If viewed from the historical environment at that time, Zhu Yuanzhang's pig's waist and son's face did not vilify Zhu Yuanzhang, but helped Zhu Yuanzhang establish the image of the emperor endowed by heaven, thus consolidating his dominant position.
In ancient times, the birth of emperors and ministers was usually accompanied by strange phenomena or strange expressions. The reason for doing this is nothing more than to enhance the rationality and legitimacy of acquired recognition with the help of the power of heaven. It is also easier to get the respect and support of ordinary people.
According to the Ming History, when Zhu Yuanzhang's mother Chen was just pregnant, she dreamed of "the pill given by God" and put it in her hand. It smells good after eating it. Later, Chen gave birth to Zhu Yuanzhang. On the night of Zhu Yuanzhang's birth, "red light filled the room", all of which penetrated outside the room. When the neighbors saw it, they thought that Zhujiajian Island was on fire and went to Zhujiajian Island to put out the fire with buckets and washbasins. As a result, it turned out that Zhu Yuanzhang was born.
Of course, we won't believe this phenomenon when Zhu Yuanzhang was born, unless Zhu Yuanzhang himself can shine. But the ancients did not think so. They will think that Zhu Yuanzhang is the real son of heaven, so there will be a fairy escort, and the room will be full of red light when he is born. In an instant, Zhu Yuanzhang changed from a man to a god and became a justified monarch in the hearts of ordinary people.
Through the research of relevant scholars, it is found that Zhu Yuanzhang's pig waist face is actually a "dragon face", which is very similar to the facial contour of the dragon in the early Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang's "dragon face" shape further helped Zhu Yuanzhang consolidate his dominant position. Zhu Yuanzhang's portrait of pig kidney face is likely to be deliberately painted by Zhu Yuanzhang and spread to the people.
After the portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang's pig's waist and face was widely circulated among the people, in order to further highlight Zhu Yuanzhang's real position as the dragon emperor, some people learned the story of 72 moles on Liu Bang's thigh and began to add pockmarks to the face of Zhu Yuanzhang's portrait. From then on, Zhu Yuanzhang's portrait of pig kidney began to have all kinds of pockmarks. These pockmarks range from a dozen to more than a dozen, covering the whole face.
This is the origin of Zhu Yuanzhang's pig waist and pig face. Because it helped to stabilize the imperial power, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not collect and destroy such portraits. It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang's pig kidney face did not mean to be ugly. Therefore, it is not wrong to use this face to depict Zhu Yuanzhang in TV series.
Does Zhu Yuanzhang really have a pig kidney face? According to the analysis of the portraits and related classics collected in the museums of the two places, Zhu Yuanzhang should be a person with outstanding appearance. Besides, his son Judy, as well as his grandchildren Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Gaochi and others, all look very much like him.
The picture above is a portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang's court. Although there are inevitably traces of beauty, the general outline and appearance should not be too different.
Zhu Yuanzhang has two completely different portraits, because each has its own purpose, and no one can miscalculate. If you pursue realism, use court portraits. If it is the pursuit of freehand brushwork, there is nothing wrong with depicting Zhu Yuanzhang as a pig's waist face. What's more, Zhu Yuanzhang's pig's waist and pig's face didn't mean to belittle and uglify.