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History culture
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Date:2020-07-30 15:51:37  Source:  Author:

Stories
Zhu Yuanzhang Bowed to the Tomb
Zhu Yuanzhang's family was very poor when he was young. His family changed the places of residence again and again, making it difficult for him to know the exact burial place of the three generations of ancestors. Therefore, it took quite a lot of trouble to find the location of the ancestral tomb. According to documentary records, Zhu Yuanzhang was told at the beginning that Zhu's ancestors came from Zhujiaxiang. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered to build Long Live Mountain in Zhujiaxiang and paid his tribute in person. However, the newly built Long Live Mountain was "split into deep streams" in an instant after his worship. Zhu Yuanzhang severely punished the person, believing that Zhuajiaxiang was not the place where his ancestors lived. Later, Zhu Yuanzhang recalled that Xiaoqin Princess (Zhu Yuanzhang's second sister) once said that his grandfather's grave was in the area of Old Lingzui in Sizhou, without knowing the exact location. Therefore, at that time, we could only "pay tribute to the Xicheng River and send officials to offer sacrifices at the end of each year". In fact, this kind of sacrificial ceremony is just "remote sacrifices".
Zhu Guixian's Picture
Zhu Gui, a fellow of Zhu Yuanzhang's family, followed Zhu Yuanzhang as the general command of Long Xiang Wei. When he returned to his hometown of Sizhou in his old age, he took the initiative to find the ancestral tomb. After years of endeavor,  Zhu Gui not only investigated the genealogy of Zhu Yuanzhang's ancestors, but also found out the exact burial location of his grandfather. Therefore, he told Zhu Yuanzhang these details one by one, and drew pictures to show Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather's residence and burial place. Besides, he also told the "miraculous" legend about his grandparents' burial. Only in this way did Zhu Yuanzhang know that his grandparents were buried in Yangjiadun, north of Sizhou City. So the crown prince Zhubiao was ordered to lead the officials to build the Zuling. The Tomb system of Zuling is imitated from the Imperial Tomb, with three tombs: Tucheng, Brick City and Imperial City. There are tombs, main halls, side halls and other buildings. The setting of the stone statue also imitates the imperial Tomb, only without the stone animals of sheep and tiger.
 
The legend of dead branches sprouting
Yangjiadun is in the north of Sizhou City. There is a cave under the pier, which is warm in winter and cool in summer, an ideal shelter from the wind and rain. One day, Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather Zhu Chuyi was lying inside to rest after work. At this time, two Taoist priests passed by. One of the old Taoist priests pointed to the place where Zhu Chuyi was lying and said, "This is a great treasure for you. If man is buried here after his death, his descendants will become the emperor." The disciple Taoist priest asked, "Why?" The Taoist priest replied, "It is warm here and the Fengshui is excellent. If you don't believe it, you can bring dead branches and plant them here, there will grow leaves in ten days." As the saying goes, the wall has ear sometimes. Zhu Chuyi heard what the Taoist priests said. At this time, the old Taoist priest suddenly found Zhu Chuyi lying in the earth nest. So he came forward and asked, "Did you hear what we said just now?" Zhu Chuyi pretended to be deaf, waving with his hand and shaking his head, indicating that he didn't hear anything. Therefore, the disciple Taoist priest planted a dead branch there and left. Zhu Chuyi always remembered what the Taoist priests said and waited day by day for dead branches to grow fresh leaves. Nine days passed, and the dead branch was indeed sprouting again. Zhu Chuyi was very glad, but he didn't want others to know that this land of geomantic omen, so he pulled out the dead branches that grew leaves and inserted another dead branch.
On the 10th day, the two Taoist priests came to the cave again. The disciple found that the dead branches were still dead without any leaves, so he was confused and asked, "Why are there no leaves?" The old Taoist priest saw the footprints on the ground, pointed to Zhu Chuyi and said, "It must be pulled out by this man." Zhu Chuyi finally admitted it. The Taoist priest said, "God blessed you. If you are buried here after your death, your family will surely have an emperor." Zhu Chuyi kowtowed repeatedly to offer his thanks. The two Taoist priests then leave. Six months later, Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather died and was buried there. During the burial, a surprising thing happened: the surrounding soil turned into the shape of a tomb automatically. This Yangjiadun has three meters in radius, and can still be found. This is the Mingzuling later. After Zhu Chuyi's death, his daughter-in-law, Zhu Wusi's wife, was pregnant. At that time, the counsellor of the Yuan Dynasty observed the sky at night and found that there were purple stars shining over Xuyi in Sizhou. Fearing that the "real dragon emperor" would over-seize the world of the Yuan Dynasty, he ordered to kill all the pregnant women in the area of Xuyi in Sizhou. Zhu Wusi and his wife fled to hide in Taiping (Hongmiao) Township in Xuyi Mountain, where Zhu Yuanzhang was born. He became the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty in the future. He was known as Emperor Taizu (the first Emperor) of the Ming Dynasty and named his period as the years of hongwu.