Chronicles: The General History, 1337-1353

Page 1 of 3

1. Year 1337.

In the first month, Zhu Guangqing, a commoner in Zengcheng County, Guangdong, rose in rebellion. Shi Kunshan, Zhong Daming, and others responded, gathering followers and establishing the State of Great Jin, proclaiming the era name Chifu. In the fourth month, Nie Xiuqing and Tan Jingshan, residents of Huizhou's Guishan County, manufactured weapons and appointed Dai Jia as the "Radiant Buddha," joining forces with Zhu Guangqing to revolt against the Yuan dynasty. By the seventh month, the uprising failed, and Zhu Guangqing, Shi Kunshan, Zhong Daming, and others were captured.

In the second month, Bang Hu (Run'er) from Chenzhou used religious organizations to incite a popular uprising. Hu Shanhua, Bang Zhang (of Chenzhou), and Li Luzhou (of Kaizhou) also raised arms in support, but were suppressed by Qing Tong, Left Chancellor of the Henan Provincial Administration.

In the fourth month, Han Fashi, a commoner from Dazhu County in Hezhou, Sichuan, rose in rebellion, declaring himself King Zhao of the Southern Dynasties.

2. Year 1338.

In the fourth month, Bang Hu of Henan was captured and executed in the capital.

In the fourth month, the Emperor arrived at Balitang at dusk, where hailstones as large as fists fell, some shaped like children, precious stones, lions, elephants, and fish eggs.

In the sixth month, Buddhist monks Peng Yingyu and Zhou Ziwang of Yuanzhou gathered 5,000 followers in revolt. Zhou Ziwang proclaimed himself King Zhou, established an era name, but the uprising failed; Zhou Ziwang died, and Peng Yingyu fled to Huai West.

In the sixth month, Li Zhifu, a resident of Nansheng County in Zhangzhou, gathered a crowd to besiege Zhangzhou city. The local commander, Chuosijian, engaged them in battle but was defeated. The rebels then plundered Longxi, where local resident Xiao Jingmao raised militias to resist but was defeated and captured.

As the rebels grew stronger, a decree was issued for Baibuha, Chancellor of Jiang-Zhe, to lead troops from Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Guangdong provinces to suppress them, but without success.

3. Year 1339.

In the fourth month, a ban was issued forbidding Han Chinese, southerners, and Koreans from possessing military equipment and bows.

In the fourth month, red mist fell with the rain in Danyang County, Zhenjiang; leaves and clothing were stained red.

In the tenth month, actors and musicians were forbidden to wear elaborate costumes. Men were permitted to wear blue headscarves, women to wear purple garments, but both were forbidden to wear hats or ride horses.

3. Year 1340.

Bayan was exiled to Nan'en Prefecture, but died of illness en route.

In the third month, Chen Junyong, a righteous man in Zhangzhou, attacked and killed the rebel Li Zhifu, and was appointed Deputy Administrator of Zhangzhou.

In the fifth month, a ban was issued prohibiting civilians from possessing military equipment.

In the sixth month, the ancestral temple of Emperor Wenzong was abolished, the Grand Empress Dowager Hongjili was relocated to Dong'an Prefecture, and Crown Prince Yantie Gusi was sent to Goryeo. Soon after, the Empress Dowager died in Dong'an, and Yantie Gusi was murdered on the way.

In the seventh month, a ban was issued prohibiting people of Central Asian descent from marrying their paternal aunts.

In the tenth month, Mazhartai resigned as Right Chancellor but remained Grand Tutor. Tuo Tuo was appointed Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, and Zhaluhu Chitemur Buhua, head of the Imperial Clan, became Left Chancellor.

This year, Lady Qi was established as the second empress.

3. Year 1341.

In the third month, the royal seal was returned to Timurbuhua, who was appointed Pacifying Prince of Huai West.

In the fourth month, Jiang Bing of Daozhou and others rose in rebellion, capturing Jianghua County and pillaging Mingyuan County. In Zhangde, a red wind rose from the northwest, turning day into night.

In the fifth month, the local deity Wang Hua in Huizhou was granted the title King Zhaozhong Guangren Wulie Lingxian.

In the sixth month, in the regions of Chongming, Tong, and Tai around Yangzhou, tidal floods drowned over 1,600 people.

In the eleventh month, He Renfu of Daozhou and others rebelled. Local bandits Jiang Bing and others joined them, capturing several counties, and two hundred Yao villages in the mountain valleys joined in cross-border raids.

In the twelfth month, Han Sai and others in Cheli, Yunnan, rose in rebellion. In Shandong and Yannan, banditry ran rampant in over three hundred places, and officials were dispatched to suppress them.

In the twelfth month, the Sacrificial Rites Office was re-established, and the deity of the Hutuo River in Zhending was granted the title Marquis Zhaoyou Lingyuan.

4. Year 1342.

Tuo Tuo became Right Chancellor.

In the first month, Tuo Tuo opened the Jinkou River in the capital, fifty feet deep and one hundred and fifty feet wide, employing one hundred thousand laborers. In Datong, famine led to cannibalism, and grain was transported from the capital for relief.

In the fourth month, the Jinkou River project was completed; when the sluice gates were opened, the current was too swift and turbulent for ships to pass. During the excavation, homes and graves were destroyed, many laborers died or were injured, and the expenses were incalculable. In the end, the project failed.

In the sixth month, a mountain collapsed in Jinan, and water gushed forth.

In the seventh month, Mount Luofu in Huizhou collapsed. Mo Ba gathered followers in Qingyuan to rebel, capturing Nandan, Zuo, and Youjiang, and Tuo Tuo Chiyan was ordered to suppress them. A prison administration was established in the Upper Capital, modeled after the Capital's Military Administration.

In the seventh month, the papal envoy Marignolli arrived in China, reaching the Upper Capital, and presented a rare horse, thirteen feet long, six feet four inches high, entirely black with two white hind hooves.

In the ninth month, popular uprisings broke out in the capital, with gangs of strong bandits emerging.

In the ninth month, Gong Buban, Chancellor of Huguang, was dispatched with troops from Henan, Jiang-Zhe, and Huguang to suppress the Daozhou rebels, pacifying over two hundred strongholds.

This year, a great fire in Hangzhou destroyed nearly all government offices and homes.

5. Year 1343.

In the second month, the Wu Zhe people in Liaoyang rose in rebellion.

In the sixth month, over five hundred Hui Muslims crossed the river to attack Jie, Ji, Xi, and other prefectures.

In the seventh month, the capital city was repaired.

In the eighth month, a rebellion against the Yuan dynasty erupted in Shangpeng, Sichuan.

In Shandong, the insurgents burned and looted Yanzhou.

In the ninth month, Gong Buban, Chancellor of Huguang, captured the Daozhou and Hezhou Yao rebel leaders Tang Da'er and Jiang Renwu, bringing them to the capital for execution. Their comrade Jiang Bing proclaimed himself King Shuntian, capturing Lian and Gui prefectures.

In the twelfth month, famine struck Weihui, Jining, and Xinzhou, leading to cannibalism.

6. Year 1344.

In the first month, the Yellow River breached at Caozhou, and 15,800 laborers were hired for repairs. It also breached at Bianliang.

In the third month, Batu Ma Du'er was appointed Left Chancellor of the Liaodong Provincial Administration and successor to the Goryeo throne.

In the fifth month, Right Chancellor Tuo Tuo resigned and was replaced by Alutu as Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat.

In the fifth month, heavy rains caused the Yellow River to flood, submerging land under twenty feet of water, breaking the Baimao and Jin embankments, and causing disaster in Cao, Pu, Ji, and Yan. The elderly and weak perished, while the able-bodied were displaced. The water extended northward to Anshan, entering the Grand Canal, threatening to ruin two salt transport offices. Provincial officials reported the crisis, and the court dispatched inspectors and ordered senior ministers to devise flood control strategies.

In the seventh month, coastal salt laborer Guo Huonichi led a rebellion.

In the eighth month, continuous rain in Shandong led to famine and cannibalism, prompting relief efforts.

In the eighth month, Guo Huonichi advanced up Mount Taihang, entered Huguan via Lingchuan, reached Guangping, killed a military commander, and then returned to Yidu.

In the ninth month, He Weiyi, Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, was appointed Director of the Waterworks Bureau.

In the eleventh month, as famine gripped various counties, the forced distribution of salt was prohibited, and officials and civilians were banned from serving pearls at banquets. In Baoding, famine relief was provided with eighty thousand strings of cash and ten thousand shi of grain. Alcohol was banned in Henan due to famine.

7. Year 1345.

In the third month, great famine struck Dongping and Xuzhou, leading to cannibalism.

In the fourth month, wealthy households who donated more than fifty shi of rice were honored as Righteous Men.

In the fifth month, an edict ordered the release of 1,100 women and children captured by soldiers in Yunnan back to their homes, providing them with travel rations; those unwilling to return were free to stay.

In the seventh month, the Yellow River breached at Jiyin, washing away nearly all official and civilian homes.

In the tenth month, He Weiyi, Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, was appointed Grand Minister of Justice. By precedent, this office was not granted to non-imperial clans, but Weiyi declined; the emperor specially bestowed upon him the Mongol surname and renamed him Taiping.

8. Year 1346.

Bie'er Qie Buhua became Left Chancellor.

In the third month, uprisings erupted in the capital and Shandong.

In the third month, bandits blockaded the Li Kaiwu sluice on the river, robbing merchant boats. Though only forty horsemen were involved, they captured three hundred boats, yet none could catch them.

In the fourth month, chaos in Liaoyang over the hunting of gyrfalcons led to disturbances. Wu Zhe and Shui Dada Zhao Yi, Wanhu Maizhu, and others were killed while suppressing the Wu Zhe people.

In the fifth month, thieves stole ancestral temple spirit tablets.

In the sixth month, Luo Tianlin and Chen Jiwan, residents of Liancheng County in Tingzhou, started a rebellion, capturing Changting County. Fujian Military Secretariat officials Zhen Bao and Wanhu Lian Heshang were ordered to suppress them.

In the sixth month, Si Kefan rebelled in Yunnan, seizing Ludian. Yi Tuhun was ordered to suppress him as Chancellor of the Yunnan Provincial Administration.

In the seventh month, due to continued unrest among the Wu Zhe in Liaoyang, Grand Guardian Bosali was appointed Left Chancellor to pacify the region.

In the eighth month, Chancellor Hu Duhu of Jiang-Zhe and Chancellor Tu Lu of Jiangxi were ordered to jointly suppress Luo Tianlin.

In the tenth month, Luo Deyong, a Tingzhou bandit, killed Luo Tianlin and Chen Jiwan, sending their heads to the authorities, and the remaining rebels were pacified.

In the intercalary tenth month, Yao tribesman Wu Tianbao rebelled in Jingzhou, leading the Miao, Yao, and Dong peoples of Jingzhou and surrounding areas to rise up, capturing Qianyang. Huguang provincial officials and Hunan Pacification Commander Wan Zhe Tiemu'er were ordered to suppress them, killing and capturing several hundred rebels, and the Yao were routed.

In the twelfth month, banditry broke out in Shandong and Henan, and the Left and Right Asud Guard commanders Buerguo and others were sent to suppress them.

9. Year 1347.

Du'erzhi became Right Chancellor; He Weiyi became Left Chancellor.

In the second month, peasant uprisings in Henan and Shandong spread to Jining, Teng, Pi, Xuzhou, and other places.

In the second month, Wu Tianbao attacked Yuanzhou.

In the second month, eunuch Boteimu'er was appointed Minister of Works.

In the third month, Prince Boluo of Yunnan submitted reports of victory over Si Kefan.

In the third month, bandit Bi Si and thirty-six others rose up in Huashan, Jiqing. Prince Zhen Nan, Boluo Buhua, led tens of thousands of government troops but was defeated; later, salt laborers achieved success.

In the fourth month, peasant uprisings broke out in Linqing, Guangping, Luanhe, Tongzhou, and other places.

In the fifth month, Wu Tianbao captured Wugang, and Huguang Chancellor Sha Ban was sent to suppress him.

In the sixth month, Grand Tutor Mazhartai was dismissed and exiled to Xining; his son Tuo Tuo requested to accompany him.

In the seventh month, Wu Tianbao again attacked Yuanzhou, capturing Xupu and Chenxi counties, burning and looting wherever he went. Mazhartai was moved to Gansu due to slander from Bie'er Qie Buhua.

In the ninth month, the Hailing tribes of Hasnaha, Tulu, and Bo rose in rebellion, cutting off the northern postal route.

In the ninth month, Wu Tianbao captured Wugang for the second time, affecting Baoqing Prefecture; Sha Ban was defeated and killed.

In the tenth month, more than two hundred uprisings erupted among the Western Barbarians, who captured Harahuozhou, looted imperial grapes, and killed envoys.

This month, Yao rebel Wu Tianbao again raided Yuanzhou but was repelled by the local garrison.

In the eleventh month, banditry broke out along the Yangtze, with widespread pillaging that the authorities could not stop.

In the eleventh month, Wu Tianbao captured Wugang for the third time. Chancellor Gou'er was ordered to suppress him with troops, recapturing Jingzhou; Prince Weishun Kuan Che Buhua, Prince Zhen Nan Boluo Buhua, and the provincial administrations of Huguang and Jiangxi were ordered to combine forces.

In the eleventh month, more than 162,000 hectares of land in Shandong were allocated to the Grand Heavenly Protection Monastery.

In the eleventh month, Chancellor Taiping was appointed Left Chancellor of the Central Secretariat.

In the eleventh month, the provincial governments of Henan and Shandong were ordered to send troops to suppress the Huguang mountain bandits.

In the eleventh month, Mazhartai died, and Tuo Tuo was recalled to the capital.

In the twelfth month, Du'erzhi was appointed Right Chancellor of the Central Secretariat.

In the twelfth month, bandits in Henan moved unpredictably, so Mongol and Dadan troops were stationed at water and land passes from Yangzhou east to Xu and Pi, north to Jiama Camp, to intercept and capture bandits.

In the twelfth month, a celestial drum was reported in Weihui.

10. Year 1348.

In the first month, Huguang Chancellor Tu Chi and Hunan Pacification Commander Wan Zhe Tiemu'er were ordered to suppress the Mopan Cave tribes, capturing several hundred heads. The remaining more than twenty caves surrendered their chiefs, including Yang Lu Wu, who was sent to the capital.

In the second month, an edict was issued establishing the Waterworks Bureau at Jining and Yuncheng, with Jia Ru as director.

In the third month, Suohuonu rose in rebellion in Liaodong, claiming descent from the Great Jin. Tuo Tuo Hesu and Tangwu Huoluhuo, commanders of the Shui Dada, were sent to suppress and capture him.

In the third month, banditry broke out in Fujian, and due to the distance and difficulty of suppression, separate military secretariats were established in Ting and Zhang prefectures.

In the third month, Huguang sent envoys reporting victory over the Shibi Cave tribes.

In the third month, Wu Tianbao attacked Yuanzhou for the fourth time but was unsuccessful.

In the fourth month, Tuo Tuo was appointed Grand Tutor. Huguang commander Zhang Boyan led troops to pursue local bandits Mo Wanwu and Man Lei, but Guangxi bandits took advantage of the situation to invade, forcing Boyan to retreat.

In the fifth month, heavy rains caused the collapse of the capital city.

Peasant uprisings broke out in Haining and Shuyang.

In the sixth month, Xuzhou was elevated to a general administration, with Pi, Su, Teng, and Yi counties under its jurisdiction.

In the tenth month, Guangxi tribes plundered Daozhou.

In the eleventh month, Yao rebel Wu Tianbao led sixty thousand followers to plunder Quanzhou.

In the eleventh month, Fang Guozhen of Taizhou rebelled, gathering followers at sea. Chancellor Du'erzhi of Jiang-Zhe was ordered to suppress him.

This year, an edict was issued granting silk to the elderly, and a separate military secretariat was established in Yizhou, appointing Mailede as commander to guard against Shandong bandits.

11. Year 1349.

Tuo Tuo became Right Chancellor.

The Yellow River breached its banks, and Jia Ru, as director of the Waterworks Bureau, devised methods to address it.

In the first month, Yao rebels captured Daozhou.

In the first month, Waterworks Bureaus were established in Shandong and Henan to manage flood control.

In the first month, Guangxi Yao rebels again captured Daozhou, but Commander Zheng Jun drove them off.

In the third month, another breach occurred north of the Yellow River.

In the third month, a qilin was born in Chenzhou but died without being nursed.

In the third month, the Ba River became shallow; ten thousand soldiers and ten thousand laborers were employed to dredge it.

In the third month, famine struck Jiaozhou, leading to cannibalism.

In the third month, Minister of Agriculture Dashitemuer was appointed Chancellor of Huguang.

In the third month, Wu Tianbao led his troops to attack Yuanzhou again.

In the fourth month, a pacification office was established at Zhigu, Haijin.

In the seventh month, Censor Wolehaishou impeached Hanma, a Censor at Court, and his brother Xuexue for crimes. Grand Minister of Justice Han Jianna reported it, but no action was taken. After three petitions, Hanma and Xuexue were stripped of office.

In the seventh month, Princess Budanixini was granted fifty hectares of farmland in Pingjiang.

In the seventh month, Right Chancellor Du'erzhi was dismissed and restored to his former rank as King, while Left Chancellor Taiping became Chief Academician of the Hanlin Academy.

In the intercalary seventh month, Tuo Tuo was appointed Left Chancellor and Grand Tutor; Han Jina was sent as Chancellor to Jiang-Zhe; Yekezhaluhu Chasuojian was appointed Right Chancellor and Deputy Director of the Privy Council.

In the intercalary seventh month, Prince Ala was appointed to pacify the Western Barbarians.

In the intercalary seventh month, Yilianzhen Banti was appointed Director of the Armory.

In the twelfth month, Cao Qiqi of Pingyao, Jining, and other counties rose in rebellion; Minister of Justice Bashi and Commander Shabuting were ordered to suppress them.

In the twelfth month, Wu Tianbao captured Chenzhou. Soon after, he and his Miao, Yao, and Dong allies, numbering sixty thousand, swept north, capturing Tanzhou and Yuezhou, fighting through Hubei, entering Henan, and briefly occupying Xingyang. Wu Tianbao was later killed in battle, and his followers mostly joined the forces of Liu Futong, Xu Shouhui, or Chen Youliang.

12. Year 1350.

In the first month, Right Chancellor Shuosijian was appointed Chancellor.

In the first month, the Civil and Military Administration of Rongmei Cave, Sichuan, was established.

In the first month, a meteorite fell in Dizh...