Middle Ages
Zeami and the Birth of Noh Theatre in Muromachi Japan (1374)
Shogunal patronage turned Kan'ami's sarugaku troupe into the leading company in Kyoto, and Zeami refined its art into the classical Noh drama still performed today.
Region
Asia
Middle Ages
Jikji (1377): The Oldest Book Printed With Metal Movable Type
Jikji became the oldest surviving book printed with movable metal type; its only known copy is held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Middle Ages
Hu Weiyong Case (1380): The Hongwu Emperor's Great Purge
The Secretariat and the office of chancellor were abolished, the six ministries were placed directly under the emperor, and purges linked to the case killed an estimated 30,000 people.
Middle Ages
Joseon Dynasty Founded (1392): Yi Seong-gye Remakes Korea
The Goryeo dynasty ended and Yi Seong-gye became the first king of Joseon, which ruled Korea until 1897 and lasted as a state until 1910.
Middle Ages
Gyeongbokgung Palace (1395): Seoul's First Joseon Royal Palace
Joseon's new capital gained its principal palace, which served as the seat of government until 1592 and was rebuilt in the 1860s.
Middle Ages
Kinkaku-ji (1397): Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's Golden Pavilion
Yoshimitsu's Kitayama villa, centred on a gilded pavilion, became the Zen temple Rokuon-ji; the pavilion survived until an arson attack in 1950 and was rebuilt in 1955.
Middle Ages
Timur's Sack of Delhi (1398): Ruin of the Tughluq Capital
Timur defeated the Tughluq army and sacked Delhi; the Delhi Sultanate was left fragmented and the Tughluq dynasty soon ended.
Middle Ages
Jingnan Campaign (1399–1402): The Yongle Emperor Seizes Power
Zhu Di captured Nanjing in July 1402, the Jianwen Emperor disappeared, and Zhu Di took the throne as the Yongle Emperor.
Middle Ages
Founding of the Malacca Sultanate (c. 1400): Parameswara
Malacca became the main entrepot of the Strait of Malacca and a centre for the spread of Islam until the Portuguese conquest of 1511.
Middle Ages
Yongle Encyclopedia (1403–1408): Ming China's Giant Compendium
A manuscript compendium of 22,877 chapters in 11,095 volumes was completed; it was never printed, and fewer than 4 per cent of its volumes survive today.
Middle Ages
Zheng He's Treasure Voyages (1405–1433): Ming China at Sea
Seven state-sponsored expeditions spread Ming prestige and the tribute system across the Indian Ocean, then ended abruptly after 1433 and were never repeated.
Middle Ages
Temple of Heaven, Beijing (1406–1420): Ming Imperial Altar
A great sacrificial complex was completed in 1420 and, after major remodelling in the 16th and 18th centuries, served for nearly 500 years as the empire's chief altar to Heaven.