Around the two imperial edicts of the Ming Dynasty, in the past 20 years, a family in Huitong County, Hunan Province has fought three lawsuits, involving the ownership and custody of imperial edicts and even the so-called right to read. A reporter recently interviewed this bizarre event.
It all started more than 600 years ago. 1369 and 1377, Zhu Yuanzhang, the great emperor of the Ming Dynasty, issued two imperial edicts to commend Wang Mei, the founding hero, and made Wang Mei a loyal military commander and commander-in-chief with thousands of troops. According to historical records, Wang Mei was a native of Fengyang, Anhui Province and a fellow villager of Zhu Yuanzhang. He was an important military official in the Yuan Dynasty, but later, because he was dissatisfied with the dark rule of the Yuan Dynasty, he defected to Zhu Yuanzhang's uprising team. Zhu Yuanzhang made great contributions in the battle to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty and establish the Ming Dynasty. Wang Mei accepted Zhu Yuanzhang's letters and led his troops to Huitong County, Hunan Province, leaving him a pulse of interest.
Now, over 600 years have passed. Although the former glory of the Wang family has gone far away, it has left two imperial edicts to future generations.
However, in the 1970s, these two imperial edicts mysteriously disappeared. Until 1975, it appeared mysteriously again. It was the winter of 1975. My mother, descendants of Wang and a villager in Pinxi Village, Jinziyan Township, Huitong County, found craftsmen to repair the old house that had lived for hundreds of years. The worker climbed to the roof and felt it, only to find a small bag wrapped in straw mats. When I opened it, everyone present was shocked. It turned out to be two well-preserved imperial edicts that have been missing for many years.
The two imperial edicts are made of yellow silk, equal in size and 1 in length. 8 meters, width 0. Three meters. The imperial edict was written in print, and the handwriting was clear and powerful. The first is to seal the official position, and the second is to seal the hereditary. According to the identification of cultural relics experts, these two letters were sent by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming emperor, and lasted for more than 600 years. So, why is the imperial edict hidden on the roof of the old house?
According to Wang Yilong, perhaps during the Cultural Revolution, Wang Yilong's father was afraid that the imperial edict except four old houses would be confiscated or destroyed, so he temporarily hid the imperial edict on the top floor of the old house. Later, Wang Yilong's father died suddenly. Before he died, he didn't-he didn't have time to tell the secret, so he didn't. I haven't solved the mystery until now.
However, just as Wang Yilong and the other three brothers celebrated finding the imperial edict again, the imperial edict disappeared again.
On that day, Wang Liren, a craftsman who discovered the imperial edict and a relative of the Wangs, offered to borrow the imperial edict to have a look, saying that it was to check the genealogy and which generation the ancestors left. Wang's mother agreed. But when Wang's mother asked again, she refused to give it and told a secret, which surprised everyone.
Wang Liren said that he had read this imperial edict when he was a child. Not only the imperial edict, but also other treasures handed down by Wang Mei, such as official hats, uniforms and flags, were preserved by his parents. However, 1957 when he came home from the army, he found that all these things were gone, which should be lost. Now that the imperial edict has been published, it should be returned to its original owner.
How did the imperial edict come down? What is the relationship between Wang Liren and Wang Yilong? Four brothers? How can the imperial edict bring them together? It all starts with the history of the Wangs. According to Wang's American Genealogy, there are three sons, the firstborn, and four brothers are the second. As for whether the imperial edict reached Wang Li's home or whether Wang Yilong was in the United States, it is impossible to know everything.
Inevitably, a lawsuit surrounding the ownership of the imperial edict was finally launched among the descendants of Wang Mei more than 600 years later. June 1988, four B.
The imperial court has made a clear judgment on the ownership of the imperial edict, so it should be calm. However, just because Wang Yisheng, the second of the four Wang brothers, withdrew the imperial edict first, the Wang brothers caused an uproar and the situation became turbulent again.
The other three brothers knew that the imperial edict had been retrieved by the second child for eight years, and they were all very angry about it, because the second child had never mentioned it to them for eight years, and they always thought that the imperial edict was temporarily kept by the county cultural relics bureau. When they found Wang Yisheng, Wang Yisheng admitted to withdrawing the imperial edict, but refused to show it to the other three brothers for various reasons. The three brothers were very angry and realized that the imperial edict should belong to four people. They must think of a suitable way to save it. However, from 2000 to 2007, the four brothers failed to reach a consensus. During this period, Wang Yisheng refused to show the imperial edict to the other three brothers. In desperation, in June 2007, three brothers, Wang Yixing, Wang Yilong and Yif Wang, took the second child, Wang Yisheng, to court, demanding custody of the imperial edict.
This time, Huitong County Court chose mediation. After the patient persuasion of the judge, the four brothers finally reached the imperial edict and continued to be kept by Wang Yisheng for free, and the other three brothers compensated Wang Yisheng at one time. 50 thousand yuan storage fee, mediation agreement once a year to see the imperial edict. Soon, Wang Yixing, Wang Yilong and Yif Wang saw the imperial edict as they wished, and the four brothers were reconciled. The third lawsuit: the first involves the right to watch and the right to pay homage.
The ownership of the imperial edict was established, the problem of custody was solved, and everything seemed to be settled. However, the tree wants to be quiet, but the wind doesn't. Do not stop. Less than half a year after the four brothers, another lawsuit came unexpectedly. This lawsuit involves the right to watch and the right to pay homage to the imperial edict, which really poses an unprecedented problem to the court.
This is the end of 2007. One day, some unexpected guests came to Wang Yilong's house. They are Wang Renbai's uncle and Wang's cousin. His uncle's sudden arrival in the United States made Wang Yilong uneasy. Sure enough, my uncle's family came to take the imperial edict, and proposed that as descendants of Wang Mei, they should share, watch and praise the imperial edict.
The court has made a judgment, and the Wang brothers naturally refuse to accept it. At this time, Uncle Wang Renbai told an unexpected fact: At the beginning, Wang Yilong's father, Wang Rensong, and his own younger brother were only ordered to take care of the imperial edict as the eldest son. Now, Wang Rensong is no longer alive. According to local customs, the imperial edict should be given to his brother for safekeeping. Apart from the living elders, how can they be handed over to the next generation?
In this regard, Wang Can four brothers. I don't agree. Wang Yilong believes that grandpa will naturally pass the imperial edict to his father, and his father will pass it on to them! How can it be regarded as a guardian?