Yao Guangxiao (姚廣孝, 1335–1418), also known by his

dharma name A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The nam ...

Daoyan (), was a Chinese military strategist, statesman and

Chan Buddhist Chan (; of ), from Sanskrit '' dhyāna'' (meaning "meditation" or "meditative state"), is a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It developed in China from the 6th century CE onwards, becoming especially popular during the Tang and So ...

monk who lived in the late Yuan and early

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

dynasties. Daoyan was born in Changzhou County (today a part of Suzhou,

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

), and was ordained as a ''

bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

'' (full monk) at the age of fourteen. He studied Buddhist dharma, ''

yin yang Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces. In Chinese cosmology, the universe creates itself out of a primary chaos of material energy, organized into the cycles of yin and ya ...

'' and divination. In 1382, he came to

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, and was appointed the

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

of Qingshou Temple ( 慶壽寺). Later, he became a close adviser of the imperial prince

Zhu Di The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyna ...

, the Prince of Yan.''

History of Ming The ''History of Ming'' or the ''Ming History'' (''Míng Shǐ'') is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It ...

'', vol. 145 According to ''

'', it was Daoyan who suggested a revolt against the

Jianwen Emperor The Jianwen Emperor (5 December 1377 – ?), personal name Zhu Yunwen (), was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1398 to 1402. The era name of his reign, Jianwen, means "establishing civility" and represented a sharp chan ...

after the emperor, a nephew of Zhu Di, started to crack down on the influence of his uncles the imperial princes. Daoyan played an important role in the resulting three-year civil war, the Jingnan Campaign, which resulted in the disappearance of the Jianwen Emperor, and the Prince of Yan becoming the new Yongle Emperor. He was left in Beijing together with

Zhu Gaochi The Hongxi Emperor (16 August 1378 – 29 May 1425), personal name Zhu Gaochi (朱高熾), was the fourth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1424 to 1425. He succeeded his father, the Yongle Emperor, in 1424. His era name "Hongxi" means ...

to guard the base area. Zhu Di asked him for strategy through letters before important battles. It was Daoyan who suggested driving south to attack

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

directly, which made Zhu Di the final victor. After Zhu Di was crowned the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

, Daoyan was bestowed the name Yao Guangxiao, and granted the title Crown Prince's Preceptor (). The Yongle Emperor ordered him to return to secular life but he refused. He was then ordered to participate in superintending the recompilation of '' Taizu Shilu'', the imperial annal of the Ming dynasty's founder, the Hongwu Emperor. Later, he was appointed general editor of the ''

Yongle Encyclopedia The ''Yongle Encyclopedia'' () or ''Yongle Dadian'' () is a largely-lost Chinese ''leishu'' encyclopedia commissioned by the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty in 1403 and completed by 1408. It comprised 22,937 manuscript rolls or chapters, in 1 ...

'' together with

Xie Jin Xie Jin (; 21 November 1923 – 18 October 2008) was a Chinese film director. He rose to prominence in 1957, directing the film ''Woman Basketball Player No. 5'', and is considered one of the Third Generation directors of China. Most recently he ...

. Yao died in Qingshou Temple, Beijing, in 1418, and was given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments ...

''Gongjing'' () by the Yongle Emperor. His ashes was buried underneath Yao Guangxiao Pagoda (, in modern Changlesi Village, Qinglonghu Town,

Fangshan District Fangshan District () is situated in the southwest of Beijing, away from downtown Beijing. It has an area of and a population of 814,367 (2000 Census). The district is divided into 8 subdistricts, 14 towns, and 6 townships. The district administ ...

, Beijing).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yao, Guangxiao 1335 births 1418 deaths Politicians from Suzhou Ming dynasty politicians Yuan dynasty Buddhist monks Chan Buddhists Rinzai Buddhists Ming dynasty Buddhist monks