Mu Ying
Mu Ying (沐英, 1345–1392) was a Chinese military general and politician during the Ming dynasty, and an adopted son of its founder, the Hongwu Emperor. He played an important role in establishing Ming authority in Yunnan.
Mu Ying | |
|---|---|
| 沐英 | |
Mu Ying painted by Tang Yin (c. 1500) | |
| Marquis of Xiping | |
| In office 1377–1392 | |
| Succeeded by | Mu Chun |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1345 Dingyuan County, Hao Prefecture, Henan, Yuan China (mordern Dingyuan County, Chuzhou, Anhui) |
| Died | 1392 (aged 47) Yunnan Fu, Yunnan, Ming China (mordern Kunming, Yunnan) |
| Children |
|
| Parent(s) | Mu Chao (father) Lady Gu Hongwu Emperor (adoptive father) |
| Occupation | Military general, politician |
| Courtesy name | Wenying (文英) |
| Posthumous name | Zhaojing (昭靖) |
When the Ming dynasty emerged, the Hongwu Emperor's military officers who served under him were given noble titles which privileged the holder with a stipend but in all other aspects was merely symbolic. Mu Ying's family was among them. Special rules guarding against potential abuse of power were implemented on the nobles. His family remained in Yunnan where Mu and his descendants guarded until the end of the Ming dynasty. As late as the 1650s, his descendant Mu Tianbo was one of the main supporters of the Yongli Emperor, the last emperor of the Southern Ming, and accompanied the fugitive emperor all the way into Toungoo Burma.