Chapter 66 Section 5 A Strange Open Letter

From today's perspective, the rationality of "turning the people into customs" and "turning the people with virtue" is very suspicious.A citizen of a modern society can raise many doubts about this term, such as: What is morality?Whose morals?Who is qualified to set moral standards?Who has the power to force others to implement his prescribed moral norms? The qualifications of Zhu Yuanzhang to "educate the people" are even more suspicious.This former illiterate and bandit, before the founding of the country, ungratefully killed King Xiaoming, secretly communicated with the Yuan regime when others were resisting the Yuan Dynasty, and massacred heroes after the founding of the country. He has repeatedly proved his moral character with iron facts. serious problem.However, at that time, it was only natural for him to educate the people.

According to Chinese classics, Chinese officials have three responsibilities to the people: to be the king, to be the relative, and to be the teacher. "King of Zuo" is the leader, the head of the sheep; "Teacher", it means that the leader is also responsible for being the teacher of the people. If they don't understand, they have to teach them by hand. In traditional Chinese society, every ordinary person is "state-owned" to a certain extent, that is, owned by the victors of the war.Ordinary people have no right to ask who is "transformed", in which direction, and what they are "transformed", just like livestock have no right to choose their feed.Any person, no matter he is a gangster or a robber, once he wins the world and becomes the lord of the people in the world, it proves that he has been "favored by heaven" and has the "virtue" to control the world. It is proved that he has mastered all the truth, virtue and conscience in the world; therefore, he is not only qualified to be the master of the world life, but also the master of the spiritual world.

In the eyes of the emperor and officials, no matter how old the common people are, they are mentally immature children. Whether the common people are twenty or eighty years old, they must be protected by external forces so that they will not be corrupted."The ruler "childrenizes" the common people and "parentizes" himself. Since the people are "subordinates," bureaucrats are "parent officials."Therefore, in traditional Chinese society, no matter what your age, as long as you enter the official career, your seniority and knowledge will immediately improve, and you will be much more mature and correct than ordinary people.

Based on the logic of unlimited imperial power, Zhu Yuanzhang's government is a typical "all-knowing and omnipotent government".This government not only wants to realize the "power of repression," but also considers itself a representative of justice and justice, and has the right to fully control the people's clothing, food, housing, transportation, and way of thinking.Zhu Yuanzhang continued to teach the people what a good life is, and even directly stipulated the details of the people's lives. British political thinker Oakeshott said: "The limits of the human mind determine the limits of the government's ability to control and predict events." The contempt of our own judgment. In modern society no collective ethical purpose, however noble it may appear to others, can be compelled to be honored by the individual. Not only because the individual is inherently free to choose his own way of life, but also because It is also necessary for the progress of social civilization.”

Of course Zhu Yuanzhang would not understand these principles.He persistently believes that as long as he has good intentions, he will not do bad things.Therefore, like an enthusiastic street woman cadre, he went directly to every household and taught them how to live a correct life. He manages the household affairs of the people.In his rural life, he saw that people's families often had disputes over family division and other matters.He believes that the separation plan for unifying the people is very necessary for the country.In the "Law of the Ming Dynasty", he clearly stipulated that the property of each household can only be inherited by the eldest son. If the family fails to establish an eldest son, they will be punished with eighty sticks.Only when the first wife is over 50 years old and has no children, can the son of the younger wife be established.Even if the younger wife's son is established, her eldest son must be established, otherwise it is the same crime as not establishing a son.Zhu Yuanzhang also stipulated that in each family, all property can only be controlled by the head of the family, and it is not allowed to divide the family casually. If you directly violate the "Law of the Ming Dynasty", you will be subject to criminal punishment, and you will be punished twenty times for every twenty cannons spent.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the two military officers in Guangdong, both commanding envoys Di Chong and Wang Zhen, were canonized as Shuren according to regulations because their wives were expensive.Later their wives died, and the concubine was helped upright, and they were asked to confer the concubine as a Shuren. This seems to be a trivial matter, but Zhu Yuanzhang attaches great importance to it, and specially convened a meeting of important ministers of the Manchu Dynasty for special discussions.Prime Minister Li Shanchang and the officials of the Ministry of Rites expressed their opinion that "there is nothing more important than courtesy, and nothing is more important than fame, and concubines cannot be concubines."So Zhu Yuanzhang rejected the request of the two officers, and therefore promulgated regulations, stipulating that no concubine should be allowed to become a big wife: "Where the main wife is in Japan, the concubine married is called a concubine. When the main wife dies, the concubines are not allowed to be wives again."

Zhu Yuanzhang even took on the duties of the Women's Federation, full of righteous indignation to fight for the injustice of Qin Xianglian and others.Xiang Fuwei commanded Guo You, after taking the concubine, he had a bad relationship with the eldest wife, and drove the eldest wife and twenty-six family members out to live in another place, but made the concubine his official wife, and the two lived a happy life in their own house . Zhu Yuanzhang was very angry when he heard about this incident, demoted him to Yunnan, and taught the world: "I have married my wife and lived with him for thirty years. We have sons and daughters. When the times were hard, the two came together. Now that he has become a high-ranking official, the husband and wife are happy and happy, but he drives them out. One day only Give eight liters of rice, how will the twenty-six people live? Such a heartless and unjust person is still considered an individual?" He recorded this incident in the "Da Gao" to warn all the officials in the world not to forget the chaff wife.

In another chapter of "Da Gao", he even managed the marriages of officials.At that time, he appointed many Taixue students as officials. Most of these students were unmarried and had nothing to do in their spare time.Zhu Yuanzhang learned that he wrote an open letter directly to the parents of these officials, urging them to marry their children early: Since the founding of our country, all officials have mostly used seasoned officials.After using it, it is not expected that it will be old, treacherous and cunning, and it will never tire of committing crimes.When it comes to the younger generations, they are all young and handsome.In the early days, my parents were virtuous, so they ordered me to study the scriptures and master the ancient and modern times, and I was already a scholar.The way his parents dote on him is appropriate.

At this point, each parent is a foolish husband and a foolish woman.Since the son is young and strong, there is nothing wrong with public or private actions.I am not only awarded an official, but also has a generous salary, and I am in office alone.When the morning goes out and the evening returns, the cold and heat are self-adjusting, and the decoction is also self-serving.His parents were foolish and refused to marry him, which made him lonely and rich in salary, and his lust was rampant.Once you fall in love with a helpless woman, and when the evening goes to the court, the spirit is lost, the property becomes empty, and the natural honesty is scattered, so it is not difficult to restore it to the original.

It is hereby proclaimed that all the parents of officials and gentlemen in Beijing should marry early to strengthen their natural nature.Otherwise, if you temporarily become a prostitute, pollute a village woman, and behave badly, there is no way you can get it and treat it again.His parents had already planned for it. In other words, these young officials are now in office alone, with no one around them to serve them, and they have to manage everything by themselves.Parents don't marry them, and they have a lot of salary in their hands, how can they not go out and mess around?Once messing around, it costs money and energy.So all the parents of those who are officials in Beijing should marry them as soon as possible!