Original name:

Chapter 5: The Road to Ideological Restoration in the Early Years of the Iron and Blood Empire

Body:

"We are not changing history, we are creating a new history with the people."

——Liu Yun, "Challenge" (special article of the Imperial Social Science Internal Reference "Controversy" magazine)

After Guangxu seized power in the sixteenth year, the Hou Party was purged nationwide, and Liu Yun's special forces corps was called the "New Blood Drop", and engaged in hundreds of assassination activities, many of which were wrongful and unjust; Most of the officials turned to the imperialist party and declared that they would "support the Restoration." In the bloody storm, Guangxu's imperial power was superficially consolidated, and the local government temporarily succumbed to the iron fist of the central government. At this time, the industries built by the Western-style party were systematically appropriated by the Liu Yun group and became the foundation of the early industrial period of the empire. The rest of the industries were still in the hands of the imperialist comrades, and were not unified under the banner of the Central Committee. Except for Zhang Zhidong, who gave up the property rights of Huguang after obtaining the command of the Imperial Navy, Liu Yun mastered most of the military industries in various places. Although Liu Yun Group also wants to build a complete industrial base, it can only rely on the steel industry, the military industry and the national trunk railway industry for the time being in recent years. Others, the development of "Chinese culture" is needed.

After Ma Feng, who was "ordered to engage in teaching work" by the Ministry of Education because he had established several universities without authorization, he set up a science and technology guidance group within the system to study the methods of China's scientific and technological development. The topic of how to promote scientific and technological civilization in China was developed in the debate, and a new idea was born in their heads.

"Western studies? Is the West as advanced as we are? It's Chinese culture, right? At the meeting of the "Ministry of Conspiracy" shortly after the seizure of power, when Liu Yun asked Ma Feng how to "abolish the eight shares and promote Western learning" after the establishment of the university, Ma Feng was shocked and came up with a detailed "Plan for the Revival of Chinese Studies".

As a tool for Liu Yun's group to control the mind, the "Imperial Daily" was printed and published in Beijing at the end of the 16th year of Guangxu, and all counties and towns were covered in the 17th year of Guangxu. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Emperor Guangxu wrote a New Year's speech on the front page of the "Imperial Daily", and the same version of Liu Yun's "The Restoration of the World" was an explosive news that caused a sensation in the government and the opposition. In fact, in the year or two after the 16-year palace coup, all provinces announced the implementation of the new policy, but the government and the opposition were still unclear about how to develop it: some people thought that it was to continue to develop foreign affairs, some people thought that it was necessary to gradually westernize, some people thought that it was "respecting the king", and some people thought that "the return of the great government" was the ultimate goal in itself. No one thought that the eighteen-year imperial court preached the slogan of "civilization rejuvenation".

"China has long had foreign skills. At that time, the wisdom of the people was not opened, and those who knew it were afraid that it would be used inappropriately; It is also worth a well-off in China, and people are at ease, so they are hidden. The world is in turmoil, people with lofty ideals come out, enlighten the people and rejuvenate the country, and restore the ......"

"What is this? God-making movement? The high decibel roar of the officer corps in the Conspiracy Department completely drowned out the sound of the members of the science team reading the manuscript.

"This can't be called god-making. If the gods were created, they would not say anything about 'knowers' or 'people with lofty ideals', but just say 'saints'. Ma Feng explained.

"It is an indisputable fact that our technology is more advanced than theirs, how to explain it is a lot of trouble, the ancient civilization said that I think it is relatively simple, whether it is with the domestic or international interpretation is easy." Zhang Zhigao responded and said.

"Even though the things we talk about in universities are mainly basic science, those Westerners are stupid. They now know that the original plane geometric system of Lu Dao was proposed by Shang Gao, the determinant was invented by Liu Hui of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the limit was invented by Zu Chongzhi, and the integral was invented by Zu Chongzhi's son Zu Heng. Believe it or not, that's what we're talking about anyway. Luo Sulan suddenly interjected. He has always been flattered by the support of the shell university and Ma Feng's "top cow", but under the projection of strong and kind gratitude, the other party responded with eyes focused on infinity.

"If you want to use burning sticks and don't want to fight with aircraft artillery, say it as soon as possible." The head of the civilian bureau, the Secretary of State (the vice minister of the Prime Minister) Wen Yi said coldly on the side.

"Yes, it seems that the guns of the 95 gun clan are not very suitable for you, probably from 88 Hanyang, and they will be updated in a hundred years." Niu Jin also teased.

"Ninety-five gun clan? 5.8 caliber? The officer corps turned their heads excitedly.

"Why, can't we assemble troops in advance to 1895? There are more good things in the production of Chinese standard weapons. When the matter of Hanyeping is negotiated with Zhang Zhidong, mass production will start from Hanyang. ”

"We will use the new electric bed equipment for production – next year the Danjiangkou hydropower station will be put into trial operation. Of course, this is all under the slogan of 'civilizational revival'. Ma Feng added oil and vinegar.

"Anything else?" Liu Yun looked at the officer corps on the left.

“……”

"Good. Go on. ”

Different from the content of the internal dispute within the sub-planning department, the government and the opposition were quite appreciative of the "theory of people with lofty ideals going out of the mountain", and also dispelled their doubts, because everyone easily thought of the story of Zhuge Liang, no matter how Liu Yun became a modern Kongming, and wanted to "restore China" (further folk legend has that Liu Yun and others were "the children of the Mo family, the Guigu Gate"). Qianlong "once entrusted Master Liu Yun to give them their stunts at a critical time to save the world", and now they "came out of the oath", and the officer corps suspected that it was secretly spread by the civil official corps, although the latter never admitted it) did make the country broken by the foreign powers, the literati who were panicked and did not know the peace of the world had spiritual sustenance, and the more ideal effect was that the "troubled times" greatly satisfied the vanity of the literati (he practiced "the study of governing the world") At the same time, science and technology is no longer "strange tricks and tricks", but as " The "New Learning" of the "Classics of Troubled Times" introduced the forest of literati orthodox academics, and the world's talents flocked to it. Of course, the powerful role of the Imperial Daily in guiding public opinion cannot be underestimated.

The "Imperial Daily" talked at length about the way of Confucius and Mencius, proposing that "the words of the sages should be learned at the time, the place, and the matter, and the cause and effect should be known, and the meaning should not be taken out of context."

For example, in the Analects of Yang Goods, there is a sentence that "only the upper knows and the lower fool does not move." Throughout the ages, there have been debates about what is meant by "superior knowledge" and what is meant by "lower foolishness", but everyone believes that "superior knowledge" and "lower foolishness" are two terms, and Mencius's theory of "hard work" constitutes the ideological basis of the hierarchical society and the policy of fooling the people. However, the "Imperial Daily" refuted this interpretation, arguing that with the joint interpretation of the previous article of "sex is similar, Xi is far away", "Shangzhi" and "Xiayu" are not the two positive structures that are commonly understood to refer to "superior wisdom" and "inferior fool", but two verb-object structures, "Shang" is "advocating", and "Shangzhi" means "advocating wisdom"; "Xia" means "to despise", and "to despise ignorance" means "to despise ignorance". "Knowing from above and being foolish" means "only the idea of exalting wisdom and despising ignorance is unchanging." This kind of "wisdom" and "ignorance" are closely related to the existence or absence of knowledge and the amount of knowledge acquired. "Wisdom" is the result of "knowing more and more", and "ignorance" is the manifestation of "ignorance and little knowledge", rather than the innate superiority of human beings.

Modern theories of science and technology were labeled as Mohists and became branches of Chinese studies, while the growing Gongwu school focused more on the reinterpretation of Confucian scriptures. Not only is this whole concept subverted through the propaganda machine, but many details of life are also affected. For example, in Confucius's "Analects - Township Party", "If you don't cut properly, you don't eat." Since ancient times, it has been believed that "cutting meat when slaughtering pigs and sheep is unusual, which is rude, and the food form is also damaged, so do not eat" is a direct manifestation of respect; However, the "Imperial Daily" pointed out in the column "True Interpretation of Chinese Culture" that "improper" means "improper slaughtering methods, resulting in pathogens in the meat", which is a scientific discourse on health preservation. Confucius's "sacrifice to the public, not to the meat." The meat was sacrificed for less than three days. Out for three days, don't eat. "Not because of reverence for the sacrifice, but because of the caution that the meat should not be damaged by leaving it for too long. (After the miniaturization of the imperial refrigerator, the sacrificial folklore evolved into the sacrifice being placed in a transparent refrigerator, and after the sacrifice was completed, everyone ate the "comforting acacia", which seems to be much more civilized than the "modern" folklore practice of wasting sacrificial food.) ）

Under the control of the Gongwu School, Confucianism began to be systematically studied. Thanks to the characteristics of Chinese civilization, Confucius is neither God nor Allah, and his doctrines can be studied and scrutinized, not to mention that the literati are not tired of it. In the eighteenth year of Guangxu, Confucianism was restored from the external "rites" to the inner "benevolence", and in the nineteenth year, Confucianists further explored the root of the existence of the inner "benevolence", and found that Confucius originally regarded "music" as the root of the human spirit:

1. The joy of life: Confucius said: "It is a pleasure to have friends from afar." "Eat lightly, drink water, bend the humerus and pillow it, and enjoy it." "A spoonful of food, a scoop of drink, in the alleys, people are unbearable, and they will not change their pleasures." (The Analects of Yongye).

2. The joy of career: "Those who know are not as good as those who are good, and those who are good are not as good as those who are happy." ("The Analects of Yongye") "Forget to eat with anger, forget to worry about happiness, and don't know that old age is coming to Yun'er." (The Analects of Discourse).

3. The joy of morality: "Joy and etiquette, the goodness of people, the joy of many virtuous friends, and the benefit." ("The Analects of Ji") "The husband and gentleman are in mourning, the food is unwilling, the music is not happy, and the residence is restless, so it is not for it." Today's Nu An, then for it! (The Analects of Yang Goods).

The Gongwu School claimed that Confucius interpreted "li" as "benevolence", interpreting "li" as an external norm as the internal requirement of "benevolence", and "benevolence" is based on the "happiness" of people's psychological feelings, so "happiness" is higher than "benevolence" and higher than "etiquette". Confucius's "benevolence" has always been based on "music". Therefore, it can be said that "music" is a deeper and grander concept than "benevolence". Therefore, the fact that science and technology and the economy can satisfy the pleasure of people has been affirmed at the moral level. And "the body and the use, the unity of heaven and man, the integration of reason and reason, the isomorphism of subject and object" as the "ultimate of happiness" ended the Westernization period of "Western learning" and "middle school" of the statement, the world theory does not care about the difference between China and the West, the world nation does not care about the difference between Manchu and Han, the difference is only in the difference of culture, and our China is "all-inclusive" and "inclusive". The idea of norms and equality is gradually gaining popularity.

The biggest breakthrough between Chinese and Western culture during this period was the division between science and metaphysics, which led to the "ideological explosion" of China's subsequent miracle era. The main theories they put forward are:

1. "The way is very good, and the common way is not the way". The world realm is infinite, so it is also unTaoist as a whole. Scientific speculation, quantitative intelligence, and theoretical rationality can only know a part of it; Only by metaphysical experience, sexual intelligence, and ontological rationality can we grasp its totality. Science and metaphysics are two completely different kinds of learning, the object and result of scientific debate is knowledge, and the characteristic of knowledge is "Tao", so knowledge is "fragmented"; The object and result of metaphysical experience is the truth of the ontology, and the characteristic of the ontology is "undoable", so the ontology can only be "the whole is so". Therefore, the study of "Kedao" by "Mohist" or "Daoist" by Shijia and "Undao" by Taoism are two different directions, and there is no difference between superior and inferior, and Confucianism expounds the relationship between the two opposites and unity. This basic idea later laid the foundation for the development of Chinese philosophy in the Age of Miracles.

2. Creation and value: If heaven and man are one, then the universe is the home of my introspection. For the experience of this belonging, the ability to be mutually reciprocated, and the inside and outside are unified. In this way, the universe and life are of the same body and nature, and the way of heaven and humanity are of the same quality and flow. Therefore, there is one of them, Tianxingjian, a gentleman is constantly striving for self-improvement; Second, the great virtue of heaven and earth is born, and all things in the universe are endless, "Tao gives birth to one, life to two, two to three, and three to all things", and the joy of life, career, morality, legal system, faith, and transcendence of my body and mind promotes and creates the miracle of life, "Gou is new, every day is new, and every day is new", so that "praise the transformation and education of heaven and earth". Praise the cultivation of heaven and earth, this is the ultimate value of life. However, the ultimate value of life is not far away, it lies in the realization of the joy of one's own physical and mental life, the joy of career, the joy of morality, the joy of the legal system, the joy of faith, and the joy of transcendence. In other words, the joy of one's own physical and mental life, the joy of career, the joy of morality, the joy of the legal system, the joy of faith, and the joy of transcendence are all part of the ultimate value of "praising the transformation and education of heaven and earth". Therefore, the value created lies in the realization of "the joy of one's own physical and mental life, the joy of career, the joy of morality, the joy of the legal system, the joy of faith, and the joy of transcendence". This belief system, which was established at that time, was based on the ultimate belief system of "the unity of nature and man" and "daily renewal and education", completely knocked out the dispute between "profit" and "righteousness", and paved the way for industrial development.

In the later miracle era, scholars engaged in politics and scholars engaged in research were still given the same status as scholars in the industrial and commercial circles, and the "gentleman villain theory" was still widely used, "businessmen are in faith, scholars are in truth, and scholars are in righteousness", and the business reputation, academic morality, and political ethics were raised to the level of social ideology and belief, and even "the great rule of the world", this unexpected side effect was not something that Liu Yun Group and the Gongwu faction could have thought of at the beginning. Liu Yun later said in "Challenge", "We are not changing history, we are creating a new history with the people." "I'm afraid that in addition to the summary, there is also a hint of emotion in it.