Yao Guangxiao

Yao Guangxiao (姚廣孝, 1335–1418), also known by his dharma name Daoyan (道衍), was a Chinese military strategist, statesman and Chan Buddhist monk who lived in the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties.

Daoyan was born in Changzhou County (today a part of Suzhou, Jiangsu), and was ordained as a bhikkhu (full monk) at the age of fourteen.

It was Daoyan who suggested driving south to attack Nanjing directly, which made Zhu Di the final victor.

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.

[3] Yao died in Qingshou Temple, Beijing, in 1418, and was given the posthumous name Gongjing (恭靖) by the Yongle Emperor.