In the seventh year of the Apocalypse (1627), Zhu Youguan, who was only seventeen years old, ascended the throne at the behest of his brother Emperor Zhu Youxiao, and became the sixteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Chongzhen Emperor.
At that time, although the Ming Dynasty seemed to be powerful, it was actually in ruins.
On the one hand, Nurhaci in the Liaodong region repeatedly invaded the Daming border, making the Chongzhen Emperor vulnerable;
On the other hand, the Ming Dynasty's finances were very difficult, and in recent years it was unable to make ends meet, and even the normal operation of the country could not be maintained.
The Chongzhen Emperor was determined to be a Ming Emperor, and he eradicated the castration party and selected the best and the brightest, hoping to make the Ming Dynasty gain zhongxing. In his view, the most urgent task at present is to select a group of talents who have been used by the world.
Before he ascended the throne, the Chongzhen Emperor heard that there was a famous man named Liu Zongzhou in Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Liu Zongzhou was strict with himself, upright and outspoken, and has always been a thorn in the eye of the castrated party and a thorn in the flesh. When Wei Zhongxian mutilated Zuo Guangdou, Wei Dazhong, Yang Lian, and other six gentlemen of Donglin, he insisted on standing up for the six people despite the danger. The castration party viciously threatened Liu Zongzhou, but Liu Zongzhou always turned a deaf ear. If Chongzhen had not swept away Wei Zhongxian and others in time, I am afraid that Liu Zongzhou would have been poisoned by the castration party.
After the fall of the castration party, the Chongzhen Emperor immediately issued a decree that Liu Zongzhou be put in charge of all the affairs of the capital. Moreover, in order to show his appreciation for Liu Zongzhou, the Chongzhen Emperor also specially summoned Liu Zongzhou to him and asked Liu Zongzhou about the way to govern the country. Liu Zongzhou replied seriously, "Now that the Dynasty is corrupt, the minister believes that His Majesty should learn the way of Yao Shun and do the things of Yao Shun." Listening to Liu Zongzhou's words, the Chongzhen Emperor was greatly disappointed. He is now overwhelmed by Liu Kou and Hou Jin Lane and desperately wants to get concrete measures to solve the problem. Liu Zongzhou's words seemed correct, but to put it bluntly, they were just some big truths, and they could not impress the Chongzhen Emperor at all.
Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand, ordered Liu Zongzhou to step down, and then asked about the other ministers.
Liu Zongzhou was not valued by the Chongzhen Emperor, and his straightforward character was incompatible with his colleagues in the official arena. As a result, his life in Beijing was not good. After repeated thinking, Liu Zongzhou thought that he was still suitable for learning. Therefore, after staying in Beijing for a year, he wrote to the Chongzhen Emperor and requested to resign from his official position and return to his hometown on the grounds that he was ill. The Chongzhen Emperor happily agreed to Liu Zongzhou, and then changed other people to manage the capital.
The villain is in charge, the state affairs are not the same, and neither can he be a famous subject of the world, but he may as well be a Confucian of the name of the Tao. After Liu Zongzhou returned to his hometown, he devoted himself to lecturing and research. He wrote books and lectures, educated his disciples, and instructed many young students. He has a unique view of some of the clichéd four books and five classics. Slowly, everyone knew that there was a great Confucian named Liu Zongzhou in Shaoxing Province.
In the ninth year of Chongzhen (1636), Emperor Taiji changed the name of the country to Qing, and ascended the throne as emperor, beginning to compete with the Chongzhen Emperor. After the news reached the city of Beijing, the Chongzhen Emperor was shocked and angry. He originally wanted to transfer all the elites of the Ming Dynasty to the emperor Taiji to prove the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty. However, at this time, the Ming Dynasty not only had external troubles, but also internal troubles.
The number of rogues in northern Shaanxi became more and more suppressed, and slowly developed to more than 100,000 people. In order to suppress Liukou, the Chongzhen Emperor could only disperse his forces. But in this way, it is impossible to deal a strong blow to huang taiji. The Chongzhen Emperor was anxious to save the situation, and he changed several important courtiers in a row, but it was still difficult to meet the "minister who saved the time" in his heart.
As Liu Zongzhou's reputation grew, the Chongzhen Emperor also heard of Liu Zongzhou's name of "Great Confucianism". He once again passed Liu Zongzhou into Beijing and granted Liu Zongzhou the official position of attendant of the Ministry of Works, hoping that Liu Zongzhou would show his mind on Monday. However, Liu Zongzhou's actions once again disappointed the Chongzhen Emperor. Not long after taking office, Liu Zongzhou, who was worried about state affairs, presented a letter to the Chongzhen Emperor.
He first lamented the various maladministrations of the Chen imperial court and bluntly said that the establishment of slavery in Liaodong was a major problem for the country. Emperor Chongzhen nodded his head after reading it, and then he continued to look at it, thinking that since Liu Zongzhou could cut through the shortcomings of the times, then there must be a solution. However, Liu Zongzhou's suggestion was to let the Chongzhen Emperor cultivate his personality, treat his courtiers with courtesy, and be as good as a stream, so as to achieve the purpose of educating the world.
Finally, the Chongzhen Emperor let out a long sigh and shelved the song in the high court. He had wanted to rebuke Liu Zongzhou and planned to teach this pedantic minister a good lesson. However, on second thought, he thought that Liu Zongzhou was still very loyal. Therefore, the Chongzhen Emperor began to ignore Liu Zongzhou, planning to let Liu Zongzhou retire in the official arena and then continue to return to his hometown to do research.
However, Liu Zong, who was loyal to the country, could not sit idle on Monday. Every few days, he wrote to the Chongzhen Emperor to preach his idea of "cultivating oneself with virtue." The Chongzhen Emperor ignored it, but the stubborn Liu Zongzhou still insisted on advising. In Liu Zongzhou's view, if he took the imperial court's Feng Lu, he would do his best to think about the country. Some ministers advised him to save himself, but he instead ridiculed the minister's corpse.
Over time, everyone knew that there was a "stubborn old man" named Liu Zongzhou in the imperial court. The Chongzhen Emperor did not want to clash head-on with the loyal Liu Zongzhou, but the stubborn Liu Zongzhou was the first to express his dissatisfaction. He first asked to return to his hometown to recuperate, and then wrote to accuse the Chongzhen Emperor of not distinguishing between right and wrong, pro-villain, and distant sages. When the Chongzhen Emperor saw this, he was furious, and he immediately dismissed Liu Zongzhou from his post as a citizen and ordered him to return to his hometown to reflect on it. After losing his official position, Liu Zong did not feel lost at all. Calmly, he took off his official clothes and continued to immerse himself in Confucian texts.
After a few years of serious study, Liu Zongzhou's understanding of Confucianism deepened. He questioned some of the views of his predecessors and explained them with reason and evidence, which led to the further development of Confucianism. The theory of "prudence and independence" is the purpose of Liu Zongzhou's doctrine. In his writings, he repeatedly stressed the importance of "prudence and independence." He said: "Prudence is the first meaning of learning. Words are cautious and alone, the heart, the mind, the knowledge, the home, the toilet, and the world are all together. Therefore, in "University" for the beginning of the grid, in the "Zhongyong" for the Upper Heavenly Virtue Sect, the way of the top and the bottom. ”
He also said, "The way of the University, in a word, is only prudent and independent. "University" is cautious and independent, and "Zhongyong" is also cautious and independent. There is nothing else to learn but prudence. It can be seen that Liu Zongzhou raised "cautious independence" to a very high status. He believes that "the study of a gentleman is only the end of prudence and independence", "learning is tight, all in prudence and independence, and if people can be cautious and independent, they will be perfect for the heavens and the earth." ”
After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yousong, the Prince of Fu, ascended the throne in Nanjing, and was known as the Hongguang Emperor. In order to stabilize the situation, the Hongguang Emperor sincerely invited the highly respected Liu Zongzhou to come out of the mountain. At that time, the Eight Banners of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which occupied the capital, were eyeing the Hongguang Emperor, and the Southern Ming regime in a remote corner was in danger. After Liu Zongzhou took office, he did not train troops or raise salaries, but blindly advised the Hongguang Emperor to attach importance to moral cultivation and be diligent in government affairs.
The Hongguang Emperor nodded after listening, but in the blink of an eye, he took Liu Zongzhou's words as a side wind. He was extremely poor and extravagant, exhausted the people's strength, and after more than a year of reign, he gave Nanjing to the Qing army. After the fall of the Hongguang regime, Liu Zongzhou completely lost hope in the imperial court. Soon after, he committed suicide and martyrdom in the form of a hunger strike, completing his life.
Later generations talked about Liu Zongzhou, always laughing at his pedantry. To be fair, although Liu Zongzhou was not a minister of time, he was a real university scholar. Those who ridiculed Liu Zongzhou were probably less talented than one-tenth of Liu Zongzhou's. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were countless people who flaunted their loyalty, but how many people like Liu Zongzhou could maintain their original intentions?
In any case, Liu Zongzhou is worthy of the name of "Great Confucianism".
Resources:
[History of the Ming Dynasty", "The Last Great Confucian of the Ming Dynasty - Liu Zongzhou"]