Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang)

The Hongwu Emperor, born Zhu Yuanzhang, was one of only two peasant founders of an imperial dynasty in four millennia of Chinese history (alongside Han Gaozu). Born into destitute poverty in Anhui, his family starved to death during a catastrophic famine, forcing the orphaned teenage boy to survive as a begging Buddhist monk in yellow robes.

Joining the millennial Red Turban peasant rebellion against the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in 1352, Zhu Yuanzhang's military brilliance, iron discipline, and strategic cunning quickly propelled him to supreme command. In 1368, his armies captured Dadu (Beijing), driving the Mongols back to the Eurasian steppes and restoring native Han Chinese rule under the Ming Dynasty ('Brilliant'). Establishing his imperial capital at Nanjing, Hongwu constructed the world's longest city wall (the 33-kilometer Stone City of Nanjing). Distrustful of corrupt bureaucrats, he compiled the Yellow Registers census and the Fish Scale Records land surveys, reduced peasant taxes, and personally oversaw government administration after abolishing the office of chancellor, reigning as a formidable autocrat.