Beginning in the third year of Hongwu, Su Yonglin ordered the Department of National History of the Ministry of Rites to start work on the creation of the Chinese Era.
The Department of National History has extensively collected official history books and private unofficial histories of past dynasties, especially all ancient books from the ancient pre-Qin period. All of them must be collected and sorted out.
Since we are going to do a major combing, the first important thing is to take time to comb it.
As far as Su Yonglin knows, the exact beginning of ancient China was the republican rule triggered by the riots of the people during the period of King Li of the Western Zhou Dynasty, which started the first year of the republic.
After that, history and chronology have had a more obvious continuity, and the credibility of historical events has also been greatly improved.
Before that, not only was there no such continuity, there were also many different records on the time records of many major historical events. It is difficult to say which one is right and which one is wrong, and it is very difficult to explain.
For example, there are more than forty theories about when King Wu defeated Shang Muye. Each theory is supported by different historical materials or objects. It is difficult to judge whether it is true or not. The time gap between them can even be as high as two times. Thirty years.
If this issue is unclear, it will be impossible to determine the establishment time of the Western Zhou Dynasty and the fall of the Shang Dynasty, which will affect the study of the history of the Shang Dynasty.
However, even the exact beginning of the chronology is divided due to different understandings of the concept of "republic".
There are generally two opinions about the year of the Republic.
After the countrymen rioted and drove away King Li of Zhou, officials and princes recommended Zhao Mu Gong and Zhou Ding Gong to co-govern, which was called a republic. This term comes from the historical records of Sima Qian.
One theory is that after the Chinese people rioted, the officials and princes recommended the famous and capable monarchs of the Republic of China to be Gongbo and the ruler, so it was called the Republic. This theory comes from the Bamboo Book Annals and Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals.
Because Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals and Bamboo Chronicles were written earlier than Shiji, the second theory is more likely than the first. .
This is jointly recognized by all the historians of the National History Department.
Therefore, on this issue, all officials of the National History Department clearly preferred the latter statement and decided to adopt the latter statement as the interpretation of "republican governance".
However, there are too many people arguing about other issues, such as when is it better to start the Chinese chronology.
Some people say that it started with Dayu's flood control.
Some people say that it should start after the founding of Xia Qi.
Some people say it should start from the Yao era.
Others say it should start from the era of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
Some people even think that it should start with the creation of Pangu.
This creation of Pangu feels a bit bizarre. It is completely a myth and legend. It is not supported by the current mainstream ideology of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, only a few three or five people support it. Most people oppose it and it is quickly rejected.
The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors generally believe in their existence, but it is too long ago. I only know their names and roughly what they did. I don’t know anything about what era they lived in, when they established their political power and became emperors. I have no idea at all. Know how to record it.
For example, Emperor Xuanyuan, Emperor Yan of Shennong, etc. are aware of their existence, but in what year did they come to power and establish their achievements?
Everyone has been arguing about this issue but there is no definite opinion, so we can only put it aside.
Therefore, the current main opening chronological dispute focuses on whether the era of Yao, Shunyu, or Xia Qi began.
The reason is also very simple. We have already mentioned the Chinese Calendar, so how can we avoid the Xia Dynasty?
Gu Qi
There were also internal disputes among the historians who supported the beginning of various periods.
The main disputes over the chronology of the Yao, Shun, and Yu eras also focused on the issue of chronology in historical records and bamboo books.
Historians debated whether they should adopt the records of Shi Ji or the records of pre-Qin historical records such as Bamboo Annals and Lu's Spring and Autumn Period when recording history, and what attitude they should adopt towards the tradition of abdication in the Yao, Shun, and Yu eras.
And exactly how to determine a definite year.
These debates lasted for a long time and became more and more intense. They started from the third year of Hongwu to the middle of the fourth year of Hongwu, and were finally stopped by Su Yonglin.
"The establishment of the Chinese chronology this time mainly focuses on truth and accuracy. We must uphold a responsible attitude and promulgate the most true and accurate chronology. This is to be passed down to future generations and is of great significance. You cannot use your personal likes and dislikes as a guideline.
I have said that while recording the year, there needs to be a very clear supplement and testimony of what happened that year, so that all citizens can clearly understand what happened that year and what it means to the whole of China.
We compile history in order to understand past and present, gain and loss, and to let people know what year it is and when they lived, so that they can have a real feeling of living, instead of a lifetime passing by in confusion. "
Su Yonglin reprimanded the arguing historians, and then personally made the decision to use the earliest exact chronology that can be determined so far - the first year of the Republic of the Western Zhou Dynasty - as the first year of the Chinese chronology. Using this as an anchor point, he unfolded backwards and recorded history. , sort out the year.
This decision was disagreed with by many historians of the Department of National History.
They felt that if the first year of the Republic was used as the first year of China, wouldn't it be tantamount to denying things before the first year of the Republic?
The Chinese riot that occurred in the first year of the Republic was certainly a very important historical event, but weren't the many events before it, especially King Wu's defeat of Zhou in the Western Zhou Dynasty and the establishment of the Duke of Zhou to assist the government, etc., not all very important?
The Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, as well as the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors going back further, do these not count?
Su Yonglin also denied this explanation.
Su Yonglin believed that the anchor point of the first year of China could be temporary. He chose the first year of the Republic as the anchor point. However, because the history after the first year of the Republic could be traced and sorted out, and there had been constant debates before that, I was afraid it would be a debate. There was no result for ten or eight years.
Then do we need to sort out the overall context of Chinese history?
Therefore, his opinion is that we can first use the greatest energy to sort out the history after the first year of the Republic of China, and sort out the history from the first year of the Republic of China to the Hongwu Year.
As for the history before the first year of the Republic, we will invest more energy in sorting it out, collect ancient classics, and slowly sort it out, trying to sort out everything before the first year of the Republic.
After the exact details are sorted out and there is sufficient evidence, the time of the first year of China can be moved forward, and all subsequent years can be moved forward.
At that point it is a matter of simple addition and subtraction, as the subsequent years are exact and undisputed.
"The important thing in compiling history is what really happened. It is necessary to let what really happened come to light and be announced to the world, so that the people of the Ming Dynasty can fully know the long historical heritage of China, instead of throwing all the theories of gods and ghosts into it and going astray. .
We can devote our energy to investigating things before the first year of the Republic. I also think it is very meaningful. For example, King Wu defeated Shang, such as the Tang-Wu revolution, such as Dayu's flood control and Xia Qi's succession. I think these are all things that can be investigated.
Before the investigation is clear, you can make hypotheses about history in your personal capacity. You can also use your personal capacity to write books, put forward hypotheses, and express your own opinions. However, as an official of the Ming Dynasty, it is not appropriate to make it public to the world, lest it triggers The world’s misunderstanding of history. "
At the meeting, Su Yonglin elaborated on his views.
After internal discussion, this view was unanimously recognized by the Department of National History, and the Department of National History used this as a standard to set the Ming Dynasty's attitude towards history and the principles for compiling history.
That is to say, we do not focus on the history of one dynasty, but focus on the history of the entire Chinese context.
Not only must we sort out the history after the First Year of the Republic, we must also make every effort to investigate the history before the First Year of the Republic, restore the truth, and reveal the true face of the lost years.
