The short videos I watched from all dynasties

It was also the first time that Li Ranran listened carefully to questions related to the Five-Stone Powder in the video. She had never thought so much about it before. She just thought that the Jin Dynasty was rubbish and the Southern and Northern Dynasties were very chaotic. Now, after listening to Xining's explanation, it became somewhat clearer.

I clicked on the second video of this series and found that it was more than an hour long?!

[From the Five Stones Powder of the Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Opium of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Collapse of the Celestial Empire]

[Hello everyone, this is Xining. We have already talked about the Wei and Jin Wu Shi San in the last issue. Wu Shi San has not been completely extinct since the Tang Dynasty, but its prescription has been lost. Some people still secretly practice some evil arts, and toxic substances such as cinnabar still endanger those who want to live forever and enjoy pleasure.

"Opium" is also called "poppy", "black incense" and "longevity paste". All Chinese people know about "opium". We can never forget that painful memory. The two Opium Wars woke China from the Celestial Empire.

Some people think that opium suddenly appeared in the late Qing Dynasty. In fact, it was not. Opium entered the market in the late Ming Dynasty. It was expensive and only a small number of nobles could smoke it. When the Ming Dynasty Emperor Wanli, who was "sufficient in all five poisons", was later excavated, morphine was found in the bones of his body.

Although the theme of this issue is "Opium", I will talk about the Opium War from several aspects, including the ideological system, the military strength of the Qing army, Emperor Daoguang, and Lin Zexu, and finally talk about the harmfulness of "Opium".

Because it involves a lot of content, this video is also very long. 】

【Thought System

Since ancient times, Chinese civilization has been relatively independent and has always stood at the center. If foreign things want to enter China, they must completely modify themselves to adapt to China in order to become part of Chinese civilization. For a long time, we have been in a state of superiority because we are the center of the world.

China has always been an agricultural civilization. "Agriculture is the foundation" is an ancient motto, and "agriculture is emphasized and commerce is suppressed" has always been the policy. The Qing Dynasty refused to establish formal relations with countries that did not pay tribute, but allowed some ports to be opened for trade.

In 1684, Emperor Kangxi issued an order to lift the ban on sea trade, and Guangdong Customs, Fujian Customs, Zhejiang Customs, and Jiang Customs were opened as trading ports. In 1755, due to the increase in Guangzhou cargo taxes and ship management fees, and the various miscellaneous taxes levied by local officials, the scale of which exceeded normal taxes, the East India Company wanted to do business in Ningbo.

In 1757, Emperor Qianlong was worried about losing control over foreign merchants and colluding with mainlanders to overthrow the Qing Dynasty. So he sent people to stop the East India Company from going north and raised taxes in Zhejiang. Even so, some merchant ships still went north to Ningbo for trade.

So in the same year, Emperor Qianlong announced the closure of Fujian Customs, Zhejiang Customs, and Jiang Customs, requiring that trade be conducted only at Guangzhou Customs, and that foreign merchant ships be allowed to trade only at Guangzhou Thirteen Factories. The Qing Dynasty thus began a policy of seclusion.

【 As for the failure of the Opium War, we now believe that it was inevitable. What did you use? What did others use? The two sides were not equal at all. Fight? How to fight? There was no way to fight!

But in that era, people had to find someone to blame for failure, and they had to find someone to take the blame. The Confucian scholars were unwilling to admit that the Chinese system was backward, and that they were the "Heavenly Kingdom", but they were defeated by the small "island barbarians". People at that time were immersed in the Celestial Empire, and had not yet woken up and were unwilling to open their eyes to the world.

They couldn’t criticize the system, because if they did, it would be a disapproval of their own traditional culture, and they couldn’t say it was the emperor’s fault, because the emperor was the rites and laws. So, they found a bunch of treacherous officials and said they were selling out the country and accepting bribes.

In a society where imperial power is supreme, the emperor is the most holy and wise, and will not make mistakes. Even if there are mistakes, they are only caused by being deceived by treacherous ministers. As long as the treacherous ministers are removed, he will still be a wise and enlightened monarch.

They could not understand "constitutional monarchy" and did not understand why the British wanted to make a woman their king. None of them reflected on the general trend of the world and the problems of China at that time, and they still talked about their own system with great relish. They did not want to change the old system, but chose to continue to strengthen the old system.

At that time, China was complacent and refused to admit that it was backward.

However, the Opium War used force to tell us that we must modernize and follow the trend of the world.

What China and the West are facing at this time is not only the changes in the weapons and military strength of both sides, but also the differences in ideology and systems.

As Professor Mao Haijian said in his book The Collapse of the Celestial Empire: "Constitutional monarchy, in the face of the supremacy of the emperor, is like a minister abusing his power; business and trade, in the face of agriculture, is obviously a waste of time; the pursuit of profit, in the face of morality, is just a mean act; as for the queen taking the lead and not distinguishing between men and women, it is even more of a "barbarian custom" like a hen crowing at dawn." 1】

<I agree. The monarch was praised too highly at that time. The Qing Dynasty was the peak of monarchical centralization. Who in society dared to speak out? >

＜ Kangxi and Qianlong both saw the Western world, but still chose to stick to it ＞

＜ People say Qianlong was short-sighted, but in that era, no matter who was the emperor, it was like this. Historical inevitability and the sense of superiority from ancient times led to such a result. ＞

＜It was all for ruling. They didn’t care about the country or not. There was no such concept at that time. What they cared about was the ruling status of their own tribe＞

＜No, this is a feudal issue, not the same as whether it is the Qing Dynasty or not? Even if you bring in Qin Shihuang and Tang Taizong, the result will be the same!＞

＜I am really impressed. The Confucian "Heavenly Kingdom" has even forgotten how the Qing Dynasty entered the country from that tiny place? [Speechless] ＞

＜They just haven’t forgotten! That’s why they are oppressing the Han people, forbidding this and that!＞

＜ Didn’t the video say that all foreign cultures will be assimilated into Chinese civilization? I feel like the ruling class of the Qing Dynasty really learned it too well…［Helpless］＞

＜ I highly recommend the book "The Collapse of the Celestial Empire: A Re-Study of the Opium War"! ＞

＜ When I saw the part about treacherous officials, I suddenly understood that when a court is all about disparaging treacherous officials and praising loyal officials, isn’t it just covering up the incompetence of the ruling class…＞

＜In fact, it was really difficult to wake up from the old dreams in that era. As modern people, we all feel that this is not right from a God’s perspective…＞

＜Is there a trade deficit? The Qing government was completely panicked by the outflow of silver＞

……

Wow, this episode is a bit noisy. Li Ranran casually flipped through the comments. Every netizen had a different opinion. She read a few more before clicking on the next video.

The sixteen-year-old Emperor Wanli was panicked, "All five poisons? What did I...what did I...do to deserve to have my tomb dug up???"

Zhang Juzheng was uncertain about whether he could revive the Ming Dynasty and change its current situation. Your Majesty now does not look like what the light curtain said. What about the future?

Qin Shi Huang and Tang Taizong who were cueed by the screen: Haha, Qing Dynasty? A shameful dynasty that lost power, humiliated the country, ceded territory and paid compensation! How could I fall to this point!

Emperor Kangxi was curious about the Opium War after having seen the First Sino-Japanese War: Britain!!!

Seeing the later words about imperial power, Kangxi felt tired again. The Qing Dynasty would not last forever...

When Qianlong first saw the light curtain and was feeling surprised, he heard about the failure of the Qing Dynasty and was immediately furious: Who is Daoguang! He was defeated by the little Britain! Trash!

Emperor: Can you please stop saying things that shake up your rule? You're going to kill me!

The emperor, who had a higher vision, was puzzled: Focus on agriculture? Emphasize agriculture and suppress commerce? The old system? The ideological system? Are these what we have called feudalism?

During the Wu Zhou period, people saw [a woman as the king], oh, it's not surprising. Our Majesty is still the emperor.

Some women also don’t understand: Oh my God, how can this not be the hen crowing at dawn!

Women are used to it: first there was Wu Zetian, then there was Emperor Taizong who brought glory to the female world, and now there is a woman who is the king. It's normal.

Ambitious people and intellectuals under the light curtain: The crisis of the Qing Dynasty at this time is a change that has never happened in the history. In the past, we were too rigid.

----

Qing Dynasty, the 18th year of Daoguang

The sudden appearance of the light curtain frightened Daoguang Chao, but he found that nothing happened after the light curtain appeared for three months. So everyone continued to live peacefully and got used to the light curtain.

When the Spring Festival comes, every household is celebrating the festival. It is rare for ministers to go home to rest and enjoy their children and grandchildren.

紫禁城

Emperor Daoguang Minning looked at the prosperous palace and sighed, feeling depressed.

The chief eunuch Shen Kui carefully added clothes to the emperor, "Your Majesty, your health is very important."

Daoguang angrily tore off his clothes, pointed at the patch on his dragon robe and shouted angrily: "What else should I do?"

"Last year, peasants revolted everywhere, and thirty-three states suffered from floods, droughts, locust plagues, hail disasters, and frost disasters! It gave me a headache!"

Shen Kui immediately knelt down and said, "It's me who talked too much. It's me who talked too much." He slapped himself as he spoke.

Daoguang looked at Shen Kui unhappily and waved his hand to let him go.

At this moment, the light curtain moved.

Daoguang was frightened at first, and Shen Kui immediately came to the emperor's side and made a protective gesture.

The screen not only has images but also sounds? What's the matter with the text on it? [From the Five Stones Powder of the Wei and Jin Dynasties to Opium of the Ming and Qing Dynasties]

We know about Wu Shi San and opium, but is the miracle on the light curtain just for this?

The light curtain began to play slowly during the Daoguang period. At first, no one understood what it was saying, until it mentioned that two Opium Wars had been fought, which made people alert.

Daoguang was panicked. The combination of opium and war undoubtedly touched Daoguang's nerves. But, unfortunately, Guangmu did not continue talking but talked about the Wei and Jin Wushisan.

When it was said that the Sima family had taken over the world, Daoguang was disdainful. When Guangmu mentioned Bao Jingyan's "On No Monarch", Daoguang commented: "It is misleading!" When Guangmu said that he stood on the side of the people, he sneered: "He is just an ignorant person."

When the four words "Emperor Daoguang" appeared, all the ministers paid close attention. When they heard later that the "Heavenly Kingdom" was defeated by the "Island Barbarians", no one believed it.

"The Qing Dynasty is vast, rich, and powerful. How could tens of thousands of soldiers be defeated by a tiny foreign barbarian?"

"Misleading people with lies"

"monster!"

……

Opposition to such motivation abounds.

Especially when the light curtain mentioned the words [imperial power, emperor, son of heaven, treacherous ministers], the cursing did not stop.

Even Emperor Daoguang was so angry that he threw teacups at the light curtain, but the light curtain still continued, regardless of any storms in the outside world.