Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The introduction of the theory of immortality has had a tremendous impact.

The concept became known to more people after the record of this imperial lecture was published in the Imperial Gazette.

Chen Zilong, who stayed in Beijing to oversee the daily affairs of the Academy of Sciences for Zhang Pu, was one of them.

He knew that this theory was being strongly promoted by the Hanlin Academy recently, and it had caused quite a stir.

Even he was influenced, and through the theory of long-lived and short-lived races, he increasingly understood the difference between the Chinese and the barbarians.

However, he was more concerned with the immortal species theory being promoted in the military.

The City God's Office and the Propagation Office regarded the immortal beings as a higher species than the long-lived beings, and they established immortal achievements through virtue, merit, and words.

They even reinterpreted death, what it means to die without dying:
"A person dies three times in their lifetime."

"The first time is when your heart stops beating, your brain stops thinking, and your body is declared dead."

"The second time is when you are buried. People attend your funeral to declare that you no longer exist in this society and to give you a final verdict."

"The third time is when the last person in this world who remembers you forgets you."

"And then you truly die, and the entire universe will no longer concern you."

Chen Zilong was deeply moved as he read these words.

He was a talented and emotionally sensitive person, and naturally felt deeply about these three accounts of death:

"Physical death and social death are not the end of life."

"To be forgotten is the true death."

Why are the Duke of Zhou and Confucius immortal?

"Because of their virtue, words, and deeds, no one will forget them."

"Only by achieving the Three Imperishables can one never die!"

A strong desire arose in my heart to establish virtue, words, and merit.

In particular, he was commissioned by the emperor to revise "The Biographies of Heroes and Martyrs of the Ming Dynasty," and he felt the most profound sense of the achievements of the founding heroes of the Ming Dynasty.

He may not have achieved such merit now, but he can still pass on his name along with that of the martyrs through his writings:
"This can be considered immortality!"

"As long as the Ming Dynasty exists, no one will forget the heroes of the Ming Dynasty."

"My name will live on forever, alongside the heroes of the Ming Dynasty!"

Chen Zilong said these words with self-deprecation, of course he didn't want to just be riding on their coattails.

He revised "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and added his own name after Luo Guanzhong's. As long as the stories of the Three Kingdoms are passed down, his name will live on.

There's little need to try and piggyback on his success again; what he really wants to do is write his own biography of heroes and martyrs.
"The Emperor was not pleased with the 'Biographies of Heroes and Marquises' compiled by Marquis Guo Xun of Wuding."

"It was deemed not attractive enough and did not fully depict the deeds of the heroes of the Ming Dynasty."

"Although my revised manuscript is more elegant, it still doesn't have many memorable scenes."

"We still need to continue revising it, or rewrite it completely."

"I want to make a statement in this book, so that my name will be as immortal as that of heroes."

A strong desire welled up in his heart. Chen Zilong pondered the distinction between Chinese and barbarians advocated by the emperor, as well as the recent theories of long-lived and short-lived races. He compared these theories with the various actions of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

Soon, he wrote with lightning speed, discarding the revised manuscript and rewriting "Biographies of Heroes and Martyrs".

This time, he did not start with Emperor Yuan Shundi, but with the Battle of Yamen, recounting the tragic story of the three heroes of the late Song Dynasty and the horrific sacrifice of 100,000 soldiers and civilians who jumped into the sea to die for their country.

It vividly depicts the tragic fall of China, the brutality of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, and the actions of Han Chinese who had been assimilated by non-Han peoples, such as Zhang Hongfan.

Although not explicitly stated, the praise or criticism is self-evident.

Then, he shifted his focus and began to describe a minor figure in the Battle of Yamen, Chen Gong, who followed General Zhang Shijie and was stationed in the South China Sea.

This Mr. Chen was Zhu Yuanzhang's maternal grandfather. After the defeat, he used his identity as a sorcerer to deceive the Yuan soldiers and successfully escaped the ordeal.

After returning to his hometown, Chen Gong had two daughters, one of whom gave birth to Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

Emperor Taizu was influenced by Chen Gong from a young age, inheriting the legacy of the three heroes of the late Song Dynasty and 100,000 soldiers and civilians, and establishing the great cause of restoring China.

This writing style completely abandons the supernatural elements, and it doesn't even use the same style as Song Lian's "Epitaph for the Spirit Path of King Yang".

Instead, it begins with the Battle of Yamen, portraying Emperor Taizu as an ordinary person who inherited the legacy of heroes.

After Chen Zilong finished writing it, he felt somewhat uneasy.

He sought out Cao Huachun, who was in charge of propaganda within the inner court, and asked him for advice:
"Eunuch Cao, do you think my writing violates any taboos?"

"Could we take it to His Majesty and let him give his opinion?"

After reading it, Cao Huachun was also undecided.

Because according to the traditional way of writing, it must start with the imperial court, describing how the Mongol Yuan dynasty was immoral, and how the Taizu (Emperor Taizu) came into being.

However, the current emperor does not recognize the Mongol Yuan dynasty as legitimate, referring to it as a dynasty that is half Chinese and half barbarian.

How to write it requires some thought, and Cao Huachun felt that he should consult the emperor.

Thinking of the emperor's tolerance towards his subjects, and that he had never punished anyone for their words, Cao Huachun comforted Chen Zilong, saying:
"I will present the article to His Majesty."

"But I have no idea what His Majesty is thinking."

"You'd better think it through. Don't regret it once you submit it."

This was to give Chen Zilong a chance to consider the consequences of his actions. Chen Zilong composed himself and said firmly:

"Think about it!"

"Please present this to the Emperor, Your Excellency!"

He insisted that his writing style was correct, and that no one would believe his supernatural or ghostly writings anyway.

Furthermore, Emperor Taizu's "Eulogy for My Maternal Ancestor, King Yang" only states that "my ancestors and maternal ancestors accumulated merits over generations," without mentioning any supernatural or ghostly matters.

What Chen Zilong wanted to write was the history of the rise of Emperor Taizu, which, according to the emperor, started with "a bowl" and built the great cause of restoring China.

This perfectly met the emperor's requirements, and he believed the emperor would not veto it.
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Once he calmed down, Chen Zilong had no worries about the manuscript after submitting it.

He continued doing what he was supposed to do, writing follow-up manuscripts and instructing researchers at the Academy of Sciences on how to respond to the theory of immortality.

He said to the people at the Academy of Medical Sciences:

"The City God said that a person dies three times, and only when he is forgotten will he truly die."

"They also focus on promoting the third time, calling on more people to offer memorial tablets at the City God Temple or even perform meritorious deeds to be deified, so as to avoid being forgotten."

"The funeral arrangements are determined by the Ministry of Rites and executed by the City God Bureau; we cannot overstep our authority."

"But the Academy of Medical Sciences wants to study how to make people live longer."

"Another aspect is the analysis of why cardiac death and brain death are considered physical deaths."

What's the explanation behind this?

The head of the Academy of Medical Sciences was Chen Shigong, a renowned surgeon who authored the book "Orthodox Surgery".

In recent years, at the emperor's request, he has dissected many human bodies.

Upon hearing Chen Zilong's questions about cardiac death and brain death, Chen Shigong said:
"There is some debate about cardiac death and brain death."

"We often say that we should think carefully, but thinking actually uses our brains."

"Heart death does not mean the cessation of thought. It simply means the body stops receiving blood and gradually stiffens and dies."

"This process is potentially reversible." "Quick-acting heart medicine and nitroglycerin developed by the Equipment Research Institute can both potentially save people who have suffered cardiac arrest."

This explanation shocked Chen Zilong.

But he quickly remembered that there were indeed some people who had been saved from heart problems, and there were countless pills like nitroglycerin and sedatives.

To his surprise, what is traditionally referred to as thoughtful consideration is actually using the brain.

If this statement is true, then the matter becomes clear:
"So what we mean by physical death should be brain death."

"The body dies only when the mind ceases to think."

Chen Shigong nodded and said:

"exactly."

"We've encountered people whose hearts stopped beating; some were resuscitated, and some couldn't be saved."

"But even if they can't be saved, these people will still react when they are hit hard, and they are not completely dead."

“Those with brain injuries are different; they are completely unresponsive and cannot even breathe.”

"These people will die very soon; there's no way to save them."

This was due to the limited medical conditions at the time; without life-sustaining equipment such as ventilators, it was essentially impossible to sustain life after brain death, and one could be declared completely dead.

However, there are also cases of people in a vegetative state who can breathe and even eat, but simply cannot wake up.

Therefore, brain death cannot be completely defined as death. The City God's Office combines cardiac death and brain death.

As Chen Zilong listened to these explanations, he became even more curious about the mysteries of the human body.

He said with emotion:

"I never knew there were so many intricacies to the human body."

"The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences should explore further and strive to figure out the function of each organ."

Chen Shigong said with a smile:

"It was already done a long time ago."

"My book, 'The Orthodox Manual of Surgery,' is also being revised based on this."

"It is the Emperor who said that our medical academy cannot fail the word 'science' and must conduct more experiments to collect data."

"Mr. Chen, could you please send over more people who are good at math and calculation to help record and analyze the data?"

This kind of talent is needed everywhere, Chen Zilong could only say:
"The Ministry of Revenue is responsible for calculating taxes on talent, while the Privy Council is responsible for calculating logistics and military exercises."

"There is a shortage of mathematical talent right now; we can only wait for the students trained in science and technology schools to develop their skills."

“Your medical school could also establish a mathematics department to train mathematical talents.”

Chen Shigong continued to complain, recounting how difficult this matter was.

In order to maintain their status and attract scholars aspiring to take the imperial examinations, their medical school had a Confucian academy.

Teachers of this type are easy to find; there are many scholars and officials who are skilled in medicine.

However, there are very few people who are good at math; there are practically none.

Listening to his story, Chen Zilong could only help coordinate by having the math teacher from the science and technology school give lectures at the medical school.

In particular, it is necessary to statistically analyze lifespan and study how to achieve longevity, thus contributing to the theory of immortality.

He demanded:

"The people of the Ming Dynasty are a long-lived species, based on the fact that the average lifespan of the Ming people is far higher than that of foreign barbarians."

"But the foreign barbarians have also improved, and the Ming Dynasty must improve even faster in order to maintain its status as a long-lived species."

"The Academy of Medical Sciences will study all diseases that threaten lifespan and establish a special Longevity Research Institute to study how to live to be 100 years old."

Chen Shigong smiled and said:
"rest assured!"

"His Majesty cares about it more than we do."

"The Emperor sent people to record the health preservation methods and lifestyles of many long-lived elderly people, and the Academy of Medical Sciences is currently studying them."

"The Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences is also initiating projects to address life-threatening diseases."

"It's this Longevity Research Institute, which His Majesty hasn't mentioned yet."

"Since Mr. Chen has put it that way, let's take the initiative to build it."

The renowned Longevity Research Institute was established at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

The findings of this research institute have attracted much attention, especially from older ministers who are very concerned about them.

The research institute also received a lot of funding, which enabled it to develop rapidly.

Based on the concept proposed by the emperor, they discovered cells using microscopes and studied the cell division limits of normal humans.

This limit is approximately 40-60 times, with each instance lasting about two years. In other words, the lifespan limit for most people is under 120 years, and very few can break through it.

The goal of the Longevity Research Institute is to enable most of the Ming people, who are considered long-lived, to live to this limit.

Then, based on this, we can study methods to break through the limits and obtain a longer lifespan.

Diseases such as smallpox and malaria, which push humans to their limits, naturally receive attention. Treating and eradicating these diseases has become one of the goals of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

There's also the rule against smoking in public places, which many people used to violate, and many others didn't care.

However, after the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences dissected the lungs of smokers and confirmed that smoking was harmful to health, it immediately gained support and made great progress in the anti-smoking efforts.

People who don't want to be exposed to secondhand smoke even suggest classifying smoking as a degenerate behavior to prevent others from using smoke and affecting their own health.

Things that Zhu Youjian had previously found difficult to implement even with imperial edicts were successfully implemented thanks to the theory of immortality.

Those who secretly opposed the court no longer regarded smoking as "smoking swallows" and cursed the Ming Dynasty's fate with their own lifespans.

If this is the attitude towards smoking, then the attitude towards drugs will be even more severe.

Initially, he didn't understand why the emperor listed drugs and gambling as sins of depravity. However, after learning about the dangers of opium and marijuana use and their addictive nature, he immediately became a staunch supporter.

The Ming Dynasty also became the place with the strictest ban on smoking and drugs, and those who violated these two rules would be ostracized by the entire society.

Internal martial arts and qigong, which are beneficial to physical health and wellness, have been widely disseminated and practiced everywhere.

The martial arts association members were surprised to find that the number of people seeking to learn martial arts from them had increased dramatically, and many of them were wealthy individuals.

Sports associations were quickly established, and the Ministry of Rites' Department of Education even set up a sports bureau to promote physical education in schools at all levels.

Those who practice martial arts also found a new way out, such as becoming teachers in schools.

This greatly enhanced their status, and samurai became a recognized social class.

The Martial Arts Research Institute also collaborates with the Academy of Medical Sciences to study how to use martial arts for health preservation and even to break through limits.

Taking advantage of the situation, Zhu Youjian established the Institute of Anomalies at the Martial Arts Research Institute, specifically to study people or events that break through limits or defy common sense.

One of the purposes is to monitor whether there are other time travelers in this world, or people who have awakened their innate wisdom and possess special abilities.

It can be said that the Martial Arts Academy and the Medical Academy were among the most benefited institutions after the spread of the theory of immortality.

People's enthusiasm for martial arts and medicine has soared to unprecedented heights. Martial artists who practice health preservation are no longer looked down upon, and the saying "If you can't be a good prime minister, be a good doctor" has become a belief for many.

Thanks to their efforts, the Ming Dynasty's sports and medical standards improved rapidly. Average lifespan also increased, providing evidence for the theory of longevity. (End of Chapter)