In recent months, I have watched the TV series "Daming Dynasty 1566" and updated the analysis of the episodes on the public account. Probably under the influence of the wonderful plot, I did not like to read history books, but I suddenly became interested in books about Ming history, which led to an encounter with "Fifteen Years of Wanli".
This book is very famous, and whenever it comes to introductory books on historiography, many people will mention "Fifteen Years of Wanli", coupled with the high evaluation of this book by Secretary Gao Yuliang in "The Name of the People" in previous years, it can be said that "Fifteen Years of Wanli" has become more and more popular.
In the fifteenth year of the Wanli Calendar, that is, 1587 AD, this seemingly insignificant year, the author from many details, from the small to the big, to guide the crux of the big thing, easy to understand the biographical style laying out, but also let people have further joy in reading.
1. Huang Renyu and the Great View of History
Speaking of "Fifteen Years of Wanli", we have to say its author Huang Renyu, and when we talk about Huang Renyu, we have to talk about his big historical view.
Huang Renyu is a science and engineering graduate, at the age of 18 was admitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering of Nankai University in Tianjin, at the beginning of the War of Resistance, he threw his pen from Rong, and after the war, he entered the University of Michigan in the United States, first studying journalism, and then transferring to the history department. Such an educational background makes Huang Renyu also known for rational thinking when analyzing historical events, and his books make readers feel that history is not an isolated event of one person or one lifetime, but has its own internal laws and connections.
Huang Renyu is well-known in Chinese academic circles for his "big historical view". The official interpretation of the so-called grand view of history is: "It is necessary to comprehensively investigate the various factors that determine the direction of history within a long period of time, and through comparison, analysis and comparison, we must explore the true face of history, discover the laws in it, and obtain real knowledge." Huang Renyu advocates looking at history from a technical point of view, and historical figures cannot be judged by motives and morality. Motives are hard to guess, and people who write history often bring personal feelings, moral judgments on characters according to the needs of the time, and the political figures' every move has a significant impact. Based on this, I personally think superficially that the "big historical view" is to focus on grasping the laws of history.
In "Fifteen Years of the Wanli Calendar", Huang Renyu sorts out the political, economic and cultural context of the dynasty from the ups and downs of the fate of various characters, and conducts research with small views and big views. Although I did not fully understand "Fifteen Years of The Wanli Calendar", at least it made me feel that history is not out of reach, historical figures are not empty and unfathomable, and they are also flesh and blood. Ordinary readers like me, what feels a certain fit between the past and the present is not grand planning and construction, but the fireworks in the details.
2. Six important people
In 1587, on the surface, there was nothing to remember, but in fact, the Ming Empire had entered a dangerous whirlpool.
The emperor's efforts to govern or feast on peace and happiness, the dictatorship or reconciliation of the first assistant, the creativity or habituation of senior generals, the honesty of civil officials or corruption and fraud, the extreme progress or absolute conservatism of thinkers, the final result is that there is no distinction between good and evil, all of which cannot make meaningful progress in their careers, some of them are defeated, some are discredited, and some are discredited.
Wanli Emperor: For this emperor, I feel deeply troubled and helpless, even if you are the Son of Heaven, it is only a product of the needs of a system. Wan Li was like an eagle in a cage, and even though he wanted to soar into the blue sky, the civilian clique imprisoned him until his ambition and claws slowly deteriorated. Those in the civilian clique were to force him into the norms they had set, without allowing his personality to develop freely. Wan Li finally found that he couldn't do all the things he wanted to do, so his desire to work hard to cure it diminished day by day.
Ordinary people's marriage can be described as a siege, and although the emperor has three palaces and six courtyards, from Wanli's body, I think the emperor's marriage is like that iron wall, all of which are imprisoned by etiquette, institutions, and rules. Wanli's favorite concubine, Zheng Shi, he had no way to share the cave with her after death, there was no way to make the children of the two of them the prince, there was no way for him to think of anything, he was too difficult. And Zheng Shi, she saw through that although Wanli was a noble son of heaven and rich in all corners of the world, in essence, he was both soft and weak, and no one gave him sympathy and protection. The feelings of Wan Li and Zheng feel more like ordinary people's husband and wife, but they can't have the ending of ordinary people's families, how honorable the identity of tianzi is, but how lonely they are inside, the throne is a social system, and Zhu Yijun is a flesh-and-blood person.
Zhang Juzheng: The tragedy of Zhang Juzheng is that he is overconfident, cannot be modest and cautious, and refuses to make necessary concessions to the facts. Zhang Ju is a very talented and city-driven person, and there is a passage in the book that describes him like this:
Zhang Juzheng always seems to be a symbol of wisdom. His eyebrows were long, his beard was long, and he paid attention to grooming, and his robe was as wrinkled as if it were new every day. His mind is also completely consistent with his appearance, he does not open his mouth, he can reveal the crux of the matter as soon as he opens his mouth, the words are short and accurate, making people unquestionable, quite in line with the ancient Chinese saying that "the lady does not speak, the words must be in the middle." ”
During the Jiajing period, Zhang Juzheng and the Qing school together to overthrow Yan Song, after experiencing Xu Steps and high arches, Zhang Ju was ensuring the safety of the imperial family at a time of difficulty, taking the high arch and replacing it. He also colluded with Feng Bao, the great companion of Wanli, to tilt his power to the opposition and collect finances. But it is undeniable that he is bold and innovative, and he is keen on reform, which cannot be done by others. Perhaps the power has reached a certain position, but it will also make people flutter, Zhang Juzheng, as the emperor's teacher, is also the first assistant, and naturally he is full of glory. While accepting the trust and honor and humiliation from the emperor and the empress, Zhang Juzheng forgot the fact that the friendship of the royal family is different from the world, and it does not have the permanence of the worldly friendship due to mutual care.
Zhang Juzheng vigorously carried out reforming taxes, sorting out finances, and streamlining administration. The reform touched the interests of some people, and those who impeached Zhang Juzheng went forward and followed, they exposed the facts and created public opinion, Zhang Juzheng's image gradually became hypocritical and poisonous, and a letter left by Gao Gong before his death was simply the last straw that crushed Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng, the famous first assistant of a generation, ended his life at the age of only 52, and after his death, he was raided, which is regrettable.
Speaking of Zhang Juzheng, I just saw a copy of "Zhang Juzheng Biography" in the bookstore that day, and I thought about reading it well when I was empty, and I understood this person in more detail. It is only the person who can really reach the peak of power, we can no longer simply use good and bad to describe, everything in the world has yin and yang, and there are many gray areas between black and white.
First Auxiliary Shen Shixing: Said Zhang Juzheng, it is the turn of Shen Shixing. This shoufu is very different from Zhang Juzheng, he knows how to deal with things in moderation, and he is well versed in the way of yin and yang. The situation required Shin Shi xing to play a peacemaker, and he assumed such a role, and between the emperor and the civilian official clique, even if others commented on him as "at both ends", he was only put into a laugh. Unlike Zhang Juzheng in rectifying the legal system, Shen Shixing advocated starting from morality and being gentle and forgiving. But his gentleness also laid hidden dangers for many mistakes, such as in the matter of Li Chu, he did not play a decisive role that the first assistant should bear, between the emperor and the civil officials, let the matter be postponed again and again; and there are also books that mention the invasion of biansai, but they do not care, underestimate each other, and raise the strength of the enemy, which is the initial rise of Nurhaci.
Shen Shixing was well aware of one of the characteristics of the Ming Empire: whether a policy could be put into practice, and whether it would succeed or fail after implementation, depended on whether it was in harmony with the common habits of all civilian officials, otherwise the theoretical perfection was just a castle in the air. It was precisely because of this that Shen Shixing would be so old in handling personnel relations, and unlike Zhang Juzheng, who carried out drastic reforms, he could only use his yin and yang ways to maintain the stability of the imperial court.
Model Bureaucrat Hai Rui: Hai Rui is an extreme of this empire, he is extremely incorruptible, extremely honest, and likewise, extremely thick lines, extreme like to nitpick. Very famous in history is the one that Hai Rui presented to Jiajing, which pointed out that the Jiajing Emperor was a vain, cruel, selfish, suspicious and stupid monarch, and that the emperor himself should be directly responsible for the corruption of officials, the heavy taxation of military service, the infinite waste of the court and the inflaming of bandits everywhere. This performance is famous enough that Jiajing's treatment of Hai Rui seems contradictory, and he sometimes compares Hai Rui to a loyal servant and sometimes scolds him as "the beast that scolded me". Hai Rui's brave approach is difficult to accept on anyone, let alone the emperor. Hai Rui, people admire but also make people puzzled, his persistence few people can emulate, for Hai Rui, Huang Renyu in the book with a text summary:
His creed and personality made him both respected and abandoned. Although he was admired, no one followed his example, and his life embodied the spirit of a cultured reader who sacrificed himself in the service of the public, but the practical role of this spirit was extremely meager. He could be as emotionally agitated as the heroes on stage, but when people commented on his political measures, they were not only divided, but also extremely divided.
Qi Jiguang: In the past, I always got the image of Qi Jiguang from TV dramas, it was righteous and magnificent, and from reading, I knew the other side of him, a heroic soldier is not necessarily a clean general at the same time. Qi Jiguang in the Ming Dynasty, a dynasty that emphasizes literature and light weapons, wants to make achievements in army building, relying on enthusiasm and courage alone is not enough, but also needs contacts, resources, support and so on. Therefore, Qi Jiguang is complex, his complexity comes from the complexity of the environment, Huang Renyu is right, if Qi Jiguang is simple like Hai Rui, it is undoubtedly unkind. Qi Jiguang is not only a brilliant general, but also a first-class organizer, engineering architect, etc., if he is not proficient in the mysteries of politics, he cannot do so many things at the same time.
Li Zhen: I have always felt that thinkers are contradictory, not something that ordinary people such as me can understand, and the description of Li Zhen simply makes me feel a little divided, and the title of the book summarizes very well "Philosophers of Self-Conflict", Li Zhen believes in Buddhism and Wang Yangming's mind, but his thinking is biased toward subjective idealism, and it is inevitable that he will feel confused and painful in his heart. But philosophers always have to go through a lot of difficulties in trying to break through the shackles of thought.
3. A little reflection when reading history books
I'm not a history buff and rarely read history books. Most of the history that was previously learned in bits and pieces was through textbooks, TV series, and documentaries. When I was in college, I watched "Those Things of the Ming Dynasty" and began to think that the original history could be so fun. Later, after reading several copies of the "Baiyang Vernacular Edition of Zizhi Tongjian" and also read several other popular historical books, I began to feel that when later generations told history, they also mixed up a lot of personal views and likes and dislikes while stating objective facts.
A thousand readers have a thousand Hamlets, and the diversity of opinions and understandings will make everything more exciting, such as some people focusing on Harry's paranoia, while others focus on his fortitude, there is no standard answer, just like life will have many different paths, all concerned about personal choices.
From the beginning of reading history, I found that I would also look at many people and things around me dialectically; I would look at gains and losses very indifferently, and what these small things I had gained after some years, compared with history, was simply a drop in the ocean; I would also think very rationally about what impact some of my choices would bring, and so on.
We often say what are the benefits of reading? Probably the impact is always subtle, but it allows me to gradually face the world with a broader mind, and also use more determination to fight the loneliness from this world.