登陆注册
6739600000018

第18章

Xu Zhuoyun also believes that the later years of the Ming Dynasty saw a group of southern scholars who found less than desirable aspects in the political system, even beginning to question the premise of Confucian teachings. Xu Zhuoyun draws on scholars Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu as evidence that Ming scholars were indeed liberal thinkers. Huang Zongxi's records raise concern with the royal household selecting the heir to the throne. Under an autocratic regime, this was a bold statement to make. He suggested the gathering and collaboration of intellectuals on political issues, and the submission of a communal recommendation to the magistrate, who would then govern based on the discussion outcomes. This was not a representative government system, but rather an encouragement of the participation of scholars in political affairs. He believed that local officials should not be freely appointed and replaced by the emperor, but rather, they should be local residents with tangible power and independence, with the ability to actually do something for their people. In essence, he suggested a local autonomy, similar to a commonwealth—governed in localities by moralists and intellectuals. Xu Zhuoyun called this a "mediocre first step in the long journey to the democratic system conceived in Europe."

As for Gu Yanwu's Ri Zhi Lu (Daily Knowledge Records), Xu Zhuoyun comments, "Every line is a complaint, from past to present, about the shortcomings of absolutely every aspect of the system. Taxes, conion, appointment of officials—everything was unreasonable, everything was wrong. This critical nature is representative of his time, stressing the importance of freedom and liberality."

Xu Zhuoyun breaks down the premature end to this "Enlightenment" into two factors: the Qing army's military conquest, and the social restrictions imposed by Confucian philosophy and traditional Chinese values. Regrettably, this is where China's and Europe's developments diverge. "Europe's Enlightenment continued along a path to democracy, while China's Enlightenment was a dead end."

The Ming and Qing dynasties were indeed yet another point of divergence for China and Europe. But was it that China's Enlightenment had reached a dead end, or that traditional Chinese culture and government had reached a dead end?

After examining representative figures in the Ming reign of Wanli (1573-1620), Huang Renyu concluded that China's political system had reached its end, from the emperor down to the commoners, and not one person was spared suffering. He believed that the legal system of the last two millennia of Chinese civilization has been completely based on morals, and with the Ming, it reached its turning point. This is the crux of China's problems; this is, in essence, China's inevitable turning point.

Everything is subjective to one's point of view. According to different ways of thinking, observing history from a different perspective, people always find a different landscape, different conclusions.

In 1644, the Chinese nation suffered a magnificent defeat. This once great nation who sailed the seven seas, boasting its strength for all to see, not only missed the opportunity to integrate with the Western boom, but also failed to see through the transition to a truly capitalist economy. In the end, it couldn't even defend itself against the primitive tribal invaders of the north. This was more than a national tragedy, and it was a tragedy for civilization.

If in the late Ming Dynasty there was even a grain of hope that modern civilization was achievable, and that there was a speck of light in the darkness for China's modernization, the Qing conquer and bloodshed completely destroyed it. Under the oppression and enslavement of the Qing, China sunk into a deep, dark abyss.

AT THE SAME MOMENT China had come completely off its rails, a true Enlightenment was brewing on the other side of the Earth.

Following the Renaissance and Religious Reforms, Europe continued to gather energy in its unstoppable push toward modernity.

The Renaissance revival of Platonism and Neo-Platonism had a profound impact on the defining minds of this era, including Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo. In 1543, Copernicus first raised heliocentricity in his On the Revolution of the Heavenly Body, an act later becoming known as the "Copernican Revolution." Kepler debunked the authority of the "round world" myth, with his discovery of the actual laws of planetary motion, setting a precedent for modern science. Galileo built his own telescope, beginning a new era of astronomy and becoming one of the greatest experimental scientists of all time. In 1616, the Roman Inquisition denounced his theory as preposterous and ridiculous, forcing him to admit its illegitimacy and sentencing him to life imprisonment. He was adamant that his findings were correct, muttering to himself, "no matter what happens, the world will still be rotating."

While not philosophers, Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo and their works were a tremendous shock to European thought, sparking a wave of important philosophical developments. Their hypothesis and discoveries overthrew medieval cosmology and Aristotelian notions of physics. Aristotle's work once convinced the majority of people, but the scientific breakthroughs of Bacon and Galileo dismissed it as absurd and insignificant.

同类推荐
  • 玩遍欧美就这么Easy!用汉语拼音说畅行无阻的英语

    玩遍欧美就这么Easy!用汉语拼音说畅行无阻的英语

    本书分为11章,共72个话题。分别为:和英美人交流、在英美乘坐交通工具、在英美体验生活、在英美工作、在英美学习、在英美就餐、在英美购物、在英美就医、在英美住宿、在英美旅行、在英美恋爱。内容丰富,涉及日常生活中的方方面面,且对每一章的话题都进行了细分,方便学习者针对具体的场景自由学习。
  • 英语实用口语

    英语实用口语

    本书编写了三部分。第一部分为口语交际,目的是为了提高学生日常对话的能力,使英语说得更流利、通畅。第二部分为诗歌、俚语,这部分将从外国文学方面提升学生对英语的审美度与鉴赏力,扩大他们对英语的兴趣,减少语言学科的枯燥性。第三部分为外语歌曲,这一部分选取了大量朗朗上口的儿歌以及中学生耳熟能详的流行歌曲,让学生在唱读之余,提升他们对英语的好感度。
  • 英美文学经典作品赏析与导读(美国篇)

    英美文学经典作品赏析与导读(美国篇)

    《英美文学经典作品赏析与导读》(美国篇)分21个单元,历述了从18世纪末富兰克林及其《自传》作为美国第一部成功的传记体作品及美国民族文学的早期代表作问世以来直到20世纪,美国文学史上最具典型性的作家作品。每一单元专章论述某一代表作家及其代表作。既有作者简介、内容提要、赏析,又有原文节选、思考问题及注释。实现了文学理论与文学赏析的有机结合。为读者奉上原汁原味的人文阅读精华。
  • 那些年,那些诗(每天读一点英文)

    那些年,那些诗(每天读一点英文)

    《每天读一点英文:那些年,那些诗(诗歌卷)(英汉对照)》精选《乡愁》、《面朝大海,春暖花开》、《西风颂》、《一见钟情》等中外名诗,让你在诵读名句中,感受隽永的情谊!
  • 每天太阳照常升起

    每天太阳照常升起

    在英语的学习中享受阅读的最大乐趣,这是当下国人学习英语的新需求,即英语的学习重点已经不仅在词汇或语感本身,更要求能在知识上得到更新、思想上得到提升;不单纯地为考试或实用出发,也强调在文化的涵养与素质的提高方面下工夫。本书精心筛选了数十篇富有生命色彩的经典名篇,涵盖勇气与智慧、坚强与决心、爱与宽恕、积极与乐观等方面内容,旨在提高读者朋友英语语言能力的基础上,提高大家的入文修养,扩大知识面,全面提升其自身的综合素质。
热门推荐
  • 视你如命:富少的99次逼婚

    视你如命:富少的99次逼婚

    【正文已完结】阴差阳错,她惹上了恶魔。“你已经贴上了我的标签,还想嫁谁!”她看着毁了她所有梦想与幸福的男人,不屑,“宫锦丞,想要我的心,除非----我死!”若干年后,他牵着一个缩小版的自己,“儿子,等下你要聪明点,能不能搞定你妈咪就看你自己的了。”“爹地,我做事,你放心。”于是,父子两神秘兮兮的跑到她面前。他直视她,“小姐,你----儿子掉了!”
  • 时光如初待你而归

    时光如初待你而归

    缘分说不清道不明,婚姻更是没办法精准到每分每秒。不过我知道,属于我的爱情,已经在来的路上了。“姨妈巾”是我们的缘分开始,它就是我们的开始,过程总是千变万化,不过结局如何,一定要记得,幸福不是靠缘分,而是经营。
  • 悍妃难娶:腹黑兽王来求亲

    悍妃难娶:腹黑兽王来求亲

    失足跌进下水道,为毛睁开眼就在原始部落了?没走两步就看见某男大杀四方,瑾童想报警,瑾童想回家!却被拎回部落,看着这山这水这树林,她……想报警,想回家!不过身边的人好像很帅?嗯,那就吃干抹净在溜。走之前顺便帮蛮夷拓拓荒,除除害,再帮boss大人打下万里江山!
  • 医色生香之盛宠太子妃

    医色生香之盛宠太子妃

    苏阮,苏家的千金,国色天香,家人宠爱,更有人人艳羡的未婚夫。谁知,一场出游,却被柔弱表妹推入崖底。再回首,柔弱表妹已经代她嫁入侯门,夺了她的未婚夫。更甚,夺了她的救驾之功,成了太后身边的新晋红人,被册封端福县主,风光无限。她,苏阮,现代赫赫有名的绝世神医,却因先天不足,没有活过三十。她锱铢必较,不信佛不信魔,只信她自己。救人全凭心意,她认为该就的,分文不取也要从鬼门关里抢回。她认为不该救的,纵万千财富,无边权势,也不能令改变。当她成为她,在崖底苏醒,这个天下注定要为她颠覆。养好伤,悠哉上山采药,一个脚滑给摔了下来,直接砸晕了一个美男。为了不损阴德,尽心尽力将这个半死不活的美男给拖回去救治。美男太美,她花了眼,错了药,给美男下了春药。美男在前面,姿色无双,没把持住就给扑了。一夜风流,她吓得赶紧给跑了。她不仅把人砸个半死,还把人给上了,这下梁子结大了。跑,赶紧跑,跑到天涯海角,再不相见。
  • 蓝色池塘

    蓝色池塘

    人无外财不富,马无夜草不肥。但这个外财是否来的晚了些呢?对于一个宅男来说如何处理这一笔巨大的飞来横财很头疼啊。希望一切都能如蓝色的大海一样一切都归于平静的沙滩。巨额彩票大奖的到来,必然是生活天翻地覆的改变。
  • 公司因你而不同

    公司因你而不同

    “公司因你而不同”,是微软和IBM等公司成功的秘诀,也是我们在工作中十分值得提倡的一种职业理念。《公司因你而不同》通过这个理念,帮你激发工作潜能,提升工作价值,实现人企双赢。
  • 云台夜话

    云台夜话

    一把剑,名为末日天使,两座城,生化人建城云台,不死者居于夜话,而人类,只能散落在荒野。废土之上,妖孽横行,是新人类的绽放,还是顾有的沉沦。
  • 吸血鬼王妃求不闹

    吸血鬼王妃求不闹

    封面感谢愔羽酱! 谁能告诉她一觉醒来被人咬了变吸血鬼了算什么事儿?谁又能告诉她又一觉醒来一朝穿越从天而降还骑人家身上了这算什么事儿?王爷不能是女的?好嘛,她一个现代非人类直接被封王了这又是嘛事儿?府中那天被她骑的是这位……月圆之夜就会饿,从此以后王府经常传出恐怖故事——大半夜有人眼冒红光,吸干了——狗的血。不少“爱狗人士”向王府发起“讨伐”,某非人类满脸无辜:“伦家一个女子,怎么可能呢?”
  • 高仿神婆

    高仿神婆

    谁说现在帅哥不好找,找到了也是别家的?她颜妃就顺手捡了两个绝色帅哥窝在家里,随时待命,等着被自己吃干抹净。谁说女人胸大无脑,成事不足,败事有余?她颜妃就是凭着这大胸、小脑,逢凶化吉,坑、蒙、拐、骗信手拈来。
  • 执剑浮生

    执剑浮生

    我,废物?我一打一百你敢吗?废物又能怎么照样杀你,你连废物都杀不赢还能干嘛,从今往后世人都会记住我的名字,我叫韩奕