Why did Zhu Yuanzhang clean Mencius out of the Confucius Temple?

Because Zhu Yuanzhang saw a sentence in Mencius' book at that time, "The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the monarch is the light."

The meaning of this sentence probably means that civilians are the most important in the world, and the country of Jiangshan should be ranked after civilians, while the king is the lowest of the three. Zhu Yuanzhang was very unhappy to see this sentence. A country that was originally a farmer and finally conquered the country became a king. Mencius actually said that his position was inferior to that of ordinary people, so he ordered Mencius to move out of the Confucius Temple.

Zhu Yuanzhang actually did this because he regarded his country as very important. Since he got rid of the position of cowherd, no one is allowed to bully him at will. As an emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang's self-esteem can be said to have improved many times. He was naturally unhappy when he saw Mencius say that he was an emperor. As long as the emperor was unhappy, he would try his best to punish those who made him unhappy, so he cleaned Mencius out of the Confucius Temple in a fit of pique.

However, as we all know, the meaning of this sentence is not to belittle the status and identity of the emperor. It's just that Mencius is admonishing emperors of all ages. To be a good emperor, we must attach importance to people's livelihood and put people's interests first in everything. We can't just care about our own selfish desires and abandon the safety of the people. This is not the practice of a wise monarch. Only by winning the hearts of the people can the emperor ensure the long-term stability of the country.

Later, after the literati knew about Zhu Yuanzhang's practice, many people began to oppose his practice. In order to calm public opinion, Zhu Yuanzhang had to invite Mencius back to the Confucius Temple, but he still insisted on deleting all the unfavorable remarks in Mencius' book.