Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The purpose of establishing religious schools was, of course, to cultivate religious personnel needed by the imperial court.

In order to elevate the status of this school, Zhu Youjian said:
How were ordination certificates issued in the Ming Dynasty?

Which government department is in charge?

Qian Qianyi said:

"The ordination certificates were issued by the Buddhist and Taoist Registries every three years."

“Monks and Taoists who went to the capital for examinations were awarded titles, and those who were not well-versed in the classics were dismissed.”

This is very similar to the imperial examination system, where many monks and Taoist priests had to spend ten or even several decades passing the scripture examinations to become religious personnel.

(A Ming Dynasty ordination certificate in the collection of the Shanghai Museum; Zhang Yongxin obtained the certificate after fifteen years and at the age of twenty-seven.)
Zhu Youjian instructed Qian Qianyi:

"In the future, we need to be more strict and standardized, and include all clergy members."

"The examinations for monks and Taoist priests will still be handled by the Buddhist and Taoist Registry Offices, while the examinations for City God priests and other religious personnel of orthodox religious sects will be handled by the City God Office."

"Unorthodox theological cults..."

After a pause, Zhu Youjian decided not to establish a new agency, but to entrust it to the City God's Office as well.

"As long as they are not monks or Taoists, the assessment of other clergy will be handed over to the City God Bureau."

"The number of clergy members who are not members of the orthodox church should be strictly limited, not exceeding 10% of the total."

"The number of ordination certificates should also be limited. How many are there in the world now?"

Qian Qianyi was quite troubled by this question and replied:
"There is no fixed number of ordination certificates issued; sometimes it is only tens of thousands, and sometimes it is more than 200,000."

"Sometimes, in order to make up for the financial losses, the imperial court would issue ordination certificates to monks and Taoists who paid silver."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian frowned deeply, feeling that regulations were necessary. He said to Qian Qianyi:

"The total number of ordination certificates should be controlled in the future, and should not exceed the number of candidates who passed the provincial examination or the imperial examination."

"They, like the successful candidates in the imperial examinations, are full-time employees and cannot be supported too much, which would increase the burden on the people."

This was Zhu Youjian's idea; he did not want to support too many clergy.

The people of the Ming Dynasty already have a heavy enough burden; we cannot allow religion to bleed them dry any further.

Qian Qianyi pondered the number and said:
"The Ming Dynasty had about 14,000 successful candidates in the provincial examinations and about 5,000 or 6,000 successful candidates in the metropolitan examinations, totaling about 20,000."

"After Your Majesty expands the quota for the provincial examinations and increases the number of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), the number may reach more than double this number in the future, which is 400 to 500 million."

"During the Chenghua era, a minister once suggested that the number of monks and Taoists should be 60,000."

"I believe this number is more appropriate."

"We must ensure that every prefecture and county has clergy with official ordination certificates."

"This quantity needs to be more," Zhu Youjian thought for a moment and finally nodded in agreement.

Issuing too many ordination certificates is indeed a burden, but if it is not enough, it will not be sufficient to promote the belief in righteous gods and suppress external gods and heretical sects.

Therefore, the quantity must be appropriate, neither too much nor too little.

In particular, Qian Qianyi also pointed out:
How should the number of clergy in the City God Bureau, the Buddhist Registry Bureau, and the Taoist Registry Bureau be divided?

"If the City God's Office occupies half of the positions, then the number is too small for monks and Taoists."

This is a real problem. In the past, the Buddhist and Taoist Registries monopolized the number of ordination certificates, but now the City God Bureau is responsible for the national deities recognized by the imperial court.

If the City God Bureau were to take half of the spots from the two religions, they would certainly be dissatisfied.

The existing monks and Taoist priests with ordination certificates also cannot be accommodated.

After consideration, Zhu Youjian decided to relax the restrictions, saying:

"The total number of clergy with ordination certificates in the two capitals and sixteen provinces, that is, the inland areas, shall not exceed the number of those who have passed the provincial or imperial examinations. Those who have obtained ordination certificates shall be granted the status of priests."

"However, the restrictions can be relaxed a bit for areas outside the two capitals and sixteen provinces, that is, for regions outside the capital."

"Anyone who is twenty years of age or older and willing to go abroad to preach will be granted a temporary ordination certificate. After preaching for more than ten years and developing at least one thousand believers, a formal overseas ordination certificate and priesthood will be granted."

"The number of overseas passports should be relaxed, with the total number not exceeding one percent of the total number of passports. The number of domestic passports should be kept below one-thousandth."

"In places where Confucian scholars are lacking, we must rely on missionaries to educate and spread the civilization of the Ming Dynasty."

"Religion serves the purpose of education, therefore it belongs to the education committee."

This was Zhu Youjian's purpose: to promote education through religion.

If Confucian scholars are unwilling to go to certain places, then they will have to rely on priests.

This can solve the problem of some religious personnel losing their jobs after the implementation of the new ordination certificate system.
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But that's still not enough, Qian Qianyi asked:

"What about clergy without ordination certificates? Should restrictions be imposed?"

“Especially the Taoist children and novices trained by various religions.”

These are the reserve members of major religions, and it is impossible to completely ban them.

Zhu Youjian frowned and pondered for a moment, then decided that he could not let things go unchecked and said:
"The number of clergy without ordination certificates shall not exceed that of priests with ordination certificates."

"Moreover, these people did not pass the Bible test and had no right to proselytize, so it is important to avoid misinterpreting the scriptures and altering the doctrine."

“In particular, all apprentices in each school must also be registered.”

“Scriptures shall not be taught to minors who are not registered.”

“Every apprentice must take an exam before the age of twenty to determine their future treatment.”

If you pass the exam, everything will be fine. If you fail, you can either leave the monastery and return to secular life, or go abroad to preach and earn merit to obtain a certificate of ordination.

They could also become clergy without ordination certificates, but their numbers were also limited, and they had no missionary rights.

This meant that some people would be eliminated. To avoid major chaos, Zhu Youjian instructed Qian Qianyi:

"After the scriptures of each religion are determined, you should arrange an examination for all clergy. The top 50,000 will be granted new ordination certificates, and the rest will be disqualified and wait for the examination held every three years."

“New ordination certificates will be reissued, granting clergy status and a position equivalent to that of a priest.”

"If you want to donate, the price is the same as that of a public servant, which is one thousand shi of grain."

"This is a special privilege for existing clergy; their numbers should be strictly limited in the future."

This gave existing monks and Taoist priests a chance to settle down, and the first 50,000 were all retained. Most high-ranking monks and Taoist priests in various regions were able to obtain clergy status.

It doesn't matter if the others don't pass the exam; they can go abroad to preach and obtain ordination certificates.

However, if you don't even want to go abroad and only want to stay in the mainland to exploit others, then don't blame the government for being ruthless and cracking down on you as an illegal religious person.

This power was clearly being handed over to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Qian Qianyi said with delight:

"I will hold the examination as soon as possible and reissue the ordination certificates." "It is somewhat inhumane to make some eminent monks, who are famous throughout the world, participate in the examination."

"Could the court grant them priesthood based on their contributions?"

Zhu Youjian nodded in agreement and said:

"One-tenth of the places will be reserved and directly granted by the imperial court."

“Members of religious associations in various regions, as long as they support the imperial court and are not ignorant, will be granted the status of priests.”

"The new ordination certificates will be numbered like ID cards to reduce the chance of forgery. The first Buddhist ordination certificate was awarded to Zhixu in recognition of his contributions to promoting the Sinicization of Buddhism."

They consciously elevated Zhixu's status, entrusting him with the leadership of Buddhist reforms.

To prevent some monks whose ordination certificates have been revoked from feeling resentful and causing trouble.

Zhu Youjian was not worried about Taoism. Firstly, the number of Taoist priests was small, and secondly, the City God's Office had already absorbed many Taoist priests. Given the rapid expansion of the City God's Office, as long as a Taoist priest was willing to learn, he could basically obtain a certificate of ordination from the City God.

Qian Qianyi was aware of this situation and was even closer to Buddhism, so he specifically inquired about Buddhism.

As emperor, Zhu Youjian wanted to maintain a semblance of impartiality and treat all religions equally, but he did mention Zhixu, the head of the Buddhist Association, in the same way.

Qian Qianyi and Zhi Xu had a very pleasant collaboration, and he was delighted to hear this.

He was even more pleased that the emperor was so accommodating, readily agreeing to his proposal.

The ordination examination for priests was thus preliminarily determined, and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was responsible for its implementation.

Religious schools will play an important role in this, and Zhu Youjian specifically instructed:
"Those who have been granted clergy status, especially members of local religious associations, will be gradually arranged to receive training at religious schools to learn relevant knowledge."

“Clergy who graduate from religious schools will be given special treatment and will be granted a certain number of ordination certificates each year.”

“Those who are over twenty years old and have not obtained a certificate of ordination can also take the exam for religious schools and retain their apprentice status, as long as they promise to accept the court’s dispatch.”

"The City God Bureau has only been established for a few years, so it can recruit clergy from both Buddhism and Taoism."

This is the mission of religious schools: to ensure that a group of clergy members support the imperial court.

Religious etiquette will be incorporated into the basic curriculum of religious schools, and clergy from all denominations will be required to study it.

After being educated in religious schools, it is believed that more priests will understand the court's religious policies and become supporters of the court.

If the results were significant, Zhu Youjian even planned to establish branch schools of religious schools in various places, stipulating that all priests should go to the religious schools for training and understand the norms they should abide by.

But this is very difficult right now, and we can only take it one step at a time.
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Qian Qianyi was very satisfied with this achievement.

He naturally supported the establishment of religious schools; otherwise, he would never have brought it up in front of the emperor.

With the establishment of religious schools, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices will have an unprecedentedly deep control over religion.

They can influence the thinking of all students through the school's teaching materials.

However, Qian Qianyi, whose aim was to undermine Nestorianism, was still somewhat unwilling to give up. He then made another suggestion to the emperor:
"The imperial court promotes the worship of orthodox gods and should suppress non-orthodox churches."

"I believe that the religious tax should be increased by one level for non-orthodox churches."

“Temple that commits multiple offenses should also be severely punished.”

This would help suppress the spread of non-orthodox religious beliefs, and Zhu Youjian nodded in approval.

Furthermore, priests were granted the power of oversight to report temples that evaded taxes. This oversight was possible even for temples not belonging to the same denomination.

If a temple repeatedly evades taxes and commits crimes, it will be ordered to rectify the situation within a specified period, have its plaque removed, its staff dismissed, and be renamed and reorganized by the imperial court.

This is a policy that Zhu Youjian intends to implement for enterprises. As legal entities, multiple offenses also apply to legal entities.

He couldn't possibly exile or execute the company, so he planned to force it into bankruptcy reorganization and operate it under a different name.

The same applies to temples; temples that have committed multiple crimes indicate problems. The imperial court can seize these temples and send priests to rebuild them.

The emperor and his minister discussed this matter, and Qian Qianyi, revealing his true intentions, said:

"I have heard that Western countries pay tithes to the church, based on the statements in the Bible of the Holy Spirit."

“The Nestorian Church in the Ming Dynasty naturally had no right to levy taxes. However, since they were Nestorian Christians, the tithe could not be waived.”

"I believe that the Court of Imperial Sacrifices can collect the tithes on behalf of the Nestorian Christians, in accordance with the 'Holy Bible of the Celestial Venerable.'"

This move is truly ruthless; it aims to undermine the foundations of Nestorianism through economic means.

If the court approves this proposal, how many people in the Ming Dynasty will still believe in Nestorianism?
Not only were they considered criminals, but they were also required to pay tithes. Unless one was an extremely devout believer, it was simply impossible for others to endure it.

Zhu Youjian listened to Qian Qianyi's relentless criticism of Nestorianism and couldn't help but chuckle, offering a reminder:
"Sir, you are the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, so you should be impartial and unbiased."

“It’s a bit unreasonable to specifically target a certain religion.”

Qian Qianyi, however, argued:
"Your Majesty wishes to achieve Great Harmony, and religion should naturally be conducive to ushering in an era of Great Harmony."

"Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism are naturally compatible, but other non-Buddhist paths are not."

"I believe that every heretical church should be suppressed to some extent."

“The tithe and the record of original sin of the Nestorian Church are good ways to suppress it.”

“Suppression should not be relaxed until these churches amend their doctrines and become orthodox churches.”

"Only in this way can we promote the unity of all religions and enter a world of great harmony."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, agreeing with the objective. However, he felt the methods needed to be more flexible.

He said to Qian Qianyi:

“Tithing may be levied, but income tax should be used to promote the unity of religions.”

"Moreover, it should not be forced abroad. Some believers have already paid tithes to the Roman Catholic Church, and the Ming Dynasty should not collect them again."

"In the future, the Ming Dynasty will sign tax agreements with the Roman Catholic Church and other powers to avoid double taxation and promote free trade."

This is a problem to be solved in the future; it's impossible to solve it now. The Ming Dynasty still has many problems with tariffs and taxes levied on foreign merchants.

To prevent Christians abroad from boycotting Nestorian Christianity, he levied tithes abroad, but in reality, he chose to let it go unchecked. As long as believers said they had already paid, then it wouldn't be collected.

However, for Nestorian Christians within the territory, a tithe must be levied; it is essential as funding to promote the unity of all religions.

To this end, Zhu Youjian used income tax revenue to establish a religious fund, which was managed by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and supervised by major religious groups, and was specifically responsible for this matter.

It also encourages Buddhist, Taoist and other religious organizations to establish missionary funds and allocate a certain percentage of their donations each year to support missionaries traveling abroad.

The Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the Court of Colonial Affairs should also provide assistance to improve the survival rate of missionaries.

Some restrictions on weapons were relaxed for missionaries, and it was stipulated that if any official priests were killed, the matter must be thoroughly investigated.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian specifically instructed Qian Qianyi to consult with missionaries from the West and learn from their missionary experience.

Qian Qianyi reluctantly agreed, knowing that although the emperor had agreed to his proposal, he would not completely eradicate Nestorianism. (End of Chapter)