After the research of later historians, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di is believed to be the founder of the Dabao'en Temple and the Glass Pagoda.
In August of the tenth year of Yongle, Zhu Di officially ordered the reconstruction of the destroyed Tianxi Temple outside the walls of Nanjing. He also gave Tianxi Temple a treatment that no other monastery could match, that is, to build a royal temple according to the specifications second only to the imperial palace. According to the Records of Emperor Taizong of Ming, in the twenty-second year of Yongle, because the reconstruction of Tianxi Temple was about to be completed, Zhu Di officially named it "Dabao'en Temple" and personally wrote the inscription.
So why was he so attached to this temple? Here's why: he built the temple for his own mother.
In the last year of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Di was born in Yingtianfu. According to historical records, the scene at that time was very peculiar: "The clouds filled the room, the brilliance was five colors, and the palace was illuminated, and it did not disperse for days." "This is the sign of auspiciousness, indicating that those who are born must be rich and noble." Of course, these are all imagined by historians. You know, in the concept of the ancients, only such a heavenly wonderland can reflect the noble status of this person's identity.
In fact, when Zhu Di was born, Zhu Yuanzhang had not yet conquered the world, he was only a local force, and he did not yet have the strength to dominate the world. Moreover, there were two powerful forces lurking around him, namely Chen Youyi and Zhang Shicheng's soldiers and horses. They spent the whole day thinking about how to eliminate Zhu Yuanzhang's soldiers and horses in order to take away his territory. However, Zhu Yuanzhang was more powerful than them, and not only successfully broke through, but also wiped out these two forces.
After that, Zhu Yuanzhang became the strongest force in the Central Plains and successfully seized the throne. However, Zhu Di was Zhu Yuanzhang's fourth son, but who was his birth mother?
The record of Zhu Di's life in the History of Ming is as follows:
"Zhu Di was the fourth son of Taizu, and his biological mother was Empress Xiaocigao."
Empress Xiaocigao was Zhu Yuanzhang's original match, and when Zhu Yuanzhang was working under Guo Zixing, Guo Zixing was very fond of him, so he married his adopted daughter Ma Shixia to him, that is, the later Empress Ma.
So, is Zhu Di the son of Empress Ma herself?
In fact, what is recorded in the history books is what the ruler wants to express, not necessarily the real historical facts. Therefore, Zhu Di's birth mother was not Empress Ma, but Zhu Di was unwilling to admit it.
So, there must be something hidden in this!
In feudal society, men would marry multiple wives and concubines, so that their children were divided into concubines. Children from the original match, is the concubine out, children from the concubine, is out of the concubine. At that time, not only were there a great difference in status between the concubine and the concubine, but even the treatment enjoyed was very different. It can be seen that Zhu Di claimed to be from Empress Ma in order to make his status recognized by everyone.
Therefore, after Zhu Di ascended to the throne, in order to make the world feel that his throne was legitimate, he specially let people edit the "Fengtian Jing Difficult Record" to explain his situation to the world. The book says: "Emperor Imagami, the fourth son of Emperor Taizugao." Empress Dowager Ci had five sons, Prince Yiwen of Changyi, King of Ciqin, King of Cijin, Emperor Of Cijin, and King of Cizhou. ”
The world knows that Zhu Di and the King of Zhou were born of the same mother, so he had to list the King of Zhou as the son of Empress Ma. Later, Zhu Di again compiled the "Tianhuang Yumu", changing the "Empress Ma" to Zhu Di and his younger brothers The King of Zhou, the Princess of Ningguo, and the Princess of Anqing, while the prince, the King of Qin, and the King of Jin were "born of mothers". The rest of the imperial concubines and imperial concubines are still imperial nobles and imperial beauties, and their status is even worse than that of the first level.
It can be seen from this that Zhu Di's status is higher than that of other princes, and it seems that he should inherit the throne.
However, the content compiled by the Tianhuang Yumu is indeed a bit excessive. This book records the lineage of Taizu dynasty and his events from the time of his indignation to his accession to the throne. Slightly chronological. All empresses, princes, and kings are listed in detail. The book calls Chengzu the present, then compiled by Yongleshi. Tenrang: Royalty, Clan. Jade: Imperial Genealogy. This book chronicles the lineage of the emperors in the early Ming Dynasty, hence the name "Tianhuang Yumu".
In fact, Empress Ma had never given birth, and the crown princes Zhu Biao, the King of Qin, and the King of Jin were not born to Empress Ma, but to Concubine Li Shufei. Zhu Di and the King of Zhou were only fostered by Empress Ma, and they were not Empress Ma's sons. Therefore, Zhu Di has never met his birth mother, and has lived with Empress Ma since he was a child, and his relationship is very close. When Zhu Di grew up, he learned that Empress Ma was not her birth mother.
However, he was unwilling to give up his identity as a "concubine", and could only continue to pretend to be stupid and confirm Empress Ma as his mother. Originally, when Zhu Di rebelled, the imperial court arrested his younger brother King Zhou and punished him for treason. Therefore, Zhu Di could not swallow this breath and argued with the imperial court. After that, when Zhu Di ascended to the throne, these things were never mentioned again.
As the saying goes, the mother is precious to the child, and the mother is raised hard, and should get the respect she deserves in her old age. However, Zhu Di's mother did not have such treatment, because her identity could not be made public.
So, why did Zhu Di hide this fact?
There are three main reasons:
First, in order to keep the throne;
Zhu Di had been snatched from his nephew, and he had always been afraid of being called a usurper. Therefore, in order to keep the throne, he could only desperately cover up this fact and forge some "evidence" to prove the legitimacy of his throne. Therefore, Zhu Di can only play the card of "out of the way". Just imagine, if you say that you are a descendant of the family and have usurped the throne without authorization, you will certainly not be understood by the world. Therefore, he could only secretly enshrine his birth mother's tablet in the temple, and silently confess to his own mother in his heart.
Second, to show their orthodox status;
As we all know, Empress Ma is the original match of Zhu Yuanzhang, as long as you prove that you are born to Empress Ma, you will naturally have an orthodox status. Therefore, Zhu Di made an excuse for his power grab: Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma originally wanted to pass the throne to him, but there were traitors obstructing them in the middle, so that the throne fell to Zhu Yunjiao. Now, Zhu Di regained the throne, and only obeyed the will of Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma.
Third, it is afraid of the pressure of public opinion.
You know, Zhu Di's birth mother is a Mongolian - Concubine Qi. At that time, the Mongols had just retreated to the north and were still struggling with the Ming government. If Zhu Di admits that he has the blood of the Mongols in his blood, then he will inevitably be treated specially. Therefore, he must rely on the horse queen to protect himself from the pressure of public opinion.
In fact, no matter what unknown secrets Zhu Di had, he was a very effective emperor during the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, he is destined to be the successor of Zhu Yuanzhang, a pioneer who is uneasy about the status quo, and will push the foundation of the Ming Dynasty to a new peak, and in the end, make the comprehensive national strength of the Ming Dynasty rank at the forefront of Asia and even the world.
Resources:
["Ming Shi, The Fifth Ming Dynasty, Ming Chengzu I", "Records of Emperor Ming Taizong", "The End of the Ming Chronicle"]