It took me a week to read Huang Renyu's book "Fifteen Years of The Wanli Calendar", which was recommended to me by a friend, who said that the book was very well written and well worth reading. I bought it for more than a year, but I haven't read it, and I took advantage of the seven-day holiday on National Day to read the "useless" book.
The author Huang Renyu (1918-2000) was born in Changsha, Hunan Province, entered the Department of Electrical Engineering of Nankai University in 1936, and after the War of Resistance Against Japan, first worked in Changsha's "Anti-Japanese War Newspaper", and later entered the Kuomintang Chengdu Central Military Academy, retiring in 1950. He then went to the United States to study history, where he received his bachelor's degrees (1954), master's degree (1957), and doctoral degree (1964). He was a Visiting Associate Professor at Columbia University (1967) and a Fellow at the Institute of East Asian Studies at Harvard University (1970). Participated in the collective research work of "Biography of Ming Dynasty Celebrities" and "Cambridge History of China".
"Fifteen Years of the Wanli Calendar" is about 1587, but Huang Renyu wants to show the whole picture of the entire history of China. What he wants to tell the reader is why, from the Ming Dynasty onwards, China lagged behind the world. Huang Renyu's answer was that "the tragedy of China is that before the local organization and technical equipment was large, there was already a great empire, because there was a lack of an effective intermediate stage between the top and the bottom, and it was up to the absolutist monarchs to compensate for it with their personal faults." On the one hand, the unified system simply and effectively maintains social stability, but on the other hand, it also restricts the space for social change and development. The weaknesses of traditional political systems are simple organization, inefficiency, inelasticity and lack of strength, focusing only on the surface of morality and lacking the ability to solve specific problems pragmatically, which on the surface looks like a behemoth, but is actually vulnerable. Therefore, Huang Renyu believes that the key to China's problem is to introduce the Western "management of numbers and words", "morality is not omnipotent, can not replace technology, especially not law."
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="01" > Imperial Civil Rule</h1>
The Ming Dynasty ruled the world, and etiquette and civil officials played a huge role. The emperor reigns alone and has the highest authority, because of providence. Providence must be manifested through the convictions of hundreds of millions of subjects. The Emperor and his ministers often performed various ceremonies in a solemn and beautiful form, and it was indispensable to consolidate this belief. The innumerable prostrations of the emperor strengthened the sacrosanct significance of the emperor, and his personal conduct of ceremonies showed that he was equally subject to divine restraint, that is, by traditional morality.
The simpler and more prosaic the dogmas of the Confucian classics, the more we must strengthen our study, and listen to them one after another, so as to strengthen the domination of our intellect. The more the ground freezes and the colder the weather, the more our early dynasty can receive the effect of exercising the body and mind. It is the emperor's personal cultivation, which seems to have obvious symbolic elements, but the symbol is not necessarily hypocritical. What a powerful force if all those who attend the ceremony believe in this symbol and are determined to act to make it a reality! The purpose of the three feasts in January is more straightforward, and it shows the emperor and his ministers resolutely searching for the most effective method in the classics and historical records to achieve the rule of the great unity.
In the history of the Ming Dynasty, except for the Hongwu Yongle and Yongle dynasties during the founding period, it has become an absolute trend for civilian officials to override military officers. Could it be that a person who is familiar with the history of the scriptures and has a beautiful writing have the conditions to serve as an adviser to the emperor (a member of the cabinet) before the imperial court? Is it possible that if you are deeply accomplished academically, you can become a great politician? Because our empire was institutionally centralized, its spiritual pillar was morality, and the method of management relied on literature.
Officials of the Hanlin Temple wrote edicts for the emperor, and the recipients of the edicts were always filial pieties and grandchildren, as well as far-sighted parents or upright gentlemen who could lead the neighborhood around the neighborhood. The officials in charge of literature, ink and education also repeatedly explained to the emperor that the duty of being a monarch was to feed the people in a good year, and not to fill the gully in the fierce year. They also want to clarify that the royal path that has been in place for three generations is still relevant today, that is, a good government must be selected and able, and that integrity and harmony are promoted in society. All in all, morality is supreme, and it can not only guide the administration, but also replace it. As for specific technical issues, such as the gains and losses of a barbarian chieftain when he is in charge of the crackdown, the advantages and disadvantages of moving the Yellow River waterway south or north, the adjustment of the discount rate of tea and horse trading in the border areas, and so on, it is naturally very important, but this belongs to the scope of the governors of various places, and they should make suggestions. According to the Ming tradition, all proposals should still be played for the approval of the emperor. However, the employment of personnel is appropriate, the governors and governors of various places are all expected by all, and their suggestions will be the best strategy, and all requests will inevitably be approved. So at the end of the day, technical issues remain inseparable from ethical issues.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="02" > Wanli: The Helplessness of Power</h1>
As the Son of Heaven, Wanli, in another sense, was just a prisoner in the Forbidden City, who had not been in the Early Dynasty for 28 years. Since 1585, Wanli has not taken a step out of the Forbidden City for more than thirty years, except for only once more than once inspecting his own Dingling Tomb in 1588, creating the highest record since ancient times!
His power is mostly passive. He could dismiss and investigate officials he didn't like, but it was so difficult to promote and promote officials he liked, so that no one was enough to become his confidant. He could go beyond the provisions of the law by making decisions about the actions of his ministers, but he did not have the power to make the laws. Conflicts between bureaucrats were naturally decided by him, but he could not reform the system to avoid conflict, and the authority of his decisions was getting weaker and weaker, because he was regarded by his subordinates as Yan'an lazy. The military problems of the border regions must be reported to the emperor, but the emperor himself cannot command the generals, and there is no possibility of reorganizing the armaments on weekdays. It was difficult for him to take a step out of the palace gate, let alone leave the capital to inspect the provinces. Without even this freedom of choice, what fun is it to live in the Ninth Five??
The Wanli Emperor lacked the courage, enthusiasm, and interest in finding happiness from his uncle (the Zhengde Emperor). From an early age, he did not experience the meaning of freedom for a day, nor did he gain the respect of his subordinates by virtue of his own ability. So it is no wonder that he could not make a clear claim to his subordinates. He had read the records of his uncle and knew that the Wenchen clique was a very powerful force as long as they agreed. Lacking strong perseverance, the isolated emperor had to succumb to his subjects again and again. However, he was not an emperor who was open-minded enough to accommodate things and treat people with forgiveness, and his self-esteem was damaged, and he tried to take revenge. The purpose of revenge is not to restore the emperor's authority but to vent purely. The object of the vent is not necessarily the person who offended him, but the innocent third party. Accumulating years of experience, he found that the most effective weapon was passive resistance, that is, what Lao Tzu called "inaction."
Because of the immutable nature of the Constitution, a young emperor was not able to make full use of his creative ability in political life, and his personality could not be brought into play, but was instead guided into this land of nothingness and acted as a living ancestor. Zhang Juzheng did not let him learn words, and Shen Shixing did not let him train soldiers, so what is the benefit of the fact that he was a noble son of heaven and achieved the status of ancestor when he was young?
The poetic philosopher said, "Life is nothing but an imagination, and because of the abundance of this imagination it can break through any barrier in the world." "He Zhu Yijun had nine or five respects before his death, and after his death he was called Emperor Shenzong Xian, and the strongest impression he brought to people hundreds of years later was still the cruelty of fate.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="03" > Zhang Juzheng: A Phase Through the Ages</h1>
Zhang Juzheng is known as a prime minister throughout the ages, known for his keen reforms, and he is not only the only major politician of the Ming Dynasty, but also a rare figure since the Han Dynasty. From the perspective of the overall historical situation, Zhang Juzheng's new policy is undoubtedly the most far-reaching and successful reform after the reforms of Shang Martin, Qin Shi Huang, and Sui and Tang Dynasties until the eve of modern times. At that time, Mingyue commented on Zhang Juzheng and said: He is a genius, born in a complicated and chaotic world, and he is desperate to learn. He dared to reform, dared to innovate, was not afraid of risks, was not afraid of threats, and was a great reformer. He was dictatorial, unkind to others, lived a luxurious life, was inconsistent in appearance, and was a man of low morals.
After more than two hundred years of ups and downs in the Ming Dynasty, by the Jiajing period, it was full of diseases and crises. The Forbidden City has a daily altar to repair and smoke. The Jiajing Emperor, who fantasized about immortality, reveled in the flowery rhetoric of the "Ode to Qingyun" and entrusted the government to the traitor Yan Song with his eyes closed. Yan Song's father and son took the opportunity to do wrongdoing and pervert the law by taking bribes. In the context of such an era, Zhang Juzheng, the first assistant of the cabinet who came from a commoner background, was pushed to the forefront of history, and with his extraordinary courage and wisdom, he straightened out the program of the dynasty, consolidated national defense, and implemented a whip law to revitalize the dying Ming Dynasty.
Although his life was sluggish, he made great contributions to reform and became a famous person. In addition to honesty and greed, the more important point is whether the political achievements are contributed to the imperial court and the people. Zhang Juzheng is indeed greedy for ink, and he also lives a luxurious life, but he has also made drastic reforms and sought the well-being of the people, in the political environment of the Ming Dynasty, greed for ink is the norm (the Ming Dynasty's Feng Lu is really too low, relying on Feng Lu alone is really impossible to do things), and those who can do practical things will be remembered by history.
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="04" > Qi Jiguang: The Loneliness of a Military General</h1>
At the end of the seven-day national day holiday, in addition to the punch card of the tourist place and the punch card of food, almost all of the friends have been brushed by a movie - "Chosin Lake", the film has reached 3.433 billion in just 8 days since its release on September 30, the box office has reached 3.433 billion, and the box office has been in a state of reverse decline, which shows that everyone's love for this film, behind the love, is the high respect and collective praise for the brave and tenacious volunteer soldiers who are not afraid of sacrifice in a completely unequal war. War is cruel and must be shed and sacrificed, but in that situation, only "one punch is thrown, lest a hundred punches come", and being able to win the war in that difficult environment is a full embodiment of the strength of the whole country. At this time, I thought of a person, Qi Jiguang, a famous anti-Wu general of the Ming Dynasty, who single-handedly created the "Qi Family Army" that made the enemy feel frightened, but in that era, he was destined to be a lonely general.
Although the Ming Empire nominally had the world's largest standing army at that time, numbering as many as two million, in addition to the huge moisture in the data, the idea of emphasizing literature and light weapons made the surface of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact it was turbulent, and its military capabilities had reached the point of being strong in the middle. The unscrupulous activities of pirates and Wokou on the southeast coast forced the government to take tough measures, but as soon as the conflict began, Daming's political and military weakness was exposed.
It was in this context that Qi Jiguang, with his leadership ability, formed a "Qi Family Army" with strict discipline and repeated achievements. He recruited peasants rather than urban dwellers, and at the heart of his army-building program was the establishment of an iron military law, the spirit of which was "collective responsibility," the so-called "joint sitting law." In addition to iron discipline, on the other hand he attaches great importance to morale. A unit that is often beaten by the enemy has no self-esteem and self-confidence, and the belief in victory depends on ability and technology, and ability and technology come from hard training in peacetime. Under this series of military policies, the record of victory of the Qi family army is unparalleled. Since 1599, this force has repeatedly attacked, broken sieges, faced battles, and pursued, but has never been defeated by the Wokou in battle. In addition to the quality of the troops, the excellent command ability of the commander Qi Jiguang was the only factor that determined victory.
However, Qi Jiguang, who had achieved outstanding military achievements, was lonely, and the biggest root behind loneliness came from the fundamental incompatibility between the principles of civil official group governance during the Ming Dynasty and the military generals and soldiers. Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty in Hongwu, about a hundred years have passed, and the civilian official group has entered a mature stage, and their social status has risen to the highest point in history, while the social status of military attaches has dropped to the lowest point in history. The military attaché's income was meager, and after retiring from the army, he was almost useless in the agricultural era. Due to the long-term suppression of civilian officials, even a distinguished high-ranking general could not display his ability to coordinate the overall situation, nor did he allow a warrior to hold more than one province's military power. Even Qi Jiguang, who was an officer to a general soldier, rarely allowed him to formulate an overall strategic policy in the real environment, and his unit was always a tactical unit.
Qi Jiguang fell into loneliness and coolness in the last years of his life, and before he died, his wife had abandoned him, he had no selfish savings, and after being reprimanded, he was destitute, and even medicine was not prepared. In the early morning of January 17, 1588, he died in poverty and illness, and he once commanded an army of 100,000, and among the few friends who did not abandon him, one of the wang Daokun who wrote the epitaph for him was "Mouth Chicken No. 3, will die of the stars", obviously with infinite sad feelings. At the time of the death of the stars, the Spanish fleet has been prepared to march on Britain, and our ancient empire has lost the best opportunity to rearmament, which has to be said to be a sad thing!
<h1 class="pgc-h-decimal" data-index="05" > Huang Renyu: My view of history</h1>
For me, reading is a great pleasure. As Chairman Mao said: "You can not eat food, you can sleep without sleep, and you cannot read books without reading." It can be seen that the "obsession" of great men with reading is even worse. There is also a classic passage by Shakespeare about reading: "Books are the nourishment of the world." There are no books in life, as if there were no sunlight; there are no books in wisdom, just as birds have no wings. "A good book can always bring people physical and mental pleasure, and the feeling of being addicted to it, Mr. Huang Renyu's "Fifteen Years of Wanli" has brought me this feeling."
After reading this book, I was amazed that the author dared to use the fifteenth year of the Wanli Calendar (that is, 1587) as the title of the book, tearing apart the entire history of the Ming Dynasty with a small time window, taking the Wanli Emperor, the first assistant Zhang Juzheng, the general soldier Qi Jiguang, the Qing official Hairui and several other figures as clues, reflecting the economy, culture, morality and imperial governance of the Ming Dynasty in a small way. Behind the 200,000 words, nearly 100 bibliographies, all the key events in the book are detailed with provenance, the author's rigorous governance, the breadth of learning, admirable, no wonder the English version of this book has become a textbook for several universities in the United States!
We often lament that we can't even understand microscopic problems, but why can some people look at the history of thousands of years at home and abroad? Reading history can be wise, and only by knowing the past can we learn from the present, so why did the author establish such a vast view of history? There is a passage of the author's self-prologue that may give us reference and reference.
The grand view of history is not something that can be seen in books alone, especially not only in the intellect of individuals. Mr. Huang Renyu's experience is reflected in decades of traveling all over the world, hearing different explanations, and then because of the torture and torture of life. He loved to read history books, dropped out of school in his youth to join the army, and then went to the United States to study, during which he was forced to wash dishes in the restaurant due to life, and retreated to the dou room after working all day, and no one talked to him. Later, after returning to China, he had in-depth contacts with Tian Han, Liao Mosha, Fan Changjiang and other people, because of these experiences and experiences, the initial position became complicated, and looking at people and looking at history was not just from a perspective. Entering middle age, I feel that learning history has a tendency to explore the meaning of life.
This is only the initial, and later I got to know many celebrities, read the works of various families, traveled all over the world, suffered from layoffs and unemployment, and felt the economic crisis and discrimination with my family, and only then did I enlarge my vision more and more, and only then did I know that my personal ability was limited. The true meaning of life must be obtained in history, and the regularity of history can sometimes not be seen clearly in a short period of time, but must be opened to the eyes for a long time before it can be seen.
Reading history can be wise, and only by knowing the past can we learn from the present! Welcome to leave a message to communicate!