Huang-Ming Zuxun
Instructions of the Ancestor of the August Ming
Traditional Chinese皇眀祖訓
Simplified Chinese皇明祖训
Record of the Ancestor's Instructions
Traditional Chinese祖訓錄
Simplified Chinese祖训录

The Huang-Ming Zuxun (Instructions of the Ancestor of the August Ming) were admonitions left by the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Chinese Ming dynasty, to his descendants. The text was composed in 1373 under the title Record of the Ancestor's Instructions; this was changed to Huang Ming Zu Xun during the publication of the 1395 edition.[1]

The book was divided into thirteen sections:

  1. Preface (箴戒, Zhēnjiè)
  2. Harem (持守, Chíshǒu)
  3. Ritual Observance (嚴祭祀, Yán Jìsì)
  4. Risk management (謹岀入, Jǐn Chūrù)
  5. National Policy (慎國政, Shèn Guózhèng)
  6. Protocol (禮儀, Lǐyí)
  7. Legislation (法律, Fǎlǜ)
  8. The Inner Chambers (內令, Nèilìng)
  9. Eunuch (內官, Nèiguān)
  10. Administration (職制, Zhízhì)
  11. Guards (兵衛, Bīngwèi)
  12. Public Works (營繕, Yíngshàn)
  13. Public Funds (供用, Gōngyòng)

The Preface, composed by Zhu Yuanzhang himself, admonishes his descendants to exert a strict legalist government. The work pins the survival on the dynasty principally upon personal austerity and watchfulness both over practical administration of the empire, the niceties of ritual and etiquette on various occasions, and various potential traitors including their relatives, spouses, and officials both military and civil.[1]

Sources

  1. 1 2 Liao Xinyi (廖心一). "Huang-Ming Zuxun" (皇明祖訓). Zhongguo Lishi: Zhongguo Da Baike Quanshu (《中國歷史:中國大百科全書》), Vol. 1, p. 401. Zhongguo Da Baike Quanshu Chubanshe (Shanghai), 1992. Op. cit. Theobald, Ulrich. "Chinese Literature: Huang-Ming zuxun". Accessed 12 Oct 2012.
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