Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 413 The world undergoes three changes, and things become complicated and numerous!
"The world has undergone three changes, and things have become more complicated and numerous."

"Taishigong read about the period between Qin and Chu and said: The first rebellion was caused by Chen She; the cruelty and brutality that destroyed Qin was caused by Xiang Yu; the chaos was put down and the tyrants were punished, and the country was pacified, and finally the emperor's throne was established by the Han Dynasty. Within five years, the order was changed three times. Since the Three People, there has never been such a rush to receive orders!"

"The period between the Qin and Han dynasties was a time of great change in the world!"

"Before the Qin Dynasty, the world was feudal, and after the Qin Dynasty, it became a unified empire."

"Before the Qin Dynasty, it was an aristocratic society, and after the Qin Dynasty, it was a bureaucratic society. If we focus on the period between the Warring States Period, Qin and Han Dynasties, we will find that although the two periods are completely different, the period of change was an era in which various new and old factors were mixed together."

"The ultimate unification of the world was essentially achieved under the impetus of the intertwined conflicts between new and old factors."

"The Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties were in the same situation."

"During the Song Dynasty, the world's culture and economy were at their peak. Before the Song Dynasty, Chinese civilization had not undergone any substantial changes for a long time. Foreign impacts were either assimilated or eliminated."

"After the Yuan Dynasty, the world began to change."

"The Mongols took over the Central Plains."

"Shenzhou land sinks!"

"The world began to change from then on. The concepts of the Chinese-centric ideology of the Supreme State, the Son of Heaven and the Four Barbarians were greatly impacted by the war between the Mongols and the Song Dynasty. The Confucian concept of governing the country, which was highly respected in the Song Dynasty, also faced a real test for the first time."

"Chinese politics under Confucian civilization is to 'cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the country and bring peace to the world'."

"At the same time, we adopt the method of being a sage inside and a king outside, cultivating the virtues of a sage inside and practicing the politics of a king outside, so as to achieve the goal of great peace and order in the world."

"It is not difficult to see that this approach is based on the subjective world of human beings and focuses on the level of personal moral accomplishment. For thousands of years, countless sages in China have discussed this thousands of times, and the corresponding Confucianism has also been changing."

"From the prominent learning in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, to being established as the official doctrine during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, to the promotion of metaphysics and the abandonment of Confucianism in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, and Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty, it was not until the Song Dynasty that Confucianism reappeared and formed Neo-Confucianism."

"And Neo-Confucianism was established as the official ideology in the Southern Song Dynasty. Within a hundred years, the whole country was in decline."

"The grief of the sinking of China has not yet been completely overcome. Today, the world is gradually becoming more prosperous. Although after thousands of years of discussion and research on the subjective world of human beings, Confucian scholars have already reached the pinnacle, but the objective world that matches it has not developed in full swing."

"China has been isolated from the world for too long."

"Since the birth of Chinese civilization, it has been blocked by the ocean to the east and south and by mountains and deserts to the west, which objectively restricted China's communication with the outside world. However, throughout the Yuan Dynasty, Chinese scholars still failed to wake up from the beautiful dream of the 'Celestial Empire' and rarely truly understood the world."

"Looking at the imperial court and Chinese officials, they are completely ignorant of foreign affairs, and do not ask or investigate, so China still does not know the overseas world to this day."

"For the Fan people, it has always been considered as trade."

"He boasted: 'Among Chinese things, the most important things to the foreigners are tea and rhubarb. Without these two things, the disease will be incurable.'"

"As for the mutual trade, it is the foreigners who have no choice but to do it with China, not the Chinese who have no choice but to do it with the foreigners."

“The military also misjudged the situation.”

"They know firearms, but they are not good at them; they know naval warfare, but they are not good at it. They think that 'their legs and feet are bound tightly, and it is inconvenient to bend and stretch. Once they reach the shore, they are even more helpless. It is not that they are strong and cannot be controlled', or they think that the barbarians will run out of tricks if they land." "The Japanese, who used to bow their heads and be submissive, have invaded our borders for years. To the north, Mongolia has even taken over the world. However, to this day, the world still cannot give them a solution. The thieves are still determined, and China's homeland is hard to be at peace. Today, the Ming Dynasty is prosperous, but China is already poor and weak."

"After many years, China is in danger, and there are already signs."

"For hundreds of years during the Song and Yuan dynasties, Confucian scholars still failed to provide a solution for the world. Instead, they began to cover their ears and pretended not to see, turning a blind eye to the objective laws of the world. The world is already on the verge of a 'change'."

“If you don’t advance, you will retreat!!!”

"Within the framework of dogma, anything beyond this scope will be treated with contempt. In the face of drastic social changes, people still do not make progress, do not repent, and still cling to the rigid and outdated so-called orthodox ideas."

"We only know that we should uphold the national justice, but we don't know how to defend it. In the end, the justice cannot be protected and becomes empty talk."

"The scholars of the world need to open their eyes to the world and correct their understanding and views of the world."

"."

Looking at this long article, many scholars who had finished reading it fell silent, with confusion and panic in their eyes. The content of this article was completely different from the lessons they had learned in the past, and was even completely opposite.

This made them feel a little confused.

The content of this article is very simple. It criticizes Confucianism for not being able to keep up with the pace of the world since the Han Dynasty. Even if it managed to keep up, it ultimately led to the downfall of the prosperous Song Dynasty. The first thing to be affected by the so-called change is Confucianism!
These are the classics, history, and literature that they have learned since childhood.

Some scholars were also very keen to notice that Xia Zhibai deliberately mentioned the intention of "Qin and Han".

It’s nothing, it’s just too fast.

Since the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, the country's life can be said to be long. However, since Qin Shihuang swept away everything, the change of dynasties in later generations has greatly accelerated, and short-lived dynasties are everywhere. The longest dynasty, the two Han dynasties, lasted only a little over 400 years.

In fact, Xia Zhibai also said the real reason.

It's force!

This is a truth that has gradually become apparent after Duke Huan of Qi came to power. In the middle and late Zhou Dynasty, "morality" had actually completely given way to "military force". However, with the establishment of a unified dynasty, the literati's self-promotion of morality tried to continue to suppress "military force", which reached its peak in the Song Dynasty. However, with the brutal charge of the Mongols, the Confucian scholars' strategy of controlling military force with culture was completely defeated.

The system peddled by Confucianism has once again failed.

As long as there is military force, morality will have to take second place. Since its last failure, Confucianism has chosen to cover its ears and started the process of pretending not to see the bell. It thinks that as long as it closes its doors to the outside world, no one will discover it and it will not attract attention from the outside world. But as Xia Zhibai said, the outside world has never stopped spying on China, and pretending not to see it is just deceiving oneself.

If you fall behind, you will be beaten.

However, the current governing philosophy of the world cannot solve this problem.

This is the real point of change!
When Qin unified the world, it was telling the world clearly that force had overwhelmed the so-called "morality". However, after thousands of years of development, the world had returned to its old path. However, under the impact of the Mongols, this result of the continuous discipline of history was once again awakened to the world and was also re-stated by Xia Zhibai.

(End of this chapter)