Zhu Yunwen

Zhu Yunwen

Zhu Yunwen (December 5, 1377) Male, Han nationality, born in yingtianfu (now Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province), is the second emperor of Ming Dynasty, the second son of Zhu Biao, Prince Yiwen, the grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Taizu of Ming Dynasty. He was in power from June 30, 1398 to July 13, 1402, with the year name of Jianwen. Therefore, he was later called Jianwen emperor, also known as Zhu Yunwen.

In 1392, his father Zhu Biao died, and Zhu Yunwen was made the great grandson of the emperor. In 1398, he succeeded to the throne. During his reign, Zhu Yunwen strengthened the role of civil servants in state affairs, lenient punishment, severe punishment of eunuchs, and changed some of his grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang's Malpractices, which is known as "Jianwen New Deal".

After the battle of Jingnan, Zhu Yunwen's whereabouts were unknown. Mei Yin, the emperor's son-in-law, was in the army at that time. In order to mourn after Huang Yanqing's suggestion, Zhu Yunwen was named emperor Xiaomin and the temple was named Shenzong. In July of the first year of Hongguang in Nanming Dynasty (1645), the temple name was changed to Huizong with the title of Sitian. Zhang Daocheng, yiyuangong, wenyangwu, Keren, duxiaorang, Emperor Huizong and gongminhui, Emperor Huidi in the first year of Qianlong in Qing Dynasty.

(picture overview source)

Life of the characters

Inherit the throne

Zhu Yunwen was born in yingtianfu (now Nanjing) on December 5, 1377 (the tenth year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty). He was the second emperor of Ming Dynasty. He was named Jianwen. He was the second son of Zhu Biao, the crown prince of Yiwen, the grandson of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of Ming Dynasty. But Zhu Xiongying, Zhu Biao's eldest son, died long ago. After the death of Zhu Biao's original mate Chang, Zhu Yunwen's mother LV was also able to support him. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang of Ming Dynasty regarded Zhu Yunwen as his father My eldest grandson.

Zhu Yunwen was clever, studious and extremely filial. When he was 14 years old, Zhu Biao was ill. Zhu Yunwen was careful to serve him day and night. This lasted for two years. In 1392, Zhu Biao died, and Zhu Yunwen was named emperor TAISUN. When Zhu Yunwen kept filial piety, he was emaciated because of excessive grief. Zhu Yuanzhang comforted him and said, "if you are sincere and pure, you don't care about me.".

Zhu Yunwen was familiar with Confucian classics since he was a child, and most of his people were idealistic, so he was as gentle as his father, that is to say, he was famous for being both long and generous. In the 29th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yunwen asked Taizu to amend the law of the Ming Dynasty. Referring to the book of rites and the criminal laws of all dynasties, he amended 73 excessively harsh provisions in the law of the Ming Dynasty, which won popular support.

In February 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang began to establish a tradition for the king, that is, to make Zhu Biao, the father of Zhu Yunwen, the crown prince, because Zhu Biao was his eldest son. Zhu Yuanzhang's goal is to establish a formal principle for the legitimate succession of the throne, hoping to put an end to future disputes on the issue of succession of the throne. Zhu Biao is not like his father in many ways: he is gentle and cultivated, but not very brave. Although Taizu of Ming Dynasty was deeply impressed by the military talent of his fourth son Zhu Di, he still regarded Zhu Biao as the most suitable successor for the benefit of the dynasty. To the emperor's great grief, Zhu Biao died at the age of 37 (May 17, 1392), posthumously named Prince Yiwen. According to the principle, if the eldest son is not present, the eldest son and the eldest grandson should be established. However, Zhu Biao's eldest son died early, and Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Zhu Yunwen, the second grandson of his eldest son, was very filial and liked him, and later made him his grand grandson.

Before his death, Zhu Yuanzhang secretly ordered his son-in-law Mei Yin (the husband of Princess Ning) to assist the new emperor, and ordered Zhu Yunwen, the great grandson of the emperor, to succeed him. A few days after Zhu Yuanzhang's death, Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne in Nanjing on June 30, 1398, at the age of 21. He decided that the next year was the first year of Jianwen, and honored his mother, the second imperial concubine, Lu Shi (who died in 1402), as empress dowager. There are no credible materials about Zhu Yunwen's personality and his domestic development during his reign, because the archives and living notes of Zhu Yunwen's period were destroyed, and private records were forbidden.

The young Jianwen emperor is full of bookish and gentle. He inherited his father's gentle and thoughtful temperament. He is shy, and has no experience in national politics; not to mention compared with his former imperial examination, even compared with his brilliant uncles, he does not have that kind of self-confidence and strong character, or even that kind of ability. The young emperor's docile character and Confucian education, so he sincerely yearned for the implementation of the ideal benevolent government. He tried to implement some great changes in the government's words and actions, but these changes led to disastrous consequences.

Zhu Yunwen introduced three Confucian masters as his confidants: Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and Fang Xiaoru. These old men played a powerful role in Zhu Yunwen's concept of monarch as monarch. Huang Zicheng (who died in 1402) was a respected Confucian scholar. He won the first place of Jinshi in 1385. He served in many official positions in the era of emperor Taizu of Ming Dynasty, and now he is appointed as the academician by Zhu Yunwen, and he participates in national politics. Qi Tai (who died in 1402) was also a Jinshi in 1385. He was a scholar with great achievements in the study of Confucian classics and calligraphy, especially good at etiquette and the art of war. He was appointed Minister of the Ministry of war by the new emperor to participate in state affairs. Fang Xiaoru (1357-1404) was already a famous scholar in his early forties. He was famous as an essayist and political thinker, but he didn't succeed. He began his official career very late. After Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, he was called to be an imperial minister.

These three Confucian scholars influenced the emperor in various ways. Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai became the emperor's confidants and educated him with the Confucian theory of self-improvement and self-improvement. They were responsible for the study and implementation of new policies aimed at reorganizing the imperial administration and strengthening the emperor's authority. Fang Xiaoru is an expert in Zhou Li, a classic about Utopian government. He found that what he saw was the shortcomings of individual autocratic rule, so he suggested that the emperor should implement benevolent government according to the ideals and forms of ancient classics. All three were brave, upright and full of ideals. However, they are all nerds, lack of practical awareness and experience in public affairs, and have no leadership ability; their analysis of problems is often limited to paper and impractical.

The rebellion of King Yan

The formidable king of Yan, Zhu Di, was born on May 2, 1360. His mother may be a tribute concubine of emperor Hongwu, who is said to be Mongolian. He was not born for Empress Ma as he said later; he wanted to legalize his accession to the throne according to the principle of eldest son succession after he seized the throne from his nephew. He is strong and powerful. He is also proficient in martial arts, and is said to be outstanding in learning Confucian classics and literature. His literary skills are expressed in the official history, because this achievement accords with the open image of a Confucian monarch. In May 1370, Emperor Hongwu granted him the title of King Yan, and set his fiefdom in Beiping (now Beijing), so that he could sit on the northern border to ensure domestic security and resist the invasion of the Mongols.

At that time, the king of Yan was only 10 years old. He didn't go to Beijing until he came of age. By this time, he had received the best general education of excellent scholars and Buddhist monks in the palace. Under the guidance of the first-class generals of the Ming Dynasty, he also began to show his military leadership, especially Xu Da (1332-1385), who married Xu Da's eldest daughter at the emperor's will in 1376. In the following decades, when the king of Yan guarded his vassal, he often directed the fight against the Mongols, and he was very good at fighting under the assistant of the old generals. His achievements won his father's praise, but also caused the latter's trouble, because he became more and more ambitious, arrogant and independent. In 1392, when Emperor Hongwu canonized his eldest brother's son Zhu Yunwen instead of appointing him as the emperor's heir, King Yan was obviously extremely disappointed.

At the end of 1398, that is, in the early months of Zhu Yunwen's accession to the throne, the emperor began to consider how to strengthen his power and weaken the power of the feudal kingdoms at the same time, and took drastic actions against the smaller and weaker vassal kings with or without charges. Zhu GUI, king of Zhou Dynasty (1361-1425), was the first to fall, and then four other princes fell: Zhu GUI, king of Dai Dynasty (1374-1446); Zhu Bai, king of Xiang Dynasty (1371-1399); Zhu she, king of Qi Dynasty (1364-1428); and Zhu she, king of Min Dynasty (1379-1450). In one year, after the five important vassals were abolished, the king of Yan became the next target. The court admitted that he was the most difficult enemy, so he was very cautious in his actions. However, this gave the king of Yan time to assemble his troops and make preparations.

Now it is not sure when the king of Yan began to make up his mind to fight against the imperial court. According to some materials, under the influence of monk daoyan (later named Yao Guangxiao), he meant to fight against the imperial court for a long time. According to some materials, daoyan was sent to his palace by Emperor Taizu of Ming Dynasty and won his trust. It is said that after Zhu Yunwen was appointed as the crown prince, daoyan once told the king of Yan that he was destined to be 95% and encouraged the king of Yan to plan for further realization of his ambition. When Jianwen court began to purge his brothers, King Yan immediately realized that his status was in danger, so he discussed with daoyan (now daoyan was his main adviser and strategist) what steps should be taken to deal with this threat. The king of Yan had already expanded his army by recruiting Mongolian soldiers. At the same time, he colluded with eunuchs who had no illusions about the new emperor. However, he has no intention to act immediately because his three sons are being held hostage in Nanjing,

Chinese PinYin : Zhu Yun Wen