Original text: Taizu Xiaocigao and Empress Ma were from Suzhou. She was kind and wise⑴. She was good at writing history and was diligent in internal governance. In her spare time, she focused on ancient precepts. Reported to the Sixth Palace, ⑵ Empress Duoxian of the Song Dynasty, ordered the female historian to record her family law and read it day and night. It may be said that the Song Dynasty was too benevolent, and later said: "If you are too benevolent, don't you become harsher?" One day, I asked the female historian: "What did Mr. Huang teach, and Empress Dowager Dou liked it?" The female historian said: "Purity and inaction are the foundation." If ⑷ abandons benevolence and righteousness, and the people return to be kind, this is the teaching. "The emperor said: "Filial piety and kindness are benevolence and righteousness. 诵 ⑸ There is no benevolence and righteousness, and it is filial piety and kindness?"

"The Emperor's Front Palace Jue. If something happened, he might get angry. Later, he would wait for the emperor to return to the palace, and he would often give him slight advice according to the matter. Although the emperor is strict in nature, there are still many people who have been killed because of probation. Guo Jingxiang joined the army to guard Hezhou. People said that his son wanted to kill his father with a spear, and the emperor would have him executed. Later he said: "Jing Xiang has only one son, and what others say may be untrue, so he may be killed and his successors will be killed." The emperor was honest, and the results were in vain. Li Wenzhong guarded Yanzhou, but Yang Xian falsely accused him of lawlessness, and the emperor wanted to recall him. Later he said: "Strict, the enemy is in an enemy situation, and it is not suitable to general them easily. Also, the people are loyal and virtuous, can the constitution be trusted?" The emperor then said. Wenzhong Hou died ⑼ with meritorious service. The scholar Song Lian sat down and Sun Shen committed a crime. He was arrested and sentenced to death. Later he admonished: "The common people are the disciples of the disciples, and they respect the etiquette from beginning to end. How about the emperor? If Lian lives at home, he must not know about it." The emperor did not listen. After the meeting, he served the emperor food, but not wine or meat. The emperor asked why. He said to him, "I am doing something good for Mr. Song." The emperor felt pity and threw chopsticks. Lian will be pardoned tomorrow and resettled in Maozhou. The emperor ordered the prisoners to be imprisoned and the city to be built. Later, he said: "The country is most kind to the country for atonement and punishment. However, if the prisoners are tired and have to serve more, they may still die." The emperor pardoned him. The emperor was angry and blamed the palace people, but later he also feigned anger and ordered the chief minister of the palace to discuss the crime. The emperor asked: "Why?" Later he said: "The emperor does not increase punishments and rewards based on happiness and anger. When your majesty is angry, it may be unusually serious. If you are responsible for uprightness in the palace, it will be considered as fair. Even if your majesty discusses human crimes, you will also have an edict. "

One day, I asked the emperor: "How are the people of the world today?" The emperor said: "This is not a question for you." Later he said: "Your Majesty is the father of the world, and I am humiliating the mother of the world. Why not ask if your son is well? "When there is a drought, he often leads the palace people to eat vegetarian food and help pray. The emperor may tell him to cheer him up. Later he said: "It is better to save money than to prepare things first." When the official court was dismissed, they met in the imperial court. Later, they ordered the officials to take the food and drink and taste it themselves. The taste is very sweet, so he told the emperor: "The master wants to be humble, but it is better to nourish the virtuous." The emperor ordered him to be a high-ranking official.

The emperor wanted to visit the officials of the Hou clan, but the Hou thanked him and said: "It is illegal for Jue Lu to be a private person." He stopped. However, when talking about the early death of his parents, he often sheds tears of sadness. In August of the fifteenth year of Hongwu's reign, he fell ill. The officials asked for prayers and a good doctor. Later, he said to the emperor: "Death and life are all matters of life. What's the use of praying and offering sacrifices! And how can a doctor make a person alive? If the medicine is ineffective, why don't we blame the doctors for being a concubine?" The illness was urgent, and the emperor asked what he wanted to say. He said: "May your Majesty seek virtuous people and accept advice, be cautious until the end, so that all your descendants will be virtuous, and your subjects will get what they deserve." This is the month Bingxu died, fifty-one years old. The emperor mourned and refused to re-establish his throne. Translation: Empress Ma of Taizu Xiaocigao was a native of Suzhou. She was benevolent, charitable and intelligent. She loved history books and was diligent in internal governance. In her free time, she asked the palace officials to learn anecdotes from ancient people. Because there were many wise queens in the Song Dynasty, the female historians were asked to write down their methods of running a family, and the concubines of the Sixth Palace were asked to study them from morning to night. Some concubines said that the queen of the Song Dynasty was too kind, and Empress Ma said: "Isn't it better to be too kind than to be mean?" One day, the queen asked the female historian: "What kind of religion is Huang Lao Jiao? Empress Dowager Dou of the Han Dynasty was very Do you like it?" The female historian said: "Huang Lao's teachings regard tranquility and inaction as the foundation, and let the people pay attention to filial piety and friendship. This is its teaching." Queen Ma said: "Filial piety and friendship are benevolence and righteousness. Is it possible for people to abandon it? Is benevolence and righteousness about filial piety and friendship?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was sometimes very angry when he was dealing with things in the front palace. Empress Ma waited until Zhu Yuanzhang returned to the harem and often tried to dissuade him tactfully and rationally. Although Zhu Yuanzhang had a resolute character, there were many people who were able to have their sentences reduced because of Empress Ma's dissuasion. Guo Jingxiang joined the army to guard Hezhou. Someone reported that his son was holding a gun and wanted to kill his father. The emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang) wanted to kill him. Queen Ma said: "Guo Jingxiang only has one child. What others reported may not be the actual situation. Killing him may cut off Guo Jingxiang's descendants." The emperor believed that Guo Jingxiang was very honest. After carefully understanding the situation, he found that he was indeed unjust. Li Wenzhong was guarding Yanzhou. Yang Xian falsely accused him of not obeying the law, and the emperor wanted to call him back. Empress Ma said: "Yanzhou is a place facing the enemy. It is inappropriate to change generals casually. Besides, Li Wenzhong has always been wise. Can Yang Xian's words be believed?" The emperor then stopped the matter. Li Wenzhong finally achieved great success.

The bachelor Song Lian was convicted of Sun Shen's affair and was arrested and sentenced to death. Empress Ma dissuaded her and said: "Ordinary people hire teachers for their children, and they still respect their teachers for their whole lives, let alone our emperor's family? What's more, Song Lian If you live at home, you must not know the truth." The emperor didn't listen. It happened that the queen was serving the emperor for dinner. Queen Ma did not eat meat or wine. The emperor asked why. The queen replied: "I am doing a blessing for Mr. Song." The emperor also felt sad in his heart, so he put down his chopsticks and stood up. The next day, the emperor pardoned Song Lian's death penalty and placed him in Maozhou. The emperor once asked felons to build city walls. Empress Ma said: "To atone for one's sins by punishing them with hard labor is the greatest favor the state can give to prisoners who have committed serious crimes. However, if the already tired prisoners are subjected to more hard labor, they may still die." The emperor then pardoned them all. The emperor once scolded the palace officials very angrily. Queen Ma also pretended to be angry and had someone sent to the Palace Chief to convict him. The emperor said: "Why?" Empress Ma said: "The emperor does not reward and punish at will based on happiness and anger. When you are angry, I am afraid you will be biased. If you hand it over to Gong Zhengsi, the judgment will be more reasonable. That is Your Majesty, your conviction should be handed over to the relevant departments." One day, Queen Ma asked Zhu Yuanzhang: "Are the people living in peace now?" Zhu Yuanzhang said, "This is not what you should ask." Queen Ma said: "Your Majesty, you are the father of the world. I am lucky to be the mother of the world. How can I not ask about the safety of my child?" Whenever there was a disaster, Queen Ma would lead the palace people to eat simple meals and help the people pray. . Sometimes the emperor told the queen about disaster relief, and the queen said: "It is better to save money in advance than to provide disaster relief." Sometimes the court officials had a dinner in the palace after reporting the matter, and Queen Ma would order the eunuchs to bring wine and food to taste in advance. It tasted bad, so he told the emperor: "As a master, you should be poor in supporting yourself, and you should be generous in supporting others." The emperor punished Guanglu Guan for this.

The emperor wanted to find the queen's clan members to assign officials and titles, but the queen refused and said: "It is against the law to prefer the family of a relative to the family of the queen." The queen firmly refused and stopped the matter. However, sometimes when talking about the premature death of her parents, the queen often burst into tears. In August of the fifteenth year of Hongwu's reign, Queen Ma felt sick while sleeping. The ministers asked for prayers and sacrifices and for a good doctor. Empress Ma said to the emperor: "Death and life are determined by fate. What's the use of praying and offering sacrifices? Besides, how can doctors keep people alive? If the medicine doesn't work, I'm afraid the doctors will be punished because of me, right?" When his condition worsened, the emperor asked him what he wanted to say. Queen Ma said: "I hope that your Majesty will seek out capable people, listen to other people's opinions, and take them seriously from beginning to end, so that his descendants will be able to be capable, and ministers and people can rely on them." He died on Bingxu of this month at the age of fifty-one. . The emperor was very sad and no longer had a queen.