Do you really know the story of Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma? Today, the history encyclopedia editor brings you a brand new interpretation~
Zhu Yuanzhang used a cloth robe to eliminate the warlords and ultimately established the Ming Dynasty. He is also the only emperor in Chinese history who came from a peasant background. And her Empress Ma made extraordinary achievements during the process of Zhu Yuanzhang’s conquest and establishment of the country. The relationship between Empress Ma and Zhu Yuanzhang was different from that of ordinary emperors and empresses. Their relationship could no longer be defined as husband and wife. They shared weal and woe and supported each other. It can be said that without Empress Ma’s silent efforts, there would have been no Ming Dynasty that followed Zhu Yuanzhang.
Marrying Zhu Yuanzhang during his twilight years, the husband sang and the wife accompanied him through thick and thin
Empress Gao Ma (1332-1382), whose real name is unknown, is mostly believed to have been named Ma Xiuying. He was from Suzhou, Anhui. His father, Ma Gong, and mother, Zheng Po, both passed away early. Ma Gong usually has a good personal relationship with Guo Zixing, so he entrusted his daughter to be raised by Guo Zixing. Guo Zixing and his wife Zhang regarded Ma Xiuying as their own and raised her like their own daughter. Guo Zixing personally taught Ma Xiuying how to read and write, while his wife Zhang taught her how to knit and embroider. Ma Xiuying is also exceptionally intelligent, and with a little guidance, she can undoubtedly master it. Ma Xiuying, who is nearly twenty years old, has a dignified appearance, a graceful expression, and every move exudes the demeanor of a wealthy family. Therefore, the Guo Zixing couple loves Ma Xiuying very much and has always wanted to find her a good husband.
In the peasant uprising army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Red Turban Army led by Guo Zixing was one of the more powerful. Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a monk background, later defected to the army of Guo Zixing. Zhu Yuanzhang was quick witted and had outstanding abilities, gradually standing out and gaining the appreciation of Guo Zixing. He even took the initiative to marry his adopted daughter Ma Xiuying to Zhu Yuanzhang. After marrying Zhu Yuanzhang, Ma Xiuying had a deep affection for him and followed him in his southern and northern expeditions, carefully assisting him.
As a good wife and a virtuous wife, I helped my husband achieve great success in difficult times
Zhu Yuanzhang’s repeated military achievements in the army of Guo Zixing made some of Guo Zixing’s close followers extremely jealous, so they always wanted to create obstacles for him. Later, a dispute arose when Zhu Yuanzhang once again raised a different opinion from Guo Zixing. In a fit of anger, Guo Zixing ordered Zhu Yuanzhang to be imprisoned. And Guo Zixing, who harbored resentment towards Zhu Yuanzhang, took the opportunity to cut off Zhu Yuanzhang’s food supply. After seeing her husband imprisoned, Ma Xiuying tried her best to secretly approach the place where her husband was being held, and thus also learned about her husband’s food shortage. But at that time, the food supply was very tight, and each person was allocated according to the amount every day.
So Ma Xiuying only took a few bites during each meal, saving most of the food and secretly giving it to her husband. This little food couldn’t fill Zhu Yuanzhang’s stomach, so in order to satisfy her husband’s hunger, Ma Xiuying had to resort to stealing in the kitchen. She sneaked into the kitchen and saw the freshly steamed bread. Without worrying about the heat, she picked up a few and put them in her arms. I didn’t want to bump into my foster mother Zhang as soon as I left the kitchen. Zhang noticed that Ma Xiuying was flustered and deliberately talked to her, but Ma Xiuying reluctantly responded and stuttered.
Later, the pain made her cry and unable to speak. Zhang saw that she had something to say, so she brought Ma Xiuying into her room and asked all the servants to go out, carefully questioning Ma Xiuying. Ma Xiuying cried on the ground and reported the matter to Zhang in detail. Zhang quickly asked Ma Xiuying to undress and take out a steamed bun, only to find that Ma Xiuying’s chest had been burned by the heat. Zhang immediately explained the situation to Guo Zixing and interceded for Zhu Yuanzhang. Guo Zixing was very angry when he heard that his confidant was doing this behind his back, and immediately ordered someone to release Zhu Yuanzhang.
For a period of time, due to a major disaster and a shortage of food in the army, Ma Xiuying always gave all the stored food to Zhu Yuanzhang, and she never had enough to eat herself. She also personally managed her husband’s correspondence, whether it was military documents during marching and combat, or notes and memos written by Zhu Yuanzhang, she managed them in an orderly manner, and hastily retrieved the materials without any mistakes. Usually accompanying her husband in the military, she can often provide some good suggestions. Once, Zhu Yuanzhang led his main force to cross the river first. “Later, there was much wisdom, and I was afraid that the Yuan army would sneak behind and be separated.” Without waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang’s order, she quickly led her family’s logistics to urgently cross the river, “and the Yuan army was hesitant to intercept the crossing. Thanks to Ma Xiuying’s decisive decision, a major loss was avoided. When Zhu Yuanzhang was fighting on the front line, she took women to sew clothes and make shoes for the soldiers in the rear.
In 1360 AD, Chen Youliang led his troops eastward and advanced towards Nanjing. Zhu Yuanzhang personally went to the front line to meet the enemy. Faced with strong enemy pressure and a temporary military disadvantage, some officials and civilians in the city are wavering and planning to escape. Some are storing gold and silver and hoarding food. However, Ma Xiuying remained calm and composed, using all the gold and silver in the palace to reward the soldiers, soothing the people and stabilizing the morale of the army.
Rich and noble, yet not extravagant or arrogant, not forgetting the hardships of the people, not changing one’s diligence and frugality, and leading by example
In January 1368 (the first year of Hongwu), Zhu Yuanzhang ascended to the throne in Yingtian Prefecture (now Nanjing), with the country name Daming, and conferred the title of Empress Ma Xiuying. Empress Ma governed the harem with virtue and advocated frugality and kindness among the concubines with her words and deeds. Empress Ma enjoys reading historical books and often uses ancient teachings to teach others. Empress Ma personally took care of Zhu Yuanzhang’s clothing, food, shelter, and transportation, while she herself lived frugally with simple clothing and food. Even when her clothes were worn out, she couldn’t bear to throw them away and often repaired them before putting them back on. Although she was now a noble empress, she still remembered the good habits she had developed during times of poverty and war.
Later, I was greatly inspired by the story of Empress Chabi of Yuan Shizu cooking bowstring and weaving silk clothes. He ordered someone to set up a weaving machine in the harem, personally weaving some silk fabrics, satin duvet covers, and so on, and then giving them to the elderly widows and widowers in the name of royal love. And the remaining fabric was cut into clothes by Empress Ma and given to the princess, explaining, “You grew up in a wealthy family and did not know the difficulties of weaving. You should cherish your possessions.” Even after becoming wealthy, she still maintained a simple style, not arrogant or extravagant, and advised Zhu Yuanzhang not to forget the sufferings of the people.
Empress Ma was not stingy towards the children of her concubines and palace attendants, and gave them generous living conditions. She also cares for the servants in the palace and often gives them clothes and food as a gesture of sympathy. Whenever the wives of civil and military officials enter the court, she never forgets to give them some gifts and chat with them, just like treating family members. Both inside and outside the palace, Empress Ma is highly respected. Zhu Yuanzhang often compared Empress Ma to Empress Changsun of Emperor Taizong of Tang. I have always been very respectful and grateful to her, and often listen carefully to and adopt her suggestions. Zhu Yuanzhang visited her relatives several times to obtain official titles and rewards, but was stopped by Empress Ma.
As the mother of a country and the ruler of the world, she is one of the few wise queens
Empress Ma was well aware of the importance of loyal officials and wise men to the court, so she paid great attention to caring for them with the meticulousness of a woman. Every morning, if there are too many matters to attend to, they often have to continue until noon. At this time, the officials in charge usually have lunch in the palace. Once, Empress Ma ordered the eunuchs to bring the lunch of the officials in charge to taste. She felt that the taste was not good, and immediately suggested to Zhu Yuanzhang, “It is advisable to be humble in serving the ruler, but to be generous in nurturing the virtuous. Otherwise, how can we win over virtuous people?” Zhu Yuanzhang deeply agreed and immediately ordered an improvement in the quality of the officials’ work lunch. Although it was a small matter, the officials felt that Empress Ma valued and cared for them, and of course, they did their best for the court.
Taixue students are a group of talented individuals trained by the imperial court. During their studies at Taixue, all their living expenses were provided by the court, but there was no additional salary. The question of who would support their families had never been considered by any court in the past. Later, Empress Ma proposed it, which also attracted the attention of Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, an edict was issued to set up a special “Red Plate Warehouse” to store grain and give it to the families of the students. From then on, Tai student had no worries and devoted himself to studying, becoming a pillar of talent in the future.
Zhu Yuanzhang was born into poverty and experienced hardships. Therefore, although he appeared wise and wise on the surface, with a broad mind and martial arts, deep down he harbored suspicion and harshness. Fortunately, there was a kind and generous Empress Ma by her side, who often spoke politely and advised her, saving many lives and reducing the number of executions
Innocent suspects. According to historical records, Empress Ma once saved Guo Jingxiang, Li Wenzhong, Song Lian, and Shen Wansan.
The importance of Empress Ma in Zhu Yuanzhang’s mind
When dealing with matters, Zhu Yuanzhang often liked to turn back and ask Empress Ma what she was thinking, and every time he would get answers that satisfied him. He also praised his empress as a “virtuous wife of the family, as good as a good minister of the country”. In his opinion, no woman in the world can compare to his Queen Ma. Zhu Yuanzhang’s affection for Empress Ma was the trust of the closest person to the distressed couple. Zhu Yuanzhang later married many women, but he no longer had such unconditional trust in anyone. There is a short story that can well show the weight of Empress Ma in Zhu Yuanzhang’s mind. It is said that there was a Zheng Qian in Pujiang, whose family was harmonious, with ten generations living together under the same roof, and his name was Preaching Master. The locals call his family ‘Yimen’. After hearing about this, Zhu Yuanzhang became quite interested. Specially invited Zheng Qian to the capital to meet him. When he learned that there were over a thousand people in his family, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “With over a thousand people living together and eating together, working together with one heart and one mind, this is rare in the world. It is indeed the first family in the world.” So he was given a generous gift to let him go back.
Empress Ma listened to their conversation behind the screen and felt uneasy. She quickly passed on a message to Zhu Yuanzhang, saying, “Your Majesty, when he acted alone, he rewarded the whole world. Zheng Qian’s family had more than a thousand people. If he acted alone, wouldn’t it be too easy?” Zhu Yuanzhang couldn’t help but be surprised and urgently ordered the middle official to recruit Zheng Qian again, asking him what methods he had for governing the family. Zheng Qian replied that there was no way, he just didn’t listen to his wife. Zhu Yuanzhang smiled with relief and let him go home with peace of mind. This time, although Zhu Yuanzhang did not fully listen to Empress Ma’s opinion, he precisely demonstrated his importance to Empress Ma. He believes that his success cannot be achieved without the assistance of his wife. Since Zheng Qian didn’t listen to his wife, he assumed that he couldn’t become a big shot.
Although the kind-hearted Empress Ma was in the deep palace, she worked day and night for national affairs, and later accumulated labor into illness and fell. Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely anxious about this and sought out a large number of doctors to treat her, hoping that Empress Ma would recover soon. Empress Ma was well aware of her husband’s shortcomings. She knew that if the doctor who treated her could not cure her illness, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely have murderous intentions. So, she knew she didn’t have much time and wouldn’t let those doctors treat her, afraid of implicating them. Until the last moment of her life, she still did not forget to influence her husband and children with her virtue, worrying endlessly for the country. In the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign (1382), Empress Ma passed away at the age of 51. After Zhu Yuanzhang’s harem, no empress was established. In his later years, Zhu Yuanzhang began to carry out mass killings, but due to the death of Empress Ma, no one could persuade him anymore.
It is said that ‘women are afraid of marrying the wrong man’, and this sentence also applies to men. Especially men who want to achieve great things are more afraid of marrying the wrong wife. Empress Ma, as a woman, was born in troubled times and had courage and insight. Not only did he help his husband achieve great success in difficult adversity; In times of great wealth and prosperity, one should not be extravagant or arrogant, not forget the hardships of the people, not change their diligent and frugal nature, and use their words and deeds to persuade and influence their husband, to be a virtuous wife and help her husband consolidate his great cause.
