Chapter 15 Section 2 Ancient Chinese Dreams
The real moving part of a dream is not the dream itself, but the imagination and entrepreneurial passion inspired by the charm of the dream.Einstein once said that imagination is more important than knowledge.In China, which has survived the vicissitudes of the world for thousands of years, there is also a dream.Zheng Sixiao, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, once wrote "One Heart for the Chinese Dream, and the Poem "Under the Spring" through the ages".China has never lacked imagination, and Chinese people have always had the courage to pursue their dreams.Since ancient times, China has had such imaginative myths as Pangu opened up the world, Nuwa mended the sky, Jingwei reclaimed the sea, Chang'e flew to the moon, and Houyi shot the sun. Many myths have become reality today.
Day by day is the Chinese dream.The race between Kuafu and the sun is probably the most tragic game. "Shan Hai Jing Overseas Bei Jing" said: "Kua Fu chased away with the sun and entered the sun. Thirsty, want to drink, drink in the river and Wei, if the river and Wei are insufficient, drink Daze in the north. Before it arrives, Dao will die of thirst. Abandon His staff turned into Deng Lin." Tao Yuanming, a great poet in the Jin Dynasty, also wrote, "Kuafu gave birth to great ambitions, and he raced against the sun. They all went to Yuyuan, and it seemed that there was no victory. Yes? Send the remaining traces to Deng Lin, but the merit is behind you."Literary master Ba Jin praised Kuafu in "I miss the ancient Kuafu. He chased the shadow of the sun and died of thirst in Yanggu. In pursuit of light and heat, people would rather give up their lives. Life is lovely. But cold , A lonely life is not as good as a vigorous death."
The "Kunpeng" described in the opening chapter of Zhuangzi's "Xiaoyaoyou" is even more imaginative: "There is a fish in the north, and its name is Kun. The Kun is so big that I don't know how many thousands of miles it is. When it turns into a bird, its name is Kun. Peng. Peng's back, I don't know how many thousands of miles it is; it flies in anger, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky. It is a bird, and the sea will migrate to Nanming. Nanming is also Tianchi. "Qi Xie", Those who are ambitious. The words of "Xie" say: "Peng's migration in Nanming Ye, the water hits three thousand miles, and the one who swings upwards ninety thousand miles, and the one who goes to breathe in six months." "
"Flying Apsaras" is also a Chinese dream. In "Huainanzi·Lan Mingxun", there is a saying "Yi asked the Queen Mother of the West for the medicine of immortality, and Chang'e stole it to fly to the moon. I was so sad that I couldn't continue it".Chang'e stole the elixir and flew to the Moon Palace.The lunar exploration spacecraft "Chang'e 1" successfully explored the moon, making China's thousand-year dream of "Chang'e flying to the moon" come true.
The Chinese dream gradually transitioned from a myth to real economic life, and evolved into an ideal of pursuing a happy and stable life.The economic ideals of "Land", "Le Country" and "Le Suburb" are put forward in the chapter "Guo Feng·Wei Feng":
Big rats, big rats, don't eat my millet!Three-year-old girl, no one cares.The daughter of the passing away is suitable for the paradise.Promised land, Promised land, what I want.
Shuo Shu Shuo Shu, no food for me!Three-year-old girl, Morkende.The daughter who is about to die is suitable for the country of joy.Happy country and happy country, love me straight.
Big rats, big rats, I have no food for my seedlings!Three-year-old girl, I am willing to work hard.The daughter who is about to pass away is suitable for Lejiao.Lejiao Lejiao, whose permanent name is it?
It also expresses the yearning for a "moderately prosperous" and "greatly prosperous" life, which has had a long-term and profound impact on the Millennium Chinese Dream.Well-off, originated from the "Book of Songs Daya", "The people are tired, so they can be well-off, benefit this China, and benefit the four directions", which reflects the ideal of the Chinese people to live a life better than food and clothing, that is, "well-off life”, and also put forward the concept of “China” and attention to the “four directions”.Confucius further explained the "well-off" society in the "Book of Rites: Li Yun": "Nowadays, the Dao is hidden, and the world is home. Everyone kisses his relatives, and each son is his son. Goods and strength are his own. The adults in the world think of propriety. , the walls of the city are considered solid. Propriety and righteousness are regarded as the discipline, the ruler and ministers are upright, the father and son are respected, the brothers are harmonious, and the husband and wife are harmonious. The system is established, the fields are established, the virtuous and brave know, and the merit is regarded as one's own. , and soldiers arise from this. Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, Cheng Wang, and Zhou Gong are selected from this. Among the six gentlemen, there is no one who is not serious about etiquette. With their righteousness, to test their trust, If there is a fault, Xingren makes concessions and shows the people that there is permanence. If there are people who do not follow this, those who are in power will go, and everyone will think it is a disaster. It is called a well-off."
Compared with the millennium ideal of "moderately prosperous society", "greatly prosperous society" is also China's millennium dream, which can be said to be a more prosperous and beautiful society than moderately prosperous society. "Dakang" comes from the chapter "The Book of Songs Tang Feng", "I am not happy today, and the sun and the moon will get rid of it. There is no such thing as great health, and I think about my home. I am happy and happy, and I am a good scholar Qu Qu."Tang Juan 15's "Yan She Ge Ci" wrote, "There is nothing wrong with the government and the public, and the world is well-off. The sages have done their work, and the rites are heavy. All nations hold jade, and thousands of officials offer cups. Nanshan is eternal, and the earth will last forever." "Great society" is a vivid description of the flourishing Tang Dynasty.Li Daoyuan also has a poem in "Shui Jing Zhu", "Dakang Huaxia, Suijing Liwu", which once again closely links "Dakang society" with "Huaxia".Confucius put forward the ideal of "Datong" which is higher than "Dakang" in "Book of Rites·Liyun": "The journey of the great way also makes the world a public. Choose the virtuous and capable, talk about trust and repair harmony. Therefore, people do not only kiss their relatives, Don’t be the only son. Let the old have an end, the strong can be used, the young can have strengths, the widowed, lonely, and sick can all be supported. Men have a share, and women have a home. Goods and evils are discarded on the ground, and there is no need to hide them. ; Power and evil do not come from the body, and there is no need to do it for yourself. It is because the conspiracy is not prosperous, and the thief does not steal, so the outsider is not closed. This is called Datong.” Datong society has also become China’s millennium ideal.
Mencius had a dream 3,000 years ago that "if the tiller helps the farmer and does not pay taxes, all the farmers in the world will be happy and willing to cultivate in their fields". In 2003, China completely exempted the agricultural tax, and also paid back to the farmers, realizing Mencius' dream.
In the first volume of "Historical Records", "The First Record of the Five Emperors", Sima Qian described the "Chinese Dream" of "the common people are bright, a hundred and ten thousand nations" in the Yellow Emperor's era.
At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang, a tragic reformer in China, expressed the "Chinese dream" at that time, that is, "a long-cherished dream, a plentiful harvest of grains, and a home for the common people".In the long-term turmoil of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Tao Yuanming recorded a Chinese dream of a "paradise" in his book, "The land is flat and the houses are like houses. There are fertile fields, beautiful ponds, mulberry and bamboo. The traffic on the rice paddies, chickens and dogs hear each other. Among them, there are various kinds of work, and the clothes of men and women are like outsiders; they have yellow hair and hair, and they are happy and happy."
The "Zhenguan Reign" and "Kaiyuan Prosperity" appeared one after another in the Tang Dynasty. People's lives were stable, the country was prosperous, and the economy was unprecedentedly prosperous. The Chinese dream resounded in every corner of the world at that time. The "Old Tang Book" still sees the grand occasion at that time, "Suppressing the Qing Temple, the majestic and prosperous Tang Dynasty. Matching the sky, standing up to the pole, tired of the holy and heavy light."
On June 15th in the third year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He led the largest fleet in the world at that time, "there were more than 27,800 soldiers, and they paid more gold coins. To build a large ship, repair forty-four zhang, wide ten "Eight Zhang Zhe Sixty-two", starting from Taicang, Jiangsu Province, began seven voyages to the West from 1405 to 1433 AD.Zheng He established his strongholds in Southeast Asia, the west coast of India, and the Arab world, and reached the east coast of Africa many times. "History of the Ming Dynasty" stated that "He Jingshi had three dynasties, and he served seven envoys successively, covering Champa, Java, Chenla, Old Port, Siam, Guri, Manlajia, Boni, Sumatra, Alu, Kezhi, Da Gelan, Little Gelan, Western Soli, Soli, Gayile, Abbabadan, Nanwuli, Ganbali, Mount Ceylon, Namboli, Pahang, Jilandan, Horumos, Pira , Liushan, Suna, Mugudushu, Malin, Lasa, Zufa'er, Shaliwanni, Zhubu, Banggela, Tianfang, Lifa, that orphan, and more than thirty countries."In 2007, "Business Weekly" of the United States selected "The 30 Greatest Entrepreneurs in History", and Zheng He was elected for "the most adventurous spirit, inspiring future generations of entrepreneurs to take risks".
Unfortunately, the world Zheng He discovered was "flat" and not much different from China. "History of the Ming Dynasty" records, "At the beginning, the Ming ancestor ordered, and the boards were not allowed to enter the sea." In 1433, after Zheng He returned from his last voyage, China began a long-term closed policy, and the sea ban became a long-term national policy.It should be said that the reasons for the implementation of the sea ban in the Ming Dynasty were very complicated, and there were at least three possible reasons: one was the influence of Ming Taizu's "ancestral system"; Continue to support sailing.
As a result, China's imagination began to decline on the eve of the outbreak of the industrial revolution, that is, when it should least decline.Matteo Ricci brought many supplies from the West, such as the image of the Virgin Mary, maps, astrolabe and prisms, among which was Euclid's "Elements of Geometry".The world map "The Complete Map of All Nations" produced by Matteo Ricci is the first world map in Chinese history. "History of the Ming Dynasty" records, "Italy, located in the Atlantic Ocean, has not been connected to China since ancient times. In the Wanli period, Matteo Ricci, a native of his country, went to the capital and wrote "The Complete Map of All Nations", saying that there are five continents in the world. The first is Asia, and Zhongfan There are more than a hundred countries, and China is one of them. The second is Europe, with more than 70 countries in China, and Italy is the first. The third is Levi Asia, which is also more than a hundred countries. The fourth is America. , the land is larger, connected by the border and soil, and divided into two continents, the north and the south. In the end, Demowaranijia continent is the fifth. And the land in the territory is exhausted. It is impossible to test it, but the people of the country are full of the middle land, then Its land is inherent, and it cannot be falsely accused.”The Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty actually thought: "The "Huidian" only has the Western Suoli and no Atlantic Ocean, and its authenticity is unknown."The Chinese got the "Complete Map of All Nations" at that time, but they didn't have a Chinese dream of traveling to other countries, and they still closed their doors. In 1794, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty said that "the heavenly dynasty is rich in products and has everything", showing complacency and conservatism, and has no curiosity to explore the upcoming "changes unseen in three thousand years" in the world.
The late Ming and Qing dynasties lacked both imagination and adventurous spirit. Even Hegel felt sorry for China. He said: "After Zheng He walked into the sea, although there were various opportunities for China to take the lead, it is a pity that the Chinese took the lead. Turn around and turn your back to the sea.” Angus Maddison also wrote: “During 1405-1433, China’s advanced navigation technology was reflected in the feat of Zheng He’s ‘seven voyages to the West’ in the Ming Dynasty. Much bigger, stronger and more comfortable Chinese ships due to advanced waterproofing equipment, they can even sail to Africa. However, since then, China has withdrawn from the world economic stage to a corner of East Asia, sailing to the ocean Technology is also fading."
Notes:
Notes: