Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Although musicians were discriminated against, they were an indispensable part of court activities.

When Wen Tiren heard that the emperor was planning to abolish the music households, he said with some embarrassment:

"Each ceremony, banquet, and other rituals have their own accompanying music and dance."

"Nowadays, there are few musicians and dancers, and they often need musicians to take their place."

"If the musicians are abolished, I am afraid there will not be enough musicians and dancers for sacrifices."

The musicians and dancers of Shenle Temple belonged to the Taichang Temple. The musicians were selected from Taoist children, and the dancers were selected from the handsome sons of the military and civilians. They had a very high status in the early days of the country.

Taizu even issued an edict to allow the sons of dukes and military officials to learn music and dance.

Until the Jiajing period, many musicians and dancers served as ministers of the Taichang Temple, and some were even given the title of vice minister or minister.

However, after Jiajing's attempt to become an immortal failed and Taoism was no longer respected by the upper echelons of the imperial court, the status of musicians and dancers plummeted.

In addition, the Ming Dynasty officialdom changed from a system where the three paths were combined to one where the Jinshi degree was the main focus. The musicians and dancers of the Taichang Temple, like the craftsmen of the Wensi Academy, the astronomy students of the Qintianjian, and the translators of the Siyi Pavilion, found it difficult to become high-ranking officials.

Therefore, musicians and dancers became less and less popular, and now there were not enough of them. They could only meet the needs of the palace, and some mausoleums needed to recruit musicians to serve during sacrifices.

In addition, the sacrifices of princes in various places also required musicians. When the officials of the Ministry of Rites heard that the emperor wanted to abolish the musicians, they generally opposed it.

Others have pointed out the importance of rituals and music, and explained why musicians cannot be abolished.

Zhu Youjian did not expect that abolishing the music households would be so difficult, but he was determined to open them up to good deeds. After thinking about it, he said:
"Ritual is the order of heaven and earth, and music is the harmony of heaven and earth."

"Rituals and music are so important. The imperial court should not treat musicians as inferiors if it is to re-establish them."

"How about removing the musicians from the list of low-ranking people and treating them as civilians like artisans and cooks?"

This was supported by some officials because it would ensure that the court would recruit musicians to serve.

However, some officials objected. Xie Xuelong, the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple who has been quite active in the court recently, said:
"Musicians include those who engage in music and dancing, and those who sell their bodies for a living."

"If all musicians are included in the list of civilian households, I am afraid that artisans, cooks, etc. will be ashamed to be included in the list."

This is indeed a problem, as the music users are a very complex group.

Some have made music their profession for generations, some have become musicians as punishment, and some have been sold into the music industry due to poverty.

The industries they were engaged in also varied greatly, including drumming and music, acting, singing, actors, and prostitutes.

There may even be a transformation between the two, sometimes from performing arts to selling one's body.

If all these musicians were promoted to civilian households, I'm afraid some of them would be unhappy.

It may also damage social customs, and the phenomenon of "laughing at the poor but not at prostitutes" will become more common.

Therefore, some conservative officials were unwilling to improve the status of musicians.

There were even some officials with ulterior motives who were worried about how they would go to visit prostitutes if their business with prostitutes was cancelled.

After thinking about these, Zhu Youjian said:
"How about separating prostitutes from the entertainers and keeping them in the lower class?"

"Those who sell their art for a living are called entertainers, and those who sell their bodies for a living are separately classified as prostitutes."

"Music households are freed and become civilians. However, they need to be conscripted by the court for military service. They have a certain number of days to serve each year, and they are allowed to pay exemption money instead."

"Prostitutes remain in the lower class, and like other lower class people, they must join the army to be able to become military civilians."

After this change, it finally gained the approval of the majority of officials.

After all, the emperor was showing his benevolence, and if they continued to hinder him, they would appear to be unkind and unrighteous.

Therefore, after the emperor distinguished between musicians and prostitutes, the idea of ​​promoting musicians to civilian status was finally recognized by officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Zhu Youjian immediately ordered people to draft an edict and promulgate it to the whole country, using his open-minded and virtuous behavior to demonstrate his benevolence and win the hearts of the people.

At this point, the Ming Dynasty's lowly people had a way out. As long as they were willing to leave their country, they could become good citizens.

Then Zhu Youjian proposed to impose special taxes on the pornographic industry in brothels and other places.

This was a type of tax that he had wanted to increase for a long time, in order to extort some money from those wealthy people who visited prostitutes.

At the same time, it is also restricting the pornography industry to prevent the social atmosphere from further deteriorating.

This is also the reason why Xie Xuelong kept the prostitutes in the slave class when he raised his objection just now.

If there are no restrictions on the identity and status of such people, some good people may not be able to resist the temptation and join this industry.

Therefore, the household registration of prostitutes became a new type of lowly household registration when prostitutes were liberalized.

Most of the officials in the Ministry of Rites were speechless about the emperor's idea. Li Biao, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, said:

"Your Majesty has already handed over the tax collection to the Taifu Temple. If you want to collect this special tax, just let the Taifu Temple do it. Why do you need to inform the Ministry of Rites?"

“Perhaps we can also ask the Zhuolu District Council to discuss increasing this tax.”

The implicit meaning of the words was to express dissatisfaction with the emperor's imposition of additional taxes.

Officials generally resisted the emperor's collection of property taxes through the Zhuolu District Council.

Even though the officials of the Ministry of Rites had little say in taxation, they still couldn't help but express their opinions at this time and place.

Zhu Youjian understood this from Li Biao's words, and was somewhat surprised that some officials were still bothered by the property tax.

This made him think whether he should show some favor to the officials and reduce their resistance. Otherwise, if the officials continued to refuse to cooperate, the court would be in turmoil. He couldn't always impose martial law to prevent riots.

Thinking about this in his heart, Zhu Youjian said:

"The special tax on the pornography industry is a type of property tax."

"It's too easy to make money in this kind of industry, so we need to impose stricter restrictions."

"My intention is to follow the progressive taxation system of the property tax. For brothels and prostitutes, if the individual income is less than 100 taels per year, a 20% tax will be levied."

"From 100 taels to 1,000 taels, 30% will be collected; from 1,000 taels to 10,000 taels, 40% will be collected; until 100,000 taels, all will be collected."

"This matter is related to ritual and music education. The Ministry of Rites should give guidance and let the Taifu Temple collect taxes according to regulations."

As he said this, he looked at Wen Tiren again and asked him to agree to this matter.

Wen Tiren was still very keen on increasing the power of the Ministry of Rites.

Although the special tax on the pornography industry sounded a bit unpleasant, he still agreed to it.

However, Xie Xuelong said at this time:

"If prostitutes are taxed this way, how should the music merchants be taxed?"

"It's easy for musicians to make money. Sometimes they can earn a hundred gold coins after performing a show."

Zhu Youjian said seriously:
"Drumming, singing, and acting are all normal entertainment industries."

"According to the regulations on property tax, the minimum levy is 10,000 taels. For less than 10,000 taels, you can pay the tax normally."

"That's why I asked the Ministry of Rites to draw up guidelines to distinguish the entertainment industry from the pornography industry."

Xie Xuelong insisted:

"What if there are music lovers who sell their bodies privately and engage in the prostitution industry?"

Zhu Youjian frowned and responded to this question:

"That was because the musicians themselves fell into depravity and were reduced to prostitutes after being discovered." Xie Xuelong continued to ask:
"What about the other fallen ones?"

"Do you want to punish him in the same way?"

Zhu Youjian was a little annoyed, staring at Xie Xuelong and said:

"Anyone who allows himself to fall into depravity should be punished."

"The special tax on pornography industry will be changed to the special tax on depravity industry."

"For industries that have allowed themselves to degenerate, such as the pornography industry and the begging industry."

"There are also industries that lead people to depravity, such as the gambling industry and the drug industry."

“Special taxes will be levied on all of them.”

"Also, for professional beggars and some practitioners with bad behavior, their household registration should be downgraded to beggars to restrict their status."

"From now on, the only two types of lowly families in the Ming Dynasty will be prostitutes and beggars."

"Other low-class people will gradually become good citizens."

Expand the taxation of the sex industry to other industries such as pornography, gambling and drugs.

And these industries are given a name, collectively called corrupt industries.

Now this special tax is more closely related to the Ministry of Rites.

Isn't it the Ministry of Rites' responsibility if someone falls into depravity?
Minister of Rites Wen Tiren said:

"Your Majesty's imposition of taxes on corrupt industries is truly a great educational measure!"

"If we don't restrict them in this way, won't more people fall into depravity?"

"I think these industries should be taxed, and more should be levied."

He expressed clear support for the emperor and linked special taxes on decadent industries with education.

When the other officials from the Ministry of Rites heard this reason, they no longer offered any words to object.

Even if they felt disgusted with the taxation in their hearts, they could not say anything against it.

However, some officials expressed their confusion about the drug industry and asked what drugs were.

Zhu Youjian answered this question:
"Not to mention poisons like arsenic that can kill people, the drugs mentioned here are mainly those that can cause addiction or hallucinations."

"For example, the Fushou ointment used by Emperor Shenzong to relieve pain, as well as the marijuana and tobacco brought by foreigners, can all be called drugs."

"These must be strictly restricted, and designated smoking areas should be set aside for the least harmful tobacco. This prevents others from inhaling secondhand smoke and endangering their health."

This statement made some officials change color immediately.

Although the longevity paste was not widely circulated, wealthy families still had access to it. It was also called opium, poppy, black incense, hefurong, and opium. Western merchants also sold it to the Ming Dynasty.

As for tobacco, people were exposed to it even more. After Matteo Ricci brought snuff, pipes and tobacco leaves gradually became popular. Especially after Guangdong soldiers went north to aid Liaodong, many soldiers in Liaodong were smoking.

Some people even mixed opium with tobacco and smoked it, which led to the emergence of opium smoking.

These officials were greatly panicked when they thought that the emperor had designated them as drugs.

Some officials still had doubts. Wen Tiren, who was interested in Western learning, said:
"Many Westerners who come to the capital like to smoke."

"From what I have seen of them, it seems that they cannot live without cigarettes for even a day. This is exactly what the emperor meant by 'addiction'."

“It can be seen that drugs such as tobacco must be restricted and controlled like poisons such as arsenic.”

Zhu Youjian nodded in approval and had no hesitation in listing these as controlled drugs.

Not to mention opium and marijuana, things like tobacco can also be said to be harmful rather than beneficial at this time.

In later generations, as cigarettes became popular and the tobacco industry became industrialized, the government was able to collect large amounts of tobacco taxes by controlling the tobacco industry.

However, the current tobacco production is very small. Even if it becomes popular, farmers mostly produce it for their own use. Pipes, tobacco pouches, and snuff bottles that cost money cannot form a large industry.

Therefore, this industry brought very few benefits, and Zhu Youjian simply restricted it as strictly as drugs and abandoned this industry.

In order to make people aware of the harmful effects of these things, Zhu Youjian even ordered the Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Imperial Medical Bureau to use them to develop pesticides, anesthetics, painkillers and other drugs, and to explain their toxicity.

At this time, people in the West had already discovered that nicotine in tobacco leaves could kill bean weevils, and developed the first commercial plant-based insecticide. After this insecticide was introduced to the Ming Dynasty, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences developed more tobacco leaf water insecticides. Later, high-temperature heating and other methods were used to extract bio-oil from tobacco leaves to create more powerful insecticides.

This made the people of the Ming Dynasty more clearly aware of the toxicity of tobacco. Even though tobacco later became more and more popular around the world, few people in the Ming Dynasty accepted it.

Smoking in front of others is considered impolite, especially when it exposes others to secondhand smoke.

It can be said that the introduction of second-hand smoke and the setting up of smoking areas made smoking in public places generally rejected by the people of the Ming Dynasty.

This approach has achieved great results and effectively prevented the spread of tobacco.

In addition to setting up smoking areas, Zhu Youjian also gathered together casinos, brothels, etc. and set up special business areas:
"Casinos, brothels, whorehouses and other places that lead to depravity should be designated as special business areas, away from residential areas and schools."

"You can only gamble or sell your body within the business area. It is illegal to go beyond the business area."

"The Ministry of Rites drafted the regulations, and the Weiwei Temple was responsible for combating pornography and illegal publications."

"Half of the special taxes collected by the Taifu Temple should be allocated to the Ministry of Rites and the Weiwei Temple to be responsible for this task."

This regulation finally made the officials of the Ministry of Rites happy because they could finally see the benefits.

As a government department with little financial support, the Ministry of Rites seemed to have a high status, but in fact its life was very poor.

Although the emperor no longer gave the Ministry of Rites the responsibility of collecting taxes, they were still very happy to let the Ministry of Rites collect special taxes on corrupt industries.

Wen Tiren immediately assured:

"I will definitely use the tax revenue to educate the people and prevent more people from falling into depravity."

"The scattered casinos and brothels in the capital should be centralized."

Zhu Youjian approved his idea, and in order to make the business district more attractive to practitioners, he also imitated the red-light districts of later generations and gave a special policy:
“Business areas can have curfews and hang red lights at night to operate day and night.”

"The government wants to take control of some houses and rent them directly to prostitutes."

"Also, prostitutes who sell their bodies must go to the gynecological hospital designated by the Imperial Hospital for regular checkups to prevent the spread of diseases."

"It is said that syphilis brought over by Westerners wiped out the entire French royal family. We must be careful to prevent it."

This statement surprised the ministers again, and they all asked what syphilis was.

After learning that the syphilis the emperor was talking about was the so-called "Yangmei sore" and "Guangdong sore", which is also known as "French disease" in the West, some people seemed to have thought of bad memories and their faces turned ugly.

This disease was introduced to the Ming Dynasty earlier than tobacco, and appeared in the Ming Dynasty almost at the same time as it became popular in the West.

Some people thought that it was a native disease of the Ming Dynasty like other venereal diseases, but only then did they realize that it was transmitted from the West.

Thinking of the tobacco brought from the West, some officials became even more disgusted with the West, and even proposed banning Westerners from coming to the Ming Dynasty and driving them all out.

This proposal of closing the country to the outside world obviously did not receive the approval of Zhu Youjian.

Now that globalization has begun, some harmful things have certainly been introduced, but there are more beneficial things such as potatoes and corn, so we cannot simply reject them.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian only asked the Ministry of Rites to publicize their harm and let people be careful to prevent it. He also instructed the customs and other government offices to strengthen the control of foreign items.

Even animals and plants have begun to be subject to a permission system, and can only be placed in the free trade zone outside the customs before they are proven not to cause harm. (End of this chapter)