After Zhu Di's death, he first took the temple name "Taizong", and later during the Jiajing period, the temple name was changed to " Chengzu". So for Zhu Di, which of the two temple names is more valuable, Ming Taizong or Ming Chengzu? What about higher?
"Ancestor" means creation, "Zong" means preservation. Only people with great pioneering significance can be called "ancestors", so generally the founding emperors are "ancestors", such as Tang Gaozu Li Yuan, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, etc. , purely in terms of the value of the temple name, the value of Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty is greater than that of Taizong of the Ming Dynasty. After all, the ancestor is greater than the ancestor. However, for Zhu Di personally, Chengzu is far inferior to Taizong.
First, Zhu Di is not suitable to be called "ancestor". In Zhu Di's revised " Ming Taizu Real Records ", Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di have a normal relationship of father to son after death. Zhu Di was the heir designated by Zhu Yuanzhang before his death, and Zhu Yunwen was just a usurper who pretended to be an imperial edict. This legal construction determines that it is not appropriate for Zhu Di to call him "ancestor", but "zong" is more appropriate.
Secondly, the temple name "Taizong" is extremely valuable. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it has generally not been the case that non-founding emperors are called "ancestors". For non-founding emperors, "Taizong" is the most valuable temple name, and the typical representative is Tang Taizong Li Shimin.
Third, even if it must be called "ancestor", the temple name "Chengzu" is very strange. There is no precedent for the temple name , and no emperor has ever used it. Moreover, the temple name proposed by the ceremonial officials of the Ming Dynasty was "Liezu", but it was changed to "Chengzu" by Jiajing.
As for when to call "ancestor" and when to call "zong", A ritual official in the Southern Song Dynasty once had a very classic expression.
After the death of Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, the name of the temple named "Gaozong" was given to Zhao Gou by the ritual officials. At this time, a minister said that we should follow the example of Emperor Guangwu of Han Dynasty and Liu Xiu, and give Zhao Gou the temple title "Shizu". The official refuted this: The commentator only compared it to Guangwu of Han Dynasty. Guangwu became the queen of Changsha, and the rise of commoner was not followed by Ai and Ping, so her title was unquestionable. Taishang Zhongxing, although the same as Guangwu, actually inherited the orthodoxy of Huizong ; following his father with his son is not a comparison of Guangwu.
The official asked, why did Liu Xiu call him "ancestor"? The reason is very simple. Liu Xiu gained the world as a commoner. He got the throne by himself, not by inheriting Emperor Ai of the Han and Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty. The temple name "Shizu" is not excessive at all; and look at Zhao Gou , although he is also the leader of ZTE, his throne is inherited from his father Song Huizong , which is completely different from Liu Xiu's situation.
In one sentence, Liu Xiu's throne was not inherited, but brought by himself, so he was called "ancestor". Zhao Gou inherited the throne as a prince, so he was called "Zong".
Zhu Di stills
So how did Zhu Di get the throne? In the name of Fengtian Jingnan, he launched the Jingnan Campaign and defeated it by force.
But Zhu Di himself did not think that he had seized the throne through rebellion. Zhu Di said this: My throne was passed down to me by my father, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, and I was originally the heir to the throne.
According to Zhu Di's revised "Records of Ming Taizu", the successor Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to establish was Zhu Di. Shortly before his death, Zhu Yuanzhang sent an envoy to summon Zhu Di to return to the capital. Before he died, he asked whether Zhu Di had come so that he could pass the throne to him.
Yiyou, collapsed in West Palace . Shang Su was ill, and when he got sick, he sent an envoy holding a talisman to call him back to the capital. When it comes to Huai'an , those who use it will return it immediately after correcting the edict. The superior didn't know it, so he asked the people around him urgently: "Is the fourth son coming?" Words cannot speak to him.
As for Emperor Jianwen, Zhu Di said that Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne through false edicts, usurped the throne, and was a rebellious minister.
Hongwu In the thirty-first year of leap month Yiyou, Taizu died. It was collected at night and buried in seven days. The emperor's grandson then corrected the imperial edict and changed the next year to the first year of 's founding of the civil society.
Therefore, after Zhu Di succeeded in the Jingnan incident, he abolished the reign name of Emperor Jianwen and renamed the Jianwen period as Hongwu 32nd to Hongwu 35th.
The edict: "This year will be the 35th year of Hongwu, and next year will be the first year of Yongle ."
Therefore, Zhu Di believed that the year he succeeded to the throne was Zhu Yuanzhang's 35th year of Hongwu. As for Jianwen, there was no such year name at all. And Emperor Jianwen was just a rebellious minister and a traitor.
Zhu Yunwen stills
Therefore, Zhu Di's legal system has nothing to do with the so-called "pacification of the emperor by decree" or "diligence in the royal family and Qingjun side". In Zhu Di's case, Emperor Jianwen's legal system was denied from beginning to end. In other words, Zhu Di believed that Zhu Yunwen's appointment as emperor was illegal. The throne originally belonged to Zhu Di. He just took the throne back from the hands of rebellious officials and traitors.
In this legal system, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di have a normal relationship of father to son.
Just as the minister of the Southern Song Dynasty said, Zhao Gou inherited the throne of Song Huizong, so he was called "Zong", while Liu Xiu himself did not succeed Emperor Ping of Han Dynasty, so he was called "Zong". In Zhu Di's view, his legal authority did not originate from the overthrow of Zhu Yunwen, but from the succession of Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, Zhu Di will definitely think that his name is "Zong".
Of course, there are many regimes in history, and the emperors who normally succeed to the throne are also called "ancestors", for example, Cao Wei Liezu Cao Rui , Southern Qi Shizu Xiao Yu, Chen Shizu Chen Qian and so on. But after the Southern and Northern Dynasties , this situation no longer existed. In the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties , Song, Liao, Jin, Xia, and Yuan dynasties, the only one who was called "ancestor" was the founding emperor ( Yang Guang The temple name of Shizu of the Sui Dynasty was given by Yang Tong and was not recognized by later generations), as well as the emperors who followed him.
So what is the best temple name for someone who is not the founding emperor? There is no doubt that it is "Taizong".
The emperor who used this temple name. Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, a model of a wise emperor through the ages, and Liu Heng, Taizong of the Han Dynasty, the best emperor in Confucian ideals, have established the unique gold content of the temple name "Taizong". Even people like Zhao Guangyi, who were not very good, in the eyes of Song Dynasty people, were "mixed with Xia" emperors with great achievements.
Compared with "Taizong", "Chengzu" is a strange temple name no matter how you look at it.
Because there were so many dynasties and emperors in history, Zhu Di was the only one who used the temple name "Chengzu", and no one else used it. In other words, the temple name "Chengzu" is completely the invention of Emperor Jiajing. There is no precedent or subsequent example.
Moreover, the strange temple name "Chengzu" was not given by the ministers of the Jiajing Dynasty. They suggested using the temple name "Liezu".
At that time, Xia Yan planned to call him Emperor Liezu Xiao, but changed it to Chengzu. He entered the temple together with the head of the Rui clan. He also considered that future generations would discuss the relationship with each other, so he respected the two ancestors.
The temple name "Liezu" is very normal. Cao Rui, Tuobagui, Genghis Khan's father, etc. all use this temple name. In addition, Wei Liezu Cao Rui is also a case where the founding emperor is called "ancestral". It should be said that Xia It is said that the "Lee Ancestor" they drafted is quite reasonable.
But Jiajing didn't agree. He changed it to "Chengzu". Why did he have to create a "Chengzu"?
On the one hand, it was to prepare for his own father to enter the Ancestral Temple. On the other hand, Jiajing believed that he, like Yongle Emperor , was a foreign vassal who came to Beijing to become the emperor, while Yongle the Great was a Ming vassal who came to Beijing to become the emperor. The first person, this created a precedent for foreign vassal kings to enter the capital and become emperor. All Ming emperors from Yongle onwards are his descendants, so he can be called the ancestor. However, this change confirmed that Zhu Di usurped the throne and took the throne himself. The lineage of eldest brother Zhu Biao was wiped out and a new sect was established.
成 means innovation and perfection, and it also means achievement through transformation and change. It means well in isolation, but it is particularly awkward when combined with the identity of the successor. There is a kind of neither fish nor fowl that is both a thief and a meritorious person. contradiction.
Stills of Emperor Jiajing
Therefore, for Zhu Di, the temple name Taizong of the Ming Dynasty must be more valuable.
First of all, it is inappropriate for Zhu Di to call him "ancestor". Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there has been no temple name called "ancestor" that was not the founding emperor's.
The second point is that "Taizong" is one of the most valuable temple names. Alongside Liu Heng and Li Shimin, Zhu Di would not dislike the temple name "Taizong".
The third point is that it would be normal to use "Lie Zu". Jiajing just gave "Cheng Zu" that no one had ever used. It was at a low moral level in the legal system and had huge political risks.
