Daming talker

Chapter 768: The Great Collision of Eastern and Western Cultures

Ricci felt that he had to refute blasphemy, even if it meant martyrdom.

Otherwise, if you can’t even get over this hurdle in your own heart, Heavenly Father will question your piety!
"This is ridiculous. How can an oriental marquis like you be the Son of God and the brother of Jesus Christ?
If what you say is true, why is your story not recorded in the Bible?"

Lin Tailai laughed and argued back, “Who said there is no record in the Bible?

If you are familiar with the Bible, you should know that there was a king of Salem named Melchizedek in the Book of Genesis.

This extremely honorable and benevolent ancient king was also the high priest who blessed Abraham and was described in the Bible as being close to the Son of God.

So, what kind of existence is Melchizedek in the Bible? He appeared earlier than Jesus Christ, and why is he vaguely described as 'similar to the Son of God'? "

Matteo Ricci remained silent. "Melchizedek" may be one of the most difficult to explain "BUGs" in the Bible. The existing doctrinal system cannot explain what this person is.

If there is only one true God in the world, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, then what is the divinity of Melchizedek?
Not to mention Matteo Ricci, even the Pope wouldn't be able to explain it clearly if he stood here.

But the existence of Melchizedek, King of Salem, is too important to be completely ignored.

It was he who blessed Abraham, and then Abraham and his descendants obtained the legal title to the "Promised Land".

Lin Tailai pointed at himself with a sense of wickedness and said to Matteo Ricci in a resounding voice: "So Jesus has a brother named Melchizedek, and I am Melchizedek reborn on earth."

What a mess! Matteo Ricci seemed a little annoyed and asked, "The Bible says that Melchizedek has no father, no mother, no beginning of days, and no end of life. How is that similar to you, Marquis?"

Lin Tailai said with reason: "Don't you understand? This description means rebirth in the mortal world. I am Melchizedek reborn in the mortal world!
Of course, a reborn person has no beginning of life and no end of life. Doesn't that fit the description?"

Ricci continued to question, "If you are Melchizedek, why did you resurrect at this time in the completely unconverted Far East?"

Lin Tailai replied: "Because in the past hundred years, there have been evil demons in Western Europe that have intended to bring disaster to the world, so I was reborn in the East to alert the Ming Empire to defend against and eliminate the evil demons."

Matteo Ricci retorted: "The Marquis's words are ridiculous! All the countries in Europe have converted to our Lord. Although there are occasional heresies, most of them have been eliminated. How can there be evil demons that wreak havoc on the world?"

Lin Tailai suddenly took out a silver coin from the Portuguese and said coldly: "The piles of bones of the Incas in America and the vast amount of gold and silver in America turned into gold and silver coins are the ironclad evidence that you, the European demons, are wreaking havoc on the world.

Don't say that you Roman Catholics don't know this. Your Pope even drew a meridian between the two evil families to determine the scope of division of the spoils.

A hundred years ago there were the Portuguese, in recent years there were the Low Dutch, and in the future there will be the English and the French.

Matteo Ricci! Is there anything wrong with what I said? If those actions are not evil, then are they from gods? "

Matteo Ricci was stunned. Facing someone who knew the facts well, any excuses he made would be pale and powerless.

Why would such an "omniscient" person appear in the far East?

Even what happened in America tens of thousands of miles away seemed to be clear to him, as if he had seen it with his own eyes!

Lin Tailai sneered: "If you can slaughter and plunder them at will just because they are heretics, then we in the Ming Dynasty are also heretics in your eyes. How will you treat us?"

Then Matteo Ricci could only reluctantly respond: "Those indigenous matters have nothing to do with the Eastern Ming Empire."

Lin Tailai seemed like an "omniscient person" and patiently explained: "Those Mayans and Incas are the remnants of the Shang Dynasty in the ancient East. After the dynasty fell, they crossed the ocean and settled in America.

So since ancient times, the American people are also a branch of the Chinese bloodline, but now they are being slaughtered by the European demons. How can we say that it has nothing to do with our Celestial Empire?"

This can be related? Matteo Ricci's mentality collapsed and he shouted out of control:

"But you are the resurrected Melchizedek! What does the Eastern China have to do with you?"

Lin Tailai blinked his eyes and said, "Melchizedek and the Heavenly Father are originally from China, otherwise why would I be reborn in China?

Only the second son, Jesus, is of mixed Eastern and Western descent, the product of the Chinese god Tianshen who came to the West and had a relationship with a woman named Moliyan.

So, this Moliyan has always been embarrassed to say what the name of the child's father is. You can only call him God in general, and you have also created a bunch of other names.

After all, the incarnation of a god from faraway China is still a bit shocking in the ignorant West.

You see, doesn’t this all fit in with the story?”

When it comes to preaching and answering questions, Lin Tailai seems to be more patient today and is serious about popularizing science to Matteo Ricci.

"No! Ahhhh!!!" Matteo Ricci felt like he was going crazy and screamed, holding his head.

The most terrifying thing about preaching is not that the other party is ignorant, but that the other party clearly knows a lot, but is still able to make up stories! Moreover, the things they make up can be self-consistent and logically self-consistent!

Lin Tailai didn't care whether Matteo Ricci was crazy or not. His face suddenly became serious and he said seriously:

"Today we are talking in private, so I will excuse it for your understanding.

But from now on, your sect should no longer use the terms such as God, Lord, Heavenly Father, and the One True God in Ming Dynasty, so as not to confuse people and offend the gods of China. "

Matteo Ricci instinctively asked, "What should I call it then?"

When Lin Tailai was talking with Matteo Ricci, Xu Guangqi and Zhou Daodeng did not go too far and stayed outside the study.

Suddenly, they heard Matteo Ricci howling. Xu Guangqi asked Zhou Daodeng nervously, "Did something happen?"

Zhou Daodeng listened carefully and replied, "Don't worry, it's no big deal. If you can't win the argument with Matteo Ricci, it will be a big deal if you resort to violence.

And now, only Matteo Ricci is wailing, and no one is fighting, which just shows that you have the upper hand. "

Xu Guangqi was relieved. As long as Lin Tailai was comfortable, everything would be fine.

Not long after, Matteo Ricci walked out in a daze, as if his soul had been taken away by a demon.

Xu Guangqi went up to him and asked, "What's wrong?"

Matteo Ricci had a lot to say, but he didn't know where to start. He pointed to the study and said in an accusing tone, "He actually said he is the Son of God!"

Xu Guangqi replied nonchalantly, "It's just the Son of God. What's the big deal? Everyone in the Ming Dynasty says he is a deity from heaven, but we don't know which deity he is."

Matteo Ricci: “.”

Is this how you Chinese treat God? Do you understand what blasphemy is?
At this time, Lin Tailai summoned Xu Guangqi in, and Zhou Daodeng stayed outside to accompany Matteo Ricci.

Then Zhou Daodeng asked curiously, "Did the Lord talk to you about gods just now? Did he specify which god he was?
In fact, I personally speculate that he might be the reincarnation of the Garuda, the uncle of the Buddha."

Matteo Ricci said nothing. He was disheartened and for the first time lost confidence in preaching in the East.

He finally discovered the huge gap between Eastern and Western thinking, and the fundamentally different differences.

Especially with people like Marquis Lin around, how could orthodox teachings possibly spread?

"What? King Xi?" In the study, Xu Guangqi looked at Lin Tailai in confusion.

He was also well-versed in myths and legends. He knew about the famous deity Queen Mother of the West and the relatively less famous deity King Father of the East, but what was this unheard-of King Father of the West?
Lin Tailai smiled and said, "As the name suggests, Xi Wang Gong is the husband of Xi Wang Mu."

Xu Guangqi asked in return: "But in mythology, isn't the husband of the Queen Mother of the West the King of the East?"

Lin Tailai continued to explain seriously: "In fact, the Eastern King and the Western Queen are brother and sister. One of them is in the East Sea and the other is in West Kunlun. How can they be husband and wife? So the real husband of the Western Queen is the Western King."

Xu Guangqi asked again: "Why haven't I seen the King of the West in any of the classics?"

Lin Tailai was a little impatient. "In the classics before the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was no mention of Dong Wang Gong! This Dong Wang Gong was made up by the Taoist priests of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Why do you believe it?"

What I mean is, if a Taoist priest from the Eastern Han Dynasty could make it up, why can't I, Lin Tailai, make it up?
Xu Guangqi did not dare to disobey Lin Tailai, and asked again: "What deeds did this Western King have?"

Lin Tailai replied, "The King of the West and the Queen Mother of the West had a son, but the Queen Mother of the West was very powerful, so the King of the West and his son were very afraid of her.

But the King of the West was dissatisfied but did not dare to resist, so he took his son and left Kunlun Mountain.

In order to avoid the Queen Mother of the West, the father and son of the King of the West headed westwards for tens of thousands of miles before stopping.

Xu Guangqi: “.”

My Lord, your story is quite fashionable. It even uses the "shrew" and "henpecked" memes that are very popular in novels and jokes in recent years.

From an artistic point of view, it is quite interesting. I really want to listen to it.

Then Lin Tailai continued to say: "Later, the King of the West married a local woman named Moliyan and gave birth to a second son named Jesus."

Shit! Xu Guangqi suddenly had an epiphany! After writing for so long, it turns out that this is the point!

In this framework, isn’t Xiwanggong the God the Father mentioned by Matteo Ricci?
What was the significance of Matteo Ricci's missionary work in the East? Did the followers of the Western King come to recognize their ancestors?
No wonder Matteo Ricci looked so distraught when he came out just now. Who could withstand such a mental blow?
If Lin Tailai's theory became popular, then the teachings brought by Matteo Ricci would have no chance of spreading well in the Ming Dynasty.

Lin Tailai then leisurely recounted a story from ancient times: "At that time, the King of the West saw that the Westerners were ignorant, called them lost lambs, and educated them. The eldest son of the King of the West was the King of Salem who was in charge of the Westerners in the mortal world in ancient times.

However, after the birth of Jesus, the second son of Western descent, Westerners erased most of the deeds of the eldest son of the Western King and referred to him as Melchizedek.

From then on, Westerners worshipped the King of the West as the only true God and Jesus as the only Son of God, and compiled a canon, the Bible.

Xu Guangqi was speechless for a long time. Why did the family ethics drama taste like this again? This time the stepmother took the throne and the illegitimate son won the throne?
Finally, Lin Tai said, "As for Melchizedek, seeing the evil spirits in Western Europe growing and bringing disaster to the world, he will definitely reincarnate back to China to support the Ming Dynasty and suppress the evil spirits outside the region. This is a story for later."

Xu Guangqi thought silently, do you, Lord Lin, dare to point out directly whether the legitimate son of the King of the West and the Queen Mother of the West, who is called Melchizedek by Westerners, has the surname Lin after his reincarnation?

"Okay, stop being dazed. I'll give you a task now." Lin Tailai instructed, "Polish the myths and history I told you today and promote them."

Then Lin Tailai thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid your ability is limited, so let's add Gao Changjiang to do it together.

Although Gao Changjiang has limited talent and lacks imagination, he is still very capable in cultural communication.

I hope you can work together to at least make these stories as well-known as Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West."

Xu Guangqi thought about it in his mind and felt that the top-level design of this system was still lacking. "Since the Queen Mother of the West and the King of the East are not husband and wife, then who is the wife of the King of the East? The Queen Mother of the East?"

Lin Tailai thought for a moment and replied: "This Dong Wang Gong is known as the Great God of the East Sea and the Great God of Fusang. Then Dong Wang Mu is the Amaterasu Omikami worshipped by Japan?
The Queen Mother of the East was divorced by the King of the East two thousand years ago because she was not virtuous or did not observe the virtuous code of conduct for women. She then lived in Takamahara on the island of Fuso and called herself Amaterasu, becoming a deity worshipped by the Japanese.

Xu Guangqi: “.”

Regardless of whether the "history" system created by Lin Junhou is reasonable or not, it is really interesting in its family ethics style.

Lin Tailai encouraged him, saying, "Don't think this is nonsense. This is a great plan for the next generation! Do it well!"

Xu Guangqi couldn't help but ask: "With your high position, why do you attach so much importance to these trivial matters?"

Lin Tailai replied: "Prepare for a rainy day, resist cultural invasion, and reverse cultural export."

This was another sentence that no one in the world could understand. After receiving the task, Xu Guangqi took his leave.

When they got outside, Xu Guangqi looked at Matteo Ricci, sighed and said, "My Lord has ordered us to find you a place to live!
Then please write down all your knowledge about mathematics, astronomy, and geography."

Still at a loss, Matteo Ricci subconsciously said, "So you won't write the doctrine anymore?"

Xu Guangqi replied: "I will write this for you, so you don't have to worry about it. After all, you don't know much about Chinese mythology, nor do you know the grievances and hatreds of the King of the West, so you can't write about the essence of Christianity.

But I will trouble you again to translate the new version of the Bible into Latin."

Matteo Ricci was stunned and said, "What's the point of making up such a scripture? Who would read such a blasphemous book if they were converted?"

Xu Guangqi said: "Marquis Lin may push for the introduction of local legislation. In the future, the export of silk, porcelain, and tea must be accompanied by a certain amount of new scriptures."

Matteo Ricci: “.”

Oh my god! There is no way to survive! The Last Judgment should come soon! Send him and Marquis Lin to hell together!
I have sinned so much! I was ordered to go to the East to preach, but I accidentally opened Pandora's box!

(End of this chapter)