(Chapter 1) Immigration: Eight Legends Related to Zhu Yuanzhang

Immigration: Eight Legends Related to Zhu Yuanzhang

According to historical records, the initiator and organizer of the Great Migration of the Ming Dynasty was the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, known as Ming Taizu in history and Hongwu in country name, and Hongwu in folk name.

Emperor Hongwu was born in the early morning of August in the first year of Yuan Tianshun (1328). He was born in Guzhuang Village, zhongmou county, Bozhou, Henan (now Fengyang, Anhui). His father's name is Zhu, his mother's name is Chen, and his ancestors were tenants who rented other people's land. They are poor and illiterate. His father named the emperor Zhu Hong Wu Chongba after his date of birth.

Emperor Hongwu herded cattle for the "landlord" from an early age. At the age of sixteen, a plague spread in Fengyang, and his parents and brothers were not spared. Emperor Hongwu became an orphan. Introduced by her neighbor Aunt Wang, she became a monk in the temple and became a young monk. 1352, during the peasant uprising at the end of Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Hongwu defected to the Red Scarf Army, and Guo changed his name to Zhu Yuanzhang, and gradually gained his own armed forces and became the main leader against the rule of Yuan Dynasty. 1368 overthrew the rule of the yuan dynasty, established Nanjing as its capital, and then unified the whole country in a few years.

After Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, due to the long-term war, the population decreased, the fields were barren and the economy was seriously damaged. He took "self-cultivation life" as the basic policy, formulated the policy of resettlement, carried out ten official immigrants under the big locust tree in Mayi County and Hongdong County of Shuozhou, and formulated the immigration law: one for four, two for six and three for eight, which enabled the economy in the northern part of the Central Plains to recover and develop rapidly. His immigration policy was still implemented during the period of his son (Ming Chengzu) and grandson (Ming Chengzu Wen Jian), which was an important reason for the rapid economic development in the Ming Dynasty.

Why did Zhu Yuanzhang immigrate from Shanxi?

Legend has it that Zhu Yuanzhang was a monk before he started his army. He followed his master to Shanxi for alms, and was very envious when he saw that Shanxi was rich and the people were safe. So when I got up, I first thought that Shanxi was a reliable rear area with good place and dangerous terrain, so I sent troops to fight. At that time, it was the world where Yuan expanded the popularity of Auricularia auricula (nickname). Wang Baobao and his son are strong and surrounded by mountains, so it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Zhu Yuanzhang sent his troops to attack many times, but he couldn't attack. As a result, he was prejudiced against Shanxi. When he became emperor, he was afraid that Shanxi people would not support him and something would happen. When he immigrated, he moved Shanxi people to other provinces to keep his popularity for thousands of years. This legend, to some extent, reflects the real situation of history. When Shanxi was in troubled times at the end of Yuan Dynasty, due to geographical reasons, it was less affected, relatively rich and had a large population. It is also reasonable for the Ming government to make immigration policy and take Shanxi as the first choice.

In Hongdong, there is a legend that the Ming emperor cheated immigrants.

People all know that there is a big pagoda tree in Hongdong. According to legend, immigrants travel from here to all directions. The government set up a bureau there, stationed personnel, concentrated immigrants, arranged teams and sent them to Sichuan according to photos. The old locust tree died, and now people see its "grandson": the third generation locust tree. No one refused to leave his hometown after Ming Chengzu ordered the relocation. At this time, the government posted a notice: "If you don't want to move, you must go under the big locust tree within three days. Those who want to move can wait at home. Those who fail to come within the time limit are regarded as willing to migrate. " As soon as the notice was posted, people came from all directions, and hundreds of thousands of people came down from the big locust trees in northern Shanxi, southern Shanxi and southeastern Shanxi.

Suddenly, the officers and men surrounded people under the big locust tree. An official announced: Emperor Daming ordered that anyone who came under the locust tree should be removed. This order is shocking! People woke up: we were cheated by the government. People cry and scold, but it doesn't help. The officers and men forced people to register and drove people to the road of migration. It is difficult for a poor family to give up and leave their hometown. It was a painful process for immigrants to leave their homes in the Ming Dynasty. Such a legend expresses the resentment of immigrants towards the Ming government. Wu Han said in Zhu Yuanzhang's Biography: "When the relocation order was issued, people's resentment boiled, but the speed was shocking. If you are afraid, you will be warned, and if you are threatened, you will be punished. " Whipping is the punishment for cutting off the nose.

The origin of "the head of the boundary" and "the head of the guard"

The Ming government forced immigrants, and the officers and men tied them up to prevent them from escaping. Binding two arms is called big binding, and binding one arm is called small binding. Not only that, but also afraid that they would escape with ropes, they tied the bound people together with ropes and escorted them to the road. Many people are connected. If they want to move, they will stop. If a person wants to move, many people will be involved, and no one can escape. For officers and men, it is natural to save trouble, that is, to suffer from bound immigrants, and the most troublesome thing is to urinate. Make it clear. It's a long story. For example, if a person wants to defecate, first report: Please stop, please untie my hand. I want to shit. The number of people and the number of times the rope was untied made the officers and men feel trouble. Then there were only a few words left: I want to untie my hand The listener didn't understand the meaning of this sentence until he calmed down. This sentence has become an idiom, and relieving oneself is synonymous with defecation.

As for carrying hands, because the hands of immigrants are tied behind their backs, they can't move. This kind of walking posture has been fixed and has become people's personal habit. It is still preserved in the immigrant area, especially when going uphill. It is very comfortable to put your hands behind your back. This legend has great credibility. Relocation is mandatory, and officers and men will naturally take measures. Vocabulary in this language is a reflection of historical twists and turns.

The legend of the little toe complex.

There is a couplet in the middle gate of ancestor worship garden in Hongtong County:

Where is the stork's nest,

Sit down and talk about your feelings.

This couplet says that the little toes of all descendants of Sophora japonica are complicated. In other words: the little toe is divided into two petals. There is a legend here. When the Ming Dynasty immigrated, people missed their homeland, didn't want to leave, and often ran away. The officers and men thought of a way to make the immigrants take off their shoes and socks and cut a knife on each little toe. On the one hand, their feet were injured, and the immigrants could not escape quickly. On the other hand, even if you run away, when the officers and men catch you, they just need to look at their little toes to know if they are immigrants. This tiny physiological feature, linked with the history of blood and tears of immigrants, has actually been passed down. Now as long as you have a little toe complex, people will say that you are the offspring of immigrants. Knife wounds can be inherited, which is naturally unscientific. This story is about the migration of Sophora japonica, and the memory of the savage immigration policy of the Ming Dynasty shows that they are obsessed with their hometown and fundamental spirit.

The origin of playing with pot cows.

It is said that at the beginning of immigration, there were five brothers and a family named Niu. When they left, the two brothers reluctantly broke an iron pot and divided it into five pieces, each of which took one piece as a symbol recognized by later generations, so they called it a pot cow. Now people surnamed Niu always ask when they meet: Do you want to hit the pot? If you say you are a pot, there is no doubt that you are a family. There is also a legend that the family named Niu has seven sons and one daughter, and the family is poor and can't get married, so they have to emigrate and find another way out. When I left, I took a bite of the pot and divided it into eight parts, one for each of my seven sons and one for the daughter who married the Zhang family. Father Niu said: as long as the iron pot is there, it is a family. Because of this statement, Zhang Heniu's relatives also recognized the iron pot. The legend of beating a pot cow is a legend of beating a pot to recognize relatives, which is similar to that of iron pot sinking and copper pot sinking, and reflects the family concept of immigrants.

The legend of homesick birds.

This legend is not long, it was 199 1 years ago. The Hongdong County Party Committee and the county government are going to organize the first "Roots Seeking and Ancestor Worship" Festival. At the end of March, in Hongtong County, it was still in full bloom. On the afternoon of 3 1, the staff of Zuting were busy with the opening ceremony of the garden the next day. Near evening, tens of thousands of gray birds suddenly flew over the ancestral home garden. They gathered around the pagoda tree and stood on hundreds of branches and treetops. There are also such birds on the roof of the house, chirping. People were shocked at once! No matter ordinary people or scholars and experts, they don't know where these birds come from, what their names are and what kind they are. But people agree that it was the soul of the ancestors who immigrated hundreds of years ago and turned into a bird to visit relatives in his hometown.

Whether the legend is true or not, after that year, this bird will fly at the beginning of April every year, flying around 10. Strangely, there was no plan for the festival of "seeking roots to worship ancestors" one year, but the bird came anyway, not flying to the ancestral hall, but flying straight to the courtyard of Hongtong County Committee, as if to demonstrate and protest. Another year, the local government began to build an ancestral temple covering an area of 300 mu, and all the birds flew here. The local people said, "Even the birds have come to celebrate the opening of the ancestral temple."

This legend is somewhat magical, indicating that the ancestors of immigrants have been attached to their homeland for hundreds of years. Even if it doesn't come back in the world, the soul will turn into a bird to visit, which reflects the complex that Shanxi people can't leave their homeland.

Legend of four surnames in the same clan.

In Yongcheng County, Henan Province, Cui, Xie, Zhang and Chen belong to the same family tree. According to legend, when the Ming Dynasty immigrated, his surname was Cui and he had four sons. According to the regulations, a brother cannot move to the same village. So they changed their surnames to Cui, Xie, Zhang and Chen, and arranged to go to a village. This legend was still circulated in this village during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty. The genealogy is recorded, and so is the stone tablet. It stands to reason that this kind of thing with different surnames can be confirmed in many genealogies. There are also folk proverbs, such as:

Hui, Zhai and Chang, a mother.

Yao, Liang, Chen, a family.

Chong, Liu, Gu, a big family.

These stories reflect the vigilance of the feudal government to the people, and show that it is impossible to cut off the blood ties of family ties.

The legend that the pagoda tree blocks the crowd.

On the memorial archway of the pagoda tree ancestral hall, there are four words: Shade all. Speaking of these four words, there is another legend. After the Revolution of 1911, Yuan Shikai sent warlord Lu Yongxiang to Shanxi on 19 13 to wipe out the revolutionary forces, and went south from Taiyuan, burning and looting along the way. After Huang Zhang, a native of Zhaocheng, arrived in Zhao Cheng (1954), he was ordered to retaliate against Lu Zhongqi, the governor of Shanxi, which made it even worse in Zhao Cheng. "There is no city in the city, no smoke in the neighborhood, no doors and windows in every family, no traces of boxes, no end to lids, and no whole wall for books and paintings." When the army pounced on Hong Tong, Lu Yongxiang publicly announced that he would not call the roll for half a day and let the soldiers run amok. When lujun walked to the locust tree in Hongtong County, he stopped and bowed to the tree. Because lujun is a native of Henan, Hebei and Shandong, the thought of his return to his hometown made him feel pity. He didn't rob the people, but sacrificed what he robbed here, and copper coins were hung on the trees one by one. Lu Yongxiang is very helpless.

People say that it is not the big locust tree that covers social life, but the kind of home represented by the big locust tree, which makes people from all directions feel at home as long as they come under the big locust tree.