Life of Hongwu
The Life of Hongwu
The Hongwu Emperor, known by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China. His era name, Hongwu, means "vastly martial". Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a village in Zhongli. His family was a poor peasant family. His father’s name was Zhu Shizhen, and his mother was Chen Erniang. Zhu had many brothers and sisters, but his parents had to give them away because they didn’t have enough food for everyone. When Zhu was 16, the yellow River flooded the land his family was living on. Subsequently, a plague broke out killing all of his family, except for one of his brothers.
Since Zhu had nowhere to go he became a monk at the Huangjue Temple, which was a small Buddhist monastery. He did not stay there long as the monastery ran short of funds and Zhu was forced to leave.
For the next few years, Zhu Yuanzhang led the life of a wandering beggar and personally experienced and saw the hardships of the common people. He returned to the monastery about three years later. He stayed until he was about 24. He had learned how to read and write. Although he did not become a Buddhist in later years, he still remained sympathetic towards Buddhism.
The monastery where Zhu was staying got destroyed by an army of local rebels. In 1352, Zhu had joined one of the many insurgent forces that had a rebellion against the Mongol ruled Yuan Dynasty. Zhu briskly rose through the ranks and was awarded commander. His rebel force later joined the Red Turbans, a millenarian sect related to the White Lotus Society, and one that followed cultural and religious traditions of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and other religions. Widely seen as a defender of Confucianism and neo-Confucianism among the predominant Han Chinese population in China, Zhu emerged as a leader of the rebels that were struggling to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty.
In 1356, Zhu Yuanzhang's army conquered Nanjing. Nanjing became his base of operations and the capital
The Hongwu Emperor, known by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China. His era name, Hongwu, means "vastly martial". Zhu Yuanzhang was born in a village in Zhongli. His family was a poor peasant family. His father’s name was Zhu Shizhen, and his mother was Chen Erniang. Zhu had many brothers and sisters, but his parents had to give them away because they didn’t have enough food for everyone. When Zhu was 16, the yellow River flooded the land his family was living on. Subsequently, a plague broke out killing all of his family, except for one of his brothers.
Since Zhu had nowhere to go he became a monk at the Huangjue Temple, which was a small Buddhist monastery. He did not stay there long as the monastery ran short of funds and Zhu was forced to leave.
For the next few years, Zhu Yuanzhang led the life of a wandering beggar and personally experienced and saw the hardships of the common people. He returned to the monastery about three years later. He stayed until he was about 24. He had learned how to read and write. Although he did not become a Buddhist in later years, he still remained sympathetic towards Buddhism.
The monastery where Zhu was staying got destroyed by an army of local rebels. In 1352, Zhu had joined one of the many insurgent forces that had a rebellion against the Mongol ruled Yuan Dynasty. Zhu briskly rose through the ranks and was awarded commander. His rebel force later joined the Red Turbans, a millenarian sect related to the White Lotus Society, and one that followed cultural and religious traditions of Buddhism, Zoroastrianism and other religions. Widely seen as a defender of Confucianism and neo-Confucianism among the predominant Han Chinese population in China, Zhu emerged as a leader of the rebels that were struggling to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty.
In 1356, Zhu Yuanzhang's army conquered Nanjing. Nanjing became his base of operations and the capital