Legendary and absurd three prosperous times of Ming Dynasty

Although the Ming Dynasty is a dynasty full of too many legends and absurdities, such as Zhu Yunwen, a Ming Taizu whose life and death are unknown, and Zhu Gaochi, an emperor who died strangely, etc., all kinds of absurdities and legends still make people wonder why the rule of this dynasty lasted for nearly 300 years. However, in such a legendary and absurd dynasty, there were three prosperous times. Even the Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty gave Zhu Yuanzhang this Ming Taizu. "Who can say that it is success or failure to rule the Tang and Song Dynasties? It was cleaned up after the Yuan Dynasty and ruled by politics and morality for 600 years. " Evaluation.

First, the rule of Hongwu.

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, created the first prosperous period of the Ming Dynasty-the rule of Hongwu, and the implementation of Hongwu was not only of great significance to the Ming Dynasty, but also played an important role in promoting the whole ancient history.

China has been based on agriculture since ancient times. Agriculture is the main tax source and farmers are the main targets of exploitation. Recognizing this, Zhu Yuanzhang regarded the resumption of production development as an important means to stabilize the people's hearts and consolidate the rule.

1. Migrate to enrich the people and suppress the mighty.

This measure started at 1367. From his personal experience as a teenager, Zhu Yuanzhang knew the dangers of being rich and powerful, enriching the people and deceiving the people. So in the process of establishing political power, he appeased the rich in exchange for their economic support. On the other hand, it suppressed some powerful people who did evil in the village, so that the poor could live and work in peace and contentment without making mistakes. For example, in the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu (139 1), 5,300 families migrated to the world to enrich the people and moved to Yingtian "Strong Capital". As soon as these warriors and rich people moved out of their native land, they lost their original social status, and the exploitation of local poor farmers also decreased.

2. Reward reclamation and resettlement of wasteland

Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that all the wasteland reclaimed by the citizens of all counties and counties, with or without the original owners, should be owned by the cultivators as a permanent undertaking. In the third year of Hongwu (1370), because most fields in the Central Plains were barren, Zhu Yuanzhang set up an agriculture department in Henan to take charge of reclamation. In order to reward reclamation, he also instructed local officials to distribute cattle and seeds, so that refugees could settle down and have the conditions to engage in agricultural production.

Zhu Yuanzhang also carried out the measures of reclaiming farmland, so that farmers in areas with more land and less land could get enough land. From the fourth year of Hongwu (137 1) to the twenty-first year of Hongwu (1388), * * * moved more than 68,600 households and cultivated fields in various idle areas. By the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu (139 1), there were more than 3.87 million hectares of land owned by the government and the people. More than 32 million stones such as rice, wheat, beans and millet can be harvested every year.

3. frivolous taxation and water conservancy.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the summer tax and autumn grain in the newly attached areas were exempted for many times. For the disaster-stricken areas, it is also related to the "land of prospering the king", supporting the war and giving preferential duty-free grain many times. As early as the 18th year of Zheng Zheng (1358), Zhu Yuanzhang sent Kang Maocai, the marshal of the water army, as a water camp ambassador, specializing in irrigation and water conservancy. And ordered local officials, all belong to the people's water conservancy, must immediately go to war.

In the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu (1394), Zhu Yuanzhang specially instructed the Ministry of Industry to repair all weirs in Beitang Lake that can store water and prevent drought. These measures have created favorable conditions for developing and improving agricultural production.

4. Encourage the cultivation of cash crops.

In the first year of Hongwu (1368), Zhu Yuanzhang issued a decree to force the planting of cotton and linen, and at the same time vigorously promoted the planting of other cash crops. The extensive planting of cash crops, on the one hand, provides raw materials for handicraft production and promotes the development of handicraft industry; On the other hand, the increase of farmers' income and purchasing power has stimulated the prosperity of the commercial market. It can be said that Ming Taizu's recuperation policy played a decisive role in the social and economic recovery and development in the early Ming Dynasty.

In the twenty-six years of Hongwu, the national tax revenue and grain revenue reached more than 32 million stones, which was nearly three times higher than that of Yuan Dynasty120,000 stones. In short, during the Hongwu period, the economy recovered and developed, which is also the embodiment of Ming Taizu's political achievements.

Legally, Zhu Yuanzhang personally formulated the strict Daming Law. This Daming Law has played a very important role in protecting people's property safety and personal safety.

Militarily, the reform of the military power system and the pacification of the northern border caused heavy losses to the Yuan army, and since then it has lost its strength to compete with the Ming Dynasty. Hongwu's rule also made the Ming Dynasty accumulate a lot of wealth.

Second, Yongle Shi Sheng

During the reign of Judy in the Ming Dynasty, he crusaded against Mongolia six times, five of which he personally went. During the eastward expedition to Mongolia, Judy also fought against western countries and defeated Britain, Portugal and other western countries. It is of great practical significance to consolidate the power of border control.

Cheng Zu of the Ming Dynasty was a warrior. He seized the country by force. Later, he was keen on the Northern Expedition and made outstanding achievements all his life. At the same time, he also attaches great importance to civil affairs. In July of the first year of Yongle (1403), Judy asked scholars and scholars to compile a large-scale book which is easy to find and has a wider collection. This is the unprecedented Yongle ceremony. This book is the earliest and most magnificent encyclopedia in the world. The book is classified into different categories, collecting more than 8000 kinds of ancient books from pre-Qin to early Ming Dynasty. Most of the classics and historical subsets, as well as books of Taoists and Buddhist philosophers, have been collected and sorted out in great detail. It was published more than 300 years earlier than the encyclopedia edited by Diderot and D 'Alembert, and its importance to China literature and culture is immeasurable.

From the third year of Yongle in Ming Dynasty (1405) to the sixth year of Xuande (1433), Zheng He was ordered to lead his fleet to the Western Ocean seven times, which was also a great pioneering work for the Chinese nation to go global. In the 21st year of Yongle (1423), foreign missions from 16 countries and 1200 people gathered in Beijing. Zheng He's voyage to the West is a profound contribution to the cultural exchange between the East and the West.

Almost no other flourishing age can be compared with the Yongle flourishing age created by Judy during her reign. He showed that the culture and economy of the Ming Dynasty were more prosperous than before.

Third, benevolent government and publicity.

The rule of Ren Xuan, the last of the three prosperous times in the Ming Dynasty, was also called "Yongxuan Prosperity" by later generations, so the rule of Ren Xuan also had another name, that is, Yongxuan Prosperity. After Judy's death, Prince Zhu Gaochi succeeded to the throne, and at the age of 47, Hongxi was changed to Ming Renzong.

Unfortunately, in May of the first year of Hongxi (1425), Renzong, who had been in office for only 10 months, died of infirmity at the age of 48. In this 10 month, Emperor Renzong of Ming Dynasty "forgave former ministers for his own use" and reused "Sanyang", which became a rare episode of "the world is at peace and there is no political loss in the DPRK" in the Ming Dynasty.

Ming Xuanzong reformed according to Sanyang's proposal. He abolished the disadvantages of Hongwu and Yongle years and implemented benevolent policies.

During the reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty was greatly damaged by the war to March south and north, so the people were ordered to rest, develop their own economy, rectify the military, and ease relations with neighboring countries to stabilize the border defense.

In short, after this series of reforms in the Ren Xuan period, people lived and worked in peace and contentment, people's production and life were guaranteed, and social wealth accumulated rapidly, which was called "making the country rich and envied". This period was the most abundant financial period of the Ming Dynasty, and it was also the heyday of the Ming Dynasty for more than 270 years. After the rule of Wenjing, Zhenguan and Kaiyuan, the famous prosperous situation of "benevolent politics and peace" appeared.

References: the history of Daming