Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

Topic: The Military and the Yuan-Ming Transition: A Reconsideration of Yuan and Ming Military Institutions and Policies

Speaker: Ha Yiming (UCLA Ph.D. Candidate)

Host: Li Ren-Yuan (Associate Research Fellow, IHP, Academia Sinica)

Venue: Room 702, Institute of History and Philology

Time: 2023 May 8th, 12:45-2:45 PM

Organizer: Institution and Society Research Center

Abstract: This project explores the introduction of a new method of military mobilization to China by the Mongol-Yuan, its subsequent adoption by the succeeding Ming dynasty, and the long-term consequences of this adoption. Unlike the Song, which utilized a marketized method of mobilization, the Mongol-Yuan and the Ming employed a demonetized mode of military service that was premised upon the creation and maintenance of self-sufficient and self-replicating hereditary military households. This allowed the Yuan and Ming states to initially field large armies at very little cost and contributed greatly to their success. However, long-term socio-economic changes altered the nature of military warfare, eventually forcing both the Yuan and the Ming to adopt other forms of military mobilization. While scholars have often interpreted this transition as a sign of the collapse of traditional military institutions, my project argues that the state played a major role in facilitating and adapting to this transition. Operating within institutional and fiscal constraints, the Yuan and Ming states worked actively to implement policies that kept the military afloat and that it was quite successful in responding to the challenges within the military.