The theory of the Five Virtues began to decline after the Song Dynasty. During the Song Dynasty, the official at that time considered himself to be the "King of Virtue with Fire in the Song Dynasty". We can even see many prophecies about fire virtue in "History of Song Dynasty·Five Elements".
However, from the Yuan Dynasty to the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there was no definite destiny for the dynasty; saying that the Yuan Dynasty was a water virtue was just a popular rumor. Until the Ming Dynasty, many people still believed that the Yuan Dynasty was a water virtue.
So why did the Yuan Dynasty not determine its destiny?
One is because the Yuan Dynasty was a unified regime established by the Mongols, and the Chinese culture was not deep;
Another key reason is related to the development of the knowledge system at that time. In the Qin and Han Dynasties, astronomy, calendar, arithmetic, earth science, etc., and political theology such as prophecy were all classified under the name of numerology.
Starting from the Tang and Song Dynasties, with the development of society, astronomy, calendar, arithmetic, earth science, etc. gradually differentiated from numeracy. Since then, the status of numerology has become increasingly low, only among the people and magicians.
Therefore, since the Song Dynasty, due to this and other reasons due to the change of dynasties, no dynasty has determined the moral destiny, not only the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, but also the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, this tradition cannot be changed in a short period of time. For example, during the Peasant War at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, many people still liked to use traditional ideas to build momentum for themselves. For example, the Red Scarf Army used the banner of anti-Yuan and restoration of the Song Dynasty from the beginning. Han Shantong claimed that He was the eighth grandson of Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty. Later, the regime established by Han Lin'er named the country "Great Song Dynasty".
Because there is a popular saying among the people that the Yuan Dynasty was called water virtue, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, took advantage of the convenience and called his own side Huode to show that he inherited the fire virtue of the Song Dynasty, and at the same time, he wanted to use fire virtue to overcome the water virtue of the Yuan Dynasty.
However, after Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he did not adhere to the theory of fire virtue, and the Ming court did not talk about the theory of virtue luck.
When Zhang Rui ordered the ministers of the court to discuss the selection of the country's name, all parties were also arguing.
Some people think that the virtue of earth is elected because Qing is the virtue of water. It is said that when water comes, earth covers it, and the earth overcomes the pure water, this is the right way;
However, some people think that Qing is the virtue of wood, because Yuan belongs to the virtue of water, and Ming is the virtue of earth, so Qing must be the virtue of wood, so the virtue of gold should be used;
But some people think that Qing should belong to metal. First of all, they call themselves Houjin. Secondly, Ming belongs to Dashun, and Qing belongs to Dashun. The Song Dynasty has the virtue of Fire, and the Yuan Dynasty has the virtue of Water. Naming belongs to the virtue of Earth, and Dashun belongs to the virtue of Wood. After all, Li Chuang also belongs to Wood, so Naqing must belong to the virtue of Metal. Kejin is naturally fire, so it should be a fire virtue;
But some people think that the virtue of wood is the right one. After all, the Song Dynasty was dominated by the virtue of fire, so it should be the virtue of water, while Dashun is the virtue of earth. Therefore, in our dynasty, it is natural to use the virtue of wood, as wood controls earth. As for the Yuan and Qing Dynasties, these were the courts of the Mongols and Manchus, so what did they have to do with our Han Dynasty?
So, some people think this way: Since the Yuan and Qing Dynasties are not counted, then Li Zicheng, who calls himself a descendant of Xixia, naturally cannot be counted. Ming, meaning light, is naturally the virtue of fire. So we should use water virtue;
Some people say that these five virtues are just random theories made up by Zou Yan of the Yin and Yang family during the Warring States Period. The great destiny of the country is not something that can be explained clearly by the five elements. Therefore, there is absolutely no need to pay attention to the so-called theory that the five virtues are always the same;
…
There were divergent opinions, controversies, and quarrels for several days. In the end, Zhang Rui decided to combine their opinions and chose the word "燚" as the country's name.
The reason why Zhang Rui chose this character as the name of his country is because "燚" is first of all the god of fire, which was a high-level god in ancient times.
Zhang Rui borrowed the name of the God of Fire and started his career with firearms. This word perfectly reflects the uprising model of the bandit suppression army. At the same time, while it fulfills the various thoughts of the people from all over the world about the bandit suppression army, it also means that the court prays to God for the blessing of the God of Fire, so that the firearms of the bandit suppression army can continue to be invincible and invincible in the world.
At the same time, "燚" also generally refers to a kind of scene or it can also be said to be a kind of magnificence and splendor. The word "Great China" means "Great China", which symbolizes Zhang Rui's pursuit of the country in the future.
"燚" means fire, which is the virtue of fire. It is similar to what Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, called the virtue of fire when he rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty. They suppressed the bandits and rebelled against the Qing Dynasty in order to "drive out the Tartars and restore China."
"Ming" inherited the fire virtue of "Song", and his army to suppress bandits inherited the fire virtue of "Ming". In fact, given Zhang Rui's current status, it is not wrong for the bandit suppressing army to talk about adhering to the fire virtue of "Ming".
At the same time, Zhang Rui also believed that if "clear" was water, then the bandit suppressing army could burn it dry with four fires.
"Yi" and "Yi" in the Book of Changes are homophones, which are very consistent and commensurate.
The "Book of Changes" is the crystallization of the thoughts and wisdom of the Han nation. It is the theoretical root of natural philosophy and humanistic practice in traditional Chinese thought and culture. It is known as "the first of the classics and the source of the great road". The "Book of Changes" covers everything, outlines the rules of ethics, and is an outstanding representative of the traditional culture of the Han people; it is vast, subtle, and all-encompassing, and it is also the source of Chinese civilization.
Zhang Rui takes its meaning without forgetting the origin.
In addition to the country name, Zhang Rui also "created" the national flag. Its design is similar to the national flags of later generations, but it adds the word "燚" and the four characters "fire" to the five-star star.
The character "燚" in the main star represents the people of the "燚" court, and the four stars surrounding it with the character "火" represent the scholars, farmers, industry and commerce under the "燚" court. It means that the people under the "Yi" government will have a prosperous life of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce.
The pattern is represented by stars, which refers to those who sacrificed their lives for the "Yi" Dynasty. Even if they sacrificed, the Yi Dynasty will not forget their contributions. Secondly, it means that the future goal of Yi Dynasty will be the sea of stars (of course, Zhang Rui doesn't dare to say it yet, for fear of shocking the world.).
The background color of the flag is red. In addition to showing the fire virtues of the Yi Dynasty, more importantly, it commemorates those who dared to shed blood and sacrifice for the "Yi" Dynasty.
This red color shows that the country led by Yi Dynasty is sacred and inviolable. Anyone who dares to ignore this country is playing with fire and will pay a heavy price.
As the saying goes, benevolence sees benevolence and wisdom sees wisdom. Naturally, the name of the country decided by Zhang Rui could not satisfy everyone, but the momentum it displayed made many people cheer for joy, and an unprecedented sense of honor quietly emerged in their hearts. .
Ever since they met, the Qing Dynasty has instilled in them: You are just ant people, everything is your destiny, and if you want to change, you can only wait for reincarnation in the next life. The fact that you are alive is already a blessing from the imperial court, and you cannot consider anything else.
They had never thought that the title of a court would put the people above it; nor had they ever tried to gain such a strong sense of pride from the court. They didn't even consider that they were part of this court.
Among them, businessmen are the most emotional.
From ancient times to the present, their merchants have been regarded as lowly businesses by the imperial court and are looked down upon the most. The children of merchants were not even allowed to take part in the imperial examination. But they didn't expect that this Yi Dynasty would leave their place on such an important national flag, which really made them feel flattered.
The Yi court still had many shortcomings, but the people who had been under its rule for less than a year could deeply feel that compared with it, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties could not even compare to it.
The Qing Dynasty has always treated the people as slaves and like cattle and sheep. But Yi Chao really regarded the people as his subjects.
Officials who were lawless in the Qing Dynasty could only be cautious under the supervision and supervision established by the Emperor Yi Dynasty, and did not dare to show their greed and be discovered.
This Yi Dynasty is not perfect yet, but it is enough to make many people love it from the bottom of their hearts, be willing to work hard for it, and even sacrifice their lives for it.
Shukeju reading website:
