When people mention Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang , people's impression will not only stay on the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the only peasant emperor in Chinese history, but also think of him as a cruel king with an eccentric temperament and ruthless killing.
It is easy to conquer a country but difficult to defend it. After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, he was worried that the country he had worked so hard to build would be coveted by others, so he massacred the heroes who had fought together on the battlefield in the past.
If you want to impose a crime, there is no reason to hesitate. For a while, people in the court were panicked. But even such an emperor with ruthless methods, weird and cold personality, would also have a soft and tender side, and become a caring and obedient father. Who is it that can allow him to make an exception for and have exclusive preferences?
Zhu Yuanzhang had 26 sons and 16 daughters in his life. Except for Zhu Di, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty who initiated the Jingnan Rebellion, the world has rarely heard of Zhu Yuanzhang's other children, but he only has a preference for Princess Baoqing. .
Perhaps because of his old age, the killing and coldness in his body was slowly diluted by time. Zhu Yuanzhang gave special favor to this youngest daughter. Or maybe it was the reckless behavior of this ignorant little girl that brought some warmth to the elderly Zhu Yuanzhang. The youngest princess was treated differently from other children since she was a child. Zhu Yuanzhang often played with her, Meet all the requirements of this little princess.
In September 2008, Nanjing Municipal Museum discovered a Ming Dynasty tomb in the Sanshan Brick and Tile Factory area of Zhaofeng Village, Banqiao, Nanjing. According to the unearthed epitaph, the owner of this tomb was the youngest daughter of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang—— Tomb of Princess Baoqing.
When the tomb was excavated, the tomb had been exposed, and the top and right wall of the tomb were severely damaged. Perhaps the tomb robbers had arrived first. No cultural relics were unearthed in the tomb, only an epitaph, and recorded the life of Princess Baoqing. .
The youngest daughter of the royal family is exclusively favored by Taizu
When Princess Baoqing was born, Zhu Yuanzhang was already 68 years old. He was accustomed to Machiavellian schemes and had long been deeply tired of the intrigues of people. The newly born Princess Baoqing brought him the most important experience as a father. Simple pleasures.
Zhu Yuanzhang took great care of his many children. As the youngest, Princess Baoqing naturally received more love and care. Although her biological mother was of humble origin, it did not affect Zhu Yuanzhang's love for her at all. even let her The mother was spared a life of harm.
We all know that ancient burial methods were very cruel. Not only artifacts and livestock were buried in the tomb, but also living people were buried together to ensure the well-being of the souls of the deceased.
For a period of time, the burial system was abolished because it was too cruel. Zhu Yuanzhang, as the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, restarted this bad example. After his death, as many as 46 concubines were buried. But Princess Baoqing saved her mother from being buried with her in just one sentence, which is really surprising.
It turns out that Zhu Yuanzhang suffered many hardships since his childhood, lived a wandering life, and suffered hardships on the battlefield during the subsequent uprising. This caused him to suffer from many diseases at a young age. His wife who accompanied him in the war The same is true for Queen Ma .
It is precisely for this reason that Zhu Yuanzhang has always been grateful to Queen Ma and loved her very much. However, unexpectedly, his married wife passed away first, which made Zhu Yuanzhang devastated, and 's poor health made it worse.
Misfortunes never come singly. After the death of Empress Ma, Zhu Yuanzhang made her son Zhu Biao the prince, and transferred all his favor to the children of the queen. However, who expected that Zhu Biao was weak and soon died of cold. .
The sadness of the white-haired man sending the black-haired man overwhelmed the once high-spirited emperor. He was very depressed for a period of time. People in the court were panicked, and the concubines in the harem were also very scared.
At this time, the three-year-old Princess Baoqing was childish. She ran to Zhu Yuanzhang's bed innocently and wished that her father would get well. Then she said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "What Baoqing said It will definitely come true, and you will be fine!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was moved by the sincerity in the child's childlike words. He thought that the child was still young, and he had ordered that all his concubines be buried with him after his death. This was pitiful. The child still doesn't know how to survive in this deep palace.
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang carried Princess Baoqing to the bed and asked: "If your father and your mother are gone, what will you do?" Princess Baoqing said loudly: "I tell my father, I I am willing to follow my parents, otherwise where will I find my mother?"
Princess Baoqing's biological mother, Zhang Meiren, was so frightened that her face turned pale. Such words could accidentally offend the man on the bed, but the nine clans would be implicated.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang was full of love and affection for this little princess. This answer not only did not make him angry, but softened his indifferent heart.
After Princess Baoqing mother and daughter returned, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that Zhang Meiren should not be buried with her and let her stay to raise the young Princess Baoqing. Zhang Meiren became the only survivor among the many concubines. But unfortunately, according to the inscription on Princess Baoqing's epitaph excavated from the princess's tomb, "She was born when Taizu died, and her mother Zhang also died."
We have no way of knowing what happened to Princess Baoqing's biological mother. Some people speculate that the word "Yi" on the epitaph shows that Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Meiren died close to each other. Perhaps Princess Baoqing's biological mother Zhang Meiren was not so lucky to escape.
Treated as a daughter Cheng Zu personally selected the consort
Princess Baoqing's status did not plummet after the death of Zhu Yuanzhang. After Emperor Huizong of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Yunwen came to the throne, he also loved his four-year-old aunt very much. In order to facilitate her care, she will She was raised in the palace and regarded as her own daughter.
Unfortunately, Zhu Yunwen's reign was short, and he was soon counterattacked by his uncle Zhu Di because of his radical policies. After Zhu Di became emperor, Princess Baoqing still enjoyed love and care, but this love may not be sincere, but just a means for Zhu Di to maintain the regime.
Zhu Di is the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang. In the third year of Hongwu , Zhu Di was named King of Yan. In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, he went to Pan Beiping. Later, he led an army to surrender Beiyuan . He was very prestigious in the court.
The Ming Dynasty implemented the Pan King system in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China. After the death of Zhu Yuanzhang Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen came to the throne. He pursued the policy of reducing vassal vassals and followed the advice of his trusted ministers. He deposed King Zhou, King Dai, King Qi, and King Min successively for crimes. Hunan Wang also set himself on fire and died.
Zhu Yuanzhang once left a legacy of " Jingnan " when he was in power. He wrote in " Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions ": "There are no honest ministers in the court, and there are treacherous and rebellious people in the court. They must be punished with troops to clear the emperor's side." "
In July of the first year of Jianwen, King Zhu Di of Yan used this name to launch a coup, which was known in history as the Battle of Jingnan.. After the Yan army invaded Nanjing, Zhu Yunwen set fire to the palace. His whereabouts are unknown. Some say he burned himself to death in the palace. Some say he became a monk and became a monk. Others say he fled to Southeast Asia. Zheng He's voyages to the West One of the purposes was to find Emperor Jianwen.
873 people were implicated in the incident and died, and more than a thousand people were exiled and convicted. Countless of their family members and relatives were exiled and forced to work as prostitutes.
This turmoil is actually a battle for imperial power. However, in order to calm the people's panic and demonstrate his benevolence, filial piety and righteousness, Zhu Di must use some means to maintain his image in the hearts of the people.
Zhu Di showed his royal family affection to the world by carefully raising his young sister Princess Baoqing. At this time, Princess Baoqing was only 8 years old, even two years younger than Zhu Di's own youngest daughter.
Zhu Di not only raised this sister as his own daughter, but also asked his queen to personally take care of the little princess's daily life. Princess Baoqing, who lost her father at a young age, was cared for by her brother. Zhu Di was able to fulfill the late emperor's last wish.
In addition to taking great care in Princess Baoqing's daily life, Zhu Di was also very concerned about this little sister's marriage and personally selected a prince-in-law for her. But unfortunately, the princess's married life was not happy.
Before the Ming Dynasty moved the capital, Zhu Di once passed by Jinchuan Gate when he was traveling from the palace, and he saw a dignified man named Zhao Hui, who was a hero. His father, Zhao He, was born in the army. In his early years, he followed the Ming army as a "chief of a thousand households in the country" on the expedition to Annan, which is now Vietnam.
After his father died in the war, Zhao Hui inherited his father's position as head of a thousand households. Maybe you may wonder why a noble princess doesn't marry a prince or a prince. On the contrary, such a small head of a thousand households can be considered a very good husband.
It turns out that Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the early Ming Dynasty, in order to consolidate his imperial rule, often married princesses to the children of his military ministers, or even married off the children of wealthy businessmen and low-ranking eunuchs. Marrying off princesses was also a disguised way to prevent foreign relatives from interfering with the imperial power. . Therefore, compared with other princesses, Princess Baoqing's husband can be said to be pretty good.
According to the epitaph of Zhao Hui that was later excavated, the Zhao family first became a member of the Song clan, then crossed south with the Song family and settled in Jiangdu. Zhao Hui's grandfather, Zhao Ying, taught Shaanxi Gongchang Wei Zheng Qianhu with martial arts at the beginning of Hongwu.
In addition, according to the "Guochao Xianzonglu", Zhao Hui also likes literature and likes virtuous people. was very popular at the time. Therefore, Zhu Di was very satisfied with this consort. When Princess Baoqing got married, Zhu Di prepared a generous dowry for her, far exceeding that of other princesses.
On the day of the wedding, Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi was arranged to personally escort Princess Baoqing to the Prince Consort's Mansion. It is a pity that the princess who was protected by the emperor did not have a good life after marriage. Historical records record that the consort indulged in excessive lewdness after marriage and often flirted with women outside. In his lifetime, he had hundreds of concubines.
Even though three wives and four concubines were the norm in ancient times, Zhao Hui's approach still chilled the princess. Moreover, it is said that after getting married, the princess of the Chao Dynasty did not live with the consort, but lived in her own princess's mansion, and was specially taken care of by the older maids sent by the palace. This made it even more inconvenient for the couple to cultivate their relationship.
Princess Baoqing's married life can be imagined to be very depressed and dull. She passed away at a young age at only 38 years old. She had no children in the 20 years after her marriage, and her later life was miserable.
Princess Baoqing’s tomb was excavated and was on the verge of collapse.
Princess Baoqing’s tomb was hidden on a hilltop surrounded by dwarf trees and thorns. Archaeologists used kitchen knives to cut a path through the thorns before discovering the tomb. The tomb is made of mud bricks and is divided into front and rear chambers, with a total length of more than eight meters. It is relatively large among the tombs discovered in the Ming Dynasty. This also proves the popularity of Princess Baoqing.
The excavated epitaph and cover are in the shape of a clam, made of bluestone, with traces of rust left by the iron hoop on the surface. The iron hoop has long since decayed. The epitaph is 84.5 cm high and 80.5 cm wide, and is decorated with Ruyi clouds. Pattern.
In fact, long before the princess's tomb was discovered, the Nanjing archaeological team discovered the tomb of the princess's consort Zhao Hui. According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, it was inferred that the princess's tomb should be nearby. Unfortunately, it was not discovered at the time.
Fragments of phoenix-patterned tiles and some exquisite glazed building parts were excavated in the soil of the tomb. It is a pity that more valuable cultural relics were not found. The tomb is also facing the risk of collapse at any time.
Although the tomb of Princess Baoqing in Baoqing was seriously damaged, there are many cemeteries of Ming Dynasty consorts scattered around her tomb, which also reflects the Ming Dynasty culture of Nanjing from one aspect. is a good tourism development resource.
Throughout the life of Princess Baoqing, although she was favored by three emperors and had a noble status, she could not escape a tragic ending.This may be the result of most women in feudal society. Her tragic situation after marriage is also a portrayal of women at that time being unable to control their own destiny.
Even if she has an exclusive preference like Princess Baoqing, she can only be a tender episode in the drama of the struggle for royal power. In that era, even though she was born into a noble family, she was still unable to do many things. She could only enjoy the care and arrangements from her father, brother, and nephew. was a small piece of luck among all the misfortunes in history.
