Chapter 15 3. Brilliant Wenzhi

As the saying goes, if you win the world immediately, you cannot rule the world immediately.Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan Dynasty by force and established the Ming Empire.At the beginning of the founding of the country, it is understandable that warriors were given preferential treatment.Thirty-one years later, Emperor Jianwen worked hard to improve the status of civil servants, just to adapt to the changes of the times.However, the status of civil servants has been improved, and the rights and interests of military officials have been ignored, which is bound to arouse their dissatisfaction.Zhu Yunqi failed, and history did not give him a chance to turn to Wenzhi.Zhu Di's "Jing Nan" relied on military forces to propose the execution of "Left Ban Civil Officials", which was naturally his need to seize power.But when the regime is stable, it is necessary to use literati to govern the country, and the status of literati will change accordingly.This is also a matter of the times.

When Zhu Di launched the Jingnan Campaign and led his troops to the south, his main counselor, Seng Daoyan, asked Zhu Di to keep the seeds of his studies on the day of success, which is to foresee this change in the current situation. After Zhu Di became emperor, he immediately adapted to this change.He knew that the people would never welcome a tyrannical and murderous emperor.In the first year of Yongle, Zhu Di said to his officials: The way of governance is moderate in leniency and fierceness, and order in ritual, music, punishment and administration. ...The emperor's test...putting order out of chaos, using torture as a last resort, is a privilege for a while.And established as a canon, the existing laws are promulgated to the world, and they are restored to the ancestors and descendants of the constitution, and the Mojiu Palace is not forbidden.I take Feide to inherit the great rule, look up to the holy Mo, and only obey at night, but I want to promote talents, promote rituals and music, implement benevolent government, and rule with loyalty... The above is not worthy of the difficulties of the emperor's examination and entrepreneurship, but I am committed to keeping the success Dao, Yishu Jiyan.

Another time, Zhao Yi, the envoy of the general government, led a man from Shandong to present the battle map.This was originally to cater to Zhu Di and flatter him.Unexpectedly, he was criticized by Zhu Di.He said: Since ancient times, emperors used troops out of necessity.Husband drives people with white blades, and it is rare that they are not damaged or broken.It is fortunate that he will not die.I have lived in the army for several years, and each of my relatives was a stone of arrows. Seeing those who died under the scorpion, it is not painful, but it is a last resort.There is nothing to do today, but we should rest and nourish the people, cultivate rites and music, and promote education, so how can we use words and soldiers again.This generation of arrogance must say that I have the intention of being good at martial arts, so I uploaded this picture for further use.How can a good martial arts be a good thing?It repels it.

In order to show that he is a Mingjun who Yanwuxiuwen, Zhu Di made a lot of publicity.He advocated Confucianism, gave courtesy to Confucian descendants, and constantly gathered scholars to compile books. He was always surrounded by a group of scholars.Zhu Di himself seems to have become really gentle and refined.Yang Shiqi, an imperial literati of the Yongle Dynasty, praised and said: "Emperor Taizong wanted to be a newcomer when he ruled the world, and he aroused gentleness." Zhu Di will first surrender to Xie Jin, Hu Guang, Huang Huai, Hu Yan, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, Jin Youzi and others set up a cabinet.These people "are honored by themselves, and their fathers, sons and brothers" are also "honored by them".However, they entered the cabinet in the name of secret counselors and participation in decision-making.

1.The civil service system tends to be perfected It was these people who entered the cabinet and initiated a major change in the political system of the Ming Dynasty.After Hongwu abolished the prime minister, the emperor directly governed the six ministries, but there was a link in administrative management.Zhu Yuanzhang once set up four assistant officials.The rank of the four auxiliary officials ranks after the princes and governors, but they do not have the power to participate in decision-making, so they were dismissed soon.Later, imitating the Song system, the Diange Grand Scholars were set up, the fifth grade, but "serving the left and right, and preparing consultants" to help the emperor handle official affairs.At that time, it was Hanlin officials and Chunfang officials who helped read the memorials in detail, and they could "concurrently serve as rebuttals".Seven people including Xie Jin, Hu Guang, and Yang Rong entered Zhiwenyuan Pavilion in September of the year when Zhu Di ascended the throne.Entering the ranks of decision-making as an official of literature servants shows that the civil service system tends to be perfected. This is an important symbol of literary governance and a sign of a mature country.But at this time, all the officials who entered the cabinet were editors, reviewers, lecturers, etc., with low rank, no subordinates, and no specialization in any department, and each department had nothing to do with it.However, as the situation changed, the status of the cabinet became higher and higher, surpassing the six ministries and becoming the center of decision-making, which had a great influence on the political system of later generations.

Attract talents and attach importance to school imperial examinations Since Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Chinese studies and prefecture and county studies have been generally established throughout the country.Zhu Di inherited his work and attached great importance to school education.On the first day of March in the fourth year of Yongle, Zhu Di personally went to Taixue to offer sacrifices to Confucius.In the inscription written by him personally, it said: "For the prosperity of the emperor, I must first promote the administration of the school, to uphold morality, promote education, correct people's hearts, become talents in the world, and lead to the rule of the world." He emphasized respecting Confucius, It is because of the "greatness" of Confucius's way, "the world cannot exist in one day."

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination system was restored, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not fully pass the imperial examination for employing people.Eighteen years after Hongwu, the imperial examination became a custom.Zhu Di attached great importance to the imperial examination. Since the first year of Yongle, the provincial and general examinations have been held every three years without interruption.In order to attract and nurture talents, Zhu Di ordered the Hanlin Academy to select outstanding candidates from all over the country to enter the Imperial College to study in the Imperial College, enjoy the teaching salary, and try again later.He also ordered those selected from the Hanlin Academy to study in Wenyuan Pavilion, provide paper and pens, meals, lighting expenses, and provide housing.In the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination for the selection of talents was gradually more important than the recommendation.But Yongle was not too limited about qualifications. Yang Shiqi had not passed the imperial examination, and Chen Ji was a commoner, and they were all appointed by Zhu Di as the chief executive who compiled the "Records of Taizu".The imperial examination system was further perfected in the Yongle Dynasty, which was followed by successive dynasties and had a far-reaching influence.

Compilation of "Yongle Dadian" and other books Around Zhu Di, there are often groups of scholars and scholars.Under his advocacy, singing and dancing rose to the top of the literary world for a while, and Taige style poems, essays, calligraphy, and paintings became popular. Zhu Di called Confucianism "the first thing that governs the country, and it should not be regarded as a slow and hasty task", and said that "Confucius established the teaching on behalf of heaven, so all emperors respect it".He gathered people to compile books, in addition to "Four Books and Five Classics Encyclopedia of Nature and Principles", there are also "Facts of Filial Piety", "Being a Good Yin Stall" and so on.He ordered the purchase of books from all over the world, saying: "Everyone who accumulates gold and jade wants to bequeath to his descendants, and I also want to accumulate books. The benefits of gold and jade are limited, so how can the benefits of books be infinite?" "Book of Changes Dayi", "Shangshu Zhizhi", "Chunqiu Zhizhi" and so on "each have a copy in the bedroom of Zhaige Shudian, so they can be read."He often listened to literary courtiers explain the classics to him.He demanded that "when speaking the truth, the past and the past must be used as evidence, so that it is easy to understand and understand".He believes that "the emperor's learning is valuable and practical for oneself", therefore, "when speaking, don't use all superficial and useless words", "a scholar's family has a little money, and they all want to accumulate books, not to mention the imperial court. ", "Books cannot be compared in value, but you can get them with what you need."Zhu Di is by no means a nerd.

The most important event in Yongle Wenzhi is the compilation of "Yongle Dadian".Zhu Di is very happy with his achievements, pursues the greatest in doing things, and pursues making meritorious deeds to pass on to the world.In July of the first year of Yongle, less than a year after he ascended the throne, he ordered Xie Jin, a bachelor's attendant, to collect books from all over the world and compile a book: The ancient and modern things in the world are scattered in various books, and the pages are so vast that they are not easy to review.I want to collect all the things contained in the books and group them together, and unify them into rhymes, so that it is easy to search for a few times, like searching for things from a bag. ……You are as I wish. Since the book contract, Shizi has collected the books of hundreds of schools. As for astronomy, geography, yin and yang, medicine and divination, monk Taoism, and skills, they have been compiled into one book, which is too numerous.

That is to say, it is necessary to collect all the books in the world.In the second year, the book was compiled, and Zhu Di named it "The Great Completion of Documents".But after Zhu Di went through the inspection, he still thought that "there is still too much to prepare", so he ordered Yao Guangxiao to preside over the reconstruction.This reconstruction was completed in October of the fifth year of Yongle (1407). The book has a total of 22,877 volumes, packed into 11,095 volumes, and has about 370 million words.Zhu Di named it "Yongle Dadian".The whole book is classified and cataloged by "Hongwu Zhengyun", and individual characters are listed by rhyme, and the content related to this character is compiled from various books in order according to each character. It is the largest class book in the history of our country. "Yongle Dadian" is an important symbol of Yongle Wenzhi and an important cultural achievement of the Ming Dynasty. The original book of "Yongle Dadian" was first collected in Wenyuan Pavilion, Nanjing, and then moved to Beijing. A copy was recorded by Zeng Mo between Jiajing and Longqing. The original version of "Yongle Dadian" was destroyed when the Ming Dynasty fell, and the copies only survived in the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, more than 9,000 copies, and many of them were taken away by Confucian officials without permission.After the Eight-Power Allied Forces captured Beijing, they were burned and looted. There are only a few hundred copies left in the world.

The value of "Yongle Dadian" is that it preserves the cultural classics before the Ming Dynasty without deletion or modification.During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the "Siku Quanshu" was compiled, and more than 500 books that had been lost were compiled from it.Scholars in the Qing Dynasty also learned a lot from it.However, although the "Siku Quanshu" in the Qing Dynasty was very large, many books were deleted and revised according to the ruler's will. Moreover, books that did not meet the wishes of the Qing Dynasty were strictly banned while the books were being revised. Income "Siku" as much.Therefore, Qianlong's revision of books, which has always been praised, is nothing less than a cultural catastrophe! The compilation of "Yongle Dadian" used more than 3,000 people and lasted three years, which can be described as a grand event.But it was the time to kill and suppress the loyal officials of Emperor Jianwen.Killing and enveloping are mutually useful.The Ming people compared the "Yongle Dadian" with the Song Dynasty's "Taiping Yulan". Sun Chengze's "Chunming Dream Remaining Records" has this passage: Lu Wenyu said deeply: Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty had the most naked generals in all the countries, and there was no place to deal with them, so he set up six libraries to compile three major books, and ordered Song Bai and others to take care of them.The three major volumes are "Cefu Yuangui", "Taiping Yulan", and "Wenyuan Yinghua". In addition to "Yu Lan", five hundred volumes of "Guang Ji" were compiled.After the Yongle Jingnan disaster, the revision of the "Yongle Dadian" also meant this.Yu Yin, Song Taizong ordered Confucian scholars to compile a thousand volumes of stories, called "Taiping General Classes", a thousand volumes of articles, called "Wenyuan Yinghua", five hundred volumes of novels, called "Taiping Guangji", and a thousand volumes of medical prescriptions. The volume is called "The Universal Rescue of Divine Medicine", and it is always named "Daping Yulan".If "Cefu Yuangui" has a thousand volumes, it is compiled by Zhenzong.Is Wenyu's test or not sure?As far as Jing Nan's actions were concerned, the air of injustice pervaded Haiyu, and Emperor Wen used writing and ink to sell the blocks. This is actually the Japanese intention at that time. Zhu Di deliberately maintained the orthodoxy of Confucianism, and rejected all speeches and behaviors that slandered the sages and destroyed the righteous way.In the second year of Yongle, Zhu Jiyou, a scholar in Raozhou Prefecture, presented his works to Zhu Di. It is said that it "exclusively denounced the theory of Lian Luo, Guan Min, and slandered it ugly".Zhu Di was furious after reading it, and said: "This is a thief of Confucianism." The attendants gave Zhu Di advice on how to deal with this pedantic master.Zhu Di said: "Slandering the sages and destroying the righteous way is an extraordinary crime, and it can be punished by the law?" State and county magistrates and scholars from townships publicly discussed their crimes, punished them with whips, searched their homes, and burned all the books they wrote.It can be seen that scholars at that time were not allowed to think independently. Another noteworthy work is the "Records of Taizu" compiled by Yongle. Zhu Di ascended the throne in July, and in October he couldn't wait to order Xie Jin, a bachelor's degree attendant, to rewrite the "Records of Taizu" as the president, so as to create a legal basis for his "inheritance".He was very dissatisfied with the "Records of Taizu" edited by Fang Xiaoru as the president of Jianwen Dynasty.According to the Chaqian incident, Ye Di was imprisoned and "registered in his family" because of "the book is difficult and there are many criticisms" because of the establishment of the article and the revision of the record.The prefect Ye Huizhong and others also "denounced Jingnan's monarchs and ministers as rebellious against the party, and said that they are dead".But Zhu Di was still dissatisfied with the rebuilt record.After Xie Jin, the president, was imprisoned for other reasons, and finally died in prison.From the ninth year to the sixteenth year of Yongle, Zhu Di ordered Hu Guang, a scholar, Hu Yan, Huang Huai, and Yang Rong, who were bachelors, to be the president and edit the "Taizu Shilu" three times.Only then did Zhu Di say: "The little ones of the concubine are my heart." The "Records of Taizu" has been rewritten repeatedly, nothing more than to cover up Zhu Di's usurpation of power and legalize "Jitong".In Sanxiu's "Records of Taizu", Zhu Di repeatedly claimed that he was "Emperor Huang Kao Gao, the son of Empress Gao, concubine Gao", and hinted many times that Zhu Yuanzhang had favored Zhu Di regarding the succession of the throne.This kind of deliberate falsification not only makes the factual records untrue--Wang Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty said: "After reading the real records of the dynasty, there are sixteen or seventeen evidences." What's worse is that people are not allowed to tell the truth, and even historians can only submit to The emperor's joy and anger. At the same time, Zhu Di banned the destruction of all historical records related to Jianwen, although he did not keep a single piece of paper if it was not good for him.Even folks who have Tibetan anthologies of Xiaoru's anthology sit dead.Coupled with the strict prohibition of the party, everyone is in danger, "everything that is written by the officials, that is, scattered pieces of letters, are all thrown into the fire, and I am afraid that they will be sued and searched, so there is no trace of them." "The silkworm room in Jiaoyuan, all the ashes of the catastrophe have been paid, and the history is white, and it is like a dream in the past."It has caused great difficulties for later generations of historians. Zhu Di's cultural authoritarian policy had a far-reaching impact.Two hundred years later, Gao Panlong, a traveler, said: Zhu Yuanzhang ordered scholars to "don't teach what is not Lian Luo Guan Min's learning", Zhu Di "benefited from the chapter and made it big", "For more than 200 years so far, what Xiang Xu taught, what Zhi Ke learned , one endowed with it."With violent rule and ideological prison, intellectuals have no other way out except to be the emperor's domestic slaves.