Zhu Yuanzhang: From Beggar to Emperor

This book uses the style of historical sketches and informal essays to introduce some of my research findings to a general audience. Each essay may focus on a single thing Zhu Yuanzhang experienced or did, or on one person in his circle. Taken individually, these accounts are only fragments of Zhu Yuanzhang’s life, but together they form a sweeping historical panorama of the late Yuan and early Ming, broadly reflecting the true course of his life, his character, his merits and failings, and his influence on history. The writing aims to be concise, smooth, lively, and engaging, without ever inventing, fabricating, or dramatizing events. All historical sources have been rigorously reviewed and verified to ensure accuracy and reliability, uniting intellectual and scholarly substance with entertainment and readability, and appealing to readers of all kinds so the work can “reach ordinary people.” I hope that after reading, readers will understand what kind of historical figure the real Zhu Yuanzhang was, what outstanding contributions and serious failings he had, what lessons and experience he left behind, and how he affected the Ming dynasty and later history, and will gain something valuable from it.