The Ming founder, Zhu Yuanzhang, originated in _____ (a peasant / an elite) background and rose to power on the back of the _____ (Green Lantern / Red Turban) rebellion. When he had conquered Nanjing, literati advised him to _____ (adhere himself to / distance himself from) the rebellion so that _____ (elites / peasants) would follow him. Zhu was a capable founder and emperor, but soon he lost his _____ (mind / base) and executed his _____ (Chamberlain / family members) and tens of thousands of his officials, eventually, through 1398, _____ (gaining immortality to escape / destroying) his entire administration. His grandson succeeded him in 1398 but soon was _____ (overthrown / favored) by his uncle, the Yongle Emperor Chengzu (Zhu Di, r. 1402-1424). In this way the Ming imperial dynasty became, in the eyes of the _____ (Zhu family / literati), illegitimate. (9 blanks / sets of choices)

Among the greatest problems of the Ming was its lack of _____ (eunuchs / competent emperors) in a system that needed them. Since the founder had _____ (decapitated / reinvigorated) the outer court / bureaucracy, emperors had to rely on _____ (eunuchs / literati) to manage the empire, but this created a deep division between the _____ (officials / eunuchs) who governed the inner court and the _____ (scholars / imperial family members) who were supposed to govern the empire. As a result, politically, socially, and economically the Ming empire was _____ (managed actively and carefully / utterly mismanaged). (6 blanks / sets of choices)