Military of the Ming dynasty

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The military of the Ming dynasty was the military apparatus of China from 1368 to 1644. It was established from the Red Turban rebel forces in the late Yuan dynasty under the leadership of Zhu Yuanzhang, who later became its founding emperor as the Hongwu Emperor. Like many aspects of Ming politics and society, the military combined traditional Chinese elements—particularly those traceable to the Tang dynasty—with Mongol influences inherited from the Yuan. The new imperial army was initially organised along largely hereditary lines, with manpower drawn from self-sufficient agricultural communities across the empire. Soldiers were grouped into guards (wei) and battalions (suo), forming what is known as the weisuo system. This system declined less than a century after the dynasty's founding, around 1450, and was ultimately abandoned in favor of the extensive use of mercenaries and salaried troops during the 16th century. At its outset, the military included substantial cavalry forces skilled...

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