The legend of Tu Timu'er (Yuan Wenzong) in Hainan

Author: Chen Yuning

Tu Timu'er (1304–1332) was the eighth emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Wenzong of Yuan. Tu Timu'er was the second son of Emperor Wuzong Haishan of the Yuan Dynasty, who received a good education from an early age as an imperial family, and while inheriting the Mongolian tradition, he was deeply influenced by the Han culture of the Central Plains, and his poetry, books, chess and paintings were well accomplished. Although Tu Timu'er was eligible to inherit the throne, due to the fierce struggle for imperial power, in the first year of the reign (1321), Emperor Yingzong ordered Tu Timu'er to leave Beijing and "live in Hainan". The "History of the Yuan" makes a brief record: "Prince Tu Timu'er was in Hainan" ("Yingzong Ji"), "The Emperor lived in Hainan" ("Wenzong Ji"). Nominally "relocated", it was actually exiled to a wild place across the sea.

Tu Timu'er lived in Qiongzhou for more than three years. In the third year of the reign (1323), in another court struggle, Emperor Yingzong was killed, and his grandson Timur succeeded to the throne as Emperor Taiding. In order to consolidate his throne and gain support from all sides, emperor Taiding "ordered the kings to return their troops in the spring of the first year of Taiding (1324) and summoned prince Tu Timu'er to Qiongzhou" (Yuan Shi, Taiding Emperor Ji).

Tu Timu'er ended his three years of exile in Hainan, was crowned the Prince of Huai by Emperor Taiding, and lived in Jiankang (present-day Nanjing). In the leisure days of Jiankang, Tu Timu'er married a good literati, studied calligraphy and painting, and his cultural literacy was greatly improved. In the first year of Zhihe (1328), Emperor Taiding fell ill and died, and Yan Timur launched a coup d'état, proclaiming Tu Timu'er the emperor's succession and changing the Yuan Heavenly Calendar to Yuan Wenzong. Four months later, Emperor Wenzong's Tu Timur welcomed his brothers King Zhou and Shi Yu (Emperor Wuzong's eldest son) from Northern Mobei and relinquished the throne. He Shiyu succeeded to the throne as emperor in Mobei and Lin (i.e., Hala and Lin) for Emperor Mingzong of Yuan, and Tu Timu'er was made crown prince. Emperor Mingzong succeeded to the throne for only seven months, and had not yet reached Dadu, when he suddenly "collapsed", and Tu Timu'er once again ascended the throne. Three years after tu timuel succeeded to the throne for the second time, he died of illness in the third year of Zhishun (1332) at the age of 28.

During the reign of Tu Timu'er, due to his poor administration and Yan Timur's monopoly of power, he did not play a big role in politics, but his thick Han cultural skills made his contribution to wenzhi indispensable. He founded kuizhangge in dadu, collected Chinese people, studied literature and painting, and Wenzong himself also left many poems, which played a great role in the development of Yuan Dynasty culture. Emperor Wenzong also planned and organized the compilation of a large-scale document book, the Classics of the Classics, which preserved a large number of original documents, and most of the historical books such as the Ming Compilation of the YuanShi were based on this. During the reign of Emperor Wenzong of Yuan, he achieved the "Zhishun Wenzhi".

In the study of Yuan history, there are many discussions on Tu Timu'er's two successions to the throne and the court dispute in this period, but there is less discussion of his "going out of Hainan" as a northern Mongol imperial family and his experience in Hainan, because there are not many historical records, and it is far away from the closed and barbaric isolated island across the sea, it is difficult to attract attention, so there is less discussion.

In recent years, I have taken a winter vacation in Qionghai, Hainan, living by the Wanquan River, which was the place where Tu Timu'er moved, heard some legends about the crown prince in Hainan, saw articles written by local experts, had the opportunity to make field trips in Ding'an and Qionghai, and took some photos. I have recorded these historical stories of what I have seen and heard.

It's safe to be in peace

In the first year of the reign (1321), the imperial court ordered Tu Timu'er to move to Hainan. Hainan is a remote sea island, desolate and miasma, inhabited by only a small number of indigenous Li Miao people, and has always been a place for exile and resettlement of officials from various dynasties. Although the territory of the Yuan Dynasty was unified and the transportation routes in various places were greatly improved, the transportation between Hainan and the interior was inconvenient, and the land route was blocked by the Qiongzhou Strait, the sea route was far away, and the navigation risk was very large. Degraded officials and exiles regard Hainan as a fearful road, and it is difficult to escape from Hainan. Seventeen-year-old Tu Timu'er finally arrived in Qiongzhou after many hardships.

Chen Qianheng, the marshal of The Capital of Qiongzhou Prefecture in Haibei Hainan Province, was a native of Wenchang, Hainan, who had great talent, both culture and martial arts, Fuli Youce, and a general of the Zhenguo State, and the imperial court had a stone stele at Mount Li (located in Qiongzhong, Hainan, a sacred site for the Li people) to show his merits. Chen Qianheng was kind and warmly received the fallen royal family from the capital, and Tu Timu'er was happy to be able to relieve his depression.

When Tu Timu'er was in Qiongzhou, he made a local friend, who was the chief official of The southern Lei Ridge in Ding'an County, Qiongzhou. Nanlei was a large ridge where the Li people were concentrated, and the Han chinese officials handled things fairly and were elected as the lord of the gong. Accompanied by the royal official, Tu Timu'er toured the beautiful multi-river, and saw that Li Gong under the rule of the royal official was not a place of "Li chaos", and he admired the royal official very much, and the royal official also admired the talent of this royal young man, and the two had a deeper relationship.

Another important figure that Tu Timu'er met in Qiongzhou was the local girl Qingmei. Whether Ding'an really has a daughter, it is difficult to verify, some say that Ding'an did have a girl surnamed Li, her parents died, was adopted by The Marshal of Qiongzhou Chen Qianheng, and taught her poetry and painting, and finally came out as a beautiful, kind, and versatile talented woman, who was known as "Ding'an Lady". In Ding'an, the story of Tu Ti Mu'er's love for "Ding'an Lady" Qingmei and his love for her is widely circulated.

There is a saying that Chen Qianheng, the marshal of Qiongzhou, invited Tu Ti Mu'er to a banquet, and the maid qing mei in the banquet house came to serve wine, and Tu Ti Mu'er saw that his beauty was outstanding, and he also knew dali and was very fond of it. The royal nobles who were in distress, with no prospects, had the idea of proposing marriage to the people's daughters. Tu Ti Mu'er sent people to the Marshal's Mansion to ask for relatives, but he was unexpectedly rejected by the Qingmei girl, which made Tu Ti Mu'er very depressed.

Ming Zhengde's "Qiongtai Zhi" recorded this story: "Marshal Chen Qianheng's family has a waiter named Qingmei, a common word, good at singing and dancing, and a beautiful voice. In the middle of the reign, Emperor Wenzong was in the submerged mansion, muzhi, and tasted his home to covet it. Meaning is not, because of Fu Shiyun: laughing at the ambition of the year, climbing ginkgo biloba to get golden peach. There is no good fruit in the south of the country, and the price of green plums is also high. This unsuccessful marriage proposal love poem, known as the "Qingmei Poem" by the local people, was engraved on a boulder by posterity, and now stands in Huangpo Village, Lingkou Town, Ding'an County, which is the homeland of the lord of Nanlei Li Village.

There is also a legend that Tu Timu'er was tasting flowers by the river, and the strange flowers and strange trees dazzled him, and suddenly a huge python jumped out of the water, and the frightened Tu Timur ran while shouting "Help me!" Save me! At this point, someone was heard saying, "Don't panic, I'll subdue it!" Tu Timu'er looked up and saw a woman with a clear eyebrow and told him that the python had gone. Tu Timu'er asked why the python had escaped, and the woman said that the woman by the river went up to the mountain to collect medicine, with the smell of medicine, which could repel insects. Tu Timu'er knew that the many rivers originated from the Five Finger Mountain, the water was clean and good, and the beauty of the people was protected, and this woman was indeed as beautiful as jade, and she couldn't help but be admired. This woman is Ome.

After Tu Timu'er's marriage proposal to Qingmei was rejected, he confided his heart to his friend Wang Guan, who urged the marriage. According to the "Genealogy of the Wang Clan", the "Ding'an County Chronicle" records that the chief wang official of Nanlei Pass "paid three hundred gold for it to hire Qingmei" in order to fulfill the wish of Tu Timu'er.

Nowadays, in Huangpo Village, Lingkou Town, Ding'an County, there is a large banyan tree that is hundreds of years old, and the villagers call it "YuanDi Tree", which is said to be a combination of Tu TiMu'er and Wang Guan. There is also a large banyan tree that is intertwined with the small leaf fig and integrated, 10 people can be surrounded, the trunk is intertwined, but the large leaf fig and the small leaf fig can still be distinguished. Legend has it that Tu Ti Mu'er and Qing Mei had a banyan tree by the fish pond in Huangpo Village to show that the two were forever linked. When the two trees grow up, they become entangled with each other to form the mandarin duck body, which is called the "love tree" by posterity. At present, when young men and women get married, they must also take vows in this mountain and sea.

Beautiful legends always carry people's expectations, but how can a son of an ancient emperor fall in love with a border woman? Therefore, there are different legends about the ending of Tu Timu'er and Qingmei falling in love and marrying. It is said that Tu Timu'er was recalled from Hainan to be crowned Queen of Huai, and decided to welcome Qingmei back to Beijing. On the way, Ome fell seriously ill and died. It is also said that after Tu Timu'er ascended the throne and succeeded to the throne, he still missed Qingmei, that is, summoned Qingmei into the palace as a queen, but Qingmei was not moved, and once again politely refused. Chen Qianheng had no choice but to give his eldest daughter Xu Yuwenzong and his maid Qingmei as his retinue to go to Beijing together. Unexpectedly, on the way to Beijing, Chen Nu died of illness, and Qingmei took the opportunity to abscond from the people, hiding her name and not knowing where she went.

In fact, in the year when Tu TiMu'er was recalled by Emperor Taiding and crowned as king of Huai, that is, in the first year of Taiding (1324), emperor Taiding was the lord, and Tu Timu'er and his cousin Bu Daqiuli held a wedding.

"Taishi Perfect"

In the first month of the first year of Taiding (1324), Tu Timu'er, who had been "living" in Hainan for three years, was recalled to Beijing.

According to legend, Tu Timuer chose to go north to Beijing from the duohe river by boat into the sea. The Duo river, now the Wanquan River, originates from the Wuzhi Mountains in the middle of Hainan Island, flows north and east through Ding'an, and enters the sea in present-day Boao, Qionghai, with a total length of 163 kilometers. The trees on both sides of the river are lush and beautiful, it is the mother river that nurtures sentient beings, and the poignant love story of Tu Timu'er and Qingmei is also closely connected to the many rivers.

When Tu Ti Mu'er boarded the ship at the dock, Marshal Chen Qianheng and the chief official of the gong led many villagers to send them off, and the people who sent them together shouted "Prince Wanquan" and "All the Way" at the dock, which greatly touched Tu Timu'er. At that time, Tu Timu'er had not yet ascended the throne, and the people did not call it "Long Live" and expressed their expectations with "Wanquan".

After Tu Timu'er returned to Beijing, he often remembered the friendship of the people of Hainan and the blessings of "Wanquan", and proposed to rename the Duohe River wanquan River to commemorate it. After Tu Timu'er ascended the throne, the local people also called his boat dock "WenzongDu". Wenzongdu is located on the banks of the Wanquan River in Wanquan Town, Qionghai City, and the ferry port has a stone monument, and the pier guardrail also writes "Prince Wanquan" and "All the Way Wanquan", which has been built into a tourist attraction.

In order to commemorate the loyalty and righteousness of wang guan, the local people voluntarily donated money to build a Zhongshui Temple in the north of Wenzong's crossing, enshrined in the wang guan, in order to advocate good people and good deeds, and the hall was provided for Yuan Wenzong and later became the statue of Wang Guan, the governor of Nanjian Prefecture. Every year, a temple fair is held here on an auspicious day in March, including overseas Chinese. There is also a "Huaizong Pavilion" in the courtyard commemorating Tu Timu'er.

Endless thoughts

After Tu Timu'er was recalled, he never had the opportunity to return to Hainan, but Wanquanhe, Qingmei, Wang Guan, and the Li villagers he knew left him with endless thoughts. He not only renamed the many rivers Wanquan River, but also named a branch of the Qinghe River in the northwest suburbs of Dadu as the Wanquan River. Although some experts have verified that the Wanquan River flowing through the Yuanmingyuan is a name that only existed after the Qing Dynasty, the legend of YuanWenzong naming the Wanquan River in jingxi seems to give the two rivers in the north and south a reasonable explanation for calling the same name.

Tu Timu'er was proclaimed empress, and in the second year of the Tianli calendar (1329), the edict promoted Ding'an County, which was originally under the jurisdiction of Qiongzhou, to Nanjian Prefecture, directly subordinate to the Marshal's Office of Xuanwei Sidu in Haibei Hainan Province, the same level as Qiongzhou, and appointed the wang official as the first Zhizhou of Nanjian Prefecture, giving the wang official the extremely high treatment of "Peijin Fu, leading the people" ("Yuan Shi" and "Wenzong Ji"), and the descendants of the wang official could inherit Zhizhou. According to the "Genealogy of the Wang Clan", after the Wang official was enfeoffed with zhizhou, he was also given a golden bowl of jade and an official robe. In addition to being grateful to the wang officials, Emperor Wenzong also hoped that the royal officials who would enjoy prestige among the Li people would be able to manage the Li people in the Southern Jianzhou region well. The three generations of the Wang clan hereditary Southern Jianzhou Zhizhou and worked hard for Southern Jianzhou. From the end of the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the southern prefecture was withdrawn, and it was changed to Ding'an County, which was subordinate to Qiongzhou Prefecture.

When Tu TiMu'er first arrived in Qiongzhou, he lived in a small Guanyin Pavilion in the south of the city (about the area around the Nandu River in Haikou), which was tu Ti Mu'er's "hidden residence". After sitting on the throne, he was constantly nostalgic for the past, and he missed the original "hidden residence", so in the second year of the Celestial Calendar (1329), Wenzong, who was a firm believer in Buddhism, decided to build Puming Temple on the original site of Guanyin Pavilion. In the third year of the Celestial Calendar (1330), "Ten Thousand Ingots of Money" was given the name "Daxinglong Puming Zen Temple". Zhengde's "Qiongtai Zhi" records that after the completion of the Puming Temple, "the scale is elegant, crowned in the Linghai", and also ordered The Kuizhangge Scholar Yu Ji to write the "Daxinglong Puming Temple". The temple has been very popular for incense, but unfortunately it was abandoned during the Qing Xianfeng period (1850-1861), and the ruins have disappeared.

Yuanwenzong Tu Timu'er's experience in Hainan has also left a deep impression and nostalgia for the people of Hainan, just as many historical stories will add the imagination and attachment of local people, and the legend of Tu TiMu'er in Hainan also has many such colors. According to legend, when Tu Timur was recalled to Beijing, the wang official sent him to Tanmen Port to board a ship and go north. Tanmen Port is in present-day Qionghai City, a natural thousand-year-old port leading to the South China Sea, with great fame. Tanmen is rich in South China Sea Bricks, known as "Hainan White Jade", which is one of the Seven Treasures of Buddhism. The royal official gave it to him, which greatly touched Tu Timu'er.

In a small and famous "Original Villagers Tree Coffee House" on the banks of the Wanquan River in Wanquan Town, Qionghai, the pictures hanging on the wall contain "The Spirit of Wenzong", "Wang Guan is a Man", "The Friendship between the Prince and the Wang Guan", and there are many praises and praises. The shop launched the "Prince Soup", which advertised that the Wang Guan went up the mountain to collect a variety of southern medicines and cooked the old duck soup with the old lychee wood fire to serve the prince, and the prince was able to restore his energy. The coffee shop also posted pictures of several emperors of the Yuan Dynasty. There is a local restaurant in The Hot Spring Town called "Farmhouse Chef Good Taste", and an advertising painting is posted on the side of the lobby, which promotes his own taste of farm kitchen against the background of wang guan's use of farmhouse dishes by the Wanquan River to entertain Tu Timu'er.

In Hainan, the story of Tu Ti Mu'er and Qingmei has been circulated for a long time, and it is also the theme of literary and artistic expression. In 1962, Qiongshan County created the Qiongshan drama "Qingmei Ji". In 1987, Hainan Qiong Theater re-created and performed "Qingmei Ji", participated in the second China Arts Festival in 1989, and entered Beijing in 1991 to report on the performance. In 2015, the Experimental Qiong Opera Troupe of Hainan Culture and Art School created and performed the large-scale historical Qiong opera "Qingmei and the Prince", which interpreted the love story of Tu Timu'er and Qingmei in a poignant and moving way.

Although the legend is not real history, but a northern Mongolian aristocratic young man, fell into trouble to come to Hainan, got the warm reception of the local people, they formed a friendship and even love between them, such a legend and story, reflecting the strict ethnic hierarchy of the Yuan Dynasty, in the remote Hainan folk, there are still friendly exchanges between ethnic groups, which became a common state of social life at that time. This is a manifestation of the connotation of ethnic relations in China's history. Because of this, the story was passed down as part of folk oral history, showing its endless vitality. Today, we revisit this legend, which is also of positive significance for the public to understand the ethnic relations in Chinese history.

(February 2018 in Wanquan River)

[ Editor-in-Charge: Li Yimeng ]