Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

When dividing the periods according to production relations, Zhu Youjian naturally followed the five-stage theory.

However, the five-stage theory of later generations was summarized based on the social development model of the West and is not suitable for the East.

For example, the so-called feudal society usually refers to the ancient period from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which corresponds to the Middle Ages in the West.

However, the word "feudal" at this time refers to the establishment of states and the division of fiefdoms among the people, and does not have the derived meaning of autocracy.

It is very accurate to call the Middle Ages in the West feudal, but the society after the Qin Dynasty in China was not feudal at all.

The policies implemented by the Qin Dynasty pointed out that "feudalism should be abolished and counties should be established." It is a misnomer to call ancient China after the Qin Dynasty a feudal society.

It is absurd to call the feudal Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties a slave society, which will arouse the collective opposition of Confucian scholars.

Regardless of whether slaves were widely used during the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, calling the Three Dynasties that Confucianism longed for a slave society is digging into the foundations of Confucianism.

If fallacies such as Zhou Gong and Confucius were slave owners emerge, how can Confucianism continue to exist?

Zhu Youjian, who could not oppose all Confucian scholars, did not follow the five-paragraph theory of later generations. Instead, he defined the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties as the feudal era according to the original meaning of the word "feudal".

The dynasties after the Qin Dynasty are called the era of centralization or the imperial system.

The ancient period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors is called the clan era, which can be further divided into matriarchal clans, patriarchal clans, clan alliances, city-states, and other eras.

The period before that when there were no clans or tribes was called the primitive age, or the age of barbarism.

This way there are four periods, summarizing various eras in history.

Qian Qianyi was completely confused and didn't know why production relations were related to these things.

Zhu Youjian explained carefully:
“Production relations can be said to be the mutual relations formed by people in the production process, which mainly include the ownership of the means of production, the organization and division of labor in the production process, and the distribution of products.”

"For example, under the well-field system, common people collectively cultivated the well fields, with private fields around them and public fields in the middle. By cultivating the public fields, they paid corresponding taxes."

"But later, when iron tools appeared, people cultivated more and more private land. They were not willing to cultivate public land, and even recruited tenants to cultivate private land."

"The tax collected through the well-field system was reduced. In order to ensure tax collection under this change, the State of Lu stipulated that taxes should be collected on a per-acre basis, regardless of whether public or private fields were to be divided. This was the so-called initial tax per-acre system, which recognized the landlords' ownership of private fields and encouraged them to open up more private fields."

“This is a change in production relations, which includes land ownership, tenancy, taxation and distribution of surplus products.”

"After the change in Lu, all other countries followed suit. Among them, the system of Qin was the most adaptable to this change. The form of government organization changed from feudal fiefdom to centralization, mobilizing national strength to the greatest extent."

"In contrast, the Chu State was always feudal internally and could not form a joint force. As a result, although the Chu State was large, it was eventually destroyed by the Qin State."

This method of analyzing history gave Qian Qianyi a refreshing feeling, but at the same time made him feel even more confused.

If he could quickly understand the division according to the means of production, he found it difficult to understand the division according to the relations of production.

He was too embarrassed to admit that he didn't understand, so he could only write down the contents in the usual way with a pen.

Zhu Youjian knew that he didn't understand, so he ordered:
"Just write it down carefully!"

"Once you have finished writing the article, give it to me for revision."

“Now you just need to remember: productivity and production relations interact with each other, productivity determines production relations, and production relations react on productivity.”

"My reform of rituals and music is to reform the production relations of the Ming Dynasty, so that they can adapt to the development of productivity and promote it."

Then he asked Qian Qianyi:
"From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Song and Yuan Dynasties, it was all an era of imperial rule."

"Sir, what do you think the next era will be like?" Qian Qianyi looked at the feudal and imperial systems he had written down, thinking about the feudal system that the emperor had been promoting since he ascended the throne, and tried to say:
"Your Majesty wants to combine the imperial system with feudalism and take the advantages of both."

Zhu Youjian smiled and nodded, then said to him:
“The imperial system concentrates power, but it lacks in developing the surrounding areas.”

“This can be seen from the fact that the core areas of China have not changed much from the Qin and Han dynasties to the present dynasty.”

"Compared with the expansion of the Zhou Dynasty, it is a far cry."

"Now, Ming's ships can sail across the world, and Ming's soldiers can conquer overseas."

"Therefore, I will restart feudalism and expand the territory of Ming Dynasty to the surrounding areas."

"At the same time, in order to support expansion, the core Ming Empire still had to implement centralization."

This is a combination of imperial system and feudalism, and it is the organizational form he came up with that is most suitable for this era.

Qian Qianyi was impressed by what he said, and he understood why the emperor had been promoting feudalism and had defined the concepts of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Empire, and the vassal states. He sighed from the bottom of his heart:
"In this way, the Ming Dynasty can be called the feudal monarchy era from now on!"

Zhu Youjian almost laughed out loud when he heard these four words. However, he didn't want people to think that he was autocratic, which was no longer in line with the current era, so he made it clear:
"Whether feudal or imperial, it is one of the organizational forms I adopt."

"They are all protected by rituals and laws. To be honest, it should be called the era of rituals—"

"The ritual system is higher than the imperial system. Even though I am the emperor, I must abide by the ritual system."

Once again, Zhu Youjian made it clear that the emperor followed the etiquette and law:
"From the Age of Barbarism to the Age of Clan, and from the Age of Feudalism to the Age of Imperialism, production relations have been constantly evolving."

"The former Song Dynasty had already sensed this change, but it chose to emphasize civil affairs over military affairs, with the emperor and the literati ruling the country, which ultimately proved to be a failure."

"I have learned from this lesson and decided to give equal importance to civil and military affairs, to have the monarch, his subjects and the people rule the country together, to use rites and laws to govern the country, and to enter the era of rites and laws."

"You can point this out when you write about production relations."

These words finally made Qian Qianyi's mind clear.

He thought about the changes in production tools and production relations in different periods, and a feeling arose in his heart. It was as if he had sensed the tide of history, which was constantly rushing forward.

This made him admire from the bottom of his heart:
"The coal and iron era and the ritual era are the general trend."

"I am willing to assist Your Majesty in entering a new era!"

Zhu Youjian laughed loudly, stood up and said:

"The general trend of the world is overwhelming."

"Those who follow it will prosper, and those who go against it will perish."

“I hope you can make full use of what you have learned and live up to this era!”

He walked up to Qian Qianyi, helped him up, and answered his questions seriously.

With the efforts of the emperor and his ministers, the prototype of "The Theory of Production" was gradually drafted out.

This article focuses on the changes in productivity and production relations, and elaborates on the changes brought about by the development of productivity and changes in production tools to production relations and political organization.

And use production tools and production relations to guide historical periodization and summarize the salient features of each period.

In particular, the article clearly predicts that the next era will be the coal and iron era and the ritual era. It calls on people to develop coal and iron production, support the re-establishment of rituals and music, and promote the Ming Dynasty into a new era. (End of this chapter)