Life in the Hongwu Era: The Fate of Ordinary People Under Zhu Yuanzhang

The Great Announcements was a collection of criminal statutes compiled by the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, from the cases he personally investigated, judged, and decided. Focusing mainly on the deeds of those executed, it was later promulgated throughout the realm in the form of proclamations. The author of this book selects records of investigations from The Great Announcements, including the Shi Lingzhi case, the Guo Huan case, the Little Sick Spirit case, the Song Chongba case, the Chen Shouliu case, the Qu Zhongliang grain-tax collector case, the Finger-Chopping case, the Travel Permit case, the Peng Yulin case, and the Pan Fu case. Starting from the fates of individuals, the book explores the secrets of survival in the Hongwu era.

Living in the Hongwu Era painstakingly unravels thirteen cases and gives a detailed account of the origins and circumstances behind them, despite their complete disregard for law, common sense, and logic. Beginning with early Ming policies and institutions concerning the military, land, politics, and the legal system, it traces the motives of those involved and examines the basis and purpose of Zhu Yuanzhang's investigations and verdicts. In doing so, it sketches the absurd fates and terrifying living conditions of all kinds of people in the Hongwu era, restoring the true face of the Hongwu Emperor's rule through harsh laws.