Wikipedia's first sentence called it “noted chinese general of the 14th century who helped zhu yuanzhang establish the ming dynasty”. Today it says “chinese muslim and military general who lived in the 14th century”.
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The opening as it read in 2010
Hu Dahai 胡大海 (? -1362), styled Tongfu 通甫, was a noted Chinese general of the 14th Century who helped Zhu Yuanzhang establish the Ming Dynasty . He was born in what is now Si County in Anhui Province . Hu's family was of Persian extraction (though he was almost certainly of mixed Persian-Chinese blood), having come to China with the Mongol armies and settled in Anhui as simple you tiao vendors. Hu joined the army of Zhu Yuanzhang sometime around the fall of the Yuan Dynasty . After Zhu's forces crossed the Yangtze they captured all of southern Anhui, most of Zhejiang , and other surrounding areas. Hu received positions of leadership and led troops which defeated rival warlord Yang Wanzhe, leading other Miao chieftains Jiang Ying, Liu Zhen, and Li Fu to surrender. Hu served as administrator of the entire Jiangnan region, and was responsible for safeguarding the Jinhua area of Zhejiang. Although Hu Dahai was illiterate , he was renowned for his humility and willingness to accept suggestions from his subordinates. Hu recommended several well-known scholars and officials from Zhejiang to the service of Zhu Yuanzhang, who later became Emperor Hongwu, including Liu Bowen , Song Lian , Ye Chen , Zhang Yi . Hu's troops were highly disciplined, and Hu once said of them: "My fighting men do not know writing, they only know three duties: do not kill, do not violate women and girls, and do not burn down huts or farmhouses." In early 1362 , Miao chieftains Jiang Ying, Liu Zhen, and Li Fu came to came to appear before Hu in Yanzhou (now part of Jinhua and Hangzhou , not to be confused with Yanzhou in Shandong ) and offer their surrender and allegiance. Hu lauded the men for their courage and made them honorary officers under his command. However, the three chieftains had no intentions of ever serving Hu. Soon after their surrender, Jiang Ying invited Hu to perform a review of some crossbowmen at the Bayong Tower in Jinhua. As Hu prepared to mount his horse and leave the review, a Miao soldier came running up and fell on his knees in front of Hu's horse, and declared that Jiang Ying was trying to kill him. Hu turned and looked at Ying, who withdrew a wooden club he had hidden in his sleeve and attacked Hu, bashing his skull and killing him. At the same time, other Miao men attacked and killed Hu's son Hu Guanzhu, as well as Geng Zaicheng. The Miao men looted the city and fled back into their mountain homes.1Hu is believed to have been Muslim .2History of Ming , juan 133.3
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 367562308.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Hu Dahai Hu Dahai 胡大海 (? -1362), styled Tongfu 通甫, Chinese general of the 14th century who helped Zhu Yuanzhang establish the Ming Dynasty . He was born in what is now Si County in Anhui Province . Hu's family was of Persian extraction (though he was almost certainly of mixed Persian-Chinese blood), having come to China through the Silk Road and settled in Anhui as simple you tiao vendors. Hu joined the army of Zhu Yuanzhang sometime around the fall of the Yuan Dynasty . After Zhu's forces crossed the Yangtze they captured all of southern Anhui, most of Zhejiang , and other surrounding areas. Hu received positions of leadership and led troops which defeated rival warlord Yang Wanzhe, leading other Miao chieftains Jiang Ying, Liu Zhen, and Li Fu to surrender. Hu served as administrator of the entire Jiangnan region, and was responsible for safeguarding the Jinhua area of Zhejiang. Although Hu Dahai was illiterate , he was renowned for his humility and willingness to accept suggestions from his subordinates. Hu recommended several well-known scholars and officials from Zhejiang to the service of Zhu Yuanzhang, who later became Emperor Hongwu, including Liu Bowen , Song Lian , Ye Chen, Zhang Yi. Hu's troops were highly disciplined, and Hu once said of them: "My fighting men do not know writing, they only know three duties: do not kill, do not violate women and girls, and do not burn down huts or farmhouses." In early 1362, Miao chieftains Jiang Ying, Liu Zhen, and Li Fu came to appear before Hu in Yanzhou (now part of Jinhua and Hangzhou , not to be confused with Yanzhou in Shandong ) and offer their surrender and allegiance. Hu lauded the men for their courage and made them honorary officers under his command. However, the three chieftains had no intentions of ever serving Hu. Soon after their surrender, Jiang Ying invited Hu to perform a review of some crossbowmen at the Bayong Tower in Jinhua. As Hu prepared to mount his horse and leave the review, a Miao soldier came running up and fell on his knees in front of Hu's horse, and declared that Jiang Ying was trying to kill him. Hu turned and looked at Ying, who withdrew a wooden club he had hidden in his sleeve and attacked Hu, bashing his skull and killing him. At the same time, other Miao men attacked and killed Hu's son Hu Guanzhu, as well as Geng Zaicheng. The Miao men looted the city and fled back into their mountain homes. History of Ming , juan 133.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 669358939.
The opening as it stood in 2020 18 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
In this article, the surname is Hu .Hu Dahai ( Chinese : 胡大海 ; pinyin : Hú Dàhǎi ; died 1362), courtesy name Tongfu ( 通甫 ), was a Chinese military general who lived in the 14th century.He is best known for helping Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor) establish the Ming dynasty in China.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 962503861.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
In this Chinese name , the family name is Hu . Hu Dahai ( Chinese : 胡大海 ; pinyin : Hú Dàhǎi ; died 1362), courtesy name Tongfu ( 通甫 ), was a Chinese Muslim and military general who lived in the 14th century. He is best known for helping Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor) establish the Ming dynasty in China.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1151842003. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “noted chinese general of the 14th century who helped zhu yuanzhang establish the ming dynasty”. Today it says “chinese muslim and military general who lived in the 14th century”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
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2020
Oct '23
2025
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
noted chinese general of the 14th century who helped zhu yuanzhang establish the ming dynasty
Now
chinese muslim and military general who lived in the 14th century
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.