The purpose of writing this article
History is a mirror that can be learned from the past. The lyrics of "Future Negatives" from Dao Lang's "Mountain Song Few" album say: "History looks in the mirror, and growth is repeated in narrative. ”
Summary diagram of Chinese dynasties
From this "Summary Map of Chinese Dynasties", it can be seen that the Yuan Dynasty only lasted 98 years, but the Ming Dynasty lasted 276 years. This article attempts to analyze it from a very small angle. Because of the purpose, hang a leak. Whether it makes sense or not, you can feel free to comment.
Yuan
Yuan Taizu, Temujin, i.e. Genghis Khan
The biggest difference between the Yuan Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty is that the degree of Sinicization of the Yuan Dynasty is very low and very slow. In the Yuan Dynasty, people were divided into four classes, the "people divided into four classes": the first class was Mongol; Second-class people are color people; The third class were Han people (mainly Han people in the former Jin State north of the Huai River, and Sichuan and Yunnan people who were later conquered by the Mongols. ）； The fourth class is the "Nan people" (mainly the ethnic groups in the former Southern Song Dynasty that were finally conquered by the Mongols, and the people of the Sichuan region are not included south of the Huai River. The ratio of Mongols to Han Chinese is about 1:333.
In the Yuan Dynasty, the status of the Han and "Nanren" was very low. According to the Yuan History, Volume 105, Penal Code, the Mongols only needed to kill the Han people by "breaking the punishment and going out on the expedition, and burning and burying all the silver." In other words, the punishment for the Mongols to kill the Han was: first, funeral expenses; Second, you must join the army when there is a war in the country. Note: It is not a crime to make meritorious service, but to give you a place to join the army, you only need to respond positively, and battle merit is given according to the convention.
For the "southerners", the status is even lower.
Comment: During the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people were large in number and low in status, that is, "the people were divided into four classes", and once they encountered natural disasters and man-made disasters, they would definitely have no way to live (at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, eight members of Zhu Yuanzhang's family starved to death. ), it is definitely necessary to rise up and resist. So the Yuan Dynasty lasted 98 years and ended.
From the perspective of corruption, the speed of the demise of the Yuan Dynasty was determined by the following aspects: the corruption inherent in the feudal system; The corruption of the four-class hierarchy of the people. Namely:
The speed of the demise of the Yuan Dynasty = the corruption inherent in feudalism + the corruption of the hierarchy of "the people divided into four classes".
Ming dynasty
During the Ming Dynasty, there was no hierarchy of the Yuan Dynasty, but corruption was a persistent disease of feudal society.
Zhu Yuanzhang himself was deeply blackmailed and plundered by corrupt officials, and he knew firsthand the harm they did, so the strength of punishing corrupt officials was very amazing. During his 31-year reign (368-1398), the CCP killed about 150,000 corrupt officials. His methods of punishing corrupt officials were also extremely cruel, creating a criminal law that "peeled the skin and picked the grass". That is, the skin of corrupt officials is completely peeled off, loaded with hay, sewn up, and placed outside the office of the corrupt official before his death to warn future officials.
Zhu Yuanzhang
Zhu Yuanzhang's iron-fisted effect on fighting greed was still outstanding, which laid the foundation for the later "Yongle Shengshi" (Yongle Emperor, the third emperor) and the "Reign of Renxuan" (the fourth and fifth emperors, respectively Renzong and Xuanzong). However, in the middle and late Ming dynasties, the restraint on corrupt officials was no longer as strong as it was under Zhu Yuanzhang.
The corruption inherent in the feudal social system remains irreversible. This corruption is the plunder of the people inherent under the majestic imperial power. Hai Rui said in his famous note to the Jiajing Emperor, "Public Security Shu": "The world is known because His Majesty changed the name of the yuan: "The Jiajing people say that all families are pure and have no money." ””
The meaning of this sentence is: Therefore, when His Majesty changed the name of the yuan, everyone in the world guessed: This means that "Jiajing" means that all families are pure and have no money." This is the inherent corruption of feudalism.
Harry Rui
In addition, the simultaneous peasant uprising (Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng) and foreign invasion (Qing dynasty) made the Ming Dynasty unable to return to heaven. Lasted 276 years and died.
Comment: Although the Ming Dynasty had Zhu Yuanzhang's iron fist to fight corruption, which delayed the demise of the dynasty, it did not continue in later generations, plus peasant uprisings and foreign invasions occurred at the same time, and finally died in 276 years.
The speed of the demise of the Ming Dynasty = the corruption inherent in the feudal system + the simultaneous occurrence of peasant uprisings and foreign invasions - the efficacy of Zhu Yuanzhang's iron fist to combat corruption.
Compared with the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty did not have a hierarchy of "four classes of people", but it had Zhu Yuanzhang's iron fist to fight corruption, which may be the reason why the Ming Dynasty lasted much longer than the Yuan Dynasty. If there had not been a peasant uprising and a foreign invasion at the same time, the Ming Dynasty would not have lasted only 276 years. From this, we can see the effectiveness of Zhu Yuanzhang's punishment of corrupt officials.
postscript
Emperor Taizong of Tang said: "With history as a guide, we can know the prosperous future." The difference between the Yuan and Ming dynasties may give us some inspiration. How wise is it to fight evil forces, medical treatment, corruption, and punish corruption.
Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin
It's just a personal opinion, there are many omissions, welcome to share your own opinions.
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Resources:
Baidu Encyclopedia entries: Yuan Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, Hai Rui, Tang Taizong
Yuan Shi Volume 105 Criminal Law Chronicle