In the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420), the Ming Dynasty government began to arrest nuns and Taoist priests on a large scale, and all nuns and female Taoist priests in the country were arrested and sent to Beijing for interrogation one by one to verify their true identities. What grudges did Ming Chengzu have with these nuns who pursued the six pure roots, the four emptiness, and had nothing to do with the imperial court, so that nuns throughout the country were harassed and hunted down like never before?
This unprecedented "nun arrest case" originated from a peasant uprising.
In the eighteenth year of Yongle, a serious famine occurred in Shandong, and instead of distributing grain relief, the government arrested a large number of peasants who gathered to ask the government for grain, and many were beaten to death. In February, Tang Saier organized thousands of peasants in the name of the White Lotus Sect to revolt against the imperial court in Binzhou under the banner of red and white flags. The rebels soon occupied Qingzhou, Zhuchengying County, Jimo and other prefectures. Emperor Zhu Di of Ming Cheng was shocked when he heard this, and sent heavy troops to suppress it. However, the rebel army suddenly disappeared, and the leader Tang Saier also disappeared out of thin air. After the officials and troops could not find the rebels, they reported that Chengzu said that Tang Saier was missing.
The White Lotus Sect rebel army defeated the Ming Dynasty officials and troops many times, and Tang Saier ignored the government's recruitment and placement, and tricked the people to confront the imperial court, which made Zhu Di lose face. Therefore, in order to eliminate the anger in his heart and kill one hundred people, Zhu Di ordered that Tang Saier must be caught. The "Chronicle of the History of Ming" recorded: "Tang Sai'er did not obtain it for a long time, and he was worried about cutting his hair as a nun or mixed virgin Taoist priest." Sui ordered the Law Department: All nuns and Daogus in Beijing and Shandong were arrested and invited to Beijing. Then, why did Zhu Di think that Tang Saier was hiding among nuns?
First of all, Buddhism has been a pure place since ancient times, far from the world, the government cannot intervene in the affairs of Buddhism, and the officials in charge of the search and arrest cannot search for Tang Saier for a long time, so they use his hiding in Buddhism as an excuse to shirk responsibility; Secondly, Tang Saier's self-proclaimed "Buddha Mother" at the time of the uprising also gives people reason to believe that she may be hiding in the Buddhist gate. Therefore, after obtaining Zhu Di's approval, Shandong Zuo participated in politics and arrested nuns in Shandong and Beijing as soon as possible, but there was still no whereabouts of Tang Saier.
The "Chronicle of the History of Ming" also recorded: "In March of the eighteenth year of Chengzu Yongle, Tang Saier, a demon woman in Putai County, Shandong, made a riot... Da Suo Tang Saier was very anxious and arrested Shandong and Beijing. At the same time, they also arrested all the monastic women in the world, and they successively numbered tens of thousands. Zhu Di seemed determined to catch Tang Saier, and after finding nothing in Shandong and Beijing, he expanded his search to the whole country. This time, Zhu Di was disappointed again, and after a long search, there was still no progress. The feudal rule, which had always been known for its strength and strictness, seemed so weak and useless in front of Tang Saier.
The White Lotus Sect did not disappear because of the mass arrest of Ming Chengzu, and it did not stop its activities until the Qing Dynasty. As for whether Tang Saier hid in the Buddhist gate, or died in battle, cut his hair into a nun, or was protected by the people, future generations do not know. Until Zhu Di's death, the government still did not know her whereabouts. #历史开讲 #