Why did Liu Bowen, a famous minister in Ming Dynasty, become an imperial envoy?

Liu Ji, the word blog post. Yuan Wuzong was born in his senior year. His hometown, Wuyang Village, South Tianshan Mountain, qingtian county, belongs to Chuzhou Road in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces according to the administrative divisions of the Yuan Dynasty.

Said Liu Bowen "young and smart", especially smart. His teacher told his father that Liu Bowen is not a thing in the pool, and he will honor his ancestors when he grows up. It is also recorded that "Kibotong's classics and history are all glimpsed in books, especially the knowledge of latitude". It can be seen that the historical books position him as the "seeking master" of goose feather fan.

But Liu Ji always wanted to be a Confucian scholar or even an imperial envoy. 23-year-old Liu Bowen took part in the Imperial Examination in Yuan Dynasty and was admitted as a scholar. The Confucian intellectual's ambition of "cultivating oneself, governing the country and leveling the world" was almost born, but he worked as a small official in Jiangxi for five years and finally retired in depression.

In November of the nineteenth year of Jackie, Zhu Yuanzhang's army captured Chuzhou, Zhejiang. Because of Liu Bowen's popularity in his hometown, he and three other famous local intellectuals, Song Lian and Zhang Yi, were sent by Zhu Jiabing to meet Zhu Yuanzhang.

After Liu Ji surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang, Liu Bowen's role in Zhu Yuanzhang's farmland was not as magical as the legend, but he and other intellectuals helped Zhu Yuanzhang restore the order in troubled times.

Zhu Yuanzhang unified the world, and Liu Bowen was rewarded like other founding heroes, which seemed to realize his life ambition. However, the officials of Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen are probably somewhat biased in their identities. Although Liu Bowen is regarded as a "counselor" or even a "warlock", he calls himself a "scholar". However, to his dismay, Zhu Yuanzhang preferred to regard him as a "counselor" and a "warlock". In today's discussion about who is a great scholar, Zhu Yuanzhang said contemptuously: How can Lian and Liu Bowen be called "great scholars"?

Liu Bowen lived for seven and a half years after he entered the Ming Dynasty. In this short time, he was banned several times and sent back to his hometown several times. In the seventh year of Wu, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he was seriously ill and returned to the field. On April 16 this year, Liu Bowen died at home.

Why didn't Zhu Yuanzhang admit that Liu Bowen was a "Confucian"? There is a simple reason. A scholar has the mission of "guiding the monarch into righteousness". In the traditional concept, the real scholar should be the imperial examination teacher. Being a teacher is the highest ideal of China literati for thousands of years, and Liu Bowen is no exception. The problem is that confident heroes don't admit that there is any "royal teacher".

Liu Bowen's dream of "Confucian scholar" and "teacher" was finally shattered under the ruthless blow of reality. On his deathbed, he left an imperial edict warning future generations not to be an official.