About 50 years after Kublai Khan died, in 1294, the Mongol Empire was fading. It was weakened by revolts, natural disasters, and fighting among those who wanted to rule.
The Chinese people saw this weakness, and they rebelled. The leader of one rebellion was Hong Wu. He was a poor peasant and former Buddhist monk. Hong Wu took control of China in 1368. He declared himself emperor of a new dynasty, the Ming dynasty. Under him, China began to recover from the period of rebellion. Farms, canals, and roads were repaired. The economy improved, and China’s population grew. But later in his rule, Hong Wu became cruel. He had thousands of people jailed or killed.
