Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

What exactly is Western civilization?

Qian Qianyi raised this question.

He decided to find the flaws in Western learning from the emperor's reply.

Zhu Youjian also found it difficult to explain, and after thinking for a long time, he finally said:

“Every civilization is complex and cannot be explained in just a few words.”

"Chinese civilization, for example, was primarily based on production, but in the process of its rise, it also inevitably involved expansion and plunder."

"There are even dynasties like the Shang Dynasty that left behind the names of merchants, which can be said to have established the country on trade."

"But these are not the mainstream; China is a civilization primarily focused on production."

"This was already established after the Duke of Zhou enfeoffed the feudal lords and the Qin and Han dynasties unified the Central Plains. The surrounding areas suitable for agriculture were occupied by Chinese civilization."

This was an expansion of civilization. Ultimately, the agricultural-based Chinese civilization completely conquered the Central Plains. And in its expansion into surrounding areas, it encountered nomadic civilizations on the grasslands.

The two sides fought for thousands of years. Although the Central Plains civilization conquered the grasslands several times, it was unable to consolidate its rule due to the difference in the underlying nature of the civilization.

Although the Mongol Yuan dynasty, which rose from the grasslands, conquered the Central Plains, it was driven out by the Taizu Emperor less than a century later.

Qian Qianyi felt his horizons broaden as he listened to the emperor's explanation of Chinese civilization.

They believe that history can be written from a civilizational perspective, allowing people to review past expansions, support the current emperor in re-establishing rites and music and the feudal system, and reshape Chinese civilization.

Zhu Youjian nodded in approval of his idea, and then said:

"Western civilization, at its current stage of development, can be compared to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods; its form of civilization has not yet been fully established."

"They now have a certain level of productivity, and in some aspects they can even be compared with the Ming Dynasty."

"However, industry and agriculture are not as good, and products are far less exquisite than those of the Ming Dynasty."

"Therefore, they competed to trade with the Ming Dynasty and sent over the silver they plundered."

"This is a complex civilization that combines production, plunder, and trade, and each country is different, with its own unique characteristics."

In a detailed analysis of the Western countries, Zhu Youjian said:
"Among the Western countries, France is mainly engaged in agricultural production, and its agricultural level is the highest among the Western countries."

"Just like the reforms and centralization of power in various states during the Warring States period, France has already centralized power and consolidated the power of the fiefdoms."

"It is the country most likely to unify the West. The Ming Dynasty must prevent the West from unifying and creating their own Qin and Han dynasties."

Qian Qianyi sensed the emperor's wariness. Although he didn't know much about France at the moment, he decided to pay close attention to the country in the future.

The only state qualified to unify the West was the powerful Qin state.

Then came the countries that had dealings with the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian said:
"The Netherlands is a country built on trade and is known as the maritime carrier."

"But their level of industry and agriculture is also very high, unlike the Jewish people who are a parasitic civilization that migrates everywhere."

“This country and the Ming Dynasty have many complementary aspects. If it submits in the future, it can become an ally of the Ming Dynasty in the West.”

"Spain and Portugal were the first to colonize and expand, and they used their superior military force to plunder the wealth of the Native Americans who were still using stone tools. The characteristics of a predatory civilization are very obvious."

"Later, relying on their strongholds in various places, they developed trade all over the world and transformed into a commercial civilization. However, because they produced few goods, they were already showing signs of decline under the competition from other countries."

"England is the most complex, but also has the greatest potential. It developed its maritime trade relatively late, lagging behind Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands."

"They had no natives to plunder, so they plundered Spain, which was beginning to decline."

"They even issued letters of privateering, allowing armed civilian ships to attack and capture enemy merchant ships."

"It can be said that they made piracy public, which can be called a predatory civilization."

Regarding this definition of England, Zhu Youjian offered the following reminders:
"We must be wary of Western civilizations. They live off the sea, not only enjoy maritime trade but also believe in pirate culture. When they have the advantage of force, they will openly plunder without restraint."

"Piracy and maritime trade are two sides of the same coin in maritime civilization."

“When the Ming Dynasty interacts with Western countries, it must be careful to guard against them.”

"Only by intimidating them with force can we make them trade willingly."

From Viking raiders to privateering licenses, from plundering the Americas to kidnapping Maduro…

The genes of pirate culture have always been deeply rooted in Western civilization.

These people will dare to plunder as long as they have a military advantage.

The only difference is that before, you could just grab whatever you wanted, but now you need to find a reason.

However, the core nature of it hasn't changed; it's still about kidnapping and plundering.

China once thought they were polite, but later realized, "We had thought too highly of you."

Zhu Youjian hoped that the people of the Ming Dynasty would be more vigilant and recognize the true nature of Western civilization.

To this end, he gave another example:

"When English immigrants migrated to North America, they were initially hungry and cold, but with the help of the local Native Americans, they successfully established themselves and reaped a bountiful harvest."

"To this end, they hold a variety of celebrations, which has led to the annual Thanksgiving Day."

"Sir, who do you think they are grateful to?"

Qian Qianyi answered according to his own thoughts:

"Give me a peach, and I will repay you with a plum."

"They received help from the Native Americans, so of course they should be grateful to them."

Zhu Youjian chuckled upon hearing this and shook his head, saying:

"This is judging others by one's own standards."

"Returning favors is a valuable virtue, but Western civilizations, or rather many barbarians, lack it."

"Their object of gratitude is God, and they thank the deity they worship for delivering food to them through the hands of the Native Americans."

"Their 'thank God' and 'may God bless' are not without reason."

"Instead, they attributed all the help they received to God's guidance."

"Therefore, they were ungrateful to the Native Americans and, after successfully establishing themselves, did not hesitate to conquer and kill them."

“These people had no burden when they robbed, because they believed that all wealth was created by God. They were helping God to take it back by stealing it from the pagans.”

"We must recognize the true nature of predatory civilizations; they have their own ideology."

Qian Qianyi listened to these words in a daze, feeling a chill run down his spine.

While he could understand the nomadic civilizations' plundering for survival, the Western civilizations' plundering in the name of gods was something he simply couldn't comprehend.

Only then did he understand why the emperor was so concerned about Western civilization, a completely different civilization from China.

Similarly, this also gave him a reason to oppose Western learning, and he said very excitedly:
"Western civilization is so evil that its cultural spread should be banned."

"Our Great Ming Dynasty is a land of propriety and etiquette; we must not learn the teachings of barbarians."

Zhu Youjian felt a headache coming on and warned Qian Qianyi:
"This is the nature of maritime civilizations, just like nomadic civilizations, which also enjoy plundering."

"The Central Plains and the grasslands have interacted for thousands of years, and the same may be true for the Western countries in the future."

"In the process of dealing with nomadic civilizations, King Wuling of Zhao adopted the Hu-style clothing and mounted archery, and the Han and Tang dynasties also learned cavalry from the grasslands, which effectively improved their combat power." "The Ming Dynasty is now facing the threat of maritime civilizations, and we must also learn from their strengths and catch up with their navy."

"Otherwise, in the future, these maritime civilizations' bandits will be like the nomadic civilizations' mounted bandits, plundering the Ming Dynasty from their warships."

"From now on, we must stop talking about banning Western learning. The Ming Dynasty must learn to deal with maritime civilizations."

Using the same reasoning that Chen Zilong had previously used to refute, he warned Qian Qianyi not to try to ban Western learning again.

Since we cannot eliminate the Western countries, we must learn to interact with them.

Qian Qianyi failed to persuade the emperor, but he was not discouraged. Instead, he said:
"Even so, the Ming Dynasty must be selective in its adoption of Western learning."

"You can learn their techniques, but you cannot learn their principles."

“Agrarian civilization and maritime civilization are different; we can’t learn everything from each other.”

This understanding was already close to that of Confucian scholars in the late Qing Dynasty, and Zhu Youjian was satisfied that he could think this way, praising him:
"Chinese learning should be the foundation, while Western learning should be applied. The principles and techniques should naturally be separated."

"The reason I established a branch of the Academy of Sciences specifically for foreign countries is to digest and absorb foreign knowledge and technology."

"The main thing is to learn their skills, and then to acquire knowledge."

"Of course, to prevent the Academy of Sciences from making mistakes, Mr. Datong Academy can keep a closer eye on it. In addition to foreign technology, we must prevent their decadent and heretical doctrines from spreading over here."

“We must be especially vigilant against the core religions of Western countries.”

"Learning technical skills is fine, but you can't be religious."

"The doctrines of these sects cannot be publicly disseminated until they are recognized by the imperial court."

Qian Qianyi, who was hostile to Western learning, was given a task: to keep an eye on Western religions.

The purpose of establishing the Datong Academy was to take charge of ideological matters. The struggle against religious beliefs will be a long-term task.

Qian Qianyi wasn't afraid of having tasks; what he feared was being ignored by the emperor.

Moreover, he did not find the struggle against Western religions difficult and readily accepted the task.

As a result, the Datong Academy established a Institute of Religious Studies to specifically study foreign religious sects.

Because of its close association with religion, Datong Academy is regarded by many sects as the core of Confucianism, who believe that the Datong Confucianism they promote is also a religion.

The Datong Association is essentially a Confucian church, only its religious characteristics are not obvious.

The City God Bureau was a henchman of Confucianism, specifically targeting various religious sects.
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In order to promote the development of the Datong Association, Zhu Youjian, after discussing with Qian Qianyi, issued the following order:

"The Datong Academy is newly established and cannot be without talented people."

"I will issue decrees to all regions to recommend learned scholars who agree with the idea of ​​Great Harmony to come to the capital to take the examination, and they will be admitted to the Great Harmony Academy based on their performance."

"Anyone with a skill and aspirations for universal harmony can join the association."

"This decree was called the Edict for Seeking Talented Individuals, seeking out talented people from all over the country."

The Datong Academy was used to further recruit talented individuals from the populace and prevent them from rebelling.

If someone feels that their talents are not being recognized, they can go directly to Beijing to participate in the selection process for the Datong Academy.

Qian Qianyi readily accepted this, and he asked:
"How were these people treated at Datong Hospital?"

"How should this be arranged?"

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Youjian said:

“Following the example of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, researchers and academicians were established, with ranks ranging from the ninth to the fifth grade, and corresponding honorary titles were conferred.”

"Further meritorious service can lead to the awarding of honorary titles and promotions, or even the appointment as a Hanlin Academician or a cabinet advisor."

"Their salaries will be distributed according to their rank, and I will ensure they have enough to eat and wear."

This is already similar to the treatment of officials in the Hanlin Academy, whose officials are usually below the fifth rank.

In particular, Qian Qianyi was very satisfied with the opportunity to become a high-ranking official after being promoted to the fifth rank.

To prevent excessive expenditures, Zhu Youjian, after careful consideration, added:
"Datong Academy can also operate businesses and accept donations from Confucian merchants."

“A certain amount of revenue will be allocated each year to subsidize the staff working at Datong Institute and Datong Association.”

"We can also establish a Four Classes Research Institute, with a special Merchants Research Office to be responsible for evaluating Confucian merchants."

"Those who meet the requirements can be certified as Confucian merchants and receive preferential treatment from Datong Associations in various regions."

"We must take concrete actions to guide merchants to contribute to the common good. We must warn corrupt merchants to prevent them from becoming parasitic rentiers."

Qian Qianyi was overjoyed; with this pretext, he could now ask merchants for donations.

Otherwise, no businessman could withstand being labeled as corrupt.

Of course, Datong Academy also needs to cultivate a group of Confucian businessmen and nurture its own people in the business field.

Zhu Youjian then allowed imperial merchants who met the requirements of public ownership to join the Datong Academy on a large scale.

With the brand of "Confucian merchant," royal suppliers will find it easier to expand their business empire across various regions.

The Datong Academy could also be integrated with other inner court institutions and become a member of the inner court.

Therefore, he stipulated that the senior officials of the Datong Academy, like the officials of other inner court departments, could share the benefits from the Imperial Capital Commission.

They were used to promote royal property and prevent hostility.
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The imperial edict seeking talented individuals was issued without encountering any obstacles in the court.

Although Han Kuang and others had doubts about the so-called Datong Academy, they could not possibly oppose the current emperor when it came to selecting virtuous and capable officials.

This imperial edict was widely published in major newspapers and disseminated throughout the Ming Dynasty via government offices at all levels. The court will hold the selection examination for the Datong Academy next April. Anyone who considers themselves talented may come to the capital to take the exam.

Those recommended by officials were even given official transportation to take the exam.

Officials recommended renowned local scholars, further solidifying Zhu Youjian's image as a wise and virtuous ruler.

This was also his aim: to strengthen his prestige throughout the Ming Dynasty.

By using a cult of personality, he maintained the unity of the Ming Dynasty and implemented his own policies.

Many renowned scholars who received recommendations believed that the current emperor was indeed a wise and virtuous ruler.
"Emperor Gao sought out talented individuals, which led to the prosperity of the Han Dynasty."

"Cao Cao sought out talented individuals, thus laying the foundation for the Cao Wei dynasty."

"Now that His Majesty is also seeking talented individuals, the Ming Dynasty can prosper once again!"

This was the idea of ​​an old scholar.

Despite failing to pass the imperial examination and being renowned for his teaching, he was overjoyed upon receiving the recommendation.

Their worship of the emperor also rose sharply, and they went to the capital to take the imperial examinations.

This kind of non-imperial examination was obviously not too difficult. Even if one failed to get into the Datong Academy, one could most likely become a member of the Datong Association and wouldn't be too ashamed to come back.

Those who agree with the ideal of a harmonious world are generally willing to go.

Some people had doubts about the emperor's ideal of Great Harmony, stubbornly believing that the idea of ​​"the world belongs to all" was tantamount to abdication, and planned to go to the capital to debate it.

Several years after Zhu Youjian reinterpreted the Great Harmony, the concept of Great Harmony flourished and began to face challenges. (End of Chapter)