Editorial

    The Prince of Yan burned down the Imperial Palace and this was awful because the only reason he did was so that he could swoop in and steal the throne. Zhu Di was only thinking from his perspective when he did all of this. He wasn't trying to "help" China or anything like that since at the time China wasn't actually having any sort of problems; he simply wanted the throne. It wasn't fair to Jianwen, Empress Ma, or the people of China. Zhu Di was a very selfish man and even though he brought good things to China in the end, most of what he did in the beginning of his life in a governmental position (starting with being the Prince of Yan and then going on to be emperor) was ridiculous and wrong. The Imperial Palace was a historical landmark. It was also the private property of Emperor Jianwen, who Zhu Di killed during the burning along with Empress Ma. Then for selfish reasons, Zhu Di went on to change the legal records, naming Empress Ma his mother. Zhu Di didn't seem to understand that at the time being emperor wasn't something that you decided for yourself; it was passed down through the family. Even though Hongwu (Jianwen's father, the previous emperor) did actually want Zhu Di, instead of Jianwen, to become emperor, Zhu Di should not have taken over the position. Being emperor was rightfully Jianwen's and Zhu Di pretty much just stole that from him. Zhu Di was a selfish man and burning the Imperial Palace was a selfish act.