Great Ming Code

The Great Ming Code was the legal code of the Ming dynasty, focused primarily on criminal law and created at the direction of the dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, in the late 14th century as part of broader social and political reforms. From 1397 until the fall of the Ming in 1644 it served as the principal governing law of China; under the Qing dynasty it was replaced by the Great Qing Legal Code, which borrowed heavily from it, and portions of the Great Ming Code were also adopted into the legal systems of Joseon dynasty Korea, Edo period Japan and Le dynasty Vietnam.