NANJINGNOW

Some background on Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, so we understand why this tomb is such a big deal:

1. In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang became the first emperor of the Ming dynasty, whose capital was to be Nanjing. His royal name was Emperor Hongwu.

2. Before the Ming Dynasty was the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty was ruled by Mongols, who were seen as foreigners by the (mainly Han) Chinese. Zhu Yuanzhang was the chap who led a peasant revolution that sent the Mongols back to the steppes.

3. The other interesting fact is what he did in his life before becoming an emperor of a unified China. According to folklore, he was but a mere cowherd who got to live in a Buddhist monastery where he learned to read; he was part of a gang of rebels, soon becoming a leader; he later evolved into a defender of Confucian ideals.

4. He made progressive changes to how the kingdom was ruled. These include: enacting policies that helped the peasant people and protected them from being abused by the aristocracy; giving the military a greater role in government (which according to traditional Confucian perspective, was below the scholar class) in a bid to keep the Mongol threat at bay; diminishing the influence of imperial eunuchs in the administration of government.