page_title: Zhejiang
section_title: Yuan and Ming eras
hierarchical_section_title: Zhejiang / History / Yuan and Ming eras
caption_attribution_description: A ceramic tripod planter from the Ming Dynasty. Found in Zhejiang province of China. Known as "Longquan ware". Built in the 14th or 15th centuries. Stoneware with celadon glaze. It is housed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., where a plaque reads "This tripod bears the eight-trigram motif found in ancient Chinese cosmology."
context_page_description: Zhejiang, is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Jiangsu and Shanghai to the north, Anhui to the northwest, Jiangxi to the west, and Fujian to the south. To the east is the East China Sea, beyond which lie the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. The population of Zhejiang stands at 57 million, the 10th highest among China. Other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. It has been called 'the backbone of China' due to being a major driving force in the Chinese economy and being the birthplace of several notable persons, including the Chinese Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and entrepreneur Jack Ma.
  The area of Zhejiang was controlled by the Kingdom of Yue during the Spring and Autumn period. The Qin Empire later annexed it in 222 BC. Under the late Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty that followed it, Zhejiang's ports became important centers of international trade. It was occupied by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese war and placed under the control of the Japanese puppet state known as the Reorganized National Government of China.
context_section_description: Zhejiang was finally conquered by the Mongols in the late 13th century who later established the short lived Yuan dynasty. Zhejiang became part of the much larger Jiangzhe province.
  The Ming dynasty, which drove out the Mongols in 1368, finally established the present day province of Zhejiang with its borders having little changes since this establishment.
  As in other coastal provinces, number of fortresses were constructed along the Zhejiang coast during the early Ming to defend the land against pirate incursions. Some of them have been preserved or restored, such as Pucheng in the south of the province (Cangnan County).
caption: This tripod planter from the Ming dynasty was found in Zhejiang province. It is housed in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
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