Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Is the Yuan Dynasty the orthodox dynasty of China?
There is no clear conclusion on this issue in the Ming Dynasty.

Qian Qianyi, who initiated this court debate, was the first to speak:
"When Taizu founded the country and conquered the Yuan Dynasty, he ordered Song Lian and others to draft a Northern Expedition Manifesto, which was sent to the people of Qi, Lu, Heluo, Yan, Ji, Qin and Jin:"

"Since ancient times, emperors have ruled the world, and the Chinese have been in the interior to control the barbarians, and the barbarians have been in the outside to serve China. I have never heard of the barbarians living in China to control the world. Since the fall of the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty has brought the northern barbarians into China..."

"It can be seen that the Yuan Dynasty was originally established by barbarians."

"Confucius said: It is better for the Chinese to have no ruler than for the barbarians to have one."

"Taizu explained: barbarians are beasts, so Confucius despised them. He thought that although they had a ruler, they did not know the etiquette of ruler and minister, the distinction between superiors and subordinates, and were full of quarrels. Even if China lost its ruler, it would not be like this. Even if they had a ruler, it was not as good as the other countries without a ruler. The Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty said that the Chinese were not as good as the barbarians. Isn't it absurd!"

"Therefore, the Yuan Dynasty monarchs were barbarian monarchs, and it is better to have none than to have them. They should not be regarded as orthodox, and the Yuan Dynasty was not an orthodox dynasty either."

The clear attitude of these words made all the ministers look at them sideways.

Obviously, Qian Qianyi knew the emperor's attitude, so he made this statement.

As a rising leader of the Donglin Party and the leader of the Ming Dynasty literary world for decades, Qian Qianyi had a great influence in the court and the country.

Many people also know that this is a person with a soft temper and can easily submit to the emperor.

Even people like him insisted that the Yuan Dynasty was not the orthodox dynasty of China, which shows what the emperor was thinking.

Therefore, after Qian Qianyi spoke, all the ministers echoed him, believing that the Yuan Dynasty was not a legitimate dynasty and Kublai Khan was not the emperor of China.

Even those who disagreed could not deny that the Yuan Dynasty was founded by barbarians, nor could they overturn Confucius' conclusion. They could only make a brief defense for the Yuan Dynasty from the perspective of destiny:
"Although the Yuan Dynasty was founded by barbarians, it also had the Mandate of Heaven."

"The Edict to the Central Plains says: Since the fall of the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty has taken over China from the northern barbarians, and all the people within the four seas have submitted to it. This is not human effort, but a gift from heaven."

"Therefore, the Yuan Dynasty has the Mandate of Heaven and should be the dynasty of China."

This is also the content of "Edict to the Central Plains", and it is also a contradictory point in the Ming Dynasty's treatment of the Yuan Dynasty.

Some people believe that the Ming Dynasty replaced the Yuan Dynasty by destiny, and that the Yuan Dynasty should naturally be the orthodox dynasty.

Another group of people strictly adhered to the defense against foreign invaders and refused to recognize the Yuan Dynasty as a Chinese dynasty.

During the Jiajing period, because of the invasion of the northern barbarians, the court hated the Mongols, and the mainstream view that the Yuan Dynasty was not the orthodox dynasty of China became popular. It was at that time that Kublai Khan was removed from the Temple of Emperors by the Ming Dynasty's monarchs and ministers.

Some people think that the current emperor's invitation to Yuan Shizu back to the imperial temple is a recognition that the Yuan Dynasty is the orthodox dynasty of China. Therefore, they still use the theory of the Mandate of Heaven to explain that the Ming Dynasty replaced the Yuan Dynasty.

This is consistent with the contradiction in the "Edict to the Central Plains". For more than 200 years, the Ming Dynasty's attitude towards the Yuan Dynasty has been wavering between recognition and non-recognition.

The two groups started a heated debate on this issue. Zhu Youjian watched them arguing and found that most of them held opposing views. Most of the ministers did not believe that the Yuan Dynasty was the orthodox dynasty of China.

Liu Zongzhou said:

"The Edict to the Central Plains was drafted by Song Lian. Fang Xiaoru was Song Lian's disciple and inherited his knowledge. He once wrote an article titled "Explanation of the Tradition", saying:"

"The violent are truly barbarians, and cannot be considered orthodox."

"If conquering China by barbarians is orthodoxy, why would Yue Wumu and Wen Zhonglie fight against the barbarians?"

"I think the Yuan Dynasty is not legitimate, but a foreign country that forcibly took over China with violent force."

These words were recognized by Li Banghua and other Privy Councilors, because Yue Fei and Wen Tianxiang were both admired by them.

Especially after the emperor paid tribute to Wen Tianxiang and Man Gui and also won the Battle of Daning, many people believed that this was due to the spirits of the heroes in heaven, and they believed in them even more in their hearts.

Now they heard Liu Zongzhou say that if the Yuan Dynasty was recognized as the orthodox dynasty, the resistance of Yue Fei, Wen Tianxiang and others would be meaningless. Of course, they disagreed with this and opposed the Yuan Dynasty being recognized as the orthodox dynasty.

Even Zhu Youjian nodded repeatedly. Because if this point was denied, the Ming soldiers would no longer have the faith to resist the foreign barbarians. He immediately said in a clear tone:
"If whoever can conquer China will gain legitimacy, then isn't legitimacy the same as being a whore that anyone can fuck?"

"This orthodoxy is unacceptable."

"Fang Xiaoru's interpretation of the 'Shi Tong' is correct."

This attitude made Liu Zongzhou happy, and he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.

He has always admired Fang Xiaoru and even compiled the collection of essays left by Fang Xiaoru.

He was very happy when the current emperor rehabilitated Fang Xiaoru and other loyal ministers of Jianwen. Now that the emperor recognized Fang Xiaoru's theory, he was even happier.

When the other ministers heard the emperor even call the word "bitch", they were speechless for a moment.

Although the emperor's words were harsh, if the dynasties that conquered China were really regarded as orthodox, then orthodoxy would be no different from a whore.

This left those who wanted to defend the Yuan Dynasty speechless. They could only insist that orthodoxy was indispensable and could not be interrupted. Otherwise, even the reign title could not be determined, and no one knew which one to adopt.

In this regard, Qian Qianyi said without Zhu Youjian saying anything:

"Zhu Zi said: There are also times when there is no order, such as the Three Kingdoms, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the Five Dynasties, when the world was divided, and there was no ruler or minister, and none of them had the right order."

"I think that during the Yuan Dynasty, just like the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a lack of legitimacy and it can be called a lack of order."

"When compiling history books, the Yellow Emperor era was used."

Zhu Youjian greatly praised this view and praised:

"Mr. Qian, that's a good point!"

"China's orthodoxy has always been passed down from the Yellow Emperor to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors."

"Even if it is interrupted for a while, it can continue again."

"For example, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and when the Song Dynasty surrendered to the Jin Dynasty, they were regarded as the end of the orthodox system and used the Yellow Emperor era."

"With the civilization left by the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, China can rise again!"

When China was officially recognized to have a unified dynasty, even dynasties established by foreigners were recognized in order to ensure the continuity of the orthodox tradition.

After the orthodoxy issue was resolved, some people mentioned the Mandate of Heaven.

Since orthodoxy can be severed, can the Mandate of Heaven be severed?
Some people want to use this to deny that barbarians have a destiny, but the Yuan Dynasty did have a destiny, as written in the "Edict to the Central Plains".

This manifesto, which can be regarded as the foundation of the country, cannot be tampered with at all. In the end, Zhu Youjian, as the emperor, forced an explanation:

"The Yuan Dynasty was a destiny. When it rose to power, the Song Dynasty was weak, so it had the opportunity to rule the Central Plains."

"If it had followed the Chinese way, the Mandate of Heaven of the Yuan Dynasty could have been secured, and the Yuan emperor could have been naturalized as a Chinese and become the ruler of China."

"However, although Kublai Khan promoted Chinese law in Han areas, he did not fully follow Chinese principles and did not even have a Chinese surname or name."

"How can one be called the ruler of China if he behaves like this?"

"The Yuan Dynasty's mandate of heaven was lost because of this."

"They entered China as barbarians and even discriminated against the Han people, which led to the barbarians' failure to rule China for a hundred years."

As he spoke, Zhu Youjian explained in detail how the Yuan Dynasty implemented Han law in the Han areas, and how it implemented other principles of governing the country in the grasslands, the Western Regions and other places.

The final conclusion is that the Yuan Dynasty did not follow the Chinese way, but only implemented Han laws in some Han areas.

Therefore, it did not fully inherit China's mandate of heaven and orthodoxy, and the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty were not the rulers of China.

This statement perfectly carries forward the viewpoint of the "Edict to the Central Plains", and Qian Qianyi said delightedly:
"Even Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty did not fully accept the Mandate of Heaven, and other Yuan Dynasty monarchs were even worse than him."

"The Edict to the Central Plains says: The ministers of the Yuan Dynasty did not follow the teachings of their ancestors and destroyed the moral principles, just like the Dade who deposed the elder and established the younger, the Taiding who killed the emperor with his minister, and the Tianli who poisoned his elder brother with his younger brother..."

“So part of the Mandate of Heaven inherited by the Yuan Dynasty was lost little by little in their hands.”

"If we say that Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty still had some resemblance to a Chinese monarch, then those monarchs who corrupted social order can be completely called barbarian monarchs."

"I think that Kublai Khan can be worshipped in the Imperial Temple, but he should be enshrined in a separate room and not be listed together with other Chinese monarchs." This means that Kublai Khan was partially recognized as the Chinese monarch, but other Yuan Dynasty monarchs who corrupted social ethics were not recognized at all.

This would solve the embarrassment of the emperor having to invite Kublai Khan back to the Imperial Temple and then have to ask him to leave, and would not damage the emperor's reputation.

This kind of compromise was done to save face for the emperor. Many ministers in the court saw this and also agreed with it.

Zhu Youjian didn't care whether he could save his face or not. It didn't matter to him that Yuan Shizu moved out of the Imperial Temple. However, after comprehensive consideration, he decided to keep Yuan Shizu in the Imperial Temple and agreed with Qian Qianyi's proposal:

"King Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty changed the name of the 'Great Mongol Empire' to the 'Great Yuan' and the court he established adopted many Chinese laws."

"But because they were trapped by the barbarian customs, they did not fully use Chinese etiquette."

"So, he is a half-Chinese, half-barbarian king and should be worshipped separately."

"Just like the barbarian monarchs such as Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty who promoted sinicization."

"No matter what the original intentions of these monarchs were, they all contributed to the preservation of Chinese culture, including the Chinese language and characters, and deserve to be worshipped by future generations."

"In the Imperial Temple, there is a separate room for sacrifices."

This explanation made the ministers feel more comfortable.

Because the emperor's words were saying that the reason why the Ming Dynasty worshipped Yuan Shizu and others was not because they conquered China and became emperors, but because they partially implemented Han law and objectively preserved part of Chinese civilization.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty wanted to offer sacrifices to them to distinguish these monarchs from those barbarian monarchs who completely followed the barbarian ways and attempted to destroy China.

For example, Nurhaci not only refused to recognize himself as a Chinese, but also discriminated against and killed the Han people in Liaodong. Even if his descendants conquered China, they could only be called barbarian kings.

Monarchs who promote sinicization should be treated separately and not on the same level as barbarian monarchs.

In this way, Yuan Shizu could continue to stay in the Temple of the Emperors, but he would only move to a new position in the temple, and he would not be asked to leave again. Zhu Youjian's face was saved, and the standard for treating barbarian kings was established.

Destiny and orthodoxy are both well explained under this view and no longer contradict each other.

Han Yu's "If the princes use barbarian rituals, they are barbarians; if they advance towards China, they are Chinese" is also explained:

Kublai Khan was a half-Chinese, half-barbarian ruler because he used some Chinese rituals and some barbarian rituals.

In order to set rules for future generations and prevent barbarians from conquering China again, Zhu Youjian further explained:

"What Han Zi said in "On the Origin of the Way" refers to the princes and kings."

"For the Son of Heaven and the Emperor, the requirements are even higher."

"The Edict to the Central Plains says: The Chinese people are destined by Heaven to be governed by the Chinese people. How can the barbarians rule them?"

"Only Chinese people who use Chinese surnames, Chinese names, and other Chinese etiquette, and who have completely naturalized and integrated into China, are qualified to become the king of China."

“The ruler of China should treat the Han people and other Chinese people equally and promote Chinese ways in all places under his rule. If he uses barbarian rituals, he is still a barbarian and will be regarded as a barbarian ruler.”

"If you put the Han people behind the barbarians, just like Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty did, you can at most be called a half-Chinese, half-barbarian ruler!"

"The Yuan Dynasty was a half-Chinese, half-barbarian dynasty and should not be regarded as orthodox."

"Duke Wen Zhonglie and others fought against the Yuan Dynasty, which was a resistance against the barbarians."

The nature of the Yuan Dynasty and the status of Kublai Khan were thoroughly clarified.

All future official documents must be based on this.
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After discussion among the ministers, most of them accepted this point.

Whether those who do not recognize the Yuan Dynasty as orthodox or those who believe that the Yuan Dynasty has the Mandate of Heaven, all believe that the emperor's explanation can resolve the contradiction between the Ming Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty:

Kublai Khan was able to rule China as a barbarian because he had the Mandate of Heaven.

Also, because he did not fully follow the Chinese way and discriminated against the Han people and southerners, he could only become a half-Chinese and half-barbarian king.

The Yuan Dynasty monarchs who succeeded him increasingly corrupted the moral principles and even became complete barbarian rulers, completely losing the Mandate of Heaven in China.

So Taizu came into being, expelled the barbarians, restored China, and became the new emperor of China.

The Ming Dynasty’s mandate of heaven and orthodoxy also came from this.

After sorting this out, the ministers all breathed a sigh of relief and had a deeper understanding of the "Great Ming Dynasty was founded by Taizu expelling the barbarians" in the "Great Ming Dynasty Etiquette and Law Convention":

Expelling the barbarians and restoring China is the source of the Ming Dynasty's mandate and orthodoxy. No wonder the emperor wrote it at the beginning of the rites and laws.

As long as the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty does not violate this, the Mandate of Heaven will not be lost.

Expelling the barbarians and restoring China was the absolute political correctness in the Ming Dynasty.

In order to consolidate this achievement, Zhu Youjian said:
"The History of Yuan Dynasty was written in a hurry and there are many unsatisfactory aspects."

"Now that the nature of the Yuan Dynasty has been determined, the history of the Yuan Dynasty should be revised."

"What do you think, sir?"

Of course, all the ministers agreed, because compiling history books is an achievement that can go down in history.

In particular, the "History of Yuan Dynasty" is generally recognized to be rough and sloppy, and it even calls Taizu a "thief".

As long as it is compiled carefully, the newly revised "History of Yuan Dynasty" will definitely be of better quality and replace the old "History of Yuan Dynasty".

They all looked at the emperor, hoping to become the chief executive.

Without disappointing them, Zhu Youjian said:
"The new Yuan History was compiled with Grand Secretary Han Yu and Privy Co-Director Yuan Keli as chief executive officers."

"Grand Secretaries Shi Fenglai, Li Guopu, Yang Jingchen, Xu Guangqi, Wen Tiren, Zheng Yiwei, Minister of Rites Cheng Jiming, Minister of the Imperial Academy Qian Qianyi, and Imperial College Priest Liu Zongzhou are the deputy chief judges."

"Qian Qianyi concurrently served as the chief editor, responsible for the specific compilation. Chen Zilong, Ai Nanying and others served as proofreaders, strictly checking the distinction between Chinese and barbarians."

"Collect historical materials from all sides and write it in the Yellow Emperor's era."

The project of compiling a new history of the Yuan Dynasty was officially confirmed, and Qian Qianyi and others were asked to speed up the compilation.

Qian Qianyi was very excited to get this task.

Because he knew that this would not only be a great achievement that would go down in history, but he would also be rewarded after completion, and it might even be a chance for him to become a minister.

So he made up his mind to revise it well and make sure that the New History of Yuan Dynasty would conform to the emperor's wishes.

To this end, he specifically asked the emperor:

"How should the new Yuan History be compiled? Your Majesty, please give us your instructions?"

Zhu Youjian had many ideas about the new Yuan history. The purpose of compiling history was to serve reality. At this time, he told Qian Qianyi:

"The Yuan Dynasty was part of the Mongol Empire. The new history of the Yuan Dynasty should be called the History of the Mongol and Yuan Dynasties, covering the history of both the Mongol Empire and the Yuan Dynasty."

"From the emergence of the Mongolian tribes to Genghis Khan Temujin's unification of Mongolia and the establishment of the Mongol Empire, and then to the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, this is the first volume."

"The founder of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan, changed the Great Mongol Empire to the Great Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty rulers and ministers were expelled by Taizu, which is the middle volume."

"The second volume contains the events after the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty fled to the grasslands, until Lin Danhan was given the title of Shunli King and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty."

"At this point, both the Yuan Dynasty and the Mongol Empire were completely replaced by the Ming Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty has completely acquired the legal system left by the Mongols. All the places previously conquered by the Mongols are now vassals of the Ming Dynasty."

"In the future, after destroying the Jianlu and recovering the Liao territory, the Ming Dynasty will continue to fight and completely recover the Han and Tang territories and the Mongolian and Yuan territories." (End of this chapter)