The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 88 The Righteousness of the Ming Dynasty Can Serve as the Foundation of Social Order

The same voice, the same words, spoken by people of different statuses, have different power.

If these words were spoken by an ordinary scholar today, they would only elicit a sneer.

But now it is Li Qi who is saying these words, Li Qi who carries the Emperor's will!
The area where thousands of people stood was completely silent. No one spoke, and even whispers were rare. Countless eyes fell on the literati from eastern Zhejiang, with a mixture of pity and delight.

Both joy and pity were felt; this was the general sentiment.

The stream babbles, its water crystal clear, with fish occasionally leaping out and splashing water, as if the wind is howling across the mountain, rustling the grass and trees.

The literati of eastern Zhejiang had just kowtowed in gratitude for the emperor's great favor, and now they were silent, speechless at today's calamity.

How could Li Qi's words not be the truth?
What level of trust is required to act as a guarantor for someone else?

Li Qi and Zhejiang East were enemies, so how could he vouch for Zhejiang East and put himself in danger?

This is asking the impossible, and one who has never been qualified to do so.

"Therefore, I have requested another decree from His Majesty."

Li Qi suddenly said something that no one had expected.

Another imperial decree!
Instantly, everyone's eyes fell on Li Qi; there was another imperial decree.
Since they are two separate decrees, their contents must be different; this thought flashed through the minds of many people in an instant.

"We beg Lord Jinghe to grant us an imperial decree to save us from this dire situation. If Lord Jinghe is willing, we humble people are willing to serve as your servants!"

The wisest person heard a glimmer of hope in Li Qi's words and almost instinctively knelt down before him.

You won't understand the pain of loss if you've never had anything, just as you won't understand the joy of gain if you've never had nothing. You won't understand the meaning of light if you've never been in a state of utter darkness.

After seemingly losing everything, a sudden turn of events, a sudden glimmer of hope, made everyone stop thinking about anything else; seizing this sliver of hope was the most crucial thing.

The momentary stillness was like a tidal wave, and many more scholars from eastern Zhejiang knelt down.

Seek a way out for yourself and for future generations.

Li Qi frowned slightly as he watched this scene. He knew that these people were kneeling to him for three-tenths of their purpose, and to the imperial power for seven-tenths.

But that was not his goal.

His aim was to subdue the scholars of eastern Zhejiang, and suppression was essential, but he did not intend to completely oppress them to this extent.

Such coercion can only breed resentment.

His oppression of the students in eastern Zhejiang was already sufficient with the imperial edict; his personal visit to eastern Zhejiang was to bestow favors, not to create enmity.

What good does it do to shatter a person's dignity?

Did we cultivate a group of people like Goujian who endured hardship and humiliation to achieve their goals?
He wasn't an emperor, so he never worried about retaliation from his subjects.

"Stand up! Why are you kneeling!"

This is the loudest statement Li Qi has made since arriving in eastern Zhejiang: "A man's knees are worth gold; he only kneels to Heaven, Earth, his ruler, his parents, and his teacher. What do I, Li Qi, have that is worthy of your kneeling!"

Li Qi's words silenced the room even more.

The people from eastern Zhejiang stood up sparsely, looking at Li Qi with some confusion and helplessness. They had thought that Li Qi was going to shatter their dignity, completely crush them, and turn them into his lackeys.

But it seems that's not the case now.

Those watching from the sidelines were also full of doubts, not understanding what Li Qi was going to do. This was a great opportunity to win over the Zhejiang East School of thought, so why give it up like this?
Taking a step back is for the sake of moving forward better.

Only the wise and virtuous can win people's hearts!
Li Qi walked among the people from Zhejiang. He looked around at the hundreds of people and said with emotion, "If it were just to tell you that you don't need to struggle, why would I have come all the way from the capital to Zhejiang?"

You don't need to beg for forgiveness from others here; only you yourselves can save yourself!

The people of Zhejiang were puzzled, but they still bowed to Li Qi, who was standing right next to them, and said, "We are ignorant, please explain this to us, Jinghe!"

"As I said before, is the problem with Dongming Academy that their scholarship is not profound enough? Is it that they are not familiar enough with the Four Books and Five Classics? Is their talent fake?"

Li Qi resumed his usual eloquent demeanor, "No! The problem with Dongming Academy is that its roots are not upright! What His Majesty is worried about is precisely this unhealthy trend, and that Dongming Academy will take advantage of the strong Confucian atmosphere in eastern Zhejiang to make a comeback."

Therefore, you should all make changes yourselves to show the world, and most importantly, to His Majesty, that the scholars of Zhejiang have cultivated people who are devoted to our Great Ming!

Now they understood what Li Qi meant. The emperor had doubts about the scholars from Zhejiang because "their learning was rather deviant." Li Qi couldn't vouch for them, but he was willing to give them a chance to prove themselves.

"Lord Jinghe, the classics of the sages teach us to be loyal to the emperor and love our country. How else can we prove this to His Majesty?"

We humbly request that Master Jinghe instruct us!

This was a question that everyone present was curious about. Confucianism prioritizes loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, and righteousness, but Li Qi was now emphasizing this point.

However, they could vaguely sense that what Li Qi said was different from what they thought, and this difference was related to the Confucian tradition they had mentioned earlier.

As expected, Li Qi proudly declared, "In the classics you discuss, there is the world, eternity, the people, the monarch, the orthodox tradition, and benevolence and righteousness, but there is no mention of the Great Ming!"

Li Qi said sternly, "Ask yourselves, where does the Ming Dynasty rank in your hearts?"

When you discuss current affairs, does the concept of "the world" come to mind first, or does the continuation of the Ming Dynasty come to mind first?

If the Ming Dynasty were to fall, what would you choose to do?
Is it unwavering commitment to restoring the nation, or entering service under the new dynasty? All that nonsense about how since destiny has changed, we should naturally obey!

One word can cause a huge uproar!

Li Qi's words, centered on him, rolled outwards in all directions like a churning sea of ​​clouds, making almost everyone's ears buzz.

No one had ever questioned the fate of the world and the dynasty as sharply as Li Qi. This was something they had never heard of before, nor had they ever imagined. Theories of the Mandate of Heaven and the Five Virtues were deeply ingrained in people's minds. Although there were those who died for their country and those who were loyal to their lords throughout history, they were not the mainstream. Many people, seeing that the situation was hopeless, would choose to give up resistance.

The so-called "Mandate of Heaven has been lost" is so ridiculous. If modern China had still held this view, it would probably have already fallen to the enemy.

The theories of national subjugation and the fall of the world at the end of the Ming Dynasty were the embryonic form of nationalism. The next step was to integrate the nation and the state, and the theory of the world then became another, more advanced theory.

In later generations, every nation became highly bound to a country. With the division of the country, what was once a single nation gradually split into two, the most famous example being the Korean Peninsula.

"Without a constant will, one cannot maintain perseverance!"

Li Qi continued, “If you don’t have something you’re determined to defend, you’ll compromise at any time. If you don’t have something you’re determined to protect, you won’t have an unwavering and resolute will to never give up.”

If all Han people firmly defend the Han dynasty, how could the barbarians from beyond the Great Wall enter the Central Plains?

If all subjects steadfastly defend the state, how could the Mandate of Heaven be altered?
Why was the Han Dynasty able to rise again? Why did Emperor Zhaolie and others remain steadfast in their commitment after the second rise of the Han Dynasty? Why did the prophecy of the golden knife persist for a thousand years? Was it really because Heaven favored the Han Dynasty?
It is because there have always been people who are defending the orthodox traditions of the Han Dynasty!
What about the Ming Dynasty?
As a learned scholar and leader of the Confucian school, he doesn't think of the glorious Ming Dynasty, but instead dwells on the past dynasty!

Most people were speechless at Li Qi's words, for there are too many historical examples to support this.

Having said that, these scholars gradually understood what Li Qi really wanted to do.

"His Majesty no longer believes that you can be loyal to the Ming Dynasty based solely on your old methods, so you need more to prove it."

"If you wish to find a way to survive, then regard the Ming Dynasty as your heaven, the Ming Dynasty as your moral authority, and the Ming Dynasty as the supreme authority. Everything you have learned, whether it be benevolence and righteousness or the great principles, must be guided by the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty's state is paramount; the Ming Dynasty's state surpasses everything!"

Li Qi's words have made it clear to everyone that they must now show that they love the Ming Dynasty many times more than before in order to gain the emperor's forgiveness!
“The sages taught future generations countless principles in their books, but in my view, they are nothing more than the four words: national prosperity and peace!”

"Our Great Ming Dynasty is the first-rate nation-building dynasty, the second time since the beginning of time. The first was the Xia Dynasty, which created three generations of prosperity. What kind of golden age will our Great Ming Dynasty create?"

"With the Ming Dynasty in power, all people live in peace!"

"May the Ming Dynasty prosper and all people live in peace!"

"The righteousness of the Ming Dynasty can serve as the eternal moral order!"

Li Qi's words had a tremendous impact on everyone. Cultivating oneself, regulating one's family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world has always been the spiritual pursuit of Confucian scholars.

However, this system of family, country, and world has a major flaw: the subject is unclear.

In times of decline, some say that those who understand the times are wise, while others say that the dynasty is corrupt and there is no need to be blindly loyal. Everyone is at a loss in this dilemma.

Song Lian and others were exactly like that. They lived in the Ming Dynasty while longing for the Yuan Dynasty. They enjoyed everything about the Ming Dynasty while secretly criticizing the present. They dared not restore the Yuan Dynasty, yet they wanted to promote their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. They were extremely contradictory.

And now Li Qi is clearly telling everyone!

No more worries, my Great Ming Dynasty is invincible!
My Great Ming Dynasty was founded on the most legitimate ground, unlike any previous dynasty, and is poised to create a great era that rivals the reigns of the Three Dynasties.

The world belongs to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty belongs to the world!
You can only love the Ming Dynasty. If you feel that something is wrong with the Ming Dynasty, you can't do it by reminiscing about the previous dynasty. Instead, you should try to change it and make the Ming Dynasty more prosperous. Don't think about changing the regime, because the Ming Dynasty was the greatest founding dynasty and it is impossible to surpass it!
Li Qi's actions shocked almost everyone, even after the Ming Dynasty's reconstruction of China.

Li Qi knew he had been too much of a bully. After all, the scholar-officials were increasingly unwilling to take responsibility because the emperor's power was becoming more and more centralized, and the officials were gradually treated like household slaves, so they naturally no longer cared about the country.

But now, on the surface, he is completely going against the tide!

Starting with the execution of the tyrant, he wanted to first use ideology to enhance the sense of responsibility among the scholar-officials, and package this sense of responsibility as loyalty to the Ming Dynasty. The emperor would certainly be happy to see this happen.

When the scholar-officials' sense of responsibility reaches a certain level, and public opinion surges, it will inevitably lead to a huge conflict with the emperor who desires power. At this point, the Li family will certainly have considerable influence, and they can take advantage of this momentum to gradually restrict imperial power.

Of course, such measures to limit monarchical power could only have been implemented after the Industrial Revolution, because the feudal era did not support such a system. This can be seen from the eventual imperialization of the Roman Republic. The same system can produce completely different results under different levels of productivity.

"The emperor would only think that this was beneficial to his rule, since all the ministers were wholeheartedly devoted to the Ming Dynasty and were even willing to give up their own lives."

Li Qi was very satisfied with the scheme he had set up, even though it might take one or two hundred years to see the final results.

Not only could the emperor not see it, but none of the thousands of people present could guess what Li Qi was thinking.

Almost everyone had only one thought echoing in their minds: "Li Qi's loyalty to the Ming Dynasty is truly a testament to heaven and earth, surpassing even the sun and moon."

Throughout history, most officials have only demanded such loyalty from themselves; when have they ever seen a learned scholar like Li Qi so enthusiastically advocating for loyalty?

The key point is that Li Qi doesn't need to do this. He has no other desires, and even the emperor won't bestow anything more upon him!

Therefore, there is only one explanation, which is what Li Qi truly believes.

The Ming Dynasty obtained its rule most legitimately, therefore it was destined to create the greatest achievements!

"Lord Jinghe, we understand!"

"Lord Jinghe, we wish to become your disciples and listen to your teachings on the way of the Great Ming Dynasty."

“Lord Jinghe, please accept us, commoners from eastern Zhejiang. If we can listen to the great principles, we will surely gain His Majesty’s favor.”

A group of scholars from eastern Zhejiang swarmed around Li Qi.

Whether they truly agree in their hearts or not, Li Qi has already pointed out a great path, and all they can do is simply follow.

Moreover, Li Qi's earnest advice, given the current predicament in eastern Zhejiang, is a great kindness indeed!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The "Zhejiang East Discussion" was a landmark event that laid the foundation for modern nationalism. Li Qi, a leader of the Ming Dynasty scholar-officials, issued a call to the entire nation for the first time: that the honor, disgrace, survival, and destruction of the country are closely related to every citizen. He demanded that everyone, especially the scholar-officials in the ruling class, take the country and its people as their primary focus, consciously assume responsibility and obligations to the country, and despise any group that is unwilling to assume responsibility and obligations.

In this era, "Ming" remained the official name of the dynasty, representing the rule of the Zhu imperial family over the land. However, with the development of nationalist thought, it gradually became a symbol of the entire nation. Under these circumstances, no one was allowed to damage it, not even the imperial family that had given it life! — *A History of Ming Thought*

(End of this chapter)