Author: Zhang Hongjie
Research Fellow, School of History, Renmin University of Chinese.
Before joining the Red Turban Army, if anyone said that Zhu Chongba (Zhu Yuanzhang's original name) in Taiping Township could be rich and noble, he would definitely be regarded as a big joke by people, including Zhu Chongba himself. At that time, this rural descendant was like a thin grass in the vast wilderness, so humble that it was impossible to recognize. His ancestors were all poor and illiterate peasants, so much so that after his reign, he could not cling to a celebrity like other founding emperors.
Painting works of unknown era: Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
He was sturdy and burly, which only meant that he would sweat more and be more tired in the field. He was born hastily and hastily on his mother's way down to the field. Like the son of any tenant farmer, he threw his youth on the ridges of the mountains at will, and never bothered to dream of his future or prepare for his extraordinary future.
Later generations always compare him with Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, because they were also born as farmers. But he didn't have the restlessness of the prodigal son Liu Bang, and if it weren't for the earth-shaking peasant uprising, he was destined to be a hard-working peasant who was thrifty and hard-working, and was firmly locked by the land all his life.
Perhaps it was the fate of China, and the vigorous uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty seemed to be aimed at bumping him out of the most inconspicuous corners of society, making the original impossible possible, and putting China in the rough hands of a peasant to see how he was at his mercy.
It turns out that the folds of this vast and barren land once hid countless brilliant lives. This peasant, who came out of the bottom by absolute accident, proved to the world the extraordinary heat and intensity of his life. It should be said that Zhu Yuanzhang is talented. He went from a semi-literate tenant who could not read a basket of big characters, and taught himself to read and write between marches and wars, to later being able to talk about history with ministers, and he could also dance and write 800 serious prose, and he wrote quite like that. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Dachu sent a letter to the Duke of Guo, and Zhu Yuanzhang personally made an edict: "From the beginning of the army, the heart of the sun is the first to hold the sun; Come to Dingjiangnan, and then become the pillar of optimus. "The battle is neat and open-minded, and it is indeed a good work. One autumn night, he set up a drinking party for Confucianism, Song Lian couldn't drink, he was forced to pour a few cups and get drunk, he wrote a poem "Chu Ci" as a gift:
The west wind is sassy and golden, and the Confucian ministers will be embarrassed.
The eyes are green and willowy, and the water of the Chengjiang River is oceanic.
Drink again for Si Yue, and figure out the eternal light.
The jade sea is full and chime-through, and the pan Qiong is full of silver paste.
Song Sheng drank slightly and got drunk early, and suddenly staggered around and down;
The beautiful autumn scenery is happy, but it is beneficial to the other!
Among the emperors of the past dynasties, his poems are also written well, simple and bold, and there is a kind of aura at his fingertips, such as this "Yongxue Bamboo":
The snow pressure bamboo branches are low, although they are not muddy.
The red sunrise of the Ming Dynasty is still with the clouds.
It must be said that Zhu Yuanzhang has a high talent and understanding. He himself was proud of this, and once said to his courtiers: "Isn't it heavenly that I have not been taught by my teacher, but I have read and written, and I am relieved to be obedient?" "The feeling of self-satisfaction is beyond words.
Court paintings: Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
However, the ability of words is only a decorative embellishment for a founding emperor after all. His real talent was in the military-political sphere. His success was completely achieved by his own bare hands, and in the process of competing for the deer, he showed courage, vision, courage, and perseverance that others could not match; In his legendary military career, he was equally impressed by his outstanding sense of the big picture and his meticulous attention to detail.
He has a strong sense of proportion, shrewd, cunning and assertive, and can make decisions on the spot. He was sandwiched between the two strong enemies of Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, judged the situation, seized the opportunity to break through, and laid the foundation for annexing the world. When going north to the Central Plains, he was able to stand alone from the crowd, avoid the enemy's edge, take advantage of the enemy's internal contradictions to directly find the weak points, first prune the branches and leaves, and then dig up the old roots, and use both strong attacks and surrenders, so as to quickly settle the world. "History of the Ming Dynasty Taizu Benji" summarized this: Emperor Tian bestowed wisdom and bravery, unified Fang Xia, and Wei Wu**, which was unmatched by the monarchs of the Han, Tang and Song dynasties. At the beginning of its creation, it can sink a few changes, and the second is slight, which is more than enough.
When he finally leveled the crowd, ascended to the throne, and rose from a destitute peasant to the lord of the world, he did not show any panic and lack of confidence. He dared to think and act, made bold moves, slashed and slashed the political structure that had been passed down for thousands of years, intervened in all aspects of the lives of the people of the empire, and unceremoniously marked his personality factors in all aspects of Ming society. This semi-literate emperor, in 31 years, established a complete set of elaborate state systems including politics, economy, military and culture, which influenced Chinese society for 543 years. Every detail of this system reflects his cautious, shrewd and cunning personality. More than two hundred years later, the Manchurian monarch Shunzhi Emperor, who followed Li Zicheng's ass and seized the Ming Dynasty, still admires this. He said that the Tang Sect and Song Ancestors were not as eloquent as Zhu Yuanzhang. "Why? There are good people in the number of gentlemen and politicians, and there are those who are not good. As for the regulations and regulations set by Hongwu, the planning is thorough, so I say that the kings of the past dynasties are not as good as Hongwu. ”
Court paintings Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty in his later years.
The praise of Ming Shi Taizu Benji has reached an overwhelming level. "Taizu Benji Praise" said: Taizu with the wisdom of the gods, with the ambition of helping the world and the people, taking advantage of the time, heroic Jingcong, destroying the strong, fifteen years into the emperor's industry, the rise of cloth, dying Haiyu, unprecedented after the Western Han Dynasty. The punishment of the Yuan government is lax, and the governance is still severe. And can be courteous to the elderly, test the rites and set music, reveal the scriptures, respect the righteousness, add grace to win the country, clarify the rule of officials, cultivate the discipline, worship the wind and religion, the name of the harem, the internal governance is purged, the eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in politics, the official positions of the five governments and six ministries are maintained, the guards are guarded in Tuntian, the soldiers and food are sufficient, the Wuding is chaotic, the text is peaceful, and the Taizu is both. According to these accounts, Zhu Yuanzhang, the lowest-born monarch in history, became the greatest emperor in Chinese history, and he governed Chinese society to the point of near-perfection. History's shenanigans seem to have had an unexpected effect. However, when we look back at history, Zhu Yuanzhang, a great emperor by traditional standards, is like a statue of a god who has lost his mana, with painted and gold makeup peeling off from his solemn face, the ugly wooden tire beginning to be revealed, and only dazed and confused eyes remain.
This article is excerpted from Zhang Hongjie's "Millennium Paradox: A Historical Experiment Record of Human Nature", Chongqing Publishing House, August 2022 edition. The main title has been prepared by the editor.