As we all know, Liu Bowen is a very mythical figure in the history of our country. Legends about him have been spread among the people. For example, "Liu Bowen's Ten Prophecies" has become a mystery that everyone is exploring.
He was a famous minister who assisted the emperor to unify the world, but he could not escape the fate of being "cooked by a dog". From being reused to being jealous, he was forced to resign and retire, and finally died of an unknown cause. Liu Bowen was wise and far-sighted but could not predict his own death.
Liu Bowen first entered the official career
We have all heard of the story of "entering the ten lines of study". Liu Bowen is such a child prodigy. He has loved reading since he was a child, and his speed is unparalleled. When he was a teenager, he had already reached the level of "reading a lot of books".
Liu Bowen passed the scholar examination at the age of 12, which was undoubtedly a huge leap for a poor student who had studied hard for decades. Two years later, he went to Jifu School to study and master the obscure Spring and Autumn Classics.
Others could only read this book familiarly, but Liu Bowen could recite it and understand its meaning. His talent was praised by the teacher. The teacher also believed that Liu Bowen would definitely have great potential, which was indeed the case.
html At the age of 23, Liu Bowen became a Jinshi in high school at one time, and was appointed as the county magistrate by the court three years later. His character was upright, honest and dedicated to the public. This character was very popular among the people, but he was not popular in the mixed court.
Persisting in his unsociable character for a long time, Liu Bowen was isolated by the ministers. Over time, he believed that it was difficult for him to make a difference in the court, so he resigned and returned home. After returning home, he relied on working as a teacher in the village to support his family.
In 1352, the imperial court recruited Liu Bowen to enter the imperial court again as an official responsible for quelling the rebellion of bandits in eastern Zhejiang area. Liu Bowen insisted on killing the bandit leaders to avoid future troubles. Unexpectedly, the imperial court did not listen to his opinions and awarded official positions to the bandits.
Liu Bowen, who was hit again, resigned and returned to his hometown. It can be said that although he was proficient in Cheng Zhu Neo-Confucianism and studied astronomy and geography in the first half of his life, he was depressed until 1360 when Liu Bowen met his own Bole Zhu Yuanzhang .
Expected things to happen but died unexpectedly
Looking back on Zhu Yuanzhang's entrepreneurial journey, in the first half he relied on Li Shanchang and others. In the second half, Liu Bowen was the most prominent. Regarding the question of whether to fight Chen Youliang or Zhang Shicheng first, Liu Bowen analyzed the situation at the time sharply.
Chen Youliang is a hero, while Zhang Shicheng is a villain. If Zhang Shicheng's team is attacked first, Chen Youliang will naturally attack by surprise, but if Chen Youliang's team is attacked first, Zhang Shicheng will definitely reap the benefits.
According to Liu Bowen's analysis, Zhu Yuanzhang "first moved to the west and then to the east". In the end, he not only defeated Chen Youliang, Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, but also defeated the Yuan Dynasty in the north, and established the Ming Dynasty in 1368 AD.
I originally thought that Zhu Yuanzhang was my Bole. After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty , Liu Bowen would be able to show his ambitions. Unexpectedly, the spring of becoming an official was so short. In just a few years, he had to resign and return to his hometown to save his body.
Only many years later Liu Bowen returned to the court again for Zhu Yuanzhang's needs, but he did not expect that this return to the court would be the beginning of real danger, and a conspiracy surrounding him began.
Zhu Yuanzhang personally invited Liu Bowen to return to the court, and the latter was willing to serve the country again. The two often talked about national affairs at night. Liu Bowen was too upright and could not learn what to say in the courtroom, but he was also the most vulnerable to revenge from villains.
Once when Zhu Yuanzhang asked about the candidate for the prime minister, he originally intended to make Hu Weiyong the prime minister, but Liu Bowen rejected it by saying, "This is a villain." This incident spread and made Hu Weiyong hate Liu Bowen.
What is even more unexpected is that Zhu Yuanzhang did not listen to Liu Bowen and actually re-employed Hu Weiyong. Seeing this situation, Liu Bowen felt that something was wrong and proposed to resign again, because he was afraid that Hu Weiyong would cause him trouble.
Liu Bowen fell ill a few years after returning home. Many unofficial histories record that his death was related to Hu Weiyong. Liu Bowen originally suffered from wind cold , which alarmed Empress Zhu Yuanzhang in the palace. The latter sent the imperial physician to check.
It doesn't matter at this point. After taking the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor, Liu Bowen became even more miserable. The person who came with the imperial doctor was Hu Weiyong, which meant that Liu Bowen passed away not long after Hu Weiyong's visit.
Such a talented person actually passed away because of a small wind and cold. It would be difficult to be convincing if he was not harmed by others. It is worth mentioning that although Liu Bowen died very early, his legend in the world has not disappeared.
Liu Bowen's prophecy
Liu Bowen can be praised by future generations as a person comparable to Zhuge Liang. In addition to helping Zhu Yuanzhang unify the world, there are also famous prophecies passed down to future generations. The most famous of them is the eight words written on his tombstone, which once scared off the generals of the Qing Dynasty .
Liu Bowen had been dead for hundreds of years when the Qing Dynasty entered the customs. At that time, a general heard the legend of Liu Bowen and wanted to dig up his grave to see whether he was a real god or a folk rumor.
At the same time, the general also heard that there was a treasure hidden in Liu Bowen's tomb. Out of curiosity and desire for property, he led a group of people to Liu Bowen's cemetery, and then the group dug up his grave.
As a result, there was no gold or silver jewelry in the tomb, just a tombstone. On Liu Bowen's tombstone it was written: "In the spring of the third year of Shunzhi, open my grave." The generals of the Qing Dynasty were shocked when they saw these eight words, because it was the third year of Shunzhi's entry into the customs.
Although I had long heard that Liu Bowen had the ability to predict the unknown, I still felt cold sweat when I saw it with my own eyes. This incident was widely circulated, and Liu Bowen became even more famous in the Qing Dynasty.
As for those who opened Liu Bowen's tomb, it is said that all of them died unexpectedly later, and this matter is also rumored among the people. There is no research on whether the grave-opening incident is true or false. After all, there is no record in the official history, but Liu Bowen did have great abilities.
Before his death, Liu Bowen also made a prophecy for his family: "A talent will appear after the ninth generation of the Liu family." This prophecy also came true many years later, because someone reversed Liu Bowen's unjust case at that time, allowing the Liu family to inherit the title again and remain glorious until the Nanming period.
Regardless of whether Liu Bowen really has the ability to predict the future, his political talent is indelible. His suggestions to the Ming court were all prophetic, which shows that his political vision and foresight are unmatched.
However, such an upright and ambitious person could not withstand the insidious and cunning political power. He struggled all his life for the rise and fall of the people and the Ming Dynasty. In the end, it was just a dream...
What are your different views on Liu Bowen?
