Introduction to Queen Ma:

On the eighth day of August, Empress Xiaocigao, Taizu of Ming Dynasty, was named Ma (1332-1382). Her real name is unknown. She was a native of Suzhou, Guide Prefecture, and Guo Zixing, King of Chuyang. The adopted daughter of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's first wife.

In 1352 (the twelfth year of Zhizheng), under the auspices of Guo Zixing, Ma married Zhu Yuanzhang, who was the general of the Red Scarf Army at the time. Ma had a deep relationship with Zhu Yuanzhang after their marriage. In the years when Zhu Yuanzhang was calming down the world and establishing his empire, Ma and him were in trouble and trouble.

In the first month of 1368 (the first year of Hongwu), Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the base in Yingtianfu (today's Nanjing), named the country Daming, established the Yuan Dynasty in Hongwu, and named Ma the queen. Zhu Yuanzhang has always respected and appreciated Empress Ma, and often listened and adopted her suggestions carefully. Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to visit her relatives several times to grant officials and reward her, but Empress Ma dissuaded her. Regarding Zhu Yuanzhang's massacre of heroes and generals, Empress Ma always politely advised Zhu Yuanzhang to restrain himself.

The death of Queen Ma:

In the fourth lunar month of 1382 (the fifteenth year of Hongwu), Queen Ma suddenly fell ill. In August, he died of illness at the age of 51. She was buried in Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty in the ninth month of the lunar calendar of the same year, and was given the posthumous title of Queen Xiaoci. In 1403 (the first year of Yongle), she was given the posthumous title: Empress Xiao, Compassion, Zhaoxian, Zhiren, Wende, Chengtian, Shunshenggao. In 1538 (the seventeenth year of Jiajing), the posthumous title was added: Xiaoci Zhenhua Zheshun Renhui Chengtian Yusheng Zhide Gaohou.

After Empress Ma died of illness, Zhu Yuanzhang was very sad and never established a queen again. Extended information

It is said that women in the Yuan Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty had small feet, and women with big feet were a taboo at that time. But Ming Taizu's Queen Ma had unbound feet. The reason is that Queen Ma was loved by her adoptive parents when she was young and refused to have her feet bound, so she grew a pair of natural feet, known as "Horse Big Feet".

After Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, Empress Ma lived in the palace, but she felt helpless about her big feet. Whenever she met guests, she would always use the hem of her clothes or skirt to cover her feet tightly. Cover up.

Once, Empress Ma took a sedan chair to visit the streets of Jinling (now Nanjing). Suddenly a strong wind blew up and lifted a corner of the sedan curtain. Empress Ma's two big feet resting on the pedals were exposed. In broad daylight, she hurriedly retracted her feet, but people could already see her clearly!

So this new thing spread and caused a sensation in the whole capital. Because it was the man named Ma who showed his feet, the term "showing the horse's feet" has been spread to this day. Therefore, at present, it is not convenient to disclose the disgraceful things. The exposure of things is called "showing the truth."

References Baidu Encyclopedia - Empress Xiaocigao