Ming Yuzhen (1331 - summer 1366) was a peasant who established the rebel Empire of Daxia (大夏 "Great Xia") during the late Yuan Dynasty

Yuan Dynasty

The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...

 in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. He changed his surname in adulthood to mean "Brilliancy".

Ming was born in Suizhou (today Sui County

Sui County, Hubei

Sui County is a Chinese county located in Suizhou, Hubei, China.It was established in May, 2009....

, Hubei

Hubei

' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...

) in a farmer family. He changed the character of his surname to mean "Brilliance" later. In 1353 he joined the Red Turbans, a rebel group led by Xu Shouhui

Xu Shouhui

Xu Shouhui was a 14th century Chinese rebel leader who proclaimed himself emperor during the late Mongol Yuan Dynasty period. He was also known as Xu Zhenyi ....

. He was blinded in the right eye during a battle.

In 1360, Xu was killed by Chen Youliang

Chen Youliang

Chen Youliang was the founder of the insurgent state of Dahan in the late Yuan Dynasty period of Chinese history.-Biography:...

, so Ming left his group and proclaimed himself King Longshu (隴蜀王). Two years later, he proclaimed himself Emperor of Great Xia in Chongqing

Chongqing

Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...

, with the era name of Tiantong (天統). In Great Xia, there was taxation, imperial examination

Imperial examination

The Imperial examination was an examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of...

, and a state religion of Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

.

In 1363, he attacked Prince Liang, Bolud Temür (孛羅帖木兒) in Yunnan

Yunnan

Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...

. His plans to expand did not work out and he died in of illness at the age of 35. He was succeeded by his son, who changed the era name to Kaixi (開熙) and was destroyed by the Ming Empire.