There was, of course, a third meaning, and indeed the true meaning of Emperor Zhu's words: I don't care about my reputation. If history wants to portray me as a wise and virtuous ruler, so be it. If history wants to portray me as a tyrant like Jie or Zhou, so be it. No one can stop me from doing what I want to do, which is to conquer the entire small sphere.
Regardless, it couldn't change the essential fact that Emperor Zhu wanted to put on a show, nor could it change Zhu Jianying's confusion—how did you manage to turn a perfectly good emperor into a rogue?
Just as Zhu Jianying was secretly admiring Emperor Zhu's rogue demeanor, Emperor Zhu changed the subject and asked, "How many more years do you think the entire small sphere can remain stable?"
The sentence "予本淮右布衣，天下于我何加焉" (I was originally a commoner from Huaishui, what does the world add to me?) was not actually Zhu Yuanzhang's original words. The preceding phrase "予本淮右布衣" came from Zhu Yuanzhang's "Proclamation to the Central Plains" issued in the twenty-seventh year of his reign, while "天下于我何加焉" originated from Mencius's "What do ten thousand bells add to me?" It was a case of Dang Nian Ming Yue piecing together parts of different quotes.
When Emperor Zhu spoke only half a sentence, it was equivalent to only showing half of his swagger. The other half had to be displayed by Zhu Jinsong, who was also Emperor Zhu.
Emperor Zhu gazed intently at the distant city of Mukala and said in a deep voice, "I was originally a commoner, what does the world add to me?"
Zhu Jianying was completely bewildered.
You were a commoner?
There was nothing wrong with that statement, after all, before raising his army, Emperor Zhu was indeed just a poor farmer, and moreover, a tenant farmer without his own land, a commoner among commoners.
The problem was, how could you bring yourself to say, "What does the world add to me?"
Combined with the preceding sentence "I was originally a commoner," the phrase "What does the world add to me?" carried several layers of meaning.
The first layer was that if the Qing dynasty hadn't treated its people like dirt, how could this world have fallen into my hands?
The second layer was that I, the Emperor of the Great Ming, was originally just an ordinary person. Even if I am emperor now, what of it? I am still that same youth, not changed by a single bit.
There was, of course, a third meaning, and indeed the true meaning of Emperor Zhu's words: I don't care about my reputation. If history wants to portray me as a wise and virtuous ruler, so be it. If history wants to portray me as a tyrant like Jie or Zhou, so be it. No one can stop me from doing what I want to do, which is to conquer the entire small sphere.
Regardless, it couldn't change the essential fact that Emperor Zhu wanted to put on a show, nor could it change Zhu Jianying's confusion—how did you manage to turn a perfectly good emperor into a rogue?
Just as Zhu Jianying was secretly admiring Emperor Zhu's rogue demeanor, Emperor Zhu changed the subject and asked, "How many more years do you think the entire small sphere can remain stable?"
The sentence "予本淮右布衣，天下于我何加焉" (I was originally a commoner from Huaishui, what does the world add to me?) was not actually Zhu Yuanzhang's original words. The preceding phrase "予本淮右布衣" came from Zhu Yuanzhang's "Proclamation to the Central Plains" issued in the twenty-seventh year of his reign, while "天下于我何加焉" originated from Mencius's "What do ten thousand bells add to me?" It was a case of Dang Nian Ming Yue piecing together parts of different quotes.
When Emperor Zhu spoke only half a sentence, it was equivalent to only showing half of his swagger. The other half had to be displayed by Zhu Jinsong, who was also Emperor Zhu.
Emperor Zhu gazed intently at the distant city of Mukala and said in a deep voice, "I was originally a commoner, what does the world add to me?"
Zhu Jianying was completely bewildered.
You were a commoner?
There was nothing wrong with that statement, after all, before raising his army, Emperor Zhu was indeed just a poor farmer, and moreover, a tenant farmer without his own land, a commoner among commoners.
The problem was, how could you bring yourself to say, "What does the world add to me?"
Combined with the preceding sentence "I was originally a commoner," the phrase "What does the world add to me?" carried several layers of meaning.
The first layer was that if the Qing dynasty hadn't treated its people like dirt, how could this world have fallen into my hands?
The second layer was that I, the Emperor of the Great Ming, was originally just an ordinary person. Even if I am emperor now, what of it? I am still that same youth, not changed by a single bit.
There was, of course, a third meaning, and indeed the true meaning of Emperor Zhu's words: I don't care about my reputation. If history wants to portray me as a wise and virtuous ruler, so be it. If history wants to portray me as a tyrant like Jie or Zhou, so be it. No one can stop me from doing what I want to do, which is to conquer the entire small sphere.
Regardless, it couldn't change the essential fact that Emperor Zhu wanted to put on a show, nor could it change Zhu Jianying's confusion—how did you manage to turn a perfectly good emperor into a rogue?
Just as Zhu Jianying was secretly admiring Emperor Zhu's rogue demeanor, Emperor Zhu changed the subject and asked, "How many more years do you think the entire small sphere can remain stable?"
The sentence "予本淮右布衣，天下于我何加焉" (I was originally a commoner from Huaishui, what does the world add to me?) was not actually Zhu Yuanzhang's original words. The preceding phrase "予本淮右布衣" came from Zhu Yuanzhang's "Proclamation to the Central Plains" issued in the twenty-seventh year of his reign, while "天下于我何加焉" originated from Mencius's "What do ten thousand bells add to me?" It was a case of Dang Nian Ming Yue piecing together parts of different quotes.
When Emperor Zhu spoke only half a sentence, it was equivalent to only showing half of his swagger. The other half had to be displayed by Zhu Jinsong, who was also Emperor Zhu.
Emperor Zhu gazed intently at the distant city of Mukala and said in a deep voice, "I was originally a commoner, what does the world add to me?"