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明代

Mandarin · pinyin Míng dài

the Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

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Characters in this entry

明: míng · bright, light, brilliant; clear
代: dài · replace, replacement (of person or generation); era, generation

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

2–4 · Ming2 dai4

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Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(obsolete) reign of good governance

name

the Ming Era, the time of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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