ruoliuming
Magistrate
In fact, why the Ming dynasty is called Ming even in China is much debated and there are probably three different explanations:I actually recognize some of the characters--the numbers, mostly, but also the first. "Shining" or "bright". That is why they chose to call themselves Ming? Or was it just luck that the founder had that name? (People tend to forget that even in revered eras of the past there was a lot of sleazy politics.)
1. First, Ming(明) is made up of the sun(日) on the left and the moon(月) on the right, which means bright in Chinese. The first emperor of the Ming dynasty, Zhu YuanZhang(朱元璋), was one of the rebels at the end of the Yuan(元) dynasty and the rebel army that he belongs to belongs to Bailian Religion organization. Bailian Religion encouraged the people to oppose the rule of the Yuan dynasty by declaring that "darkness will pass and light will come." So it is also called "the light religion" and the leader of the Bailian Religion was called "king of Ming(明王)". Zhu YuanZhang admitted that he was Bailian Religion rebel army, so the country was named Ming.
2. Some people believe that after the death of the old king and the young king of Ming (After the death of the old king of Ming, Zhu YuanZhang called back to the young king of Ming, but the king was in the way of the mysterious drowned, so some people suspect that Zhu killed the young king, in order to master the leadership of the rebel.), Zhu YuanZhang, in order to establish his leadership and legitimacy, and at the same time to win over the people, so he continued to set the country as Ming.
3. The third theory involves the five elements(五行) of China. The ancient Chinese believed that the world consisted of five elements: gold(金), wood(木), water(水), fire(火) and earth(土), the five elements originate from each other and mutual restraint. The five elements theory permeates every aspect of life, also includes words, so at that time, the Yuan dynasty was not completely defeated, and the Yuan in the five elements belongs to water, is negative, Ming belongs to fire, is positive. The rebels hope the positive Ming can restrain the negative Yuan.