As we all know, Confucianism is one of the hundred schools of thought of the pre-Qin Dynasty, called Confucianism or Confucianism, founded by Confucius. Originally referred to the celebrant engaged in the funeral industry, later, on this basis, a complete Confucian ideological system was gradually formed, which became the mainstream of traditional Chinese culture and had a far-reaching influence.
In addition, the important social influence of Confucianism lies in the fact that it created a complete set of theoretical ideological systems for the feudal ruling class to govern the country, and allowed the Chinese ruling class to successfully apply it to the practice of state governance, obtaining the human social history of feudal society ruling China for more than 2,000 years. Such a situation is unprecedented in the history of human social development, and it is also the fundamental place where the Chinese nation has stood on top of the world before, now, and in the future.
Ever since Dong Zhongshu, the great Confucian of the Han Dynasty, proposed to "respect Confucianism alone and depose hundreds of families", Confucianism has become a weapon for rulers of successive dynasties to rule the minds of the people. Confucianism is indeed a tool for defending the interests of the ruling class, but there is a dynasty that does not respect Confucianism, and this dynasty is the Yuan Dynasty.
The Yuan Dynasty also practiced Confucianism in the early days of the founding of the country, but they used Confucianism for money. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, various rebellions continued, and their military expenditure was quite tight, so the implementation of Confucianism could better raise military funds.
However, in the high class rule, they resolutely resisted Confucianism.
As we all know, the Yuan Dynasty was a minority regime, and after they defeated the weak Song Dynasty, they promoted Mongolian Yuan rule. In order to achieve the goal of controlling the thinking of the common people, they promoted Mongolian studies throughout the country, speaking Mongolian and learning Mongolian characters, which was the same policy as the Japanese implemented after occupying northeast China. After the Japanese army occupied Tohoku, it replaced the local textbooks with Japanese, taught children to speak Japanese, sang the Japanese national anthem, and still many elderly people in Tohoku can speak some Japanese. The aim of this is to control a people culturally.
If a nation's cultural roots are unstable, then it is not far from being assimilated. This is the reason why our country has repeatedly emphasized cultural self-confidence.
At that time, the Yuan Dynasty implemented a policy of cultural assimilation, but the vast majority of ordinary people were Han Chinese. After hundreds of years of rule by the Song Dynasty, they were indoctrinated and influenced by Confucianism, which has long been deeply rooted. Moreover, the Mongol regime promoted by the Yuan Dynasty made it difficult for them to accept, because all they really accepted was Confucianism.
During the reign of Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, in order to implement "de-nationalization", the whole country became Mongols. Kublai Khan asked his teacher, Ba si pa, to create new ideas and doctrines to counteract the influence of Confucianism and thus achieve the goal of de-nationalization. But Confucianism was already deeply rooted in the minds of the people, and it was impossible to accept the new ideas he promoted. Therefore, the implementation of the policy of the new doctrine has not achieved its goal.
Moreover, the imposition of these policies has greatly violated the interests of the Han people and caused the people to complain bitterly. Ruling a dynasty is different from ruling a tribe, and Kublai Khan knew it. In order to consolidate the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, he could only raise the status of Confucianism as appropriate, and let some Han Confucians serve as low-level officials to raise taxes and military expenses for his foreign expansion. However, he would not put the Han Chinese into the ruling class, which would be tantamount to raising the status of Confucianism and failing to achieve his goal of "de-nationalization" ideologically.
Moreover, in terms of population, the Han Chinese have an absolute advantage, and if they cannot assimilate their ideas, it will be very difficult to rule in the future. Therefore, Kublai Khan divided the identity and status of the people, and he divided the people into four kinds of people:
The first is the highest rank of people, they are Mongols, breaking the law, even killing Han Chinese, only need to compensate a cow;
The second type intersected with the Mongols, who were of a lower rank but enjoyed similar powers, and they were Semites.
The third was the Han Chinese during the Northern Song Dynasty, who could own a certain amount of land but did not have any political power.
The fourth type of people is the lowest, that is, the Han people during the Southern Song Dynasty, these people do not have any political rights, and their social status is very low, and the life of these people is very difficult.
Kublai Khan's series of policies led to a disconnection in Confucianism during the reign of the Yuan Dynasty. Confucianism was not recognized by the ruling class, no one studied it, and even the "Ten Confucians and Nine Beggars" appeared, which showed that the status of Confucians was similar to that of beggars. Moreover, in "The Social Class System of the Yuan Dynasty", Meng Siming also pointed out that this policy caused a resurgence of racial hatred and the collapse of the Mongol regime.
During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, in order to maintain his rule, put Confucianism first to prove that his throne was given by God. Therefore, the people should respect him, support him, and obey his management, which is also his main idea.
But in fact, by the middle and late Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty had gradually begun to accept Confucianism, and even some systems had been "assimilated" by Confucianism. This is the strength of Han culture, which has always been ruled by ethnic minorities, and in the end, has been "assimilated" by Han culture, which has never died out despite hardships.
As early as when Zhu Yuanzhang was not yet proclaimed emperor, he had already attached great importance to Confucianism, although there was a saying in the "Records of the Ming Taizu" that Zhu Yuanzhang was "both a scholar and a brilliant person", but historians generally acceptEd Zhu Yuanzhang's self-statement, believing that he dropped out of school due to his family's poverty and changes in his childhood, and only began to study after returning to the Huangjue Temple from Huaixi, and since then he has insisted on recruiting Confucians and lecturing with them about the history of scriptures during his military and monarchical careers.
In addition, he often ordered his men to look around for Confucian writings, and often taught his men and his son Zhu Biaoduo to learn Confucianism, using Confucianism as a tool for his future rule over the people.
In other words, he had long regarded Confucianism as an ideological weapon for his rule over the common people.
Resources:
[History of the Development of Confucianism, Shi Ji Ru Lin Lie Biography, Shi Ji Han Shu Biography, Ming Shi Lu Taizu Scroll]