Chapter 18 4. Cultural Grand Strategy

Marx said: "Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please, not under the conditions they themselves choose, but under the conditions directly encountered, given and inherited from the past. .. the tradition of all dead ancestors haunts the minds of the living like succubi. Precisely in this age of revolutionary crisis, when people seem to be busy only transforming themselves and the things around them and creating things that have never been heard before. Tremblingly, they call upon the dead to their aid, borrowing their names, battle-cries, and clothing, in order to enact new scenes of world history in this revered attire, and in this borrowed language."( The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte)

From Qin Shihuang to Han Wudi, that is, when the empire replaced the state, it was the "era of revolutionary crisis" that Marx said.At this time, it is impossible for the leaders of the empire not to "invite out the dead", and it is impossible not to "borrow their names, battle slogans and clothes". The question is only who to invite and what to borrow.This is the inventory.There are mainly three ways of governing the country left over from the pre-imperial era, namely the "rule of virtue" advocated by Confucianism, the "rule of law" advocated by Legalism, and the "governance by inaction" advocated by Taoism.These three "names, battle cry and clothes" were all tried and tested in the early days of the empire.The Qin Empire tried the second type (Legalist rule of law), and the early Han Dynasty tried the third type (government by doing nothing).The former proved to be a dead end, while the latter was only a stopgap measure.The only thing that can be used, effective and long-lasting, is "rule of virtue", that is, "rule of ethics".This is the view of Confucianism, and only Confucianism holds this view.Therefore, governing the country with ethics is also "ruling the country with Confucianism".In other words, Confucianism governs the country.

In fact, despite the replacement of dynasties, the imperial system can still be maintained for more than 2,000 years. An important reason is that the rulers of all dynasties have insisted on Confucianism as the official ideology, even the Jin Dynasty is no exception. .On the contrary, it was precisely because the people rejected Confucianism and the emperor advocated Buddhism that the turmoil in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties lasted for 369 years.Undoubtedly, the rulers of all dynasties will transform or even tamper with Confucianism according to their own needs, and will take what they need out of context, so that starting from Dong Zhongshu, Confucianism is no longer what it was in the Confucius era, but they will not let go of this banner. Just lift it higher.Even the Manchus from the north are like this.

There are many reasons for this. First of all, a unified and centralized empire requires a unified ideology, an imperially appointed official ideology.This is not only to prevent social turmoil caused by ideological confusion, but also for the low cost and high benefit of management.The empire realized from the failure of the Qin Dynasty that military dictatorship and cultural dictatorship are only suitable for small-scale states (such as the Qin Kingdom) that have been in a state of war for a long time; and to manage such a vast and populous empire today, In order to achieve long-term peace and stability, we need not only the deterrence of severe punishments and severe laws, but also cultural empathy and soft moral admonitions.Moreover, the latter should be a routine method, while the former can only be used for extraordinary times, extraordinary things, and extraordinary people.

This is also a successful experience that can be used for reference, that is, the experience of Zhou people.Zhou, as a nation with relatively backward culture, technology, and productivity, was able to overthrow the Yin Shang Dynasty, which may have monopolized bronze smelting technology and possessed a large amount of materials, wealth, weapons, and chariots. Two means.The Yin and Shang dynasty lost their hearts because of excessive expropriation and excessive torture; the Zhou people did the opposite, and treated their subjects and vassal states, including other tribal countries that were originally vassals of the Yin and Shang, with great softness. As a result, " There are two thirds of the world", and seized the national power.King Wu of Zhou said that he "has the world" because of his "virtue", which is not unfounded.

This practice of the Zhou people has even become a political tradition. Even when dealing with neighboring minority countries, it is first of all to "educate with culture", "conquer people with virtue", and "subdue people's soldiers without fighting".Of course, for those "recalcitrant" who are really unwilling to surrender, they still have to take action when it is time to do so.Liu Xiang's "Shuo Yuan Zhi Wu Pian" said: "The prosperity of all martial arts is due to dissatisfaction. If the culture is not changed, then punishment will be added." The so-called "culture" means "civilized education".In other words, for those "barbarians", we must first use "civilization" to "educate" (culture).If you don't change after repeated admonitions (the culture doesn't change), then you will be killed (and then punished).In short, no matter whether you are dealing with your subjects or foreign countries, you must use both kindness and power, both soft and hard, and you cannot "punish without teaching".Cultural connotation and moral admonitions come first, or should be done first, because it costs the least.

This is actually a Confucian view.Confucianism is so consistent with imperial thinking that there is no reason why it should not become an imperial ideology.The problem is that it is not only Confucianism that fits the imperial thinking, but also Legalism.In fact, the rule of the empire also used both Confucianism and law, miscellaneous use of kings and tyrants, internal law and external Confucianism; or as Ji An criticized Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it was "more desires inside and benevolence and righteousness outside" ("Historical Records·Ji Zheng Biography").So, why can't the doctrine of Legalism unify people's thinking, but must respect Confucianism?This is to find out why the empire has a unified thought, and what kind of doctrine it needs.

Generally speaking, an empire is composed of three components.High and high is the emperor who ruled the world, acted arbitrarily, and was said to be lonely and widowed.Those who prostrate under his authority are grassroots people who only offer sacrifices and have no rights.The emperor was alone in the sea, and tens of thousands of grassroots people were scattered in the sand.Between the two is a huge bureaucratic group.These three types of people all have their own needs for national ideology: the emperor who is entrusted with heaven needs a high-sounding theory for his rule, and the bureaucrats who govern the country in Anbang need a large-scale doctrine for their governance Legislative, submissive grassroots people need a reasonable argument to balance their psychology so that they can accept the rule and slavery of the empire with peace of mind.This kind of domination and slavery is not their free choice, but they have to accept it if they don't want to.But to say this is at least a relief.It can be said that the king, his officials, and the people all have a "theoretical requirement."

However, no matter whether it is a theory, a doctrine, or a way of saying it, it should come from the same family, so that it can be justified.Confucianism advocates "respecting the king and fighting barbarians", which meets the first need; advocates "loyalty to the emperor and love the people", which meets the second need; advocates "respect and order", which meets the third need.Although Legalism also advocated the dictatorship of the monarch, it had no binding and persuasive force on officials and common people; Taoism advocated returning to primitive society and not ruling.None of this meets the requirements.So history chose Confucianism.

Once the policy of exclusively respecting Confucianism was established, the empire used its powerful ideological persuasion function to implement Confucianism.In fact, this is also the meaning of Confucianism governing the country.Because Confucianism's political proposition is to replace the legal system with ritual and music, and to replace the criminal law with education.According to "The Analects of Confucius Yanghuo", Confucius "heard the sound of string songs" in Wucheng, where Ziyou (Yan Yan) was in power, and once said with a smile, "How to cut (kill) chickens with a bull's knife", which means to govern a small place like Wucheng , where is the need for etiquette?Ziyou, however, replied that when a student listens to the teacher, a gentleman learns the Way and becomes benevolent, while a villain learns the Way and becomes obedient.Confucius immediately stood in awe, admitting that what Yan Yan said was the right way, but what he said was just a joke.The importance of etiquette can be seen from this.

The content of etiquette is nothing more than persuading farming and mulberry, emphasizing farming and reading, and admiring filial piety.Because "he is also a filial piety, but those who like to offend the superiors are rare; those who are not easy to offend the superiors, but like to cause chaos, have not been heard of" ("The Analects of Confucius Xueer").That is to say, a person who honestly does farming at home, studies diligently at home, and has always been filial and friendly will not make trouble.This requires the popularization of moral education.In fact, this kind of education was also nationwide, and it continued until the Ming and Qing dynasties.Every year in the first month and October of the Ming Dynasty, "Xiangyin" (this is also a semi-official and semi-civilian political activity handed down from the Western Zhou Dynasty) was held in localities, and all households had to participate.Before drinking, there are procedures such as singing, speeches, announcing court decrees, praise and criticism, which is actually a moral education, political study and etiquette drill.The Qing Dynasty promulgated in 1670 the sixteen moral admonitions drafted by Emperor Kangxi himself, which was later called the "Sacred Ancestors and Sages", and stipulated that every half a month, local officials and local gentry must preach to the public Once, as the life principles and self-cultivation program of all subjects.During these activities, scholars, farmers, businessmen must respectfully listen to the hadith, observe the Sacred Heart, and gain moral strength from it.Those who have different intentions and bad deeds should reflect on themselves, change their minds, and start a new life, so as to be able to share the grace of God with those good people. In addition to organizing this kind of routine learning, another effective method is to set a model.Confucius is taken for granted as the "great master and the most holy teacher" and a model for all scholars.Scholars must kneel when they see the tablet of Confucius, and stand up when mentioning Confucius' name.Later, a hooligan called himself a gentleman based on this, because he happened to achieve three things: he never tires of fine food, never tires of fine meat, and drinks endlessly. Alas, jokes such as these did not prevent the Empire from building up its typical enthusiasm.After Confucius was reappointed for two thousand years until he enjoyed the treatment of a king, Guan Yu, Liu Bei's favorite general, was canonized as a "Wu Shengren" during the Kangxi period.The candidate at that time was Yue Fei from the Southern Song Dynasty, but because Yue Fei had fought against the Jin people, the ancestors of the Qing people, he had to reluctantly give up.In fact, whether it is Yue Fei or Guan Yu, the reason why they are favored by the emperor is nothing more than their loyalty.However, the folks have another feeling for Guan Yu, that is, they admire him for their great loyalty.According to the records of Chen Shou ((Three Kingdoms·Guan Yu Biography), the righteousness of this man is so important that even Cao Cao will be moved, not to mention all living beings? Naturally regarded as a model. Loyalty is what the ruler likes. Righteousness is what the common people like The government respects loyalty and the folks respect righteousness, so Guan Yu is naturally worshiped, and it is not surprising that the temple of Guandi is full of incense. This also shows how the strategy of governing the country with ethics was once deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. This is actually a grand cultural strategy, that is, to maintain domination through the power of culture.The better ones only want long-term peace and stability; the worse ones still want to implement autocracy.But whether it is Changzhi or autocracy, the rulers of the empire will never forget the butcher knife hidden in the imperial robe.Therefore, ruling with culture will inevitably develop into "dictatorship with culture";Qianlong's so-called "achievements" in culture are mainly three: one is the compilation of "Siku Quanshu", taking the opportunity to kill culture indiscriminately and poison the soul; "Poet"; the third is Daxing "literary prison" to create human tragedy.Literary inquisition has actually existed for a long time.According to the law of the Han Dynasty, "officials and people write letters, and the characters are ridiculous" (Liu Xie's "Wen Xin Diao Long Practicing Characters").A Lang Zhongling named Shi Jian was scared out of his wits just because the word "horse (horse)" was written a little less.However, the Daxing unjust prison still counts the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Among them, Zhu Yuanzhang should be the first to be the first to discuss fault-finding; Emperor Qianlong should be the first to be the first to discuss economies of scale.Zhu Yuanzhang is characterized by nervousness.Even if it is an article that praises meritorious deeds, as long as the words "ze", "sheng" and "special" appear, they will be shot to death.Because "Ze" means that he was a "thief", "Sheng" means that he was a monk, and "Shu" means calling him a "bad Zhu".The characteristic of Emperor Qianlong was to kill a lot.Qianlong's literary inquisition, first, was long, forty years; second, there were many cases, one hundred and thirty cases; If it doesn't make a sound, he will ask the teacher for his crime.However, it is this master who created the literary prison, who has the cheek to say that "the association does not sin with language and writing", it is really shameless! Such crimes cannot go unpunished.After Qianlong, the Qing Empire began to decline until it was paralyzed by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and Western powers.Ming's retribution was even more dramatic.There is a folk legend that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen sent eunuchs to test characters outside the palace to ask about the fate of the country.The eunuch said the word "friend".Mr. Zizi said, no, the rebels have come out.The eunuch changed his words and said "yes" instead of "yes".Mr. Zizi said again, no good, half of Daming Jiangshan is gone.The eunuch changed his words again and said it was "You" from "Shen Monkey You Chicken".Mr. Zizi said, it's even worse, the Supreme Son of Heaven had his head and feet removed!This is of course a "novelist's word" and it cannot be taken seriously, but it also illustrates a truth: whoever slaughters the masses of the people with far-fetched words, the masses will use the same method to curse him!