Ancient emperors enjoyed all the glory and wealth before they died, and wanted to enjoy this life underground after death, so the terrible burial system was born.
The burial system first appeared in the Yin Shang period, and was accepted by rulers in all dynasties, and it is recorded in the Mozi Festival Burial:
The Son of Heaven kills martyrs, hundreds of many, and dozens of widows; the generals and doctors kill martyrs, the multitudes are tens, and the widows are counted.
It can be seen that from the emperor to the doctor, they are keen to let people be martyred after death, which is the embodiment of rights, and the number of martyrs can be seen in the status. By the time of the Han Dynasty, the strength of the state led to the abandonment of this cruel system, but there were also a very small number of emperors who would use the burial system, which was alleviated compared with the Yin Shang period.
However, in the zhu yuanzhang period, the martyrdom system was revived. The Biography of the Later Concubines of the Ming Dynasty records:
"Taizu Beng, the palace people are more from the dead"
Although there is no exact number, we can still know that Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the concubines to be buried. Zhu Yuanzhang was born in the cold door, and after many hardships to take the throne of God, Zhu Yuanzhang is also very aware of human suffering, why would he do such a heartbreaking thing? I think there are several reasons.
1. Once the Empress Ma dies, all thoughts are gray
Empress Ma was Zhu Yuanzhang's wife, was Zhu Yuanzhang's most difficult time to accompany him, after becoming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang was also very fond of Empress Ma, Hongwu 15 years after empress Ma died, Zhu Yuanzhang lost this woman he loved the most, for other women in the harem he did not like, let alone love, so there was no mercy at the time of martyrdom.
2. Suspicious nature
Zhu Yuanzhang was a particularly suspicious person, he was not assured that those young concubines were still alive after his death, and he was afraid that things like the Weihou Rebellion would happen to his descendants, so he held that he would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let go of a concept to drive the concubines to death.
3. Dignity
Although Zhu Yuanzhang was born poor, in the struggle with the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang was very concerned about his dignity, and his fellow villagers came to see him and told him the ugly things of his youth, and he was immediately pulled out and beheaded, which shows that Zhu Yuanzhang's self-esteem has reached a sick point. He really did not trust his concubine to abide by the way of women after his death, and if he did ugly things, wouldn't he make posterity laugh in shame? It is better to bury yourself, a hundred.
In the end, Zhu Qizhen, the most failed emperor of the Ming Dynasty, abolished the martyrdom system, which was also regarded as a great good deed, and this system completely disappeared.