Historical information about Liu Bowen?

Portrait of Liu Bowen Liu Ji (July 1, 1311 - April 16, 1375) was named Bowen. Posthumously named Wencheng, Han nationality, native of Nantian, Wencheng County, Wenzhou (formerly Qingtian County). He was a military strategist, politician and poet in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. He was well versed in classics, history, astronomy and military art. He is famous all over the world for assisting Zhu Yuanzhang in completing his imperial career, creating the Ming Dynasty, and doing his best to maintain the stability of the country. He is compared to Zhuge Liang by later generations. Zhu Yuanzhang called Liu Ji many times: "My son's wife." Table of Contents [hide] Early life, official career, assistant Zhu Yuanzhang's later life, works, selected poems and famous quotes, the tragic ending of the children of the family - "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty" The legend of Liu Bowen in his early years Life, official career, assisting Zhu Yuanzhang in his later years, selected poems and famous quotes from works, tragic endings of family children - "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty" The legend of Liu Bowen

[Edit this paragraph] Early life Liu Bowen was extremely intelligent and gifted since childhood. Extremely high. Under the influence of his family, he has been eager to learn and think deeply since he was a child, and he likes reading. He is very familiar with Confucian classics and the books of various schools of thought. In particular, he devoted himself to studying astronomy, geography, art of war, and arithmetic, and gained considerable experience. He has a very good memory. He can read ten lines at a glance and remember them forever. Moreover, the writing style is wonderful and the articles written are extraordinary. When he was 14 years old, he entered Chuzhou County to study "Spring and Autumn". At the age of 17, he studied Song and Ming Neo-Confucianism under Zheng Fuchu, a famous scholar in Chuzhou. At the same time, he actively prepared for the imperial examination. With his natural talent and hard work, the young Liu Bowen quickly stood out in the local area and became a great talent and celebrity in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. He began to attract the attention of the world. His teacher Zheng Fuchu once said to Liu Bowen's grandfather: "In the future, this child will definitely bring glory to your family and revitalize the Liu family!" When Zhao Tianze, a famous scholar in Xishu, evaluated the people in Jiangzuo, he ranked Liu Bowen first and compared him with Zhuge Kongming compared Liu Bowen to Liu Bowen and said that he would definitely become a great helper in the future. Liu Bowen is indeed an outstanding person. He passed the Jinshi examination in the first year of Yuantong (1339) and entered the official career, beginning his wonderful performance on the stage of Chinese history. [Edit this paragraph] Official career Statue of Liu Bowen in front of Liu Bowen Temple Initially, Liu Bowen hoped to serve the Yuan Dynasty government and realize his lofty ambitions by becoming an official. Soon after he became a Jinshi, he was appointed as the magistrate of Gao'an County, Jiangxi Province, and later as the capital of the Marshal's Mansion. However, his suggestions were often not adopted by the court, and his talents were suppressed by the court. Liu Bowen was so disappointed that he resigned angrily three times and returned to his hometown of Qingtian to live in seclusion. During Liu Bowen's seclusion in Qingtian, he devoted himself to writing. He summarized his thoughts and views on society and life, and wrote the famous book "Yu Ion". At this time, the situation across the country has undergone fundamental changes. Anti-Yuan uprisings were raging across the country, and the rule of the Yuan Dynasty was on the verge of collapse, but the various anti-Yuan rebel armies were arguing with each other and refused to give in. Liu Bowen quietly observed the situation in the world, and after some analysis, he believed that among the many rebel armies, Ming Taizu, who was born as a commoner, had the most aura of a real dragon and emperor. The Red Scarf Army led by him was the team that overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and established a new country. . [Edit this paragraph] Assist Zhu Yuanzhang Zhu Yuanzhang In 1360 AD, the rebel commander Ming Taizu sent two invitations to Liu Bowen who was living in seclusion in Qingtian. After careful consideration, Liu Bowen finally decided to come out to assist Ming Taizu, hoping to achieve his own success in governing the country by helping the Zhu family conquer the country. The grand ambition of the world. Similar to Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong Dui", Liu Bowen proposed the "Eighteen Strategies for Current Affairs" when he met Zhu for the first time. When Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty saw Liu Bowen, he was even more overjoyed. From then on, he regarded Liu Bowen as his confidant and military advisor.

After Liu Bowen came out of the mountain, he served the Zhu regime loyally and actively advised Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. He formulated the strategic policy for the Zhu family to "destroy Chen Youliang first, then Zhang Shicheng, and then move north to the Central Plains to unify the world." And Ming Taizu was assisted by Liu Bowen, which was even more powerful. He basically acted in accordance with the strategies and tactics Liu Bowen had set for him. He first used a trick to lure the enemy to defeat Chen Youliang and weaken his spirit. Then in 1363 AD, he fought a decisive battle with the Chen family at Poyang Lake and completely eliminated his power. The next year, Zhang Shicheng's forces were eliminated according to the plan. Then, Taizu of the Ming Dynasty sent troops north to attack Beijing, the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, and at the same time prepared to proclaim himself emperor in the south.

In 1368 AD, Ming Taizu ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing, formally establishing the Ming Dynasty and changing the Yuan Dynasty to "Hongwu". Liu Ji, who made great contributions to the Zhu family's final efforts to pacify the world and create the Zhu Ming Dynasty, was appointed as one of the founding fathers, Yushi Zhongcheng and Taishi Ling. In recognition of Liu Bowen's special contribution and great meritorious service, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty also issued an edict to exempt Liu Bowen from paying taxes in Qingtian County, his hometown. This is the only county in Chuzhou that does not increase taxes. Soon after, Liu Bowen's grandfather and father were posthumously granted the title of Duke of Yongxi County.

In the third year of Hongwu (1370), Liu Bowen was appointed as a bachelor of Hongwen Hall. He was awarded the title of "the founder of Yiyun, a righteous minister, a good scholar, a good doctor, and a protector of the army". He was granted the title of Uncle Chengyi and a salary of 241 stones. At this point, Liu Bowen's own career and the development of the Liu family in Qingtian were at their peak, reaching their most glorious heyday. [Edit this paragraph] Later life As a generation of military advisors and wise men, Liu Bowen knew things like a god. He knew very well that he usually hated evil as much as his enemies, and had offended many colleagues and dignitaries. At the same time, he also knew well the principle of "accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger". Therefore, after he became famous, he resolutely chose to retire. In the fourth year of Hongwu (1371), he voluntarily resigned from all positions, retired to his hometown, and lived in seclusion in Qingtian.

Liu Bowen lived in seclusion for two years in Qingtian, originally hoping to stay away from the worldly struggle for right and wrong. However, his wisdom and talent were too high, and his reputation was so great that he was even exaggerated by the people into a living god-like figure. This could not avoid the jealousy of political opponents and the suspicion of the emperor. In the sixth year of Hongwu (1373), Liu Bowen's political enemy Hu Weiyong became the Prime Minister of the Left, and instigated others to falsely accuse Liu Bowen, saying that he wanted to occupy a "kingly" land called "Ming Yang" as his own tomb, and had evil intentions. Ming Taizu, who had long been worried about Liu Bowen, deprived Liu Bowen of his title after hearing the false accusation. Liu Bowen was very frightened, so he went to Nanjing in person to apologize to Ming Taizu, and stayed in Nanjing and did not dare to come back. Later, Hu Weiyong was promoted to Prime Minister You. Hu Weiyong is the most treacherous minister in the world, comparable to Qin Hui. Liu Bowen became even more worried and finally fell ill.

In the eighth year of Hongwu (1375), although Liu Ji was not good at business, he still participated in the morning court on New Year's Day like all officials in Beijing, and then composed a song "Yimao Sui Morning Court" in Fengtian Hall. Although this is a social text that praises merit and virtue, Liu Ji's mood can still be seen in the poem. In the middle of the first month of the first month, Song Lian's protégé Liu Gang came to Liu Ji's residence and asked Liu Bowen to select the best parts of Song Lian's more than one hundred volumes of works and compile them into a book for easy reading. Liu Ji was also asked to write a preface for the new book. He agreed without hesitation. In the late first month of the first month, Liu Ji was infected with wind and cold. After Zhu Yuanzhang found out, he sent Hu Weiyong and the imperial doctor to visit him. The imperial doctor prescribed medicine, and he took the medicine as ordered, decoction it, and felt as if there were some uneven stones squeezing together in his stomach, which caused him great pain.

In mid-February, Liu Ji went to see Zhu Yuanzhang due to illness, and tactfully reported to him that Hu Weiyong brought the imperial doctor to visit him, and that he became even more unwell after taking the medicine prescribed by the imperial doctor. After Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he just said some comforting words in an understatement, asking him to relax and recuperate, which made Liu Ji quite chilled. In late March, Liu Bowen, who could no longer move freely, was accompanied by Liu Lian and escorted by Zhu Yuanzhang's special personnel, and returned home from the capital. After returning home, he refused all the medicine and stones found for him by his relatives and villagers, and just maintained a normal diet as much as possible.

A few days later, Liu Ji knew that his days were numbered, so he found his two sons to explain the funeral arrangements. After explaining the funeral affairs, he asked Liu Lian to bring an astronomical book from the study and said to him: "After I die, you must present this book to the emperor immediately without any delay; from now on, don't let our Liu family's Children and grandchildren should learn this knowledge." He also said to his second son Liu Jing: "The key to government is to balance leniency and toughness. What the court must do most now is for those in office to cultivate morality as much as possible, and the law should be as simple as possible. . If those in power can lead by example and influence the masses with morality, the effect will be better than punishment, and the impact will be far-reaching. Once subordinates or people make mistakes, they will be able to put themselves in the other person's shoes with a kind heart and make decisions. Punishment must be able to achieve the purpose of serving people fairly and alerting people to reform; and if the law can be as simple as possible and easy for people to understand and abide by, it can prevent people from being easily blamed and at a loss what to do, and it can also build the credibility of the government and the excellence of benevolence. Image, in this way, God will bless me with eternal life." He continued: "Originally, I wanted to write a detailed suicide note to contribute my last thoughts and learnings to the emperor, but Hu Weiyong is still there. It is in vain to write this. However, when Hu Weiyong is defeated, the emperor will definitely think of me and ask you about my last words. Then you can secretly report these words to the emperor." Finally, he died on April 16th! He died in his hometown at the age of sixty-five. In June, he was buried in Xiashan, Wuyang, Qingtian.

In the eighth year of Wuzong Zhengde's reign (1513), the imperial court gave him the title of Grand Master, with the posthumous title Wencheng, so later generations also called him Liu Wencheng. Wencheng County is a new county established in 1948, and its name is in memory of Liu Ji. . In the 10th year of Emperor Shizong's Jiajing reign (1531), due to the advice of Li Yu, a doctor in the Ministry of Punishment, the imperial court once again discussed Liu Ji's achievements and decided that Liu Bowen should be worthy of enjoying the Ancestral Temple like Xu Da and other founding heroes.

It is said that before his death, Liu Bowen predicted that Hu Weiyong would be defeated and that Ming Taizu would vindicate Zhaoxue for himself. He also left a secret memorandum to his son, asking him to remember him when Ming Taizu remembered him in the future. Play again. Five years later, Hu Weiyong fell. Another 10 years later, Liu Bowen was indeed rehabilitated. Taizu of the Ming Dynasty also gave the Liu family a golden book and iron certificate, by which special members of the Liu family could be exempted from death penalty. [Edit this paragraph] Works Liu Ji is a famous politician, thinker and writer in Chinese history. He has profound attainments in politics, military, astronomy, geography, literature, etc., and is the author of "Yu Li", "Fu Pou Collection", "Sentiment Collection", "Li Mei Gong Collection", and "Spring and Autumn Ming Jing" , Yu Li's "One Hundred Battles", "Eighteen Strategies for Current Affairs", "Fire Dragon Artifact Formation", "Drip Tianmui", etc.

Among them, Yu Li, Yu, has the appearance of literary talent; Li, one of the Eight Diagrams, represents fire; Yu Li means civilization. It is said that if future generations in the world use these words, they will be able to achieve the goal of civilization. rule. "Yu Ion" is Liu Bowen's nickname. When Liu wrote "Yu Ion", it was when he was 47-50 years old and at the peak of his life. In the previous half of his life, he was depressed and unable to realize his ambitions. Later, he was deprived of his ambitions. After losing military power, he abandoned his official position and retired to his hometown of Qingtian Mountains, where he wrote "Yu Li" out of anger. Not long after the book was written, he left home and became Zhu Yuanzhang's trusted advisor, assisting Zhu Yuanzhang in establishing a unified Ming Dynasty.

"Yu Ion" not only reflects Liu Bowen's ideas of governing the country and bringing peace to the people as a politician, but also reflects his view of talents, philosophical thoughts, economic thoughts, literary achievements, moral conduct and profound knowledge. In the process of writing "Yu Ion", Liu Bowen's entire ideological system, especially his views and opinions on social and political aspects, became more mature and systematic.

In addition, there are many folk novels related to Liu Bowen. Among them, some said that he often went on patrol incognito to observe the people's sentiments. It is also said that he was good at divination and wrote "Song of Shaobing", which hinted to Zhu Yuanzhang what would happen after the Ming Dynasty, or even hundreds of years after the death of the Ming Dynasty. However, since Liu Bowen passed away as early as the eighth year of Hongwu, the authenticity of these stories and prophecies is doubtful.

The "Short Biography of Poetry Collection of Dynasties" commented: "A glimpse of the songs and poems he wrote reveals sadness and decline, and they are different one after another. His deep feelings are beyond the description of the national historian. Those who do it will be hurt every time.

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