Although the stele is silent, as a witness to history, it and the words on it are an effective way for us to understand antiquity today.
The two stories of the Forest of Steles in Xi'an, spanning a hundred years of different dynasties and completely different identities of the protagonists, have become the best consolation for each other because of the largest "unfinished project" of the Ming Dynasty and the lonely tombstone of the Qing Dynasty.
Although Zhu Yuanzhang has achieved great success in his life, for himself, his wish may not have been fully realized.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who suffered the pain of losing his son and political problems at the same time, finally chose Zhu Yunwen, the son of Zhu Biao, as the first person. However, Zhu Yunwen's policy of cutting the feudal domain was too impulsive, which led to Zhu Di's rebellion and directly attacked the city of Nanjing, subverting Zhu Yunwen's rule.
Zhu Yunwen reigned for four years, and his whereabouts were unknown, so Zhu Di naturally took over and continued to work hard for the Ming Tomb.
Unlike Zhu Yunwen, the prosperity and vastness of the Ming Tomb further highlighted Zhu Di's filial piety, and also made his legitimacy of succession more recognized. After all, for Zhu Di, rebellion was a stain on him, and he hoped that people would accept his legitimacy and legitimacy.
In order to complete the construction of this solemn stele as soon as possible, Zhu Di adopted various methods. At that time, each craftsman had to pay a certain amount of stone as evidence of the completion of the work, otherwise he was verbally abused and beaten.
According to historical records, although the project cost a lot of manpower, material and financial resources
The Yangshi stele was shelved in this way, and no one cared about it. Although during Zhu Di's reign, he launched many wars against the Mongols and contributed to Zheng He's feat of going to the West, which was a great drain on the country's strength.
The Yangshi stele was selected for Zheng He's voyage to the West because of its huge size, but it was also abandoned because of its size. It should have been worshiped and admired by people in the Ming Tomb of filial piety, but it was lonely because no one cared about it, which is regrettable.
If the stele has a spirit, I'm afraid the biggest feeling of the stele is loneliness. However, compared to her brother Yuan Ji, Yuan Mei's reputation is much greater, which makes her tombstone even more desolate and desolate.
Although the reputation of the Yangshi stele is not as good as that of the elder brother, at least its story is still circulating and has not been completely forgotten.
Before Yuan Ji was born, her father had appointed a baby parent for her, highlighting the lack of marital autonomy of women in ancient feudal periods. Although the heir of that family had a bad character, Yuan Ji was deeply influenced by feudal etiquette and religion, and it was difficult to resist this fate.
Yuan Ji's married life is like the old proverb, marry a chicken with a chicken, and a dog with a dog. She adapts and tolerates with great patience and love, and does her best to be filial, considerate, generous and gentle.
However, her bastard husband has never been able to change his bastard behavior, making Yuan Ji's life full of misery. In the end, she resolutely returned to her parents' home and ended this miserable married life.
Yuan Ji's tenacity and courage make us understand that we should stick to ourselves and not be bound by others at all times.
It was during his official period in Nanjing that Yuan Mei wrote the "Hongwu Stone Stele" after visiting Yangshan, allowing us to understand the story of the "unfinished project" behind the Yangshan stele.
Yuan Ji's life was full of tragedy, and he was deeply bound by feudal etiquette, especially in marriage, and he had neither autonomy nor happiness at all.
Although the marriage system in ancient China was finally freed from the shackles, this kind of tragedy caused by feudal etiquette has been repeated in the long history, which can not help but make people feel deeply regretful.