Final answer:
The Ming dynasty sought to eradicate Mongol influence by reinforcing Confucianism, prohibiting foreign trade, and introducing governance and taxation reforms. These efforts included cultural changes and new economic responsibilities for the peasantry, but led to mixed results and financial strain, contributing to the Ming dynasty's eventual decline.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Ming government sought to eliminate the influence of the Mongols after the fall of the Yuan dynasty by implementing various strategies. The early Ming emperors worked to change the society they ruled by reviving Chinese cultural traditions. For instance, Confucianism was reinforced by the Ming emperors as the central ideological and philosophical system, which the Mongols had neglected to emphasize. The Ming dynasty also attempted to establish a firm cultural separation from the Mongols by prohibiting foreign trade initially and by reinstating Chinese rituals and customs that the Mongol rulers had dismissed or overshadowed.
Additionally, to assert control over the Chinese socioeconomic structure, which the Yuan dynasty had destabilized, reforms in taxation and governance were introduced. The Hongwu emperor made wealthy peasant families responsible for collecting taxes, and soldiers' families were given land to farm in an effort to make the army self-supporting. Despite their efforts, these reforms often failed to achieve their intended results, leading to additional financial strains on the population and the state. Over time, the Ming dynasty faced internal challenges and external pressures, which ultimately led to the dynasty’s decline and the rise of the Qing dynasty.