In the first year of Hongwu, at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang raised a hand from the dragon throne. The Minister of Rites lifted the edict of investiture and read aloud:
“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: My eldest son, Zhu Biao, born of the Empress and first heir of the imperial clan, is pure of character, gifted by nature, and noble in virtue. In accordance with my original decree, having consulted the rites and heeded the will of the people, I hereby solemnly inform Heaven, the ancestral temples, and the altars of state. I bestow upon him the seals and investiture, naming him Crown Prince and establishing him in the Eastern Palace, so as to secure the succession for ten thousand generations and unite the hearts of all under Heaven.
Let this be proclaimed throughout the land, that all may know!”
