The Social Reform in Early Ming Dynasty and Its Consequence ——Probing into the Social Background of Zaju of Ming Dynasty (II)

Rather than a mere change of regimes, the substitution of the Ming dynasty for the Yuan dynasty was a profound cultural transformation in which the authority of Confucianism was reestablished; or, it was the final effort made in Chinese ancient history by the political forces of the Han nationality to reunify the country. Owing to the rulers' autocracy and tyranny, the substitution pushed the Chinese imperial power to an unprecedented height; besides, the new regime practiced closed-door and conservative polices and denied talents the freedom of creation, causing therefore the cultural inanimateness and sterility in the 100-odd years that were to come. All these underlay the final decline of Zaju of the early Ming Dynasty.