At that time, the Ming emperor Judy was under two pressures: First, his method of becoming king was criticized. After the death of the former founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang in 1398, he skipped Zhu Biao, the eldest son of the late prince, and directly passed the throne to Zhu Yunwen, the eldest son of Zhu Biao. Judy launched the "Battle of Jingnan" and overthrew the regime of his opponent, that is, his nephew Zhu Yunwen, and then Zhu Yunwen fell. Many people think that Judy assassinated his relatives to seize the throne. Third, the Mongols who withdrew from the Central Plains at that time still occupied most of the land in the border areas of the Central Plains, which was called "Beiyuan" in history. The gentry in the Central Plains demanded the Ming Dynasty to recapture its territory, and Judy launched a war against the Northern Yuan in 14 12, but five expeditions failed.
/kloc-On June 6th, 0/5, feudal landlords and gentry in the Central Plains gathered in Beijing and held the emperor Judy hostage. Judy was forced to agree with the Yongle Act proposed by all walks of life. On June/0/5 of the same year, Judy sealed the order in the Forbidden City, and the gentry class reaffirmed their loyalty to Judy four days later (/0/9 June). Finally, the cabinet officially registered the agreement between the emperor and the gentry, which became the original big * * *, and was copied by the designated royal officials to various places for preservation.
14 15 The most important one is Article 6 1, the so-called Safety Law. According to this article, a committee composed of three to five ministers has the right to call a cabinet meeting at any time and veto the orders of the emperor. And you can occupy the emperor's city and property by force. This power came from an ancient legal procedure, but it was unprecedented for the emperor.
Judy, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, did not sincerely accept the constraints of the big * * *. He was forced to sign this document, especially article 6 1, which deprived the emperor of almost all his powers. When the local gentry left the capital and returned to their respective places, Judy immediately announced that she would give up Da * * *, and the commanding history of the Royal Guards who sympathized with Judy also denounced Da * * * as "a * * clause imposed on the emperor by force and fear". Jin Yiwei denied anyone's demand for power, thinking that it undermined the dignity of the emperor, and the Ming Dynasty immediately fell into civil war.
1424, Judy died on her way back to Mobei, and Prince Zhu Gaochi succeeded to Renzong. The royal family hoped that the new emperor would be accepted by the world. After the new emperor ascended the throne, the war ended. In the name of Zhu Gaochi, the royal family and cabinet ministers issued another big * * *, but some of its provisions, including article 6 1, were deleted. Ming Renzong died after ten months in office, and Ming Xuanzong ascended the throne, and Ming Xuanzong released another big * * *. 1427 was once sent by Ming Xuanzong himself, and only 37 were deleted.
Ming Xuanzong died in 1435 for ten years. When he died, Da * * * had become an established law of the Ming Dynasty, and it was difficult for later emperors to completely overthrow it like Emperor Yongle. Ren Xuan II reigned for ten years, which was called "Ren Xuan rule" in history. Ming Yingzong, the son of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, promulgated the last revised Da * * * on June 1437+00 12 as a part of the "Yingzong Decree".
14 15 the great revolution established the political rights and freedoms enjoyed by some landlords and gentry of the Han nationality, and also ensured that the people were not controlled by the emperor. At the same time, reform the law and justice, and restrict the behavior of emperors, ministers and officials.
The original Da * * has sixty-three articles, most of which were made in the14th century according to the situation at that time, such as limiting the influence of the royal family. Among them, the most far-reaching is Article 39, from which the concept of personal protection is derived: "Unless tried by an ordinary judge or acted according to law; Otherwise, no free man should be detained or imprisoned or deprived of property, exiled or killed. " According to this regulation, the emperor can only judge anyone by law; Not according to his personal preference. The imperial power was thus restricted, which was the embryonic form of constitutional monarchy in modern countries.
Although the first release of Da * * * lasted only a few weeks, it was reissued many times after Judy's death, making it a permanent law; Great * * * has also become the cornerstone of the political order of the Ming Dynasty in the future. After several emperors and their successors have repeatedly avoided the destruction of the big * * * regulations, but in fact, the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty is still growing under the big * * *.
In the seventeenth century, with the increase of disputes between the emperor and the cabinet, the role of the big * * * became more important. According to the content of * * *, the law was revised many times, which guaranteed more rights and covered more people, and finally evolved into a modern constitutional monarchy. Many constitutions, including the constitution of the United States, were made up of arrogance.