Lines 61-70

~ Laurie Dennis ~ Leave a comment
(In this 7th installment of this blog’s Huangling Bei 皇陵碑 translation, Zhu Yuanzhang forms his own militia and gains fame, which leads to an unexpected family reunion. Click here to see the previous section.  Also – click on any line number to see complete annotations of each section.)

Line 61: 倡農夫以入,伍事業是匡。I convinced the locals to join my band for the cause of rectifying the state.

Chuzhou
The walled city of Chuyang, surrounded by a moat. The waterway through the city converges to the east with the Qingliu River.

Line 62: 不逾月而眾集,赤幟蔽野而盈岡。In less than a month I had gathered a multitude so that our red banners covered the countryside and spilled over the ridges.

Line 63: 率渡清流,戍守滁陽。I led my troops across the Qingliu River to defend the Chuyang Garrison.

Line 64: 思親詢舊,終日慨慷。I thought of my relatives and asked after them, all day sighing with emotion. Continue reading →

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Annotations to Lines 61-70

~ Laurie Dennis ~ Leave a comment

rural-fengyang2-e1506555567999.jpgLine 61: I convinced the locals 倡農夫.  These locals were farmers in the Huai River valley, in today’s Anhui Province. Zhu Yuanzhang is calling on them to join a righteous cause (as opposed to what the ruling Mongols would have deemed a rebellion).  The recruits were joining Zhu’s original band of “24 heroes,” who have been named in several places and included companions like Tang He 汤和 and Xu Da 徐达, the future generals who would fight at his side straight through to the dynastic founding in 1368. Continue reading →

Why does this text matter? (Part 2 – The Monk Years)

~ Laurie Dennis ~ Leave a comment
LongXingStatute
Statue of Zhu Yuanzhang in the Anhui temple that claims him as a member of its fold.

Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋 is famous as the peasant-turned-rebel who defeated the Mongols and founded the Ming Dynasty in 1368.  However, prior to tying on a red turban and joining the rebellion, Zhu spent eight formative years as a Buddhist monk.  It is these years that are the focus of the middle third of the Imperial Tomb Tablet of the Great Ming 大明皇陵之碑.  Understanding how the Ming founder’s religious beliefs guided his path to the throne is another reason why this text matters.

To recap: after losing his entire family to a plague strike and its aftermath, the orphaned 16-year-old Zhu would have hardly looked like a future emperor.  In fact, he ranks as China’s most unlikely dynastic founder.  Continue reading →

Lines 51-60

~ Laurie Dennis ~ Leave a comment
(In this 6th section of the Huangling Bei 皇陵碑, Zhu Yuanzhang divines that he should join the Red Turban rebellion, but he discovers that working with rebels can be difficult. Click here to see the previous section. Also – click on any line number to see complete annotations of each section.)
GuoZixing
Guo Zixing, the Red Turban leader in Haozhou.

Line 51:卜逃卜守則不吉，將就凶而不妨。Escaping or guarding, both were inauspicious; then I understood and did not try to interfere.

Line 52: 即起趨降而附城，幾被無知而創。I hastened to the city gates to pledge allegiance, but some of the gate guards did not know who I was and harmed me.

Line 53: 少頃獲釋，身體安康。After some time, I was released and ready, my health restored.

Line 54: 從愚朝暮，日日戎行。I had to deal with fools day and night and led a military life. Continue reading →

Annotations to Lines 51-60

~ Laurie Dennis ~ Leave a comment

 

jiaoshells6yuan80_taobao
A pair of divination shells, available now for 6.80 yuan!

Line 51: Escaping or guarding, both were inauspicious 卜逃卜守則不吉. Zhu Yuanzhang is throwing divination shells – like the modern set in the photo advertisement at right – to get an answer from the Qielan Buddha as to whether he should escape the chaos around him, or stay and guard his looted temple. The shells are landing interior side down for Zhu, an inauspicious  yin/yin reply.

Continue reading →

Lines 41-50

~ Laurie Dennis ~ Leave a comment
(In this 5th section of the Huangling Bei 皇陵碑, Zhu Yuanzhang mulls over whether he should become a Red Turban. Click here to see the previous section. Also – click on any line number to see complete annotations of each section.)

Line 41: 未幾陷城，深高城隍。  The city was taken by only a few who surmounted the walls and moats;

Shaoxing gate
Bridge over a moat before a Chinese city wall.

Line 42: 拒守不去，號令彰彰。  They encountered no defenders and took clear control.

Line 43: 友人寄書，云及趨降。  A friend sent me a letter saying that I should hasten to submit;

Line 44: 既憂且懼，無可籌詳。  But I was too worried and afraid to make any plans.

Continue reading →

Annotations to Lines 41-50

~ Laurie Dennis ~ Leave a comment
TangHe
Zhu Yuanzhang’s friend Tang He, depicted above, encouraged him to join the Red Turbans.

Line 41: The city was taken 陷城. This refers to the walled city of Haozhou 濠州, which Guo Zixing 郭子兴 captured with a small force of Red Turbans. Haozhou no longer exists. After the Ming founding, Zhu Yuanzhang reorganized his home district and created Fengyang. Haozhou was situated at the confluence of the Hao River with the larger Huai River 淮河.

Line 42: They encountered no defenders 拒守不去.  According to Wu Han’s biography of Zhu Yuanzhang (see Sources, “Wu Han”), “On the 27th day of the second month (of 1352), Guo Zixing led several thousand men on a midnight raid of Haozhou.  When the signal cannon sounded, the raiders charged the yamen gate and killed the magistrate…The Yuan general Cheli Buqa was camped many li away from Haozhou and feared the ferocity of the Red Army to the point that he refused to attack.” Continue reading →