The Americans once compiled a history book: "World History", which introduces the history of various countries. "World History" is about 1,000 pages, of which the content of introducing Chinese history accounts for 5% of the total content of the book, about 20 pages, mainly about 6 Chinese historical figures.
I. Confucius
Confucius, the founder of Confucianism.
In the past 2,000 years, the school of thought that has had the greatest influence on the mainland is the Confucian school founded by Confucius. Confucius was a great thinker, educator and statesman. Morally, Confucius advocated "benevolence and courtesy", do not do to others what you do not want to do to yourself, and persuade others to be kind. Politically, Confucius advocated "virtue for government". Economically, Confucius advocated "valuing righteousness over profit". In terms of education, Confucius advocated that "there is no class in education".
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, a hundred schools of thought contended, which was a time when Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, Moism, Bingjia, Zonghengjia and other schools of thought flourished.
In 221 BC, after Qin Shi Huang destroyed the Six Kingdoms and unified the world, he burned books and pit Confucianism, and began to reuse Legalism and suppress other doctrines.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu put forward the ideas of "divine authority of the monarch", "induction of heaven and man", and "great unification", which met the needs of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to rule the world, so he "deposed a hundred schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone", and made Confucianism the orthodox idea of the ancient feudal dynasties on the mainland.
Today, Confucianism still has a good influence on the mainland. Confucius also has a great influence in the world.
Among the world's 100 great men selected by Western countries, Confucius ranked fifth. In the eyes of Americans, Confucius is a great philosopher on a par with Aristotle, Socrates and others. The lintel of the U.S. Supreme Court is carved with statues of three people, one of whom is Confucius, the "Holy Saint of Heaven", and the other two are Moses and Solon. Solon was a legislator of ancient Greece. Moses was the founder of Judaism.
Second, Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of the mainland.
Qin Shi Huang, also known as King Yingzheng of Qin, was the monarch of Qin during the Warring States period. During the period of Qin Xiaogong, the Qin State quickly became powerful through the Shang Dynasty reform. During the reign of King Yingzheng of Qin, he sent generals such as Nei Shi Teng, Wang Jian and Wang Ben to lead his troops to destroy the Six Kingdoms and unify the world.
After unifying the world, Ying Zheng felt that he was "virtuous and three emperors, and meritorious to five emperors", and began to call himself "emperor", establishing a feudal imperial system that has influenced the mainland for more than 2,000 years. Qin Shi Huang also unified currency and weights and measures, and implemented the same book and the same track, which promoted the harmony of various ethnic groups on the mainland. Qin Shi Huang is a very meritorious emperor in ancient times, and he is a historical figure who cannot be avoided to understand the history of the mainland. The terracotta warriors and horses of the Lishan Mausoleum and the Great Wall left by Qin Shi Huang are two popular attractions for foreigners to travel to the mainland.
3. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
Liu Che, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, is one of the few in the history of the mainland, an emperor who can be compared with Qin Shi Huang, the "Emperor of the Ages", in terms of merit.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the 7th emperor of the Western Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a series of internal reforms were carried out. Externally, because the Han Dynasty experienced the rule of Wenjing, the national strength was unprecedentedly strong, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to send famous generals such as Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to lead troops to attack the Xiongnu, so that they could migrate to Mobei. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the Western Regions to strengthen ties with the countries in the Western Regions, as well as sent troops to conquer Minyue, Dongou and Nanyue, Wei's Korea, and operate Southwest Yi, which increased the territory of the Han Dynasty by 4 million square kilometers. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made great achievements in military affairs that were no less than those of Julius Caesar and others in Europe. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also respected Confucianism alone, deposed the hundred schools, and made Confucianism the orthodoxy of the mainland.
Fourth, Tang Taizong
In the eyes of Americans, the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty were the two most powerful and prosperous dynasties in the history of the mainland. Today's Chinese-American settlement, also known as Han Tang Street. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was one of the most meritorious emperors of the Han Dynasty. Li Shimin was one of the most meritorious emperors of the Tang Dynasty.
During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, he was arrogant and lascivious, built a large number of buildings, and recklessly used military force, which consumed the national strength of the Sui Dynasty and burdened the people heavily, and they rebelled against the Sui Dynasty one after another.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, after the chaos in the world, Li Shimin persuaded his father Li Yuan to raise an army against the Sui, and finally defeated the strong enemy, seized the world, and established the Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin established great feats in the process of Li Yuan's seizure of the world, but after Li Yuan became emperor, he established his eldest son Li Jian as the crown prince in accordance with the principle of "primogeniture inheritance system", which made Li Shimin dissatisfied and fought openly and secretly with Li Jiancheng for the position of prince.
After the dispute between Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng for the heir became white-hot, Li Shimin was worried about being victimized by Li Jiancheng, so he decided to strike first, and he launched the Xuanwumen Incident and killed Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, who entered the palace to meet Li Yuan. He also sent his henchman Chi Jingde into the palace to force Li Yuan to hand over his military power. After Li Jiancheng's death, Li Yuan, who lost his military power, was forced to appoint Li Shimin as the crown prince. A month later, it gave way to Li Shimin.
After Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, in order to eliminate the bad influence of the Xuanwumen Incident, he chose to be a diligent benevolent monarch. Li Shimin reused Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and other capable ministers to create the rule of Zhenguan and let the Tang Dynasty enter the prosperous era. At the same time, Li Shimin also sent troops to destroy the Eastern Turks and Xue Yantuo, conquered Gaochang, Qiuci and Tuyuhun, inflicted heavy losses on Goguryeo, and made all countries submit to him, calling Li Shimin "Heavenly Khan".
The Tang Dynasty during Li Shimin's time was the most prosperous and powerful country in the world at that time, and many countries such as Japan and Korea were deeply influenced by the Tang Dynasty.
Fifth, Wu Zetian
There were 494 emperors in ancient times on the mainland, but there was only one female emperor, and she was Wu Zetian, which was very special in ancient times when patriarchy was favored.
Wu Zetian was Li Shimin's concubine. After Li Shimin's death, Wu Zetian was forced to cut his hair and become a nun and become a monk in the temple. The Tang Dynasty had an open social atmosphere. When Li Zhi was the crown prince, he liked Wu Zetian, so after he became the emperor, he summoned Wu Zetian into the palace and made him his concubine. After entering the palace, Wu Zetian relied on his wrist to bring down Concubine Xiao Shu and Queen Wang, and became Li Zhi's queen.
Li Zhi suffered from a head disease and could not handle national affairs, so he asked Wu Zetian to handle military and political affairs for him. After a long time, Wu Zetian had a great say in military and political affairs, personnel appointments and dismissals, etc., and began to be called the "two saints" with Li Zhi. When Li Zhi was alive, he could contend with Wu Zetian and not let the imperial power fall, but after Li Zhi's death, the power fell into the hands of Wu Zetian, and his successor Li Xian was incapable of confronting Wu Zetian. Li Xian was unwilling to be a puppet of his mother Wu Zetian, and began to vigorously support Empress Wei's maiden family, wanting them to help him fight against Wu Zetian, which caused Wu Zetian's dissatisfaction, and she deposed Li Xian and made Li Dan emperor.
During Li Dan's reign, he obeyed Wu Zetian's words and never dared to disobey Wu Zetian, but he still failed to keep the throne. Wu Zetian forced Li Danchan to give up the emperor to her, proclaimed himself emperor, and established Wu Zhou. After Wu Zetian became emperor, many people disagreed with her, and Wu Zetian reused Suo Yuanli, Zhou Xing, Lai Junchen and other cool officials to suppress and persecute opponents, so that they dared to be angry and dare not speak, so as to consolidate their own throne.
During Wu Zetian's reign, she had been suppressing opponents, but after she fell ill in her later years, Zhang Khan Zhi and other ministers loyal to Li Tang still staged a Shenlong coup d'état to force her to return to power with Li Tang.
Wu Zetian's merits are not as good as Qin Shi Huang and others, but because she is the only female emperor in ancient times, she still attracts the attention of Americans.
Sixth, Zheng He
In the 15th century, the rise of Islam cut off trade routes from Asia to Europe. In Asia, there are porcelain, silk, tea, spices and other goods that are needed in Europe. In order to open up a new path, they ventured into a sea adventure, the Age of Discovery.
During the Age of Discovery, European explorers discovered the New World, the American continent, and gradually connected the world. Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and later Britain, France and other countries in Europe occupied a large number of colonies through maritime exploration, making a lot of money.
Zheng He of the mainland was the world's first ocean voyage, half a century before Columbus crossed the Atlantic to the Americas in 1492.
After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he set up his eldest son Zhu Biao as the crown prince. It's a pity that Zhu Biao died of illness one step ahead of Zhu Yuanzhang. After Zhu Biao's death, because the second son and second son Zhu Fan and the third son Zhu Li were evil and absurd, Zhu Yuanzhang did not like them, and did not make them the prince, but set up Zhu Biao's son Zhu Yunwen as the prince. In 1398, after the death of Zhu Yuanzhang, it was passed on to Zhu Yunwen, the eldest grandson of the emperor.
During the reign of Zhu Yunwen, he felt that the strength of the vassal king with heavy troops was too strong and threatened his throne, so he followed the advice of the minister and began to reduce the feudal domain. Zhu Yunwen's reduction of the feudal domain aroused the dissatisfaction of Zhu Di, the king of Yan, and he rebelled in the name of "Qing Jun's side". It took Zhu Di 4 years to finally defeat Zhu Yunwen and seize the throne of Zhu Yunwen, but when he broke through the city of Nanjing, Zhu Yunwen disappeared.
After Zhu Yunwen's whereabouts were unknown, Zhu Di replaced him as emperor, but Zhu Di was always at ease, afraid that Zhu Yunwen would suddenly appear to compete for the throne.
For this reason, Zhu Di sent people to secretly look for Emperor Jianwen. It is rumored that Emperor Jianwen may have fled overseas. In 1405, Zhu Di arranged for his henchman eunuch Zheng He to lead a huge fleet of 28,000 people to the Western Ocean to find Emperor Jianwen. After that, Zheng He went to the Western Ocean six times, and it took 28 years to reach 37 countries, and the farthest crossed the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and the east coast of Africa.
Zheng He did not find Emperor Jianwen, but as an envoy of the Ming Dynasty, he helped the Ming Dynasty establish friendly relations with Western countries, promoted trade between the mainland and Western countries, and opened up new shipping routes. Zheng He's number of people in the West each time was as high as tens of thousands, and the cost was huge. In 1433, after Zheng He died of illness, Zhu Zhanji of Ming Xuanzong stopped his activities in the West, which made Zheng He's activities in the West on the mainland not become the "Age of Discovery", making the mainland a maritime overlord, so as to earn huge profits in maritime trade.
Zheng He's voyage to the West was half a century earlier than Columbi's ocean, and the size of Zheng He's fleet during his voyage to the West, as well as the shipbuilding technology and navigation technology of the mainland, were incomparable to the European explorers in the 15th century. Zheng He was also a great explorer and navigator.