Chapter 25 5. The power of integration

In the year when Emperor Wu of Liang sacrificed himself to Tongtai Temple for the second time (529 A.D.), the Byzantine Empire promulgated the Collection of Imperial Laws.Since this code was compiled by the order of the emperor Justinian, it is also called the "Justinian Code". After that, the sixteen-member committee completed the "Compendium of Laws", "General Introduction to Laws" and "New Laws and Decrees".Among them, the "Compendium of Jurisprudence" is called "the temple of Roman law", and the "New Code of Laws" is written in Greek.The four codes are collectively referred to as the Encyclopedia of Civil Law, and are recognized as the mother of Western law.

Such a huge and important project is undoubtedly an outstanding contribution to human civilization, and Justinian is therefore called "the greatest lawmaker".Although he has other legacies, such as Hagia Sophia; and other titles, such as the title of "Emperor", the Encyclopedia of Civil Law is certainly the most immortal. So, what kind of emperor is this? Like Liu Yu and others, Justinian's family was born in poverty.The previous emperor who accepted him as his heir was even illiterate, so he could only use a woodcut seal instead of a signature.His own queen, Theodora, was the daughter of a rude circus janitor or animal trainer, and her behavior before marriage was very suspicious, and she was completely unqualified in the eyes of high society to be a mother.

Justinian was fascinated by this woman of unknown origin, although she may have had affairs with multiple men.For this reason, he asked his father to amend the relevant laws.That's right, being well-matched is just a custom and ideology in China, but the Roman Empire clearly stipulated that members of the Senate were not allowed to marry lower-class women. Theodora did not disappoint Justinian either.In those later difficult years, she not only stood firmly on the side of her husband, but also became Justinian's spiritual pillar.In a riot similar to the Hou Jing Rebellion, she calmed down those who advocated abandoning the city and fleeing with just one sentence: the power of the emperor is the best shroud, once the ruler becomes a fugitive, he will die Not as good.

After hearing this, Justinian became a man again. A year after quelling the riots or suppressing the uprising, the high-spirited Justinian regrouped.In 533 AD, the Vandal Kingdom was destroyed; in 535, Sicily and southern Italy were occupied; in 536, the city of Rome was recovered; in 554, the East Gothic Kingdom was destroyed, and at the same time, the southeastern Spain and other places occupied by the Visigoths were included in the bag .So far, the Mediterranean Sea has become the inner lake of Rome again. Of course, the Eastern Roman Empire. The Roman dream came true, and Justinian got his wish.

It cannot but be said that Justinian was a lucky one.God not only gave him Theodora, but also gave him enough time: at the age of eighty-three, he ruled for thirty-eight years.This is really rare in the history of the Roman Empire, and compared with Emperor Wu of Liang who was 86 years old and ruled for 48 years, it is only slightly inferior. Even their backgrounds and goals are very similar.Justinian had a Roman dream, while Emperor Wu of Liang had a Chinese dream.In order to rebuild Rome or revitalize China, they also relied on religion, but Emperor Wu of Liang worshiped Buddha, and Justinian believed in God.His ideal is a country (Roman Empire), a law code (Civil Law Encyclopedia), and a church (Christian Church).

Justinian was the Liang Wudi of the Romans. Of course, they all know that religion cannot replace everything (an Islamic country that combines politics and religion is something to come, please refer to the fourteenth volume of this History of China).Therefore, Justinian wanted to compile the legal code "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ", and Emperor Wu of Liang made rituals and music while Daxing Buddhism. That's right, one talks about the rule of law and the other talks about the rule of law. The rule of law and the rule of law are the major differences between traditional China and the Western world, and the successes and failures are hard to describe.What I want to say is that the Roman dream realized by Justinian was only a flash in the pan, and Emperor Wu of Liang suffered a complete defeat while he was alive.His ideal was actually realized in northern China, and it was another Wu emperor who succeeded by relying on the rule of etiquette——Northern Zhou Wudi Yu Wenyong (read Ruyong).

This is a sobering thing. As mentioned earlier, among the three kingdoms of Chen, Qi, and Zhou, Northern Zhou was originally the weakest, but they were the ones who won in the end.This cannot but be attributed to Emperor Wu of Zhou to a certain extent.After all, the north that was divided again was reunified because of him, and the foundation of the new empire was actually laid by him during his lifetime.His misfortune is that his ambition was not fulfilled and he died young, but dominating the world is his lifelong pursuit. Of course, Yu Wentai, the founder of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, respected Zhou's philosophy of governing the country, and his Confucian ethics such as benevolence and righteousness, filial piety, loyalty, comity, incorruptibility, and thrift were also fully inherited.In other words, the idea of ​​ruling the world with rites was well realized by Emperor Wu of Zhou.In this sense, Emperor Wu of Zhou deserved to be Yu Wentai's successor, while Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty was just the executor of the political will.

What they realized was also the dream of Emperor Wu of Liang. So, why did Emperor Liang Wu fail?Why did Emperor Wu of Zhou succeed? Grasping the fundamentals and finding the right path. It is the human heart at all, and the human heart needs to be cohesive.In fact, the four hundred years of turmoil manifested itself not only in the division of the country, but also in the disintegration of the hearts of the people.There are ethnic conflicts between the Hu people and the Han people, the class struggle between the common people and the gentry, and the differences between Buddhism and Taoism.If you want to pacify the world, you must first integrate them all.

It takes strength, and it takes banners. Power can only come from the ruler, and the people at that time did not have this ability.The flag cannot be a certain religion, because religion is not a Chinese tradition.To realize the Chinese dream of great unification, local Taoism is powerless, as Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei Dynasty has proved; foreign Buddhism is also useless, as Emperor Wu of Liang of the Southern Dynasty has also proved. The only feasible way is to integrate Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Emperor Wu of Liang did just that.It's just that his method is to describe Confucius and Laozi as disciples of Buddha, that is, "the three religions originate from Buddha".Emperor Wu of Zhou also wanted to be compatible with the three religions, but he arranged Confucianism first, Taoism second, and Buddhism last, although he once placed Taoism first.

It's a pity that none of the three families accepted it, and the conflict between secular landlords and monk landlords deepened day by day.More importantly, the need for a rich country and a strong army forced him to "seek soldiers among the monks and take land under the pagodas and temples", and he could no longer be gentle, courteous and frugal. Emperor Wu of Zhou was determined to cut off the controversy. In 574 A.D., three years before the Northern Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Northern Qi Dynasty, Emperor Wu of Zhou issued an edict to ban Buddhism and Taoism at the same time. He not only burned scriptures and idols, but also ordered monks and Taoist priests to return to secular life. This was the second great disaster in the history of Chinese Buddhism.

Unarmed monks certainly could not resist.It is said that when Emperor Wu of Zhou announced the decree of exterminating Buddhism in the annexed Northern Qi Dynasty, all the five hundred monks listening to the instructions in the main hall bowed their heads and wept.There is no distinction between high and low in that place. Emperor Wu of Zhou was unmoved.He looked directly at the monk, and replied unceremoniously: If the common people have the blessings of the world, I will not refuse the suffering of hell. This is really bold. There is no doubt that it is not advisable to use public power to interfere with religious beliefs, but it was of extraordinary significance at the time.We know that the Xianbei color of the Northern Zhou regime was originally very strong, and many generals of the Han nationality were even forced to use the Xianbei surname.Emperor Wu of Zhou took off the emperor's new clothes.His original words were: I am not a five-husband, why should I believe in Buddhism? now it's right.Now there is no Wuhu, only Zhonghua.Later history proved that ethnic integration should be based on Han, and Han and Hu should be mutually transformed; ideology should be based on Confucianism, and Buddhism and Taoism should be included.This is the most suitable choice for the national conditions at that time. Emperor Wu of Zhou was farsighted. The others are not wrong either.In fact, Emperor Taiwu's respect for Taoism, Emperor Wu of Liang's conversion to Buddhism, and Emperor Wu of Zhou's advocacy of Confucianism were all preparing for the long-term coexistence of the three religions in the future.These three Wu emperors also had an open mind and a long-term vision, so they ignored their own clan differences, and even did the opposite.Therefore, when Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, changed his surname back to Han and worshiped Buddhism again, a new civilization that was more open and compatible was ready to emerge. We know that it will be a great world civilization.

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Notes: Book two.