.Chapter 34: The Soul of China (IV)

"With such a foolish monarch, there are naturally countless ministers and mediocre ministers. The so-called "study and good" in the Ming Dynasty, in fact, the "fake" in the past, is false and bad" in the fence. The eight-part essays take moral articles first, and the selected talents and intelligence are all abandoned on false decoratives. The words of sages and sage morality and human ethics are actually without shame. The so-called literati only seek the hope of the people in the forest with amazing words, promote the achievements of ancestors, hold the gods of dead people to deal with the kings in an upright manner, praise the etiquette of corruption and decline, and be ashamed to be used in the world. In the Ming Dynasty, the powerful eunuchs were like Wei Zhongxian, Wang Zhen, Liu Jin, Wang Zhi, Ma Shiying, etc., and the ministers such as Yan Song, Cui Chengxiu, Wen Tiren, Zhou Yanru, Ruan Dacheng, etc., which was the most tyrant of the country and the suffering of the people were also the most in all dynasties."

"Take Wen Tiren as an example, he is a man of evil spirits, and is deeply stubborn, and he is guilty of every word. At that time, there were poems in Beijing to satirize it, "The Ministry of Rites reopened the Tianlist, and the top scholar was a little frightened; the cabinet was turned into a museum, and the turtle and turtle bamboo strips were always plague." For example, the Southern Ming Ge Ma Shiying, "The Secretariat has it everywhere, the governor walks all over the streets; the supervision and discipline are as numerous as sheep, and the position is as cheap as dogs. The husband only needs money, the emperor should eat wine; sweep all the money in Jiangnan and fill the Ma family'. These mediocre bureaucrats are nothing more than a struggle for power and profit, and have no knowledge of their practice, have no idea about people's livelihood and scientific progress, and have no idea of ​​the public interests of the state and nation. They are completely typical waste cultivated by the Neo-Confucian system and the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty."

"The so-called technological progress in the Ming Dynasty was really nonsense. In the Ming Dynasty, the ruling class used the absurd theory of Neo-Confucianism to kill ideological vitality and prohibit scientific and technological progress, which was really hard to write. The Ming Taizu extremely disliked the 'strange skills and skillful' and issued several edicts to ban it. The Ming history records that, "The Ming Taizu Pingyuan, Sitianjian entered the crystal carvings, and two puppets were installed in the middle, and they could hit the drums on time. Taizu broke it because it was useless." The "Ming Taizu" records that, "Indifference can nourish the heart, frugality can nourish virtue, even if you fail, you can change your luxury.

Therefore, strange skills are all tools that harm the mind and virtue. "I see that the ancients cannot be ignored in the good of voices, such as Gong Liu and Tai Wang and Tai Wang, who are not good at the same time. If Tai Kang is in the pan, Jie and Zhou are indulging in the palaces, gardens, and hunting prayers and temples, these are the tricks of the good. This is the cause of the decline of Chinese civilization."

"The Ming Dynasty's contempt for the so-called strange skills became a tool for 'Jingnan propaganda' in the Zhu Di era. "Fengtian Jingnan Record" accused Zhu Yunwen of "also using strange skills and charming people... There are people from the palaces of each royal palace, and they all chose to stay and behave in the ordinary..." "Equipping science and technology with male dramas and linking them with corrupt morality, how can we talk about progress?"

"Zhu Zhanji, who was praised as the 'saint', sent a sage edict: 'Those who serve the people will be instructed to do their own work, be filial to their parents and elders, be harmonious with neighbors, do not be lazy, do not be clever, and do not violate the charter, then be a good citizen." If you engage in scientific and technological activities, you will no longer be a good citizen, so ignorant, and openly kill social progress, it is understandable in the dark and ignorant era, but you will want to restore such culture today. What is the meaning of?"

"In March of the eighth year of Tianshun, the Censor Lu Hong reported that, 'In recent years, the title has been given by love, the salary has been given by favor, the piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, or the skillful skills, or the stewardship of the servants, all of which have been infringed on official positions and have been listed in court, and have lost the granary and salary, and have no supplementary management." During the Chenghua period, Xia Chongwen, the head of the Ministry of Personnel of Nanjing, wrote a letter saying: "The old chapters that our ancestors have shown, stories that can be seen in the past dynasties are written on screens for viewing... The strange skills are forbidden to compete for the craftsmen, saving work costs to enrich the people's wealth... and eliminating heretics to correct people's hearts."

"In September of the seventh year of Hongzhi, the Ministry of War submitted a report to the six departments of the six departments to the minister Chen Ge to ask for his mission, "The system of ancestors is to establish rewards to treat the ministers, and to test military merits to give military positions. As for the various craftsmen, they have never given a job lightly... And the mixed flows sometimes advance together. Although the military merits are recorded, the clever and clever intercourse is made, so Zhangfu and Xutu is to be in disarray, and the soldiers are dismantled and the heroes are dismantled." In this view of Mr. Chen, the 'Yin Qisu and Tongsheng' is a very serious matter, which will cause serious consequences of the 'the soldiers' dismantling heroes'. The clever and clerical craftsmanship are all very skillful.' The clever and clerical craftsmanship are also very skillful. "

"Yang Tinghe, a great scholar who was praised as an unparalleled 'famous minister', was extremely disgusted with strange skills and was especially afraid that the emperor was interested in these crafts and techniques. He thought that the saint should go into the pile of old papers and read some sages' words. His memorial said: 'All the sounds of strange skills are not good at guiding you, and the spirit is smart, so that the spirit is solid and the blood is solid...'. During the Jiajing period, Hu Kedushi reported to the minister He Ying: "Every year, the basket is in a basket, the food is mixed, the treasures of water and land, and the music of singing and dancing are free. The craftsmanship is also very skillful, and it is harmful to the profit, which is damaged and the money is gradually not long, so it is better to punish the law.' The flag clearly proposed that those who are skillful in craftsmanship and skillful in every day should be brought to justice."

"Song Yingxing, who was touted as a master of Chinese science and technology, was actually just a summary of the works of his predecessors, was actually extremely ignorant. He believed that the theory of earth round brought by Europeans was a theory of slandering the strange sky, and he criticized it sternly: "The Westerners used the terrain as a ball, hanging in the sky, and all things were attached to each other... The celestial bodies were falsely accused, and they were also cool in Xuanye and the surrounding wings."

"The so-called technological progress in the Ming Dynasty was nothing more than summarizing the achievements of predecessors, without any breakthrough. To be honest, progress was nothing more than the invasion of internal and external objects at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and Western artifacts were poured into the Ming Dynasty, especially the firearms, which led to the political affairs of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, Western missionaries tried to use knowledge to attract Chinese people to the church, and there were many translations. However, these behaviors had too little impact and had no contribution to the entire lifeless society. But some people used this as a physical evidence of the Ming Dynasty's "developed science and technology", which was simply shameless..."

"This old dynasty that was closed, arrogant, ignorant and ignorant, specialized in killing ideas, rigid society, and maintaining the rule of the ignorant people in the world, was actually praised by some people as a holy dynasty. The Neo-Confucianism, which has been poisoned by China to this day, is also praised as a 'saint's study', which shows that these so-called people are really stupid and shameless..."

"In addition to the so-called 'martial arts' that were commonly known as when the foundation was established in previous dynasties, the former Ming Dynasty was weak and powerless, with millions of 'guards, 'border soldiers, 'jing camps' and 'battles' and 'jing camps'. They also had the advantages of firearms that were not seen in previous dynasties and were incapable of doing anything. Dozens of Japanese pirates could kill tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in the southeast. They lost their troops and lost their territory in the northeast, but they still had to be fat. A big country with a population of billions had already had firearms when it was founded. Facing the tribe of tens of thousands of people, they were beaten to the point of losing their armor and losing their territory. The enemy's borders were like an uninhabited land, which was really unheard of, and they could not find a second in the world... But these people often talked about 'not cede the land and don't pay compensation', which was actually just a vanity and good face in Neo-Confucianism. Compared with the tail braids of the Qing Dynasty, they were only fifty steps and hundreds of steps, and the invisible braids smiled and had a tangible braid."

"In the Ming Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism was promoted, and filial piety and brotherly ruled the world, and used eight-legged essays to win scholars. It was nothing more than to use the concept of filial piety and brotherly elderly to expand it, so that the people could follow the emperor and the officials could not be boundlessly obeyed and allowed to be exploited and enslaved. However, officials obeyed the emperor and the emperor in order to seek "harmony". By using eight-legged essays, the thoughts of literati were limited to moral articles, the Four Books and Five Classics, and there was no spare energy or interest in seeking truth. Such literati became livestock like pigs and dogs."

"The so-called cabinet of the Ming Dynasty had nothing to do with the National Assembly that was born in the electoral system. Its responsible cabinet was nothing more than the emperor's secretarial institution. Its power was entirely granted by the emperor. Even if Zhang Juzheng and others said that the 'power minister' was abolished and abolished' the imperial power, it was just a part of the imperial power. The credit of the imperial power was high and the power was heavy, and once it was dismissed, it would collapse. These power was determined by status, and the distinction between high and low was clear to "reach peace" and suppressed by the superiors and subordinates, and only moral restraints the cultural system, and the final direction was naturally the master-slave society under the ** patriarchal law."

"In the Ming Dynasty, the common people have a difficult livelihood and work hard for a lifetime, but when they encounter a wasteland, the people will change. The poem "Neixiang County" of Li Changqi of the Ming Dynasty: "A thousand mountains of Yanyi, half of the households in the deserted villages fled. I was eating and cooking oaks... I was hurt by myself and had no good governance, and I dared to quit my hard work." The so-called Wanli period, Guo Zhengyu wrote "The Epitaph of the Zhu Family". The tomb owner Zhu was born in a family of farming and studying, and his husband Li Zonglu Wanli became a Jinshi. According to Guo Zhengyu's epitaph, when Zhu married into the Li family, Li Zonglu had not yet won the Jinshi, and his family was quite poor. In his later years, Zhu recalled the scene after marrying the Li family, saying: "I was in the field and had suffered from my mothers; I had not stopped rolling around with the machine shaft." But it was still 'I was not full of eating oak taro'."

"...The Ming Dynasty's official army was poor and cruel, but he knew how to kill good people and rob people's wealth. Therefore, the people were not happy with the official army and liked bandits. Naturally, the more they suppressed the troops. In the Ming Dynasty, the royal relatives, nobles, officials and gentlemen were the best, and they did not have to pay taxes or obey the bad, and they could also wantonly merge land and hoard goods, so the common people became more and more poor, and the royal relatives, nobles, and nobles. If the Ming Dynasty was not dark and absurd and the people were living in poverty, Jiannu was a mere hunting tribe, and how could he knock on the gate and enter the Central Plains with a million Ming troops holding firearms..."

"... The so-called righteous people in Ming Dynasty, such as Donglin, are purely a disaster for the country and the people. They often speak out loudly, speak well, and they are loyal to the party and attack different people, ignore the public interests of the country, and are full of the benefits of small groups, and they are willing to harm the country... Taking patriarchal ethics as the criterion, Neo-Confucianism as the 'famous teachings' empty talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality, but they do not have any real world-class talent. What they know is just the 'words of sages' and power-making skills. When the monarch is lazy and cowardly, he will use the 'ancestral system' as an excuse to fight for power and profit, harm the public, and connect with the upper and lower levels; when the situation collapses, the monarch is cheered up, and he also posed the banner of 'ancestral system' and inciting ignorant villagers to obstruct them in every way..."

"......... Throughout the dynasties, the so-called "responsibility" of the monarchs is nothing more than the country and the ancestral temple of their family. On the basis of "protecting the country", they either seek pleasure or waste national strength for their own "achievement" and enjoy the pleasure of serving one person in the world. The descendants of the monarchs who are good at the hands of the people in the deep palace have heard since childhood that they are just how to compete for favor and favor, and they are full of hearts that they do not care about the flood after I die. Most of them have no talent for governing the country, but only the so-called power technique of fighting for power and profit... These dynasties with one surname were all showing off their martial arts to the outside world at the beginning and pursuing everywhere.

To attack the enemy who threatened the imperial regime, and to demonstrate force to intimidate the people in the country... In the later stage, the country was in full swing from top to bottom, and the people had no way of life and had to rise up. Such a big country was defeated repeatedly against the small and weak tribes around, and was defeated by the enemy who were few and the people were defeated in one battle. In the inner world, it was brutal and powerful. Officials only acted as charming the superiors and the poor. They all had a lot of wives and concubines. They kept saying tribute to the saints, kneeling on the emperor, kneeling on the boss, kneeling on the saints, kneeling on the tablets, servile servants, shamelessness, and I don’t know what the so-called saints are used to…”

"In this culture, the power of ministers comes from the trust of the emperor, and the power of the subordinates comes from the trust of the superiors. The so-called reputation of the scholars is nothing more than to cater to the popular moral orientation. The result is that everyone competes to be favored by the superiors, intellectuals speak of benevolence, righteousness and morality, but in fact they are all focused on power. The emperor seems to be authoritarian, but there is also filial piety above, and there are various "ancestoral systems" left by the dead emperor... Under the patriarchal system of high and low, the inheritance of the absolute rule of the country depends on bloodline and has nothing to do with ability. The competition they have experienced is just a power struggle in the palace, and they are all means to compete for favor and strengthen favor; the appointment and removal of bureaucrats comes from the superiors.

The heart of the people, and the living emperor had to win over a group of ministers seeking happiness to fight against those bureaucratic groups called for the authority of the dead emperor. They only compete for power and interests... The country is trapped in meaningless party struggles, and both sides are just good players in bureaucratic power struggles, and they are typical of bullying the upper and flattering the lower and talking about right and wrong. They lack real understanding of promoting the progress of the country, nor do they have real sense of responsibility and self-confidence. They are either cowardly and nervous, or they are arrogant and frivolous. They are also complacent in praise of their merits and virtues. When they encounter internal and external troubles, they will immediately collapse with a sudden collapse..."

"......After the Ming Dynasty, under this Neo-Confucian culture, the entire country was just a group of intellectuals ruled by the 'saints', governed by the majority of ignorant and ignorant people, with clear hierarchy, and 'maintaining stability' with moral indoctrination and ethics order. Founding monarchs often took advantage of the banner of "the truth is to punish the law but not the truth" to usurp the power. Therefore, what they fear most is that others imitate themselves to seize the land of their descendants. Therefore, they are strict with intellectuals and suppress the people in all kinds of ways, and are deliberately trying to suppress all people in the ruling group whose prestige may exceed their own, especially generals with military power. Therefore, the 'ancestral system' such as 'using civil control' and 'general' does not know the military' is also very popular..."

"... Under the patriarchal system, the Three Bonds and Five Constant Permanents, there is no concept of rights and obligations, no concept of human rights, no boundaries of rights and freedoms of si people, but completely top-down power possesses everything. The superiors have absolute power over the subordinates, and restraint is nothing more than 'moral' and suppose si love as natural, which naturally leads to the interests of the clan higher than the interests of the country and nation, and public power is higher than everything, which inevitably leads to the inseparable public si, and morality becomes a hypocritical preaching. Under the patriarchal system, ** becomes inevitable, and generations of dynasties begin, and ultimately they are destroyed by the system and the comprehensive depravity..."

"...The Ming Dynasty was destroyed by party struggles, until the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, and the Southern Ming Dynasty was still in the Jiangzuo, and the Jinling government and the people were still in the process of being defeated by Li Chuang, and they were competing for the 'boroughs to pacify the enemy'" and enthrone Wu Sangui, and they also sent the Qing Dynasty to jointly 'attack the thieves'. At this time, his literati and officials still fought in constant internal struggles, and civil and military colluded to harm the country. Zuo Liangyu did not want to resist foreign enemies, but sent troops to Nanjing to attack Ma Shiying in order to instigate power. Donglin Fushe used Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng as a remnant of the eunuch party, colluding with foreign towns to seize power. When the Qing Dynasty went south, they were flattering and fighting for Ah Fu. What's the use of such a holy scholar... It's no wonder that Emperor Chongzhen once said that all literati should kill them."

"Under the patriarchal system, generations of rulers have taken power with power and are very skillful in pushing all evil to the overthrewed previous rulers, beautifying themselves into sages who save the people from water and fire, and then give the people who have experienced wars some small favors to win people's hearts. When the world settles down, they will start to "revise the ills of the previous generation". In their opinion, the abandonment of power by the previous rulers is often due to the fact that the culture of superiority and inferiority is not perfect enough, and the weakening of potential threats is not thorough enough. The result must be that generations will become centralized from generation to generation. The Tang Dynasty divided the Han Dynasty's prime minister into three, while the Song Dynasty simply further dispersed, and completely separated the three powers of military, political and financial in the local area, and collected the strong soldiers and wealth in the world at the center, and then made the generals not know the soldiers and completely eliminate the infringement of the imperial power..."

"If these dynasties raised their troops to seize power under the banner of 'brutal' of the rulers of the previous generation, they had to take into account some reputation and people's sentiments, at least in the early stages, giving the gentry and the people some 'relenting'. Zhu Yuanzhang, under the banner of 'exorcism', drove away the 'méng Yuan Tartars'. They naturally took off the veil of warmth, and came up with 'shouldering China with fierce force. From the beginning, they established an unprecedented cold system, tame all subjects under their rule, completely smashed the backbone of intellectuals, destroy the liberal soil, destroy the boundaries of rights of all individuals, and let everyone become slaves of this system... Since the Ming Dynasty, the "challenge" of intellectuals to imperial power was just to fight against the living emperor under the banner of 'ancestral system' and 'rituals', and they became living zombies... "

"...The depravity of the whole society will inevitably lead to a new round of governance cycles. Under this master-slave culture, scholars and people as slaves have no freedom of thought, and are not obedient to order but based on fear and habits. When the supreme imperial power is still there, for the status of the clan, most people will also "respect for the country of one family on the surface. When the imperial power collapses in front of foreign or newly emerging powerful forces and the order collapses, facing these newly emerging powers, most people will only be the most people.
Chapter completed!