Chapter 22 Orthodoxy
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Fang Xiaoru, you are Song Qing's most valued disciple. Tell me, what do you think?"
Fang Xiaoru came out and said, "I think what Mr. Liu and Mr. He said are right."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly and said, "Fang Qing, are you afraid of offending others?"
"I don't dare." Fang Xiaoru said: "I have been taught by my mentor, and I dare not not serve the emperor with all my sincerity. When the emperor asks, I can only express my heart directly, I dare not hide anything, and I dare not be afraid of what others say. I say What both of them said is correct, because there are ways and techniques to govern the world, and the principles of the way are the ultimate principles that remain unchanged throughout the ages. It is called benevolence, it is called righteousness, it is called loyalty, and it is called filial piety. Heaven does not change, and the way does not change. No matter what the world changes, What will it look like? There will always be people to teach the people of the world to be loyal, filial, benevolent and righteous. However, when doing things, there is a desire to change. Whatever is in power, what should be changed. All these things are called skills. There is only one Tao. There are many tricks."
"So, what Old Master Liu said is absolutely true. What Master He said is also correct."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "There is only one Tao, but there are many ways to do it. That's it for now. Today I'm just talking about rewriting the history of the Ming Dynasty."
Judging from today’s remarks. Fang Xiaoru is smarter than Liu Sanwu.
Fang Xiaoru's words classified He Xi's new set of things as techniques. No matter how powerful He Xi is, it is all within the framework of Confucianism, so no one can refute it. He gave a high-level summary of Confucianism, without mentioning Neo-Confucianism, Confucian classics, this study, or that study. Just these four words: loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness.
It’s truly unbreakable.
How can He Xi refute this? How should Zhu Yuanzhang refute?
It is impossible for Zhu Yuanzhang to say that he should not obey loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness.
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly changed the topic, knowing that Fang Xiaoru's words had reached the end. It’s incredible.
"I met He Xi's talented historian today." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "What do you think of the reconstruction of Yuan history?"
Liu Sanwu said: "Your Majesty, I think He Xi is extremely talented, especially in terms of historical talent. No one in the world can match him. Now he is still in the Imperial College. It is really a waste of talents to be a subordinate. I would like to transfer He Xi to the Hanlin Academy. Participate in revising the history of the Yuan Dynasty."
He Xi smiled bitterly after hearing this.
What is good for you in the officialdom is not really good for you. There are many things done in the name of your good. Take this incident for example.
He Xi is the deputy in the Imperial College. If he follows what He Xi's memorial said, he will be able to establish his own branch in the Imperial Academy, and Song Ne will have no way to deal with him. And if he enters the Hanlin Academy, he will be the Hanlin Academy with the least qualifications. Even with Zhu Yuanzhang's support, some things were not his turn.
Not to mention, how many great scholars and senior officials there are in the Hanlin Academy. Don't talk about anything else, just talk about Liu Sanwu, he can definitely crush He Xi. He Xi only faced Song Ne in the Imperial Academy, but when he arrived at the Hanlin Academy, he had to face countless big shots.
"Your Majesty," He Xi said quickly, "I have thanked Mr. Liu for your kindness. But I have just joined the official career and do not understand many things. It is already very difficult to work in the Imperial Academy. I dare not go to the Hanlin Academy. Moreover, I also said Yes. The compilation of history this time is different from the previous ones and requires many new methods. Therefore, I would like to first select some people in the Imperial College to study first, and then start compiling history in the future. Please forgive me, Mr. Liu."
Liu Sanwu said: "Your Majesty, actually I invited Lord He to go to the Hanlin Academy because I am worried that Lord He will not understand something."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Oh, I think He Xi is very good. Is there anything else wrong?"
Liu Sanwu said: "Orthodox. Your Majesty ascended the throne to inherit the Yuan Dynasty through the Ming Dynasty and to stabilize the world. The previous history compilation was based on this. But now Mr. He has not said a word about this. I think Mr. He is young after all, and things are not so imagined. Thorough. So let’s use the Imperial Confucian Temple’s Jijiu Song Ne and other upright old Confucians to give us some pointers.”
Liu Sanwu's proposal to revise the history of the Yuan Dynasty was always a political project.
Official histories, except probably Sima Qian's "Historical Records", are all political projects. Even the political role must trump other roles. Yuan Shi is naturally the same. This is why even Song Lian, who compiled the history of the Yuan Dynasty, admitted that the history of the Yuan Dynasty he compiled was very problematic. But this great Confucian who had strict demands on himself in learning finally had to publish the History of the Yuan Dynasty, which he also felt was not good.
Although I don't want to, I have no choice but to do so.
But He Xi had never mentioned it in his previous comments on history revision.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "He Xi, what do you think?"
He Xi took a deep breath and thought to himself: "Liu Sanwu is really sharp."
Yes. He Xi is responsible for the Ming Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. Very opinionated.
Orthodoxy actually represents political tendency and what is considered orthodox. What kind of political tendency does it represent?
Are there any benefits to Chengyuan Tong?
There are benefits to nature.
Before the Yuan Dynasty, the north had been ruled by the Liao and Jin Dynasties for more than a hundred years, and there was no yearning for the Southern Song Dynasty at all. Even Han Lin'er raised troops in the name of the Song Dynasty. But for the scholar-bureaucrats and powerful people on the ground, the Song Dynasty's reputation was really not enough.
Inheriting the Yuan Dynasty and ruling the north. It is very useful to include talents from the north.
It can be seen from the original Northern Expedition edict. Treat Mongolian, Semu, Jurchen and other ethnic groups equally.
The scholar-bureaucrats previously recognized the Yuan Dynasty as orthodox, and many of them served as officials in the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty was orthodox, so the political capital of these scholar-bureaucrats in the Yuan Dynasty was inherited in the Ming Dynasty.
On the other hand, if the Yuan Dynasty is not recognized as orthodox.
So, how to define the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty was not orthodox, so it was naturally barbaric.
How should we define the scholar-bureaucrats who served in the Yuan Dynasty?
But there are pros and cons.
Even after the Ming Dynasty, many great scholars were unwilling to recognize the Yuan Dynasty as orthodox.
It is because if the Yuan Dynasty is orthodox, it cannot be explained by the Confucian distinction between Hua and Yi. Xu Heng's "When the Yi and Di enter China, China will take over, and when China brings the Yi and Di, the Yi and Di will take over." Such shameless traitor remarks. It cannot be eradicated. Because these words were the orthodox theoretical basis of the Yuan Dynasty.
In other words, if the Yuan Dynasty was orthodox, then the debate between Hua and Yi would be a traditional Confucian issue. Otherwise, Xu Heng’s traitor remarks will be the basis.
This is unacceptable to many great scholars.
It's different here in He Xi.
He Xi is not very clear about the internal explanation of Confucianism.
He knew one thing very well. After the industrial revolution, there would naturally be a wave of nationalism. In He Xi's view, once education has been spread to the most basic individuals, everyone will have to re-identify themselves.
In the past, these people at the lowest level had no national interest. After they identified themselves, the nation naturally formed again.
This is inevitable.
Industrial Revolution. We must popularize education. After universal education, nationalism will inevitably rise.
The existence of the Yuan Dynasty will become a deadlock.
If a foreign dynasty is recognized as Chinese orthodoxy, many things will be difficult to do. It is also not conducive to uniting the largest population in the Ming Dynasty, which is the Han nationality.
Secondly, it denies that the Yuan Dynasty is orthodox. It is also relative to what He Xi said before. Then the Yuan and Ming dynasties were not just a simple change of dynasties, but the second starting point of Chinese civilization.
Many times, a thing has no meaning in itself, it depends on what meaning is given to it.
Different interpretations have different meanings. The explanation itself is meaningless, and the decision-making behind the meaningful explanation is meaningless.
The Yuan Dynasty was orthodox and the Yuan Dynasty was not orthodox. The impact on Ming Dynasty's policies is completely different.
It's just this one thing that has a huge impact. It's not something you can do easily. Let’s not talk about anything else, let’s just talk about the Ming Dynasty’s northern border defenders. How many of them were surrendered by the Tatars? Many of them were even directly surrendered by the princes of the Yuan Dynasty. When recruiting and surrendering the remaining members of the Yuan Dynasty, the definitions of the Yuan Dynasty were different, and their influence was also different.
It's a pity that Liu Sanwu saw through He Xi's little thought.
He Xi pondered for a moment, but did not answer directly and said, "How should you evaluate Liu Mengyan?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and said with a wry smile: "You kid, let's discuss this matter later. Old Master Liu is right. You, there are some things you still don't understand. You still need to learn more. Stay in the Imperial College for the time being and study historical affairs. It’s a big deal, let’s wait for him for a few years.”
I have to admit that the questions He Xi asked were tricky enough.
Liu Mengyan and Wen Tianxiang are equally famous characters, but one is positive and the other is opposite.
