Plot
Turmoil engulfs China in the final years of the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty as the government degenerates into corruption while rebel forces sprout throughout the land to overthrow the Yuan regime. Somewhere in the wilderness, Zhu Chongba, a young cowherd, stands on a huge rock and proclaims to his friends, "I, Emperor Zhu, will reward each of you with a large piece of rice cake when I ascend the throne one day!" Around the same time, his parents died of starvation at home.
To give his parents a proper funeral, Zhu becomes a novice monk at a local monastery and spends part of his childhood there. A few years later, the monastery is destroyed so he has no choice but to become a beggar. One day, he encounters Yuan soldiers and narrowly escapes death, but is captured by some rebels, who suspect that he is a spy and want to kill him. At this critical moment, he is saved by a girl, and he joins Guo Zixing's rebel army later.
Zhu Chongba proves his capability on the battlefield and wins the favour of Guo Zixing. Guo gives Zhu Chongba a new name, "Yuanzhang", and arranges for his goddaughter, Lady Ma, to marry Zhu. From then on, Zhu Yuanzhang starts his journey towards becoming an emperor. He earns the support of talented men, such as Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Lan Yu, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen, triumphs over his nemesis Chen Youliang at the Battle of Lake Poyang, overthrows the Yuan Dynasty, and finally establishes the Ming dynasty.
Zhu Yuanzhang initiated a beginning for a golden era of China under the reigns of his successors. He implemented land reforms to prevent peasants from being abused by wealthy landlords and bureaucrats; harshly punished officials found guilty of corruption; drafted the Code of the Great Ming; introduced policies to help the country recover from the effects of war. However, he also used ruthless and brutal means to consolidate power: he killed some of his subjects who had contributed greatly to the founding of his empire for fear that they would rebel against him.
The Hongwu Emperor, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1368 to 1398.
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, also translated as The Sword and the Knife, is a wuxia novel by Jin Yong and the third part of the Condor Trilogy, preceded by The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes. It was first serialised from 6 July 1961 to 2 September 1963 in the Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao.
The Battle of Lake Poyang was a naval battle which took place between the rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang during the Red Turban Rebellion which led to the fall of the Yuan dynasty. Chen Youliang besieged Nanchang with a large fleet on Lake Poyang, one of China's largest freshwater lakes, and Zhu Yuanzhang met his force with a smaller fleet. After an inconclusive engagement exchanging fire, Zhu employed fire ships to burn the enemy tower ships and destroyed their fleet. This was the last major battle of the rebellion before the rise of the Ming dynasty.
Liu Ji, courtesy name Bowen, better known as Liu Bowen, was a Chinese military strategist, philosopher, and politician who lived in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. He was born in Qingtian County. He served as a key advisor to Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty, in the latter's struggle to overthrow the Yuan dynasty and unify China proper under his rule. Liu is also known for his prophecies and has been described as the "Divine Chinese Nostradamus". He and Jiao Yu co-edited the military treatise known as the Huolongjing.
Lan Yu was a Chinese military general and official who contributed to the founding of the Ming dynasty. His ancestral home was in present-day Dingyuan County, Anhui. In 1393, Lan was accused of plotting a rebellion and put to death by the Hongwu Emperor. About 15,000 people were implicated in the case and executed as part of the Four Major Cases of the early Ming dynasty.
The Red Turban Rebellions were uprisings against the Yuan dynasty between 1351 and 1368, eventually leading to its collapse. Remnants of the Yuan imperial court retreated northwards and is thereafter known as the Northern Yuan in historiography.
Chang Yuchun, courtesy name Boren and art name Yanheng, was a Chinese military general of the Ming dynasty. He was a follower of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, and contributed heavily to the establishment of the Ming Empire. He was famous for his bravery and formidable prowess in battle, which earned him the nickname of "Chang Hundred-Thousand" (常十万), because he alone was said to be as effective as a force of 100,000 troops.
The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber is a Chinese television series adapted from Louis Cha's novel of the same title. It is a final instalment of a television trilogy produced by Zhang Jizhong, preceded by The Legend of the Condor Heroes (2003) and The Return of the Condor Heroes (2006). Unlike the previous adaptations, this remake is the first to be primarily based on the third edition of the novel. The series was first broadcast on Wenzhou TV in China in October 2009.
Hu Weiyong was a Chinese official of the early Ming dynasty and a close adviser of the Hongwu Emperor. In the second half of the 1370s, he headed the civil administration of the empire. However, in 1380, he was accused of treason and executed. The subsequent purge cost the lives of tens of thousands of people.
Chuanqi Huangdi Zhu Yuanzhang is a Chinese television series based on the life of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty. Starring Chen Baoguo as the emperor, the series was first broadcast on CCTV in mainland China in 2006.
Empress Xiaocigao, commonly known as Empress Ma, was an imperial consort of the Ming dynasty. She was the principal wife of the Hongwu Emperor and acted as his adviser in politics, exerting a large amount of influence during his reign.
Tang Ming Huang is a Chinese television series based on historical events in the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. The series was directed by Chen Jialin and starred Liu Wei as the eponymous emperor. It was first broadcast on CCTV-1 in 1990 in mainland China.
Li Shanchang was a Chinese official of the Ming dynasty, part of the West Huai (Huaixi) faction, and Duke of Han, one of the six founding dukes of the Ming dynasty in 1370. Li Shanchang was one of Emperor Hongwu's associates during the war against the Yuan dynasty to establish the Ming dynasty. Deeply trusted by the Emperor, Hongwu consulted Li on institutional matters, but became "bored with Li's arrogance" in old age. Ultimately, the emperor purged and executed Li along with his extended family and thirty thousand others, accusing him of supporting treason.
The Four Major Cases of the early Ming dynasty refer to the following mass executions and persecutions perpetrated by the Hongwu Emperor at the start of the Ming dynasty:
The Great Emperor in Song Dynasty is a 2015 Chinese historical TV series directed by Gao Xixi, starring Chen Jianbin as Emperor Taizu of Song who founded the Song dynasty and reunified most of China proper.
Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Sabre is a 2019 Chinese wuxia television series adapted from the novel The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber by Jin Yong. Originally published in newspapers from 1961 to 1963, the story has been revised twice; once in 1979 and the second in 2005. This remake is primarily based on the third edition of the novel and also being promoted as a rework to the 1994 adaptation. The series is the first adaptation to be released as a web series and was first broadcast on Tencent in China on February 27, 2019.
Wang Guangyang, courtesy name Chaozong (朝宗), was a Chinese official who served as a chancellor during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor in the Ming dynasty. Serving in both the military and civil bureaucracies, he ascended as high as the position of Grand Chancellor of the Right (右丞相).
Liu Futong was a leader in the Red Turban Rebellion during the late Yuan dynasty of China. He had a major presence in northern China and was killed by Zhang Shicheng in 1363.
Guo Zixing was a rebel leader in the late Yuan dynasty of China. He was the father-in-law of Zhu Yuanzhang, the future founder of the Ming dynasty.
Ming Sheng was the second emperor of Ming Xia. His father, Ming Yuzhen, was a leader of the Red Turban Rebellions and the founder of Ming Xia, a dynasty located in Sichuan. He was later exiled to Korea, where he was known as Myŏng Sŭng (Korean: 명승).
