1368
Zhu Yuanzhang proclaims the Ming dynasty
The peasant rebel turned warlord ascended the throne in Nanjing as the Hongwu emperor. He chose Ming, 'Brilliant,' for his reign name and immediately dispatched Xu Da north to drive the Mongols from Khanbaliq. Native Chinese rule had returned to all of China for the first time since the Northern Song.
Vijayanagara's Harihara II extends southern reach
Vijayanagara's king pushed south against remaining Sultanate enclaves in the Tamil country and east toward the Coromandel coast, absorbing former Pandya and Chola territories into the expanding Hindu empire. Under his reign the Sanskrit court of Vidyaranya produced philosophical commentaries that rearticulated Hindu identity in opposition to Islamic political threats, forging a cultural counterweight to the Bahmani north.
Mongols flee Beijing
Toghon Temur, last Yuan emperor, slipped out of Khanbaliq's northern gate in the night, retreating to the Mongolian steppe with his court and treasures. Ming troops entered the capital without major resistance, finding empty palaces and abandoned granaries. The Mongol Yuan dynasty became the Northern Yuan, a steppe rump that lingered for two more centuries.
Hongwu Emperor establishes the Ming legal code
Zhu Yuanzhang promulgated the Da Ming Lü, a comprehensive legal code drawn from Tang precedent but hardened by his peasant suspicion of officials. Its punishments were savage, its regulations minute, and its reach extended to every village headman. The code would govern China for nearly three centuries with minimal revision.