Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, was the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty. Looking at his history, perhaps the most shocking thing is that he devoted all his efforts to building the Forbidden City in Beijing. No one has ever devoted so much energy to the construction of the palace as he did, spending more than ten years and countless money to build the city. It is said that during this period, it took nearly 20,000 people to transport the stones needed for a single palace from the suburbs of Beijing within a month, and the material preparation process for the entire project lasted eleven years. It can be said that Zhu Di devoted all his efforts to building this palace, which is somewhat strange.
Speaking of the reason, the most intuitive point of view is that Beijing is Zhu Di’s fiefdom. It’s better to live more comfortably in your own territory, right? Zhu Di was originally named King of Yan, and Beijing was the core area under the jurisdiction of King Yan. Before Zhu Di became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, his scope of power was mostly concentrated in the north. Zhu Di was involved in managing various military affairs and civil affairs in the north. Over the years, Zhu Di has established a strong influence in the north, especially in areas centered on Beijing. It can be said that Beijing is Zhu Di's hometown, and it is common sense to build a magnificent palace in his hometown. Just like when Qin Shihuang built Afang Palace for himself in Guanzhong, it is roughly similar.
Let’s take a look at the time when Zhu Di built the Forbidden City in Beijing. Zhu Di had already taken control of Nanjing, but the unrest inside and outside the imperial court still did not diminish. The Forbidden City in Beijing was built not only to facilitate the relocation of the capital, but also to get rid of the influence of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen. Use the capital move to completely clean up the court inside and outside, allowing those who were loyal to the "late emperor" to stay in Nanjing, and move the new generation of the court to a brand new palace.
Another view is that Zhu Di strengthened the city defenses out of fear of instability. In order to compete for the throne, Zhu Di had a falling out with his nephew Emperor Jianwen. This difference in seniority made Zhu Di feel extremely ashamed. During the battle in Nanjing, Emperor Jianwen fell into a sea of ??fire and disappeared. This also made Zhu Di feel uneasy, so some people speculated that Zhu Di devoted all his efforts to repairing the Forbidden City in order to strengthen his own defenses and relieve his worries. And the layer-by-layer structure of the Forbidden City seems to confirm this. However, the Forbidden City in Nanjing was still used as a template when building the Forbidden City. Now it seems that there may be another article. The choice of this template is also worth pondering. What do readers think of this?
In addition, Beijing as the capital was not limited to the Ming Dynasty. Beijing served as the capital during the Yuan Dynasty, and its Feng Shui location is better. It is close to Yanshan Mountain in the north, and close to the sea in the southeast, with the Bohai Sea in the distance. It has dragon veins and water veins, making it suitable for building a capital city. Ming Chengzu also seemed to want to seize this strategic position, the chokepoint. Building the capital city more firmly will at least be conducive to one's rule in terms of feng shui. Analyzing Beijing's geographical location alone, this Feng Shui location advantage is enough for an emperor to put in such effort. In addition, the slogan of the emperor guarding the country is perfect. Since you are moving, it is normal to build a new home.
Zhu Di is a person who tends to be perfect in character and can look at the overall pattern. Needless to say, he was able to coordinate the development of the Ming Dynasty's undertakings during his reign. The matter of compiling the "Yongle Dadian" shows that he has an extremely grand heart. "Yongle Dadian" is a great collection of Chinese classics, which collects a large number of literature works. This project is huge, and from a book compilation perspective, its integration may exceed that of any previous period in history. The editor of "Yongle Dadian" reflects Zhu Di's pursuit of perfection from one aspect. The strict regulations of the Forbidden City in Beijing also show that he has such character traits. It is probably human nature to go all out to build palaces.
Although there are various opinions on why Zhu Di devoted all his efforts to build it, there are only two aspects that are most credible. First, Beijing is a place with a good location and enough charm that it is worthy of building a luxurious palace here; second, Zhu Di's own values, he hopes that his hometown can be more glorious, just like some people currently want to buy a villa. , spending huge sums of money to renovate it.