Their power ebbed more suddenly than it rose. Shun-ti, the last of the house, took refuge behind the Great Wall from the rising tide of Chinese patriotism; and after a tenure of ninety years, or of two centuries of fluctuating dominion, reckoning from the rise of Genghis Khan, the Yuen dynasty came to an untimely end. The magnificent waterway, the Grand Canal, remains an imperishable monument of the Mongol [Page 134] sway. As an "alimentary canal" it was needed for the support of the armies that held the people in subjection; and the Mongols only completed a work which other dynasties had undertaken. A description of it from personal observation is given in Part I of this work (page 31). It remains to be said that the construction of the Canal, like that of the Great Wall, was a leading cause of the downfall of its builders. Forced labour and aggravated taxation gave birth to discontent; rebellion became rife, and the Mongols were too effeminate to take active measures for its suppression. [Page 135] CHAPTER XXV THE MING DYNASTY, 1368-1644 A. D. (16 Emperors) _Humble Origin of the Founder--Nanking and Peking as Capital--First Arrival of European Ships--Portuguese, Spaniards, and Dutch Traders--Arrival of Missionaries--Tragic End of the Last of the Mings_ Humble as was the origin of the founder of the House of Han, spoken of as _Pu-i_, "A peasant clothed in homespun," that of the Father of the Mings was still more obscure. A novice or servant (_sacrificulus_) in a Buddhist monastery, Chu Yuen Chang felt called to deliver his people from oppression. At first regarded as a robber chief, one of many, his rivals submitted to his leadership and the people accepted his protection. Securing possession of Nanking, a city of illustrious memories and strong natural defences, he boldly proclaimed his purpose. After twenty years of blood and strategy, he succeeded in placing the Great Wall between him and the retreating Mongols. Proud of his victory he assumed for the title of his reign _Hungwu_, "Great Warrior," and chose _Ming_, "Luminous," for that of his dynasty. Leaving his son, the Prince of Yen, at Peking, to hold the Tartars in check, Hungwu spent the remaining [Page 136] years of his reign at his original capital, and then left the sceptre to his grandson. The Prince of Yen, uncle of the youthful emperor, feeling the slight implied in his father's choice, raised an army and captured Nanking. A charred corpse being shown to him as that of the emperor, he caused it to be interred with becoming rites, and at once assumed the imperial dignity, choosing for his reigning title _Yungloh_, "Perpetual Joy." He also removed the seat of government to Peking, where it has remained for five centuries. The "Thesaurus of Yungloh," a digest of Chinese literature so extensive as to form a library in itself, remains a monument to his patronage of letters.