Where is Emperor Jianwen, the grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang?

There are different opinions on the mystery of the disappearance of Emperor Jianwen

Wuzhu Temple is a famous cultural mountain, and we have to start with the mystery of the disappearance of Emperor Jianwen and the fact that his deceased minister Guo Jie lived in seclusion in this temple.

In 1398 AD, the thirty-first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, died, and Zhu Yunwen, the grandson of the emperor, succeeded him as Emperor Hui of the Ming Dynasty. The country was named Jianwen, and the historical records were called Emperor Jianwen. Zhu Yun was indecisive by nature, and decided to cut down the vassal because he deeply felt that the vassal king was in power. In the first year of Jianwen, King Zhu Di of Yan, who was the founder of Ming Dynasty, took advantage of this to rebel. He was actually dissatisfied that Zhu Yuanzhang passed on to his grandson but not his son. This war lasted for three years, affecting Hebei, Shandong, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces, and finally ended with Zhu Di's victory. Emperor Hui of the Ming Dynasty only reigned for four years.

After the "Battle of Jingnan", the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty were unknown. For 600 years, no one has been able to explain the details, making it "the biggest mystery of the Ming Dynasty".

Later generations of scholars have two speculations about his whereabouts. One is that Zhu Di Jingnan soldiers entered the city, and Zhu Yunwen burned the palace and committed suicide. Another way to say it is to become a monk and live all over the world. As for the destination of his escape, history has three theories: sailing to the West, hiding in Yunnan, and going to the extinct territory. Regarding the first statement, the person who was least willing to believe it was the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di. The latter statement is recorded in detail or in detail in various biographies in the "History of the Ming Dynasty".

With the deepening of research on Emperor Jianwen’s escape, more and more people now believe that Emperor Jianwen did not burn himself but escaped. So, since Emperor Jianwen might have abandoned his country and fled into exile, where did he go? Based on various data, there are several opinions as follows.

Xun Guo became a monk and traveled around. Some scholars believe that Emperor Jianwen once lived in exile in Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other places based on local chronicles, relics, ruins and other data. There are many ruins and legends about Emperor Jianwen left in several southwestern provinces. Traveling across the ocean. There are also rumors that Emperor Jianwen went to the sea by boat and went to Southeast Asia, where he lived a peaceful and secluded life supporting himself on a small island. This leads to the theory that Zheng He's voyages to the West were in search of Emperor Jianwen. Beijing Xishan said. In Gu Yingtai's "Ming History Chronicles" and Zheng Xiao's "Wuxue Chapter", it is recorded that in the seventh year of Zhengtong, Emperor Jianwen went to the official residence of Sien Prefecture in Guangxi because of his old age and claimed to be Emperor Jianwen. Local officials reported it to the imperial court and sent it to the capital. The imperial court sent the old eunuch Wu Liang to identify it. Later, Emperor Jianwen was welcomed into the palace, died of old age in the palace, and was buried in Xishan. Jiangsu Wuxian County said. Some relics and relics left behind by Emperor Jianwen when he fled were discovered in Wuxian County, Jiangsu Province. Based on the literature, some people believe that Emperor Jianwen hid them in Puji Temple in Wuxian County. Sichuan Foluo Temple said. Some people believe that Emperor Jianwen hid in Foluo Temple in Pingchang, Sichuan, died of illness here, and was buried on the hillside behind the temple. In addition, in recent years, some people claimed to be descendants of Emperor Jianwen and presented the "Rang Family Tree", claiming that Emperor Jianwen escaped from Nanjing through tunnels, pretended to be a monk, traveled around the world, and then lived in seclusion in Wuchang. After his death, he was buried in Hongshan, Wuchang.

For more than 600 years, there have been divergent opinions and no consensus. Since last year, CCTV's "Hundred Forum" has once again ignited the exploration of the mystery of the disappearance of Emperor Jianwen.

The "mysterious case" between Wuzhu Temple and Emperor Jianwen

Xu Huamin, the former director of Weiyuan County Tourism Bureau, and Lian Shucheng, a cadre of the county magistrate's office, have always been passionate about local culture and history. After digging and organizing, he successively co-authored the local chronicle "The Source of the Weiyuan River", and co-authored with others "Weiyuan County Chronicle" (1998 edition), "Weiyuan Historical Talk" and other books. In "The Source of the Wei River", Lian Shucheng wrote a special article "The Claws of an Emperor in the Snow and Mud" in 1994 based on the "Creation and Revision of Weiyuan County Chronicles" and on-the-spot investigations to prove that Emperor Jianwen went to Qutan Temple in Ledu. The remaining minister Guo Jie lived in seclusion here. However, it has not attracted the attention of historians for more than ten years.

Lian Shucheng believes that based on the analysis of existing data, in the early days of Emperor Jianwen's flight, some of his followers went to Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan provinces, pretending to be the fleeing emperor, and revealing their whereabouts to others. , to separate the eyes and ears of the court. Emperor Jianwen himself first hid in Gansu and later went to Qinghai-Tibet. This is an important clue that historians have not noticed.

He said that according to the topics circulated by the elders of Weiyuan in the past dynasties, there was an emperor who abandoned his throne and became a monk and lived in Wuzhu Temple and other places. It is speculated that the legendary emperor monk is most likely the emperor Jianwen after becoming a monk. Legend has it that Emperor Jianwen, Guo Jie and others came to Xiufeng Mountain and found it beautiful and comfortable, so they became monks and lived here. Guo Jie once transplanted five-color bamboos into the temple, with branches in red, yellow, white, green and blue. It is said that Guo Jie planted five-color bamboos with profound meaning: bamboo is Zhuye. Guo Jie treats bamboo as he does Zhu Yunzhen. Five colors are a symbol of the spirit of the ancient emperor.

At the beginning of Emperor Jianwen's escape, there were twenty-two ministers. According to the "History of the Ming Dynasty", the nine closest ministers were Yang Yingzheng, Ye Xixian, Cheng Ji, Feng Que, Guo Jie, Song He, Zhao Tiantai, Zhu Jingxian, and Wang Zhichen. Later, several of the nine most personal people separated and scattered in various places, and were identified by people. Only Cheng Ji, Guo Jie, Song He, Zhao Tiantai and a few others, as well as the missing emperor, cannot be explained in the history books.

Mr. Xu Huamin said that in Wuzhu Town, Weiyuan County and Guojiawan Village, Qijiamiao Township, there are now a large and prosperous descendants of Guo Jie. There is a Guojia Temple in Guojiawan, which is still dedicated to the monk Wuzhu. The Guo family is respectfully called the distant ancestor. There has been a saying in this village for generations that "Monk Guo Jie of Wuzhu is my distant ancestor, and he once protected the emperor in the Ming Dynasty."

According to Lian Shucheng's textual research, Emperor Jianwen lived in seclusion in Weiyuan, most likely entrusting himself to King Zhu of Zhuangsu who was a feudal vassal in Gansu at that time. Zhu was the fourteenth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, he had 50,000 troops and was in charge of Gansu and Shaanxi. He and Jianwen are uncles and nephews, and they are about the same age. They have known each other for a long time in their early years and have a relatively harmonious relationship.

When Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne as emperor, he attacked many vassal kings, but he only favored his younger uncle. In the first year of Jianwen, King Su moved from Ganzhou to present-day Lanzhou City and became a vassal. With this relationship, it is very possible to seek refuge with Zhu Piusi.

In addition, during the Yongle period, Jianwen disappeared as a monk, but Zhu built Buddhist temples in various mountain resorts in Wei, Long, and Lan. He claimed that they were to recommend Yinfu to the late Emperor Hongwu and his mother. Was it built for Zhu Yunwen? Where is the hiding place?

Six years after Yongle, King Zhuangsu of Zhuangsu was jealous of Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, and was ostracized and punished many times. He always had a close relationship with his brother Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty. Monk Jianwen, who took refuge as a monk, also found it difficult to settle down. This may be the main reason why Emperor Jianwen later left Gansu and went to Qutan Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist temple in Ledu, Qinghai.

Later generations of literati have attached a legend that Emperor Jianwen once said a couplet to his grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang when he was the grandson of the emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang's first couplet is "The wind blows a thousand threads on the horse's tail", and the second couplet of the emperor's grandson is "The rain beats the wool and makes it rotten". The so-called "stained wool" is most likely an insider's use of the couplet story to secretly imply that the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen were related to the pastoral areas in the west.

Can this kind of speculation and research bring a satisfactory end to the mystery of Emperor Jianwen's disappearance?

"Creating Weiyuan County Chronicle" is the only written historical material explaining the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen.

Coincidentally, there are many people who have the same textual research basis as Mr. Lian Shucheng's "Creating Weiyuan County Chronicles". In August 2002, when Dr. Gong Weizhang of the Department of History of Lanzhou University was reviewing the local historical records of northwest China, he found an important piece of information from the "Creating Weiyuan County Chronicles" of the Republic of China, which showed that Emperor Jianwen fled to Qutan, Qinghai after the "Battle of Jingnan" temple. He believes that "Chuangxiu Weiyuan County Chronicle" is the only written historical material to explain the whereabouts of Emperor Jianwen.

The "Wuzhu Temple Records" in Volume 9 of "Creation and Repair of Weiyuan County Chronicles" in "Art and Literature Chronicles" records: "Jianwen was built at the end of the 13th day of Gengshen in the sixth month of summer, and came out from Guimen. I would like to help you when you compare. There are twenty-two people driving. One of the festivals (Guo Jie). The king and his ministers ran through the rugged terrain, traveling through southern Yunnan and Bashu. Jianwen arrived at Qutan Temple in Ledu, and Zhufa was there. . The followers either worshiped the Buddha in silk robes, studied Taoism in Huang Guan, or became slaves, scattered throughout Hehuang, Diwei." Accordingly, Dr. Gong Weizhang found important clues to solve this eternal mystery and proposed "Emperor Jianwen." "Escape from Qutan Temple in Qinghai" new theory. Gong Weizhang said that the escape route of Emperor Jianwen and his ministers and the circumstances of their escape from Qutan Temple in Qinghai recorded in the inscription are very consistent with the historical background at that time. According to historical records, Qutan Temple established a close relationship with the Ming royal family in the early days of its establishment. Since the Yongle period, emperors of the Ming Dynasty have given numerous plaques to Qutan Temple, built Buddhist halls, granted imperial titles, granted seals, and sent ministers to Qutan Temple. This continuous relationship is intriguing in itself. Gongweizhang believes that during the Liu and Song Dynasties in the Southern Dynasty, the so-called "South Silk Road" from Nanjing to Bashu, Hehuang and Khotan was opened. After the "Battle of Jingnan" broke out, King Yan led his army southward and the northern road was blocked. It is very possible that Emperor Jianwen had no choice but to flee south, traveling through Yunnan, Guizhou, and Bashu, and finally chose the barren Hehuang area in the northwest as his foothold. This escape route also confirms the folklore saying that "it is said that there are traces of the emperor's travels when he was a monk among Yunnan, Guizhou and Bashu".

Eternal mysteries that need to be solved

Have Emperor Jianwen ever been to Gansu, whether he has been to Wuzhu Temple, who is Guojie, and whether the five-color bamboo really existed ...

It is night, and we have on our desk a copy of the "Creation and Construction of Weiyuan County Chronicles" written by Zhang Zhaoka and Chen Hongbao in the 25th year of the Republic of China, which was reprinted by the Weiyuan County Chronicle Office. Only one original copy remains. Just two sets.

The "Creation and Construction of Weiyuan County Chronicles" truly records Emperor Jianwen's escape route. There is such a record about Wuzhu Temple: "Since the late Ming Dynasty Guo Jie hung up the tin, he picked five kinds of bamboos with different colors from Nanshan and transplanted them into the Zen Temple. Because he called himself 'Wuzhu Monk', this is where the five bamboos came from." " It is said in "Wuzhu Temple Ji" in Yiwenzhi that "Jie began as a servant of Dong Shang in (Wuzhu) Qianjinggou" and "later lived in Guojiawan. Later he became a monk" and passed away here. What we should be sure of is that Guo Jie indeed spent his later years in Wuzhu Temple. However, the article did not mention that Emperor Jianwen visited Wuzhu Temple.