Zhu Yuanzhang was first and foremost an emperor, the founding emperor of a dynasty dominated by the Han nationality. Besides, many things the emperor said are not credible. So, we don't look at what he said, only what he did.
Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang
After the Yuan Dynasty destroyed the Song Dynasty and ruled the Central Plains, the policy of ethnic discrimination was implemented, and the status of Han people was low and the social status was extremely unequal. Before Zhu Yuanzhang won the world, the Han people under the Yuan Dynasty lived in dire straits.
First of all, the Yuan Dynasty divided the people under its rule into four classes: first-class Mongols, second-class Semu people, third-class fourth-class Han people and southerners. And it is forbidden for Mongolians to intermarry with Han Chinese, which is euphemistically called maintaining the nobility of bloodline.
Secondly, the Yuan Dynasty prohibited Han people from learning Mongolian characters. Moreover, the Mongolian papers in the imperial examination are relatively simple, and the difficulty coefficient of the Chinese papers has increased by more than one grade. Even Han Chinese high schools will not let them serve as senior officials.
Third, according to the laws of the Yuan Dynasty, Mongolians can beat the Han people, but the Han people can't fight back, so they can only report to the authorities afterwards. If the Han people are unfortunately killed, the Mongols only need to pay a burial fee. Moreover, Mongolians are tried by "big government", and the punishment has no right to interfere, which puts on the cloak of "privileged protection" for Mongolians.
Fourth, the corrupt state apparatus at the end of Yuan Dynasty was overwhelmed, and various exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous fees were hard to count. Coupled with floods and droughts, countless Han people starved to death.
Zhu Yuanzhang pleaded
To borrow a passage from Wu Han: no loopholes, no air; Not a sound, not even a whisper; No word protest, even talking about history is illegal; You must have a pass to go far away, and every place is an island; No news, no good news, no bad news. Mongolian rule, the whole is a dead sea! There is no wind, no waves, no active life, no living animals and plants.
This is a true portrayal of the life of Han people under Mongolian rule before Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty.
It was in this environment that Zhu Yuanzhang raised the banner of resisting the tyranny of the Yuan Dynasty. By virtue of the correct strategy of "building a high wall, accumulating grain and slowly becoming king", good military discipline and the common goal of Qi Xin's concerted efforts, it stood out among many uprising troops and laid half of the country.
Zhu Yuanzhang Rebel Army
In order to drive the Mongols out of the Central Plains completely, in A.D. 1367, Zhu Yuanzhang brazenly launched the Northern Expedition, and in the Northern Expedition campaign, he put forward the slogan of "driving out the gourd and restoring China": I, the people of China, are destined to live in peace with the people of China. What can I do to cure them? ..... aimed at driving Land Rover away, eliminating riots, making people get their place, and revenging the shame of China. Two years later, the homeland of the Han people was basically recovered. Therefore, future generations believe that only Han Ming won the integrity of the country in previous dynasties, and other dynasties were slightly flawed.
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately embarked on the reform of "cleaning up the old customs of the lake source and restoring the old Chinese system". Mainly manifested in the following two aspects: First, in the Yuan Dynasty, Mongolian customs respected the right, but Zhu Yuanzhang immediately restored the old system of Tang and Song Dynasties after he proclaimed himself emperor, and ordered officials to focus on the left and completely abandon Hu Customs.
Secondly, Zhu Yuanzhang banned Hu Yu and Su Hu's surname and restored the naming rights of ordinary people. The people at the bottom no longer have to be troubled by names that sound great, such as "Zhu Baba, Zhu Wuliu, Zhu Siqi", and they no longer have to be poisoned by names that they can't remember, such as "Tuotuo Timur, Daruhuachi".
Third, the clothing reform movement is the most important thing for Zhu Yuanzhang to restore the old system. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that Khufu in Yuan Dynasty was contrary to China's etiquette system, so he ordered the restoration of the Tang Dynasty system. According to the research of today's scholars, the costumes of the Ming Dynasty not only restored the tradition of the Han nationality, but also "inherited the Zhou and Han Dynasties, followed by the Tang and Song Dynasties, and were the epitome of China culture".