Meet the World Heritage | Xu Jishe's insight

Source: "Mindu Culture" Selected Edition "Character Volume"

Author: Li Tiesheng

In 1998, when former U.S. President Clinton gave a speech at Peking University, he specifically mentioned a Chinese: "Looking out the window from the White House where I lived in Washington, D.C., the monument to our first president, George Washington, towered into the clouds. This is a very high obelisk, but there is a small stone stele next to this large stele, which is engraved: Millikin does not have the title of a prince, does not follow the rules of the world, the public instrument is put into justice, the situation that has never existed in ancient and modern times, and what is strange... These words were not written by Americans, but by Xu Jihu, the inspector of Fujian at that time. In 1853, the Chinese government gave it a stone monument as a gift to our country. I am very grateful for this gift from China..."

The person who achieved an anecdote of Sino-US cultural exchanges and was warmly praised by Clinton was Xu Jihu, who was once the inspector of Fujian.

The story of the monument mentioned by Clinton above is that on July 4, 1848, Washington, D.C., laid the foundation stone for the Washington Monument, and collected 193 square castings and stone carvings around the world. The granite stone stele donated to the United States by the Government of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, with the help of American missionaries, is embedded in the 10th floor of the Washington Memorial Tower, with a height of 1.6 meters and a width of 1.2 meters, and is surrounded by reliefs of flowers, trees and figures. The inscription is a passage in which Xu Jihu praised the innovation of the American system and praised Washington's "Ancient and Modern Figures of Taixi, Who Can Not Be Called the Head of Washington".

Xu Jihu's insight is far beyond his time, and the wealth he left us is the "Yinghuan Zhiluo" engraved in Fuzhou in 1848, a strange book that allowed Chinese at that time to correctly understand the world and get out of the medieval Yixiaxia.

Chinese tianxia view believes that China is at the center of the world, and Siyi is surrounded by layers on the outside. This view of the world is based on the traditional system of clothing, which is the political geography of ancient China and the projection of the ancient people's political thinking on the pattern of the world in geographical space. In history, there are mainly three, five, six, nine and so on. Qi is Wang Qi, that is, the area directly under the jurisdiction of Tianzi. Fu, Zheng Xuan's interpretation is to serve The Son of Heaven, which is a general term for the area outside wang qi, including the princely area and the barbarian area. And China is the center of world civilization, the closer it is to China, the more civilized it is, and the farther away it is, the more uncivilized it is. For clothes close to the center, the frequency of tribute is high. Far from the center of the service, because it is far away, the frequency of tribute is low. The farthest costume even takes 6 years to pay tribute once. In this vision of the world, China has become the world co-lord of "the whole world, the land of the king".

In 1844, Xu Jihu lived in Xiamen for a long time for trade affairs, and became acquainted with the American missionary David Abeel, who changed his life's fate. Yapili recalled: "This is the most likely question-asking senior Chinese official I have met so far. After five years of unremitting efforts, in 1848, the "Yinghuan Zhiluo" of "Manuscripts of Dozens of Easy" was first engraved in Fuzhou. Yinghuan means the world surrounded by seawater. Since ancient times, China has used concepts such as tianxia, the four seas, and Kunyu to express the world. According to the most advanced geographical knowledge at that time, Xu Jihu used the word "Yinghuan" to refer to the world. After the advent of the Yinghuan Zhiluo, the late Qing Dynasty popular use of "Yinghuan" to refer to the world, and it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that it was replaced by the term "world".

In 1876, 28 years later, Guo Songtao, China's first envoy to foreign countries, was ordered to go to Britain, and he carried Xu Jihu's "Yinghuan Zhiluo" with him, comparing the situation of the 18 countries and regions along the way with Xu Shu, and issued the following exclamation: Mr. Xu has not been to the Western Lands, what he said is indeed the same, and more than 20 years before my generation, is it not a person who has deep knowledge and far-sightedness to add people to the first class?

Guo Songtao was a modern thinker of foreign affairs, a pioneer of China's professional diplomats, and the most far-sighted intellectual that the Chinese nation could contribute in that era. But before Guo Songtao went abroad to see the outside world, his evaluation of "Yinghuan Zhiluo" was very negative. In 1856, a 27-year-old Chinese youth in China criticized the 61-year-old Xu Jihuan in his diary: "Read Xu Song's "Yinghuan Zhiluo" ... His intentions can be described as diligent, and his writing is also simple. But credulously believe in Yishu and often make a big fuss. The Chieftains of the Taixi Dynasty were all enlightened by the eyes of the heroes and sages. Buddha and England, the latter shillings, the Hui Yao Compendium, almost like the sages of the 67 works. Another example is the co-lord, Zhou Jing, Yue Chenju, Wang Qi, Taiping, and Jingshi. And the movement is compared to the three generations of Boqi Luoyi. Yu Washington praised him for taking the country with a three-foot sword and not owning it privately, and he was the first-class person in the world. Yu Yingji especially called it majestic and powerful, saying that its version of Yu was directly hidden before and after. It seems to be a person who is intended to be a Taixi voice, and the weight is lost, especially hurting the national body. If the book of the feudal lord declares it as the appearance of the domain, why not check it to yes? This 27-year-old young man is Li Ciming, a famous literary historian in modern China.

Today we know that the accusations made by people at that time against "Yinghuan Zhiluo" are precisely the value of "Yinghuan Zhiluo". At the beginning of its publication, there were few acquaintances because the Yinghuan Zhiluo was far beyond its time. "The dove is happy with its own elm, and the eel knows the width of the river and the sea." Xu Jihu's poem is exactly a portrayal of the countrymen who were closed and stupid at that time and arrogant.

In 1887, the British Empire's view of oneness began to attempt to storm China's Yixiaxia view. However, the envoy sent by the British king returned due to the death of the envoy in the middle of the way and failed to reach China. In 1792 and 1816, Britain sent two more missions to China to ask for trade, but to no avail. The Qianlong Emperor, impatiently rejecting Britain's request for Sino-British trade in 1793, because the British envoy George Macartney refused to perform the three-kneeling and nine-kowtow ceremony. The Qianlong Emperor and his courtiers were only keen to plant tribute flags for the reluctant Ma Garni convoy, and did not seriously ponder the meaning of the gifts given by the British. Gifts from the British included celestial orbiters, astronomical telescopes, globes, timers, howitzers, Mauser guns, and bead guns. In addition, there is a model of the largest British warship at the time, the Monarch, which was equipped with 110 heavy guns. This gift list was carefully selected by the British Government to showcase the strength of the UK and the benefits of trading with the UK with state-of-the-art technology products. At that time, the British already had the self-confidence that "we are stronger than other European countries", and the Chinese fan Macartney, who was full of good yearning for China before coming to China, and his successors "paid tribute" along the way, saw and heard that "the eyes were full of amazing poverty", which also made the British have the confidence that "we are stronger than the Qing Empire". The arrogance of the Qing officials also gradually led to the consensus of the British that "for the Qing Empire, we should beat them up hard and then reason with them."

This confidence and consensus eventually led to the ensuing Opium War, in which the Qing Empire was defeated. The Qing Empire finally remembered to understand its enemies that it had not won: Who were they? Where do they come from? Where are they going? As a result, two books with far-reaching influence and familiarity with the public came out: "Chart of the Sea Country" and "Yinghuan Zhiluo". From the current point of view, only "Yinghuan Zhiluo" answered these three questions correctly.

The fundamental purpose of "Yinghuan Zhiluo" is to make China rich and strong. Fist and fist of the pure heart, seen in Wang Tao's "Yinghuan Zhiluo" text: "Woohoo, the work of Zhongcheng (referring to Xu Jihuan, the same below) is a book, and it is also a matter of deep thinking and far-sightedness? At that time, the withdrawal of military funds, mutual market trade, the sea and The Peace, and the mutual habits were fine, while the ministers inside and outside were deeply secretive about the western affairs, whitewashing in vain, and at present, those who told them were dismissed as vain. And the coastal frontier is completely uninhabited, the so-called long-distance feelings, the division of the master, the master of the skill, the ignorance of the also, the situation of the overseas public opinion map?...... Zhongcheng feels the change of time, the outer cut is in the border defense, and the anger and depression are hidden, and there is a book, so it is not felt that it is deeply written. alack! The writings of the ancients were mostly written for the sake of sorrow... Fang Jin's light is wide open, the West is flourishing, the provinces bordering the sea from the north and south, the opening of the factory, the manufacture of boats and guns, one with Taixi as the law, and the mountains and rivers outside the territory, can be detailed one by one about its far and near dangers, and it has not been the guide of the road that has not been in the middle! ”

Xu Jihu was fascinated by geography, and wrote works such as "Yao Du Discernment", "The Examination of the Initial Feng of the Jin Dynasty", "The Examination of the Two Han Dynasties and the Present Land of the Three Prefectures of Liang", and "The Examination of the Ten Counties along the Border of The Hejaz". It is precisely this spirit of science and research that makes "Yinghuan Zhiluo" teach the Chinese people to look at the new world with a calm and objective eye, and to put China into the world and put it on an equal footing with all countries in the world.

The most direct manifestation of the subversion of the traditional view of the world in "Yinghuan Zhiluo" is Xu Ji's favorite Western democratic politics. In his "Yinghuan Zhiluo", he introduced the electoral, parliamentary and constitutional systems of Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Switzerland and other countries, and gave a detailed description of the composition and terms of reference of the parliament. He noted that there was a parliamentary system

It is a common system of European countries, "not only In England". At the end of the volume on the geography of the United States, it is said more clearly: "The United States of Millikan is a nation, with a vast territory, without the title of prince, without following the rules of the world, with public instruments being put into justice, creating a situation that has never existed in ancient times. Xu Jihu also praised President Washington with a special comment: "According to washington and other people, they have the courage to win and broaden, and divide the territory between Cao and Liu." Having mentioned the three-foot sword and opened up thousands of miles, it does not implicate the title, does not pass on the descendants, but creates the law of selection for it, which is more common than the world, and the will of the three generations. Its governance reveres good customs, does not yet practice martial arts, and is different from other countries. Yu tasted his portrait and looked majestic. alack! It's not a masterpiece. ”

Xu Jihu's view of the purpose of the "Yiren" who came to the Qing Empire thousands of miles away also transcended the times, and he did not think that the other party had come to destroy China, but to trade. "The Westerners take the Shangjia as their basis", "there is no intention of attacking the city and dividing the territory". It is also very sober about the importance of business to the country. He stressed that business-oriented and profit-oriented are the basic characteristics of western powers.

Xu Jihu himself proceeded from the study of geography to have democratic ideas, and his "Yinghuan Zhiluo" also enabled more than one generation of scholars to follow the same path, such as Feng Guifen, Xue Fucheng, Zheng Guanying, and so on, until Sun Yat-sen. The Yinghuan Zhiluo had a positive impact on both the Pengshu Reform Law in China and the Meiji Restoration in Japan. Since 1859, Japan has been engraving this book one after another, and it is known as the "South Needle of informing the world", and it is the eve of the "Meiji Restoration" that is about to be launched.

Taiwanese scholar Zhang Qiyun said: "Mr. Song Gong ... He has a unique vision of the founding politics of the United States, conforms to Confucius's will to serve the public, creates the law of election, and makes the public instrument public, and is actually the first figure in China to advocate democratic politics. Subsequently, the Revolution of the Founding Father (referring to Sun Yat-sen) made the Republic of China the first republic in Asia, and its origins should be traced back to mr. Song Gong's discussion. This book" is also the earliest and largest contribution. ”

Against his will, Xu Jihu deleted some of the praises in the original manuscript praising Switzerland and other countries, and he did not present it to the emperor within two years of the publication of the Yinghuan Zhiluo. It can be seen that he is very clear about the possible consequences of this book praising the Western political system in his own time. The Qing Ren Shu Hui says that "in the last years of the Daoguang Dynasty, Xu Songgong wrote Yinghuan Zhiluo, and at that time, those who saw it were in an uproar, saying that zhang da waiyi was discussed horizontally, so he was dismissed." This Qing Imperial official, who was praised by the New York Times as the "Galileo of the East", always reminded himself of being a slave of the Qing Dynasty who was "carried by heaven", rather than a "citizen of the world" praised by American scholars later. He knows that by being cautious in his life, he will be fortunate to die well. It should be known that 9 years after Guo Songtao's death, there were still officials who wanted to open the coffin and whip the corpse to thank the world. Xu Jihu "Since the spring of 1856 set up an account in Pingyao, it has been eight years, closed doors, Heng March and April do not leave the museum, the deceased has a wrong person, and does not report it." For several years, the civil and military personnel who worked together did not answer any of them or came with letters of greeting, nor did they borrow them from the newspaper."

It was this caution that enabled him to end well with the evaluation of an "honest man". On March 30, 1873 (the third day of the first month of March in the twelfth year of Tongzhi), Xu Jihu died at home at the age of 78.

For officials of the Qing Dynasty, especially the late Qing Dynasty, people often cared about whether they were incorruptible due to the corruption of the officials. Xu Jihu said to himself in a letter: "Looking back on his life, it is not worth a penny, but the word "name festival" is left to cover the coffin, and he does not dare to be defiled again." Zhang Jixin's "Records of the Smell and Observation of the Daoxian Eunuch Sea" says: "The gambling hall of the county city prostitution building, A Yutong Province, are all covered by the public servants of the various yamen, and the monthly prostitution gambling fee is three hundred yuan to the bureau, and the family is ten yuan, ranging from tens of yuan, which is the ugly rule in the road." ...... There is no one who has been rejected before, but Xu Daotai has not been affected. ”

As Wang Tao said: "Gu Zhizhong is not allowed to do what he does, and it is enough to see what he says." "The heart of a patriot who transcends the times must be bitter, a sadness that does not look at death. In the "Letter of Visit to Fu Bao Shen Zhai Lian", he said: "Brother ... Resting in the forest spring, many outsiders celebrate the loss of their horses with Sai Weng, and every time they hear this, their hearts are like cutting... Those who do not know may be poor in the twilight of the day, and seek to live with their pens, and they are poor eunuchs. Or to be ignorant of the dethronement, not to listen to the chaos, for the forest under the high man. And I don't know that under the eyes of his heart, there are four words of 'death is not blind' and cannot be forgotten. Because your excellency has done his best to conquer the rocks and the frontier, and has done his best to be a courtier, and he is a person who knows me, he is full of hearts, so he can't help but spit out tears. ...... If the deceased in Minzhong has asked his brothers, pray for this letter to show it, and know that the dying orphan is not hated in hunger and cold. ”