| Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty | |
|---|---|
DVD cover art |
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| Also known as | Zhu Yuanzhang |
| Genre | Historical drama |
| Written by | Zhu Sujin |
| Directed by | Feng Xiaoning |
| Starring | Hu Jun Ju Xue Yin Guohua Zheng Xiaoning |
| Opening theme | Yingxiong Mowen Chushen (英雄莫问出身) performed by Zhi Yu |
| Ending theme | Tongnian Women Shi Pengyou (童年我们是朋友) performed by Liu Yanyan |
| Composer(s) | Li Ge |
| Country of origin | China |
| Language(s) | Mandarin |
| No. of episodes | 46 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Yang Yubing Fang Quanning |
| Producer(s) | Feng Xiaoning |
| Location(s) | Hengdian World Studios, Zhejiang, China |
| Camera setup | Feng Xiaoning Zheng Jie Feng Feng |
| Running time | 45 minutes per episode |
| Production company(s) | Shanghai Three Nine Culture Development Co., Ltd. China International Television Corporation |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CCTV |
| Original airing | 2006 |
| Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty | |||||||
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| Chinese | 朱元璋 | ||||||
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Founding Emperor of Ming Dynasty is a 2006 Chinese television series based on the biography of Zhu Yuanzhang, founding emperor of the Chinese Ming Dynasty.
Contents |
Turmoil engulfs the final years of the Mongol-ruled Yuan Dynasty in China, as the government sinks into corruption, while rebel forces have sprouted throughout the land to overthrow the dynasty. Somewhere in the wilderness, a cowherd boy named Zhu Chongba stands on a huge rock and proclaims to his fellows, "I, Emperor Zhu, will reward each of you with a large piece of rice cake when I ascend to the throne one day!" At around the same time, his parents have already died of starvation at home.
To give his parents a proper funeral, Zhu becomes a novice monk at a local monastery and spends part of his childhood there. A few years later, the monastery is destroyed and he has no choice but to become a beggar. One day, he encounters Yuan soldiers and narrowly escapes death, but is captured by some rebels, who suspect that he is a spy and want to kill him. At this critical moment, he is saved by a girl, and joins Guo Zixing's rebel army later.
Zhu Chongba proves his capability on the battlefield and wins the favour of Guo Zixing. Guo marries his goddaughter, Lady Ma, to Zhu, and gives Zhu a new name, Yuanzhang. From that moment onwards, Zhu Yuanzhang starts his journey towards becoming an emperor. He earns the support of talented men, such as Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen; triumphs over his nemesis Chen Youliang at the Battle of Lake Poyang; overthrows the Yuan Dynasty; and finally establishes the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu initiated a beginning for a golden era of China under the reigns of his successors. He implemented land reforms to prevent peasants from being abused by wealthy landlords and bureaucrats; harshly punished officials found guilty of corruption; drafted the Code of the Great Ming; introduced policies to help the country recover from the effects of war. However, Zhu also used ruthless and brutal means to consolidate power: he killed some of his subjects who had contributed greatly to the founding of his empire, fearing that they may rebel against him.