Entry

Yong-le: Year 16, Month 6, Day 9

12 Jul 1418

Next Entry >>
<< Previous Entry

Imperial orders were sent to the Feng-cheng Marquis Li Bin, regional commander of Jiao-zhi. The orders read as follows: "The way of a general lies in five elements--bravery, wisdom, benevolence, trustworthiness and loyalty. If he is brave, he will be invincible; if he is wise, he will not be misled; if he is benevolent, he will have affection for the people; if he is trustworthy, he will not engage in deceit; and if he is loyal, his heart will not be divided. Only with all these five attributes will one be a fine general. I have commanded you to pacify the distant yi and to institute rule. You should act in accordance with the ways of the fine generals of old. Respect this!"

Tai-zong: juan 201.1a

Zhong-yang Yan-jiu yuan Ming Shi-lu, volume 14, page 2089

Next Entry >>
<< Previous Entry

Preferred form of citation for this entry:

Geoff Wade, translator, Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu: an open access resource, Singapore: Asia Research Institute and the Singapore E-Press, National University of Singapore, http://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/reign/yong-le/year-16-month-6-day-9, accessed January 22, 2019