Chapter 13 Section 5 The Spread of Confucian Thought among Ethnic Minorities

We know that Confucianism, especially its political ethics, is rational and advanced compared with various ethics in pre-capitalist society. Confucianism, with its unique dialectics of the mean, harmonizes the concept of loyalty and filial piety, making people combine loyalty with The unity of filial piety is conducive to the establishment of the country, the consolidation of the regime and the stability of the order.At the same time, it is also conducive to the consolidation of families and family organizations. Such blood units have the functions of organizing production, cooperating with each other, and helping each other in that era.Confucianism also unifies benevolence and propriety, giving play to the external binding force of propriety (including moral laws and customary laws), and at the same time vigorously improving people's moral consciousness; People's self-improvement needs and even some religious emotional needs.It is precisely because of this that Confucian ethics have wide adaptability, and can better adapt to pre-capitalist patriarchal societies of various levels. For culturally backward ethnic minorities, the implementation of Confucian political systems and ethical norms is not just an adaptation. , is a kind of improvement, just like taking off the clothes of leaves and animal skins and putting on silk.As a result, Confucianism was not only implemented in Han areas, but also spread in minority areas.

The ethnic minorities who have been integrated into the big family of the Chinese nation have all learned Confucian culture, whether they live together with the Han or live in seclusion.When they established local regimes, especially when they aspired to the Central Plains and unified China, the requirements for learning were more urgent, and the results were particularly remarkable.In order to adapt to and rule the highly developed economic, political, and cultural levels of Han areas, the monarchs of these ethnic groups learned the ways of Confucius and implemented Sinicization policies, maintaining political stability and economic development to varying degrees.

During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms (4th-5th century A.D.), the ethnic minorities who established regional regimes in northern China lived with the Han people and learned a lot of Confucian ethics and political concepts.After the establishment of political power, they needed the guidance of Confucian theory, which aroused their interest in learning.Many of their leaders were models for learning classics.For example, Liu Yuan of the Xiongnu tribe in the Han (former Zhao), Shihu of the Jie tribe of the later Zhao Dynasty, Murong Hao (huang Huang) of the Xianbei tribe of the former Yan, and Fu Jian of the Di tribe of the former Qin Dynasty, all like Confucianism, some condescending to learn from famous teachers, some Invite the teacher to come to teach at home.Some read a lot, and some are good at playing.These people not only study hard on their own, but also set up imperial schools and primary schools in the capital, and select smart and handsome children of nobles and common people to study.Fu Jian even went to Taixue to take an examination of classics, just like the emperor of the Han nationality.

After the Northern Song Dynasty, the ethnic minorities who aspired to the Central Plains included the Xianbei who established the Liao Kingdom, the Jurchen who established the Jin Kingdom, and especially the Mongols who eventually unified the whole of China and established the Yuan Dynasty.The common feature of these ethnic groups is that they respect Confucius, study hard Confucian classics and classics, guide common principles and famous teachings, and rule with benevolence and propriety.Moreover, as Han Chinese academics developed from Confucianism to Neo-Confucianism, they also gradually shifted the focus of theoretical study to Neo-Confucianism.Take the Yuan Dynasty as an example. After Kublai Khan unified China, he established the Great Yuan Empire.With a large territory and a large population, it is of course difficult to manage, but the most difficult thing is that the Mongolian and Yuan nobles have no culture, do not understand the farming life of the Han people and the culture of poetry, books, rituals and music, and still use the old ways of governing nomads to govern Han areas. So little effect.Yelu Chucai, as a veteran and important minister, understood the truth, and he proposed to Kublai Khan that "helping the world and the people is nothing like Confucianism".In order to practice Confucianism, we must change the tyrannical policies of the past, ban massacres, save punishment, reduce taxes, develop production, and stabilize people's livelihood.Yelu Chucai also continued to publicize to the Mongolian nobles, insisting that the teaching of the three cardinal guides and five constant principles is important for governing the country.Under his guidance, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty continued to learn the ways of Confucius, and made great progress in the ethics and politics of the Han nationality. , Appointed Neo Confucianist Xu Heng as the son of the state to offer wine, and ordered the children of nobles and high-ranking officials of various ethnic groups to study Neo Confucianism in the Imperial College.Confucianism was set up in each prefecture and county to teach the children of landlords and bureaucrats.The imperial court ordered people to translate Confucian classics into Mongolian for the Mongolian nobles to learn.The imperial examination was resumed, and it was stipulated that the Five Classics should be based on Cheng Zhu's annotations.In this way, Confucian ethics and politics not only entered the Yuan Dynasty government, but also entered the Mongolian families.

In the late Ming Dynasty, another ethnic minority Manchu rose in the Northeast. It defeated the Ming army and the peasant uprising army and established the Qing Dynasty, the last feudal dynasty in China.The Qing Dynasty was different from the Yuan Dynasty.The Manchus had been Sinicized to a considerable extent in the old land of Jianzhou (that is, the northeast region today), and after entering the customs, all the facilities of the imperial court followed the old system of the Ming Dynasty.After the death of Emperor Shunzhi, the auxiliary ministers restored the Manchu system in a short time, and after Kangxi came to power, he moved towards Sinicization.Kangxi was versatile, with profound knowledge of astronomy and calendar calculations, and was particularly fascinated by Confucianism. He went to Qufu many times to pay homage to Confucius and gave special honor to Yan Shenggong.He commended Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, personally compiled "The Essence of Xing Li", and ordered people to edit "Zhu Zi Quan Shu", "Xing Li Quan Shu" and other books.He also used various methods such as imperial examinations, erudite CI, Ming history, and compilation of books to win over Confucian scholars, creating a powerful wave of revitalizing Confucianism. In this environment, the Manchus, from the royal family to the common people, not only use Chinese as the common language, but also I also regard the Three Cardinal Guidelines and the Five Constant Principles as my code of conduct.In this way, the Manchu nobles improved themselves in the process of learning Han culture and Confucian ethics, thus consolidating their dominance.

Nanzhao is a good example of how ethnic minorities in the frontier learned Confucian ethics and achieved great results.Nanzhao is a minority regime established by the ancestors of Yi, Bai, Naxi, Lahu and other ethnic groups in the southwest region in the 7th and 8th centuries AD. , and parts of Guizhou and Sichuan.Luofeng, the fifth generation king, admired and worked hard to learn the Han culture represented by Confucianism.Zheng Hui, the county magistrate of Tang Dynasty captured by him in the war, gained his respect because of his profound knowledge of Confucianism. He not only became the teacher of princes and grandchildren, but also became the Qingping official (prime minister) of Nanzhao.Under the influence of Zheng Hui, Nanzhao kings Yi Mouxun and Xun Mengcou all had a deep understanding of Confucianism and used it to govern the country and the people.Yi Mouxun said that his country "people know rituals and music, and it was originally Tang style" ("Wei Gao Shu", "Quan Tang Shu" volume 997).Zheng Hui said that Nanzhao "cultivated literature and practiced martial arts, set up hundreds of officials, honored and inferior, divided into nine ranks, opened up three religions, and kept four schools. Yin and Yang are in order, and the sun and the moon are not disturbed. And to make rites, use the six prefectures to govern the country, trust and dolphins, and be kind to the grass and trees." ("Nanzhao Dehua Monument", "Quan Tang Wen" Volume 997) seems to be the ideal country of Confucianism.Despite its exaggerated side, the effort to implement Confucianism is undeniable.Nanzhao monarchs and ministers could say words full of Confucianism, such as "loyalty and filial piety", "the most loyal cannot be without a master, and the most filial piety cannot be without a home" (ibid.) and so on.The Nanzhao Dehua Monument mentioned above has been eroded by wind and rain for thousands of years, and it still stands in Taihe Village, Dali, the former capital of Nanzhao King.It is not only a witness of the study of Confucianism by ethnic minorities in Southwest China, but also a witness of the friendship between Han and ethnic minorities.The stele was erected by Nanzhao Wangge Luofeng to defeat the conquest army sent by Tang Prime Minister Yang Guozhong.The inscription shows that although Nanzhao and Tang fought a big battle due to temporary conflicts, due to the same ideological and cultural consistency, they still had to get along friendly after all.Sure enough, more than 20 years after the war, Yi Mouxun, the grandson of Geluofeng, welcomed the envoys of the Tang Dynasty in the capital of Nanzhao, and was granted the title of King of Nanzhao.

Some ethnic minorities live together with the Han people and have learned Han culture including Confucianism in the process of living and interacting with the Han people. They not only do farming and business like the Han people, but also participate in political activities in the same way.Take the Hui people as an example. They came to China from Central Asia during the Yuan and Ming Dynasties and became a member of the Chinese nation.Among them were the emperor's cronies and navigators like Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures, and there were also a group of scholars who took the imperial examination and became government officials.It is particularly worth mentioning that there are some theorists who are proficient in Confucianism such as Wang Daiyu and Liu Zhi among the Hui people.They explained in Chinese, blending Confucian benevolence, justice and morality with the ethical thoughts of their own nation, and combining concepts such as Neo-Confucianism, Taiji, Tianli, and Xinxing with Islamic thoughts, creating a unique Islamic philosophy in the Confucian cultural circle.