The Yuan Dynasty was a dynasty established by nomadic peoples
The Yuan Dynasty was a dynasty established by nomadic peoples in the Central Plains, and adopted a policy of prevention and restriction against the Han throughout. The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty unabashedly divided the ethnic groups under their rule into four classes: the first class was the Mongols; the second class was the Semu people, mainly referring to the ethnic groups in the northwest region and the Central Asians conquered by the Mongols; the third class was the Han people, mainly referring to the Han people under the original Jin rule and the Jurchen and Khitan ethnic groups, including the Han people in the Sichuan region during the Song-Jin confrontation; the fourth class was the Nan people, mainly referring to the Han people and other ethnic groups under the former Southern Song Dynasty. The political, economic and cultural rights of these four people are very different. Han Chinese, who belong to the third and fourth classes, have the lowest status and are discriminated against.
Under the blatant policy of ethnic discrimination, it was difficult for Han Chinese to enter the government institutions of the Yuan Dynasty. Even if you enter, you usually only play some insignificant role. Of course, there are exceptions, such as during the time of Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, there was a warlock named Zhang Kang, who was greatly valued by the Ancestors of the Yuan Dynasty. In order to co-opt Zhang Kang, Yuan Shizu even carried out sexual bribery, giving a concubine in the palace to Zhang Kang as a wife. This matter is recorded in the "History of the Yuan", which is not nonsense.
The beauties of the desert have a unique style
Zhang Kang (張康), courtesy name Ru'an ,,mingyuan), was a native of Xiangtan, Tanzhou (present-day Xiangtan, Hunan). Zhang Kang lost his father at an early age, but he studied very hard, and he was able to integrate and navigate the ancient mysterious cultural techniques such as the Five Elements of Yin and Yang, the Tiangandi Branch, the Book of Hetuluo, and the Taixuan Jiazi Number. During the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhang Kang successively served as a master in the Sichuan system of deputy envoy Lü Wende, counselor and governor Jiang Wanli, and right chancellor and privy envoy Liu Mengyan. On the eve of the fall of the Southern Song Dynasty, the chancellor Liu Mengyan surrendered to the Yuan Dynasty, and Zhang Kang did not want to follow, so he returned to Hunan and lived in seclusion in Nanyue Hengshan.
In the fourteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1277), the Ancestors of the Yuan Dynasty sent Zhongzhong Cui Yu to sacrifice the Holy Emperor of Nanyue, and by the way visited the celebrities who lived in seclusion in Nanyue. Cui Yu's brother Cui Bin, who was a political participant in Hunan Province at the time, recommended Zhang Kang, who lived in seclusion in Hengshan, saying that he knew astronomy and geography and was a rare talent. After Cui Yu returned to the capital, he reported Zhang Kang's situation to Yuan Shizu. Yuan Shizu then sent someone to summon Zhang Kang. Just as Cui Bin, a member of the Hunan government, was also about to enter Beijing, Zhang Kang came to the capital with Cui Bin. In April of the fifteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1278), Zhang Kang went to Yuan Shangdu (元上都, in present-day Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia) to meet Yuan Shizu. Yuan Shizu personally tested Zhang Kang's knowledge, and sure enough, he appointed him as the author of Saburō.
The ancestors of the Yuan Dynasty were Heavy Han Warlocks
However, Zhang Kang, as a remnant of the Southern Song Dynasty and a low-status Han Chinese, still had concerns about serving the Yuan Dynasty. In order to keep Zhang Kang, Yuan Shizu proposed to marry the concubine Lady Song of the palace to Zhang Kang. I don't know whether I can't quit or can't withstand the temptation of beautiful women, Zhang Kang finally accepted the official position and woman given by Yuan Shizu.
Yuan Shizu may have sincerely retained Zhang Kang. Every time he was summoned, he was treated with courtesy. When meeting, only call Mingyuan's name, not Zhang Kang's name, to show respect. Yuan Shizu also personally promised: "No matter what you think, you can know everything and say everything." I will never blame you. ”
As the saying goes, a soldier dies for a confidant. In order to thank Yuan Shizu for his kindness, Zhang Kang did his best to serve Yuan Shizu. In the eighteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1281), Zhang Kang sang: "The next year is the year of the noonday, and Taiyixing will be in the direction of the Gong Palace, indicating that there are generals who have fled and will be imprisoned." The stars correspond to the places on the earth, which belong to the division of the Yan land. It is expected that there will be military unrest in the capital next spring, and things will offend the general and the prime minister. In March of the following year, there was indeed a military rebellion in the capital, and Ahma, the prime minister in charge of the financial power of the DPRK, was killed by the rebels. Yuan Shizu believed even more that Zhang Kang was a high-ranking person. However, this is a magical thing to say, but in fact it may be mysterious. Because Prime Minister Ahma has always been corrupt and perverted the law, it has long aroused the dissatisfaction of other ministers, and many people want to kill him. Zhang Kang is most likely to have found some signs beforehand.
Song and dance performance in the Palace of the Yuan Dynasty
Soon, Yuan Shizu planned to attack Japan again, and ordered Zhang Kang to use the Taiyi Star Method to calculate the auspiciousness. After some reckoning, Zhang Kang said: "The south has just been pacified, the people's strength has not yet recovered, and this year's Taiyixing is difficult to measure, and it is unfavorable to send troops." Yuan Shizu listened and decided to cancel the plan to send troops. Yuan Shizu attacked Japan twice in the eleventh year of the Yuan Dynasty (1274) and the eighteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1281), each time returning with a feather. It seems that he is not willing and wants to send troops again. Fortunately, Zhang Kang dissuaded Japan from the third military dispatch of the Yuan Dynasty. Of course, for the auspicious murder of the third dispatch, whoever predicts it will choose not to send troops. Because this option is the least risky for the forecaster.
Zhang Kang does not love money. Yuan Shizu once rewarded Taishiyuan with a sum of money, and Taishiyuan gave Zhang Kang a thousand according to the size of his contribution, but Zhang Kang declined. In Zhang Kang's view, money is something outside the body, life does not bring, death does not bring, too much is a burden, enough to use. In his later years, Zhang Kang asked to resign and return home, but Yuan Shizu not only refused to accept his resignation, but promoted him to Fengzhi Doctor and Secretary Supervisor until his death at the age of 65.
Zhang Kang's legendary life was later compiled into a meta-drama "Zhang Kang Title Wall". The play has been mentioned in many historical sources, but unfortunately the script has now been lost. (Text/Xie Zhidong)
Ruins of Yuan Shangdu, Inner Mongolia