In the final years of the Xu Dynasty, crushing taxes left people across the land destitute. Zhang Jiuchong raised an army, overthrew the old dynasty, and founded the Great An Dynasty, adopting the reign name Hongfa and championing rule by law. He proclaimed to all under heaven: “The Son of Heaven is subject to the same laws as the common people.”
When Yuan Wen, magistrate of Fengping County, exposed Prince Ji’s case of murdering commoners for amusement and reported it to the capital, he never expected the emperor to shield the prince. He realized that those who make the rules are the least likely to follow them, while those bound by them accept this as a matter of course. So he abandoned his post and embarked on the path of cultivation, determined to become one who lives beyond the rules.
