We often say that history is written by the victors, and this sentence is very precise. We can know many people and events in ancient times from various texts such as history books and wild histories, but the same thing will have different records. This fully shows that some of the contents of the history books are not true, and the ruler will only let us see the side he wants people to see.
The History of Ming compiled by the three emperors during the Qing Dynasty records the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty and also provides a relatively comprehensive reference for future generations. However, there is now evidence that the History of the Ming Dynasty tampered with many of the characters and deeds of the Ming Dynasty. This evidence is the genealogy of a Ming eunuch in Fujian, which records the eunuch's deeds very different from the History of the Ming Dynasty.
I. The distorted character image of the Ming Shi
Much of what we know about the Ming Dynasty is because of this "History of Ming", from the Ming Taizu Uprising to the final Chongzhen Emperor hanging himself on the coal mountain, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not have a particularly faint and incompetent. Among them, the most criticized is probably Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen, who himself was raised by the palace maid Wan Zhen'er, so he was both attached to and connived at her, resulting in Ming Xianzong almost losing his heirs.
Wan Zhen'er only wanted to be with Zhu Jianshen at first, because she was more than ten years older than the emperor she had raised since childhood. As she grew older, she was never able to give birth to a son and a half daughter to the emperor, and slowly began to hate pregnant concubines. Because she had no heirs, Wan Guifei was also more and more anxious, afraid that the emperor would no longer spoil himself.
Although Zhu Jianshen said that he would never change his heart for her, Wan Zhen'er was still insecure, so she began to monopolize power in the harem. Whenever a concubine is pregnant with a child, she will find a way to make her have an abortion; Even if he was born, he would be inexplicably killed by Wan Guifei; Later, it was a killer of concubines in the harem, and as long as she saw a concubine deliberately approaching the emperor, she would be killed by her staff.
During this period, the great eunuch who served the emperor was called Zhang Min, and he flew in the palace with his favor, forming a scene of eunuch dictatorship, and his fate was also very tragic. Emperor Mingxianzong watched as he grew older, but he did not yet have a son who could inherit the throne. Although he loved Wan Zhen'er, he also understood the importance of heirs, so he was very distressed by this matter.
At this time, Zhang Min, as a personal eunuch, naturally understood the emperor's difficulties, and he thought about telling Ming Xianzong that in fact, there was a prince in the Cold Palace. This made Zhu Xianzong overjoyed, he finally had a descendant, so he quickly sent someone to pick up the mother and son in the Cold Palace. After seeing his only son, Zhu Jianshen was very happy and made him crown prince.
This matter quickly reached Wan Guifei's ears, and she was furious after hearing about this incident, and she also knew that Zhang Min had not disposed of the mother and son according to her own instructions. At this time, Zhang Min also knew that he was destined to attract revenge from Wan Guifei by doing so, so he committed suicide by swallowing jin, and the time of suicide was 1475.
Second, the genealogy of the eunuch Zhang Min
Unexpectedly, the historical record of a eunuch's suicide has become a strong evidence that the History of Ming has been tampered with: the Zhang clan in Fujian has a family tree that records the deeds of several generations of the Zhang clan, and Zhang Min's name appears in this book. Comparing the contents recorded in it, it is not difficult to find that this person is the Great Eunuch of zhu Jianshen's period.
The clear record here that Zhang Min died of illness and died only in 1485, which is a difference that clearly proves that the History of Ming is untrue. Looking closely at the records on the family tree, we will find a Zhang Min who is completely different from the history books, who was promoted by Zhu Jianshen to the eunuch of the Ceremony Supervisor because he retained the royal bloodline, which is a very high official position among eunuchs.
Moreover, when he was seriously ill, Ming Xianzong also specially sent an imperial doctor to treat him, which showed that he attached great importance to him. This event is a very glorious event, so it is also recorded in detail in the local county records, and the time is exactly 1485. Later, after Zhang Min's death, the emperor also held a solemn funeral for him and rewarded his descendants with many fields and other property.
It can be seen from this that Wan Guifei not only did not persecute Zhang Min; After Zhu Jianshen established the crown prince, their mother and son were not persecuted by Wan Guifei, and the relevant history books also recorded that Zhu Xiaozong's birth mother was "inferior to the Western Palace with illness". This also fully shows that Wan Guifei is not the concubine who is described by Ming Shi as the emperor's favor and lawless scourge.
As for why the three emperors of the Qing Dynasty wanted to smear the history of the Ming Dynasty, it is estimated that it is also a means of settling the country. Because many people at that time missed the life during the ming dynasty, they were reluctant to accept the rule of the Manchu Qing for a while. Then at this time, the Ming Emperor was directly described as incompetent and faint, and the people would naturally change their minds.
summary
History books are books that record history, but there are also many rulers in history who tamper with facts in order to leave a good reputation. However, some truths are destined not to be buried, just like the events of the Ming Emperor during his reign, and they do not necessarily contribute to jiangshan sheji. It's just that the History of Ming was written by the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, so everything was mainly Manchu.