Zhu Yuanzhang named his dynasty Ming. The ideogram Ming 明 combines the pictograms for sun 日 and moon 月 to convey the sense of brightness. When the Ming were overthrown in the 1640s, the invading Manchu chose for their dynasty the name Qing 清, combining the pictograms for water 水 and blue 青 to create a composite that means purity. There is a scissors-paper-stone logic to this naming progression.
The ancestors of the Manchu (the Jurchen) had founded the Jin dynasty that had flourished for more than a century until its overthrow by a Mongol-Song coalition. Jin 金 means gold, named after the Gold River in their homeland, and of course gold is a metal and therefore can be melted by the fiery brightness of the Ming. Fire, however, is extinguished by water. By changing Jin to Qing, the Manchu were figuratively confirming their victory over the Ming. In addition, a famous festival in China is known as Qingming (literally pure brightness, or The Feast of Pure Light). By choosing the name Qing the Manchu were ensuring that their name would forever proceed that of the Ming in one of the most important dates of the Chinese calendar.
Now, the term Ming has several other associations.
First, it forms part of the Chinese term given to Manichaeism (Ming Jao). In his struggle to overthrow the Mongols, Zhu Yuanzhang the founder of the Ming dynasty, had first to defeat a rival faction that was predominantly Manichaean. His choice of the name Ming was partly intended to keep survivors of the defeated group on board.
Secondly, fiery brightness is also considered to be yang 阳 contrasted with the yin 阴 of water. The south is considered to be yang while the north is yin. By choosing the name Ming he was giving primacy to the south.
The ancestors of the Manchu (the Jurchen) had founded the Jin dynasty that had flourished for more than a century until its overthrow by a Mongol-Song coalition. Jin 金 means gold, named after the Gold River in their homeland, and of course gold is a metal and therefore can be melted by the fiery brightness of the Ming. Fire, however, is extinguished by water. By changing Jin to Qing, the Manchu were figuratively confirming their victory over the Ming. In addition, a famous festival in China is known as Qingming (literally pure brightness, or The Feast of Pure Light). By choosing the name Qing the Manchu were ensuring that their name would forever proceed that of the Ming in one of the most important dates of the Chinese calendar.
Now, the term Ming has several other associations.
First, it forms part of the Chinese term given to Manichaeism (Ming Jao). In his struggle to overthrow the Mongols, Zhu Yuanzhang the founder of the Ming dynasty, had first to defeat a rival faction that was predominantly Manichaean. His choice of the name Ming was partly intended to keep survivors of the defeated group on board.
Secondly, fiery brightness is also considered to be yang 阳 contrasted with the yin 阴 of water. The south is considered to be yang while the north is yin. By choosing the name Ming he was giving primacy to the south.
