor himself.