Achievements
The Ming Dynasty, lasting from 1368 to 1644, succeeded in discovering and creating new advances in human civilization. From medicine to literature, the Ming achieved many goals no one thought possible. These achievements helped many people in education, as well as entertainment. Many intelligent people were born in this era, and they found new ways of writing, built a way to steer large ships without oars, and much more. The Ming Dynasty allowed brilliant minds to do their work, and expanded the minds of the Eastern people.
Medicine in China advanced to a new level, saving countless lives. The era of the Ming Dynasty is in the era of the Renaissance, so the minds of the Chinese also evolved. They started variolation, the first known cure for smallpox, and was used for several hundred years before the vaccine was made in 1796.[1] Variolation is the process of pricking oneself with a weakened form of a disease. The patient is then exposed to the disease for two to three weeks, gaining immunity to the disease.[2]The Ming Dynasty also wrote one of the most influential books in their time. This book was titled the Compendium of Materia Medica, and was a vast encyclopedia, which contains “over 1,800 kinds of medicinal substances, lists more than 11,000 medical formulas (i.e.- combinations of herbal, animal and plant materials), and includes over 1,000 illustrations.”[3] This book also sorted the medicines into more understandable topics, allowing certain remedy and disease traits to be categorized. They were also the first ones to discover “pattern discrimination.” This is the discovery of multiple symptoms in a disease, allowing early and otherwise undetectable diagnosis.[4] With this information, the Ming helped people and saved many people.
The Ming Dynasty created a military power no one had ever seen before. Their military was hereditary, saying that “Casualties could be easily replaced.”[5] Their almost infinite supply of troops brought fear, but that wasn’t all. The Ming Dynasty’s military were lightly equipped, having archers and lancers made by “weapon experts from southeast Asia.”[6] The soldiers were enforced certain plans for certain strategies, so they were ready for head on war.[7] They used new weapons such as the fire lance, and was the equivalent to a modern anti-tank weapon.[8] In the fifteenth century, fleets of ships were sailed to discover distant lands and oceans. As a result, they created a strong northern front.[9] Although they were not armed well, they used their brains to keep them safe for 300 years.
The Ming Dynasty was a revolutionary era. From medicine to military, the Ming Dynasty allowed them to advance in their thoughts, and helped many people. The Ming Dynasty was a time of intelligent people.