Prime Minister in Black

Yao Guangxiao (1335-1418), whose Buddhist name was Daoyan, was a native of Changzhou, Suzhou. He was an eminent monk and politician in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. He was the main planner of the Jingnan Campaign and was known as the "Prime Minister in Black". Born into a family that practiced medicine, he was ordained as a monk at the age of 14. However, he was well versed in Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Yin-Yang art of war. He stayed dormant for forty-seven years before meeting the King of Yan, Zhu Di, who helped him counterattack from the vassal king and become the founder of the Ming Dynasty. On the merits, he was the first contributor to the Jingnan War and was granted the title of Prince's Young Master. However, he refused to grow his hair and resigned as a stay-at-home daughter. He still lived in a temple and scattered gold among the villagers. In his later years, he presided over the compilation of "Yongle Dadian" and planned the layout of Beijing city. He was the only person in the Ming Dynasty who was entitled to enjoy the Imperial Ancestral Temple as a civil servant. He died of illness at the age of eighty-four. He was posthumously named Rong Guogong and given the posthumous title Gongjing.