Chapter 8 Sinicization——Emperor Xiaowen's choice and price

In January of the twenty-third year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 499), Tuoba Hong, Emperor Xiaowen, suspended the southern expedition and returned to the capital Luoyang. Guards of honor marched through the busy city, and drums and music blared.The people stopped what they were doing and knelt by the side of the road to greet their sovereign. On the way back to the teacher, Tuoba Hong had a serious illness, and he was still very weak, but he still pulled himself together and inspected his people with a smile through the tulle in the imperial chariot.Suddenly, his brows slowly wrinkled, and his face became more and more serious.When he entered the palace, his face was already like a cold bluestone.

"Inherit as City King!" Before he could sit still, he ordered immediately. "Ethics and ethics are the foundation of running a country. Since I left Beijing, have the old customs of the capital changed?" He stared fiercely at Ren Chengwang, who was lying on the ground—this man who was appointed by him to stay in charge of the capital before the expedition, was stable and capable. Clan leader. "Your Majesty's enlightenment is improving day by day." Upon hearing the question, King Ren Cheng replied cautiously and in a low voice with fear in his heart. "Really?" Tuoba Hong sneered, the veins on his forehead were faintly bulging, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out a sentence:

"When I went back to the city just now, I saw many women on the street wearing Xianbei clothes with pinched collars and small sleeves—is this the Rixin you are referring to?" The storm finally broke out, and Tuoba Hong mercilessly scolded all the remaining officials.In the end, he told the official historian: "Remember what happened today, so that future generations will remember it forever!" The civil and military officials did not dare to say a word, but took off their hats and kowtowed desperately.They fully understand the Lord's thunder and wrath: what the Lord said about changing the old customs is actually Sinicization—the stubborn Lord has always regarded thorough Sinicization as the most important career in his life, and whoever dares to stop it will be punished most mercilessly.Didn't his own son, the former prince Xun, die three years ago because he disobeyed his father's sinicization policy?It's a pity he's only fifteen years old.

Seeing that within a few days of my departure, the common people went back to wearing the Hu clothes that were repeatedly banned. As a left-behind official whose primary task is to educate, it should be thankful that he only received a scolding. Not only is it forbidden to wear Xianbei clothes called "Hufu", but it is also forbidden to speak Xianbei dialect, and even changed the surname that has been passed down from ancestors for countless generations to Han surname-Emperor Xiaowen took the lead in changing his surname "Tuoba" was changed to "Yuan".This is far from enough. He also ordered his subjects to read Han books, learn etiquette, and recite Confucian classics. The most unbelievable thing is that he actually changed the most sacred sacrificial ceremony and used the Han style to build round mounds. Sacrifice to the sky, dig square ponds to sacrifice to the land, abandon the gods of the clan and sacrifice to the God of Haotian.

Emperor Xiaowen was extremely resolute, he completely ignored the opposition of many people; he was even more powerful, according to his own plan, almost alone, step by step to make Xianbei, a rebellious man from the far north and vast grassland, The nation leads to the long-standing Chinese civilization track. At that time, few people could understand Tuobahong—oh, he should be respected, and he was called "Yuanhong" according to his wishes—even later generations lamented: "The actions are strange, rare in Chinese and foreign history" (Huang Renyu). But later almost everyone believed that Yuan Hong had chosen an advanced path—his vision was much farther than those officials who refused to replace Hu Fu.

It is no exaggeration to say that our country is vast and rich in resources.If you want to rule this vast land for a long time, you must have a set of ideas for classifying and maintaining order.This is the theoretical basis for each dynasty to exercise power. Otherwise, only relying on power, no invincible army can prevent the world from falling apart—— The powerful Huns have conquered the Western Regions by force for so many years, but the Western Regions have never formed a huge unified country. When unable to create a more reasonable and advanced theory, using the inherent and more advanced ideological system as the basis of policy is a helpless and wise choice for foreign races facing Xintiandi—this is the essence of Yuanhong’s Sinicization.Confucianism, with its broad, solid and complete system, is far superior to the theories of hundreds of schools. It has been the first choice of every hero since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.Since then, the sinicization of foreign nationalities after they took control of the Central Plains has almost become synonymous with Confucianization.The relatively long-term and successful rule of the Liao, Jin, and Qing dynasties, which went to the countryside to do Confucianization, and the short-lived regime of the Yuan Dynasty, which stubbornly resisted Sinicization, are examples of both positive and negative effects of Sinicization.

In the long feudal era of our country, the struggle between the farming people and the nomadic people inevitably resulted in the assimilation of the nomadic people by the farming people based on Confucianism. This has been repeatedly explained by the predecessors. When the court and the people of the Northern Wei Dynasty used rich mutton buttermilk to celebrate the glorious achievements of unifying the northern land and half of the world in the rapid rhythm of the jiegu and pipa, Yuan Hong sat alone in the deep palace, frowning slightly, and took a sip of the cup in his hand. Southern literati and bureaucrats are indispensable for a day, the bitter liquid called "tea", and at the same time respectfully open the Confucian classics that the southerners regard as gods.He wandered jerkyly between rows of square characters, eagerly looking for the next step of enlightenment.

Yuan Hong's gaze has already crossed the rolling Yangtze River and projected to the misty and rainy southern land. He was afraid that his dynasty, like the countries established by the Huns and other nomads, would only be like a gust of wind blowing across the vast north, raising yellow sand in the sky and then disappearing. He hoped day and night that one day, the big banner with the word "Wei" could fly on every inch of land under the sun and moon. His Sinicization, which defies all opinions, is just preparing for that day. However, after Yuan Hong died of illness at the age of thirty-three, the Northern Wei Dynasty tragically disintegrated amid internal and external difficulties in the past thirty years.The clan was almost wiped out, and the people became slaves to others...

The Northern Wei Dynasty, which had not been sinicized for a long time, had no choice but to mark a bloody full stop in history. Is it corruption? Indeed, the Northern Wei Dynasty was becoming extravagant day by day.Some people even use sterling silver for mangers; their tents have long been lost somewhere; Quchi, there is a garden" ("Luoyang Jialanji"), which made the well-informed nobles of the Southern Dynasty dumbfounded; the representative of the royal family, Wang Yuanchen of Hejian, had a big regret: he wished to be with Shi Chong, the richest man in the Jin Dynasty. Who is richer than others.

Like any dynasty, corruption was of course an important reason for the fall of the Northern Wei Dynasty. However, does Yuanhong's Sinicization have any responsibility? Not to mention that Sinicization played a role in fueling the degeneration of the unworthy princes and grandchildren of the Northern Wei Dynasty-the enjoyment of the Han family really far exceeded that of the once simple northern nomads.In fact, every ethnic group that forcibly invaded the world of the Han family had the fear and shame of Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden.Until now, China's food culture is still the best in the world, and Chinese restaurants are spread all over the world.

What role did the Confucian theory that Yuan Hong regarded as the sacred language of Lunyin play in it? "Benevolence" is the core of Confucianism.A peaceful and fraternal Datong world is the ultimate ideal of Confucianism.They have a beautiful dream from generation to generation: to influence all people with the kindness of a gentleman, just like a gust of wind blowing gently, combing the messy weeds neatly, so that the world can be governed without fighting Be well-organized ("If you are in charge of politics, how can you use killing? If you want to be good, the people are good. The virtue of a gentleman is the virtue of a villain, and the grass is a virtue of a villain. The wind on the grass must die").Once one's own country is cured, the Quartet will naturally become naturalized ("When Gou is a king, all the people in the four seas will raise their heads and hope to be the king" "Mencius"). Although they have to hang people and punish crimes when necessary, Confucianism hates war the most.Wei Linggong once asked Confucius about military knowledge, and Confucius insisted that he had never learned anything about military affairs.So the host and guest were unhappy, and left Weiguo the next day. The ultimate goal of the masters of Confucianism who have spent their entire lives pursuing: To achieve neutrality is to hope that the common people and the world can achieve a beautiful state of harmony and stability. However, harmony is often achieved not by strengthening the weak but by weakening the strong. "Too much is too late", "The mean", "Quality wins the text and the wild", "Being brave and poor, chaotic", "Winning the disabled to kill"... Confucian sages took the trouble to teach and remind again and again on various occasions The need for balance and restraint warns again and again of the dangers of unchecked power—and the more powerful it is, the more terrifying it is. This kind of concept is subtly reflected in our national quintessence of Chinese medicine: they regard excess energy or excessive physical function as a disease, and use an ominous word to describe it: "hyperactivity".If you want to be healthy, you must find a way to bring it down to normal and harmonious by using methods such as "suppression", "leveling" and "nourishing". Although this set of theories seems very far-fetched, its subtle power is enormous.No matter how barbarous a nation you were, as long as you start to use Confucianism as the theoretical basis of your rule, no matter whether you are sincere or borrowed, as time goes by, you will gradually be influenced by it unconsciously. The Confucianism of benevolence, righteousness and moderation is like a piece of soft and tough sandpaper, which blunts your sharp thorns, smoothes your sharp edges, and smoothes your roughness gently, gently, and slowly. Perhaps one morning when one wakes up, what appears in the mirror is no longer the burly man with bulging muscles and bearded face, but a gentle and clean scholar with E Guanbo's big sleeves fluttering, low eyebrows and pleasing to the eye. Fangma Nanshan forged swords into plows, and in the dream of peace from generation to generation, warriors took off their armor one after another.The boldness of bowing and shooting eagles back then has become a game between banquets: "A gentleman has nothing to fight, and he must shoot! He bows to rise up, and drinks down, and his fight is also a gentleman ()".Look, they are so gentle even when they fight. Confucius certainly did not expect that, with such a development, after more than two thousand years, gentlemen who are complacent about being in a state of etiquette will start comical battles over such trivial so-called etiquettes as resigning from the seat and entering the door later.But even though it is so pedantic and ridiculous, the humility behind the absurdity does make people see the possibility of realizing the ultimate peaceful "Great Harmony World".I respect Confucius and other masters who created this set of thoughts. They are indeed saints—the direction they point to is the road of peace that human beings relentlessly pursue. They represent civilization and hope. Although their goal is high in the sky. In this strong atmosphere of Confucianism, the Northern Wei Dynasty turned over from the horseback, as if intoxicated by the smoke, slowly faded from the bottom of the heart, slowly faded the wildness, slowly wore away the unruliness, and slowly bred gentleness. A pair of big hairy hands with bows and swords gradually hang down, chapped and wide palms gradually shed calluses, gradually become white, tender and smooth, and the little finger unknowingly stirs up... The Northern Wei Army that made the enemy fearful in the past, the invincible hero soaring in the north Eagle, under the influence of Confucianism, has become gentle and lazy, with soft bones and tendons. Inevitably, of course, becoming weak both physically and mentally! And behind, just like the Northern Wei Dynasty when the frontiers were opened up, the soft and Turkic, blood-red pupils stared at this land that has become tender and tender.They don't talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality, they just sharpen their knives and arrows again and again, practicing martial arts day and night in the desert and grassland.The corner of his mouth that had just drank the horse's blood showed a sneer and cruel sneer at the majestic palace of the Northern Wei Dynasty. It’s not even their turn to attack: Even within the Northern Wei Dynasty, those military generals who suffered cold reception during Sinicization and gritted their teeth when they saw square characters have long been impatient. . Even if they are equally strong, agile, and well-trained, if any one of the two warring parties has an understanding of life, culture, and destiny, and often thinks about it, he will definitely lose to the enemy who concentrates all his energy on it. Adversaries with weapons and targets— His movements will be slowed and heavy by his thoughts, and his blades will be free and dull by it. For a long period of time in the past, Confucianism can be said to be the program for creating a peaceful and prosperous world when the world is one family, and it is the maintenance of the long-term stability of the dynasty after the world is flattened. But in the troubled times where wars raged, in the fierce fights and scrambles, it was no different from a powerful anesthetic. Yuan Hong's biggest mistake was that he looked too far: he used Han Confucianism to weaken his originally strong body when the world was uncertain and when he needed force most—his Sinicization was too early and too hasty . Just like a rapidly growing lobster, if it needs to change its shell, it must first defeat the enemies around it, and then clear the surrounding area.Otherwise, for the sake of the new shell that is more stretched, more ample, and can be further expanded, the old shell will be shed early on the dangerous battlefield, revealing the attractive tender meat that has no resistance, and the result will definitely become an opponent still wearing the hard old shell A delicious meal. What's more, Yuan Hong's people don't understand their master's good intentions too much, they really can't keep up with Yuan Hong's thinking and pace.Therefore, this dangerous shell-changing process had to be extremely long and arduous, and the result had to be even uglier and even deformed. But someone has to take this first step, this first sacrifice. After Yuan Hong, Sinicization continued overtly and secretly.More and more nationalities are joining, until basically all the fighters on the battlefield are led to the brilliant Chinese civilization, and when everyone's wildness gradually weakens and disappears together, the role of Confucianism will gradually become prominent... What is needed most in troubled times is force, and this truth was understood very early on. During the Warring States Period, King Zhao Wuling was the most successful representative. He took the opposite path to Yuan Hong: under the pressure of the whole country's opposition, he ordered his subjects to take off the tops and bottoms that symbolize Chinese civilization, put on short sleeves and short clothes, tighten their belts, get off the chariot, and take their clothes. Bows and arrows stepped on leather boots and stepped on steeds, and trained a strong cavalry with Hufu, which was considered ridiculous by everyone at the time.The result is that the fighting power of the little Zhao country has since become one of the best among all the countries.If it hadn't been for the fatuous king who used Zhao Kuo, who could only talk about wars on paper, and caused Changping's disastrous defeat, Qin's unification process would have to be greatly prolonged. Emperor Xiaowen and King Zhao Wuling, these two posthumous titles are really appropriate: one article and one military, the two words gently cover the lifelong pursuit of the two heroes. In the West, the importance of civilization and force in governance is also a major proposition that generations of philosophers have pondered hard. As early as ancient Greece, Sparta and Athens had tried it for many years. Sparta took the path of martial arts. Children had to enter the barracks at the age of seven, bald and barefoot, clothed with straw mats, and subjected to strict military training.They reject literature and art very much, they only require people to be able to read and write, and they hate rhetoric.In Athens, however, literary philosophy was prevalent, and everyone spoke gorgeously and talked eloquently. There were a large number of poets and philosophers, and a brilliant civilization was created. Wen lost to Wu when their orbits inevitably collided: the Peloponnesian War was fought for decades, culminating in the surrender of Athens in 404 BC. But neither Pianwen nor Pianwu is the final winner. Some people say that they are both losers: Also only a few decades later, a rapidly rising army, Macedonia, conquered all of Greece. Good fortune is always ruthless, and it always creates batches of new terrifying forces in the wild. All the wisdom of those representatives of the new power is in blood and fire, directly and simply.They use animal skins to wrap their muscles like copper blocks, and around their waists are the bloody heads of the defeated. They shout and roar from the desolate distance, brandishing cold and sharp knives, to the painstaking construction of countless generations of forerunners. The civilized world that has risen is coming galloping. Perhaps, after conquering the advanced but weak civilization, they will also be assimilated by this civilization, but the blood is not dry, and farther away, a blare screams and comes through the air, and there is a thrilling sound of horseshoes... Civilization is like delicate and bright little flowers blooming with difficulty and tenacity on a battlefield full of corpses, attracting groups of fierce warriors to compete for it, and at the same time attracting them to dismount... The past is more than a thousand years old. As the world progresses to the computer age, perhaps, as some say, it has seen the hope of a real global peace.Others say that even modern wars are nothing more than a contest between the fingers of a few high-level minds sitting at a computer.It seems that close combat, swords and swords are about to leave us forever. It seems that from now on, we can ignore the threat from behind and from backwardness, and we can pursue the road of peace, stability and prosperity in advanced civilization like Emperor Xiaowen did. The catastrophe that ravaged the entire planet in the last century reminds us that, compared with the evolution from apes to humans after millions of years, some people's barbaric, greedy, and cruel natures have not existed in the recorded few centuries. During the millennia of history, the traces of evolution are almost negligible.What's more, in just sixty or seventy years, the long river of history is just a flick of a finger. The development of science may make physical strength meaningless, but the bloodthirsty nature in their hearts still tortures their seemingly well-dressed bodies day and night. When the moon is full, no matter when and where you are, as long as you are a wolf, you can't stop howling hoarsely. Civilization is still under constant threat. As we strive to create a better and nobler future, we must never forget the evil forces of darkness: they are always at the ready, watching for opportunities in the civilized world. Therefore, we, who have been soaked in Confucianism for thousands of years and are polite and docile, and who use sleek Tai Chi to represent the spirit of martial arts, let alone be soft and intoxicated in civilization. Mental weakness is worse than physical weakness. After 9.11, Zhou Huajian wrote a song for this contemporary human tragedy, "Forget Worry Grass", which begins: "Let us who are weak know how to be cruel, and face every coldness in life ruthlessly." In order to eliminate cruelty, we must not forget cruelty; in order to resist barbarism, we have to review barbarism. In the heart of justice, we have to leave a vast pasture to graze brave war horses; we have to leave a raging furnace to forge sharp knives and guns. On the way to peace, in the process of expanding the circle of civilization, we must often look back and inspect the dark corners where the light of civilization cannot shine—— to protect civilization.