Lü Jinglin was just saying about Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Hongwu Dynasty

Author: Lü Jinglin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-10-01
Features: CCTV's annual blockbuster drama "The Legend of the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang" is currently in hot pursuit. Ming history expert Lü Jinglin is discussing Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang, the most authoritative interpretation of Zhu Yuanzhang to date. Power and strategy, the officialdom and people's livelihood, family bonds and legal principles, conscience and cruelty—what made Zhu Yuanzhang, and how did he establish the Ming Dynasty, which lasted for 277 years? Was Zhu Yuanzhang a petty and treacherous villain or a humble and magnanimous gentleman? Why did he go to great lengths to eliminate Li Shanchang, Xu Da, and Liu Bowen—these loyal ministers who helped him build the empire—by putting them to death? Was he an ordinary mortal with strong desires or a sage free from worldly passions? Why did he vacillate at times yet make decisive, earth-shattering decisions at others? Why did he adore and mourn Ma Dajiao on one hand, yet indulge in the comforts of the imperial harem on the other, even taking the unmarried wives of court officials for himself? Why was he both humble and arrogant, both incorruptible to the extreme and extravagant to the point of having his favorite concubines die with him in his funeral? Legends abound, unofficial histories are plentiful, and Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang, amidst conflicting accounts, seems like a flower seen through mist and a moon gazed upon in water. "Lü Jinglin Discusses Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang" helps you clear away the dust of history and reveal the most authentic Zhu Yuanzhang. Was Zhu Yuanzhang a petty and treacherous villain or a humble and magnanimous gentleman? Why did he go to great lengths to eliminate Li Shanchang, Xu Da, and Liu Bowen—these loyal ministers who helped him build the empire—by putting them to death? Was he an ordinary mortal with strong desires or a sage free from worldly passions? Why did he vacillate at times yet make decisive, earth-shattering decisions at others? Why did he adore and mourn Ma Dajiao on one hand, yet indulge in the comforts of the imperial harem on the other, even taking the unmarried wives of court officials for himself? Why was he both humble and arrogant, both incorruptible to the extreme and extravagant to the point of having his favorite concubines die with him in his funeral? Legends abound, unofficial histories are plentiful, and Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang, amidst conflicting accounts, seems like a flower seen through mist and a moon gazed upon in water. "Lü Jinglin Discusses Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang" helps you clear away the dust of history and reveal the most authentic Zhu Yuanzhang.