Ming Yuzhen: A New Ruler of Shu Amidst the Chaos of the Late Yuan Dynasty

Brief Introduction

Ming Yuzhen (1328–1366), courtesy name Jinrui, was a native of Qizhou (present-day Tongcheng, Anhui Province). He served as a key general under Xu Shouhui, a prominent leader of peasant uprisings at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Against the backdrop of the Yuan Dynasty's collapse, he led his troops to capture Chongqing and established a political entity, naming the state "Great Xia" (Daxia) and adopting the era name "Tianqi." He is historically known as the "King of Xia."

During his rule in Shu (Sichuan), Ming Yuzhen streamlined the bureaucracy, reduced corvée labor and taxes, and strengthened city defenses. These measures significantly helped the war-torn Sichuan region recover. After Ming Yuzhen passed away from illness in 1366, his young son, Ming Sheng, ascended to the throne. Later, when the Ming army advanced southward, Ming Sheng surrendered without a fight, marking the end of the Great Xia regime. Following the death of Xu Shouhui, Han Lin'er succeeded as the leader of the Red Turban movement, while Ming Yuzhen independently controlled Sichuan, becoming one of the most strategically valuable figures among the various warlords of the late Yuan period.

Core Knowledge Points

1. Military Background and Motives for Entering Sichuan
Ming Yuzhen originally belonged to Xu Shouhui's faction. After Xu Shouhui was poisoned to death by Chen Youliang, Chen absorbed the forces of the Red Turban Army. Unwilling to submit to Chen Youliang, Ming Yuzhen led his troops westward after the fragmentation of Xu Shouhui's regime. In 1359, Chen Youliang dispatched him to capture western Hubei; Ming Yuzhen then proceeded up the Yangtze River, capturing Chongqing in 1360.

2. State-Building and Governance
After establishing Chongqing as his capital, Ming Yuzhen appointed officials, built government offices, and repaired city defenses. Drawing lessons from previous dynasties, he implemented policies aimed at revitalization and rest: opening granaries to relieve the poor, encouraging agriculture, and constructing navigational facilities at the Qutang Gorge and Yanyu Heap to ensure safe shipping on the Sichuan rivers. These measures rapidly stabilized the Shu region and allowed civil life to recover.

3. Political Status and Controversies
Nominally, Ming Yuzhen's regime still acknowledged the era name of Chen Youliang, but in reality, it operated independently. After Chen Youliang's death in 1363, Ming Yuzhen formally established his autonomous status. Although his regime lasted for only seven years, it formed a power parallel to those of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Shicheng in the southern warlord landscape.

4. Historical Assessment
Ming Yuzhen, who came from a literary background (he was a Confucian scholar in his early years), possessed both military capability and scholarly insight, making him a rare "combined civil and military talent" among late Yuan leaders. His governance of Shu is regarded by later generations as a prime example of "benevolent rule" during a time of chaos.

Connection to the Xu Zizhi Tongjian

The Xu Zizhi Tongjian (Continued Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Governance), compiled by Xu Qianxue and supplemented by Zhao Yi, is a chronological universal history. Although finalized in the late Yuan to early Ming period, its content for this era largely draws upon the Ming Shi (History of Ming), the Yuan Shi (History of Yuan), and various chronological historical sources.

Records concerning Ming Yuzhen are primarily found in the entries around the 24th year of the Zhizheng era (1364), describing how various warlords declared independence after the defeat and death of Chen Youliang. The text states: "Ming Yuzhen occupied Chongqing, declared himself King of Great Xia, appointed high officials, repaired city walls, lightened taxes and corvée, and the people of Shu were content." This passage concisely encapsulates the core characteristics of Ming Yuzhen's regime.

Within the chronological framework, Ming Yuzhen's activities provide a temporal contrast to Zhu Yuanzhang's establishment of the Ming Dynasty (1368), reflecting the process of the late Yuan political landscape shifting from fragmentation to unification. Although the Xu Zizhi Tongjian does not feature a standalone biography for him, its year-by-year narrative presents his strategic position within the warlord system—serving as the fringe of the Chen Youliang faction while acting as a hub connecting the southwest and the central plains. This narrative style reflects the characteristic of chronological historical texts, which use "time as the warp and events as the weft," allowing readers to clearly grasp the rise and fall of Ming Yuzhen's regime amidst the chaos of the late Yuan period.