The Rise and Fall of the Ming Dynasty

<p>At its height, Ming China was one of the most powerful states on Earth. Its cities bustled with merchants and scholars, its goods travelled across continents, and its treasure fleets sailed as far as East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. At the heart of this vast empire stood the Forbidden City- a spectacular symbol of imperial authority.</p> <p>But prosperity bred corruption, power created enemies, and rebellion threatened the dynasty from within. In this episode, Dan heads to Beijing to explore how an impoverished peasant founded a dynasty that ruled China for nearly three centuries and how war, political crisis, rebellion and environmental catastrophe ultimately brought it down. Warning: this episode refers to suicide. </p> <p>Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore</p> <p>You can check out our documentary on Youtube here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHBTevu_eTc" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHBTevu_eTc</a></p> <p>If you want more of Jeremiah on Dan Snow's History Hit, check out these episodes on any podcast player:</p><p>The Opium Wars at <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4GYkpTToitfmACR6RX9yGa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/episode/4GYkpTToitfmACR6RX9yGa</a></p><p>The Forbidden City at <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5FdOolMSttL4aIXlMniMUj" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/episode/5FdOolMSttL4aIXlMniMUj</a></p><p>The Terracotta Warriors at <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-terracotta-warriors/id1042631089?i=1000666138627" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-terracotta-warriors/id1042631089?i=1000666138627</a></p> <p>Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe</u></a>.</p> <p>You can also email the podcast directly at <a href="mailto:ds.hh@historyhit.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ds.hh@historyhit.com</a>.</p> <p>Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.</p><p>History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>