The Ming Dynasty ruled China from 1368 to 1644, succeeding the MongolYuan Dynasty and falling amidst much peasant turmoil to the ManchuQing dynasty. A series of claimants to the Ming throne continued to claim the throne of what was known as the Southern Ming until the last was executed in 1662.
1 As posthumous and temple names were often shared by emperors of different dynasties, they are usually preceded by the dynastic name, in this case, Ming, to avoid confusion. For example, the Hongwu emperor is frequently referred to as Ming Taizu.
2 The Yongle emperor usurped the throne of his nephew the Jianwen emperor, who was officially said to have died in a palace fire but who was suspected of escaping to live as a recluse. The Yongle emperor wiped out the record of his nephew's reign and no temple name was given him.
3 After listening to the poor advice of his eunuch advisers, the Zhengtong emperor personally led a campaign in 1449 against the Mongols and was captured. His brother, the Jingtai emperor, assumed the throne and, a hostage no longer of any value, the Mongols released the Zhengtong emperor who returned to live in seclusion. However, the Zhengtong emperor was able to reclaim his position upon the death of his brother, choosing the reign name Tianshun.
The two characters are homonyms, both pronounced Lu; to distinguish them, one is usually kept as Lu and the other spelled differently. Luh is from Cambridge History of China; Lou is from A.C. Moule's Rulers of China (1957). When one irregular spelling is used, the other is kept as regular (Lu). The two systems are distinct and not used simultaneously.
