"Zhuge Liang divides the world into three parts, and Liu Bowen dominates the country." Why did Zhu Yuanzhang call him the Bo of Sincerity?
Liu Bowen and Zhuge Liang are both magical figures in folklore who were known for five hundred years before and five hundred years afterward. Compared with Zhuge Liang, Liu Bowen's spirituality is stronger, and Zhuge Liang is not. He can do calculations, but Liu Bowen is a "half-immortal" and full of temperament. His personality as a Feng Shui master is even greater than his job as a "strategist."
The myth of Liu Bowen is mainly due to two people. The first one is Liu Bowen’s big boss Zhu Yuanzhang. The purpose is very simple. Since the half-immortal Liu Bowen chooses to assist me, then I am obviously the chosen one to create Liu Bowen. The true purpose of his divinity is to gain the legitimacy of the world through mythology. The second one is the descendant of Liu Bowen. The reason is very simple. It is to continue to use the reputation of his ancestor Liu Bowen to use the tiger skin as a banner to seek benefits for the descendants of the family.
Among the founding emperors of the past dynasties, Zhu Yuanzhang was the one with the humblest origin. Therefore, he made up more myths and legends to prove that he was the right one than anyone else. He once personally wrote "The Biography of Zhou Dianxian" just to explain that there are so many outstanding and strange people around him. Why? Why does a demigod like Zhou Dian hang around Zhu Yuanzhang? The reason is very simple:
I, Zhu Yuanzhang, am the chosen one. I am destined to conquer the world. When I am the emperor, mortals cannot see the difference in me, but people with immortality can see my golden age. My body, I have the aura of the protagonist, the golden light is so bright that it can blind the eyes of mortals.
Lao Zhu would not let go of someone as talented and famous as Liu Ji, who was also proficient in the lunar calendar. In the third year of Hongwu (1370), Liu Ji was granted the title of Chengyi Bo. Zhu Yuanzhang wrote the "Feng Chengyi Bo Gao" with sincerity and boasted about himself again. He also hinted that Liu Ji was going to sing a double act with himself. He said in it:
I took the army from Jiangzuo and marched to Kuocang. Erji came forward to pay homage to Jinling and said to people: "The number of stars in the sky" It turns out that it is really worth it, and I am willing to devote myself to it. ?
The translation is, why did Liu Ji come to Nanjing to seek refuge with me, Zhu Yuanzhang? It was not because of anything else, but because Liu Ji looked at the sky at night and saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was destined for me. The so-called? Follow me. Those who prosper and go against me will perish. ?Liu Ji has no other way to survive except to seek refuge with me.
Is this the deification of Liu Ji, or the deification of Lao Zhu himself? Liu Ji is a smart man. Of course he knows that Zhu Yuanzhang is talking nonsense, but he cannot jump out and expose it. On the contrary, in order to survive, he must flatter him louder. Liu Ji replied like this:
As for those who look up at the Qianxiang and say something that may prove to be true, this is your majesty given by heaven. Thoughts and considerations are within reach.
The translation is that I, Liu Ji, can indeed see some destiny when I look at the sky at night, but God has entrusted the management of the world to your majesty, which has nothing to do with me. This is your majesty’s good destiny. Sometimes ghosts and gods give way to it. I can predict some things and reveal some destiny. It's just because I'm lucky. I can't always predict accurately.
The implication of Liu Ji is: Lao Zhu, don’t drag me to become a god together, I can’t bear it. You are the person chosen by God, and I am just a mortal loser. Liu Ji is so sensible, and Lao Zhu is naturally very satisfied. It's just that Zhu Yuanzhang officially gave Liu Ji a "half-immortal" character, and the influence was still very huge. Since then, the people have been worshiping and enshrining Liu Ji as a "half-immortal" who can know the world and can communicate with ghosts and gods.
Mr. Liu Ji actually plays Confucianism. He was born as a Jinshi. He doesn’t talk about ghosts and gods, respects ghosts and gods and keeps them at a distance. This is Liu Bowen’s religious view. This government official is a semi-immortal. This situation once made Lao Liu very distressed. In order to avoid further myths about him by future generations after his death and lose his identity as a Confucian master, Liu Ji had already made his last words before his death. He was not allowed to build a temple to offer sacrifices after his death. However, His family didn't agree. The smoke coming out of the Liu family's ancestral grave made such a big shot appear. No matter what, he had to publicize it well, right?
His second son Liu Jing built an ancestral hall for his father in a Taoist temple with a long history in Qingtian County, his hometown, at the cost of donating 115 shi of land rent. The Taoist temple was very grateful to Liu Jing for his generosity, and they repaid him very hard by shaping Liu Ji's true body and conducting large-scale sacrifices. When Liu Ji's grandchildren arrived, they promoted Liu Ji into the temple. The ancestral hall was built in the temple by donating land and renting it. It is said that the incense is quite prosperous.
During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty, the government agreed to expand Liu Ji's ancestral hall into a temple, called Chengyi Bo Liu Gong Temple.
After such a set of operations, Liu Ji, who did not want to be a god but wanted to be a Confucian master, became an important god in his hometown due to the continued mythology of his fans.
This is not over yet. In the ninth year of Zhengde (1514), 139 years after Liu Ji's death, he was raised to a new height. The descendants of the Liu family relied on their extensive connections to transform their ancestors into "Grand Master", with the posthumous title Wencheng. Emperor Zhengde did not hesitate to praise him, saying that Mr. Liu was called Wang Zuo after he studied as the emperor's teacher, was an unparalleled strategist in crossing the river, and was the first civil servant in the founding of the country.
Although Liu Ji was forcibly mythologized by Zhu Yuanzhang, it does not mean that Liu Ji is not qualified to be made a Duke or a Marquis. Moreover, there is evidence that Zhu Yuanzhang originally intended to make Liu Ji a Duke. Liu Ji was smarter and saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was a ruthless and ungrateful master who could only endure hardships but could not enjoy happiness. He took the initiative to ask for demotion. Not only was he unwilling to be granted the title of Duke, but he also had the lowest salary among the earls. The results show that Liu Ji did the right thing. Compared with the brutal purge of other heroes, his earl title was passed down to the Southern Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang did have the idea of making Liu Bowen a public servant. After Liu Bowen resigned and returned to his hometown for the first time, Zhu Yuanzhang wrote to Liu Bowen asking him to come back, and said in the letter: I have not returned for a long time, and I feel a little owed. Next one today. When your illness comes, the alliance will be decorated with honors, and we will live up to the hardships of the past. ?
It means, come here quickly, I will reward you with a lordship, so that you can live up to your previous assistance to me.
After Liu Bowen arrived in Nanjing, Zhu Yuanzhang indeed said to Liu Bowen, I will make you a father-in-law. But Liu Bowen said, I dare not accept it, and expressed his unwillingness to accept any title. Because Liu Bowen repeatedly refused, Zhu Yuanzhang no longer insisted on making him a public official. However, when he was conferring meritorious officials, he posthumously made Liu Bowen's grandfather and father a public official as a way of compensation.
"Ming Huidian" said: "The princes, princes and uncles all have to show their favor for three generations, and their gifts are from their own nobility." It's all like "Zhu Si Zhi Zhang". All meritorious officials were promoted to three generations, and it was determined in the 26th year of Hongwu: father-in-law, grandfather, great-grandfather were each granted the title of Duke of a certain country
It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang did have the intention to make Liu Bowen a Duke, otherwise he would not have named Liu Bowen's grandfather. He is a father-in-law.
At the time of the final knighthood, Liu Bowen ranked outside the thirties and barely made up a count. But as the saying goes, the bird is gone and the dog is cooked. After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, most of those who had made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty were executed and their clans were exterminated. Those who die well are as rare as morning stars. Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne in 1368 and died in 1398. During his 31 years in office, the General Secretary granted 10 dukes, 52 marquises, and 3 uncles.
Half of the 10 princes, including the Korean prince Li Shanjang, were killed and exiled. Among the 52 marquises, 50 were exterminated due to their crimes. Only Muying, the Marquis of Xiping, and Guo Ying, the Marquis of Wuding, died well. But the living Mu Ying is Zhu Yuanzhang's adopted son, and Guo Ying is Zhu Yuanzhang's brother-in-law. From this perspective, if an outsider makes a marquis, he is seeking death. As for Liu Ji, he not only lived to the "advanced age" of 65 years old, but after his death, Zhu Yuanzhang felt guilty in his heart, so he gave Liu Ji's descendants a hereditary salary increase to more than 700 dan. What's even more rare is that the title of Lord Chengyi has been passed down to the small court period of the Southern Ming Dynasty after Chongzhen's death. From this perspective, Liu Bowen's "half-immortal" character design that can handle calculations is actually tenable.