Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"After talking about how the geographical environment of China determines the spiritual characteristics of the Chinese nation, next, we will follow the first example and talk about the three more typical countries around China, Mongolia (Northern Yuan Dynasty), North Korea, and Japan , how the geographical environment determines the spiritual characteristics of the country."

Jiang Xinghuo pointed at the map and said.

"About Mongolia, we have actually talked about it before. Let's just say briefly that the cold climate of the Mongolian Plateau determines that people living here must endure hardships and stand hard work."

Well, those who couldn't bear the hardships all froze and starved to death.

"Similarly, this kind of hard work also formed its perseverance and the subsequent expansion."

"Examples of this kind of expansion are almost everywhere. The Xiongnu, Xianbei, Turks, Khitan, and Mongolia all emerged from the Mongolian Plateau. The reason is that they were unwilling to endure the cold climate and harsh living conditions. , with their perseverance and perseverance, relying on their bodies that were stronger due to eating meat, they went south to invade China."

"And different from these clichés, I actually want to point out one more thing."

Jiang Xinghuo paused and then said: "The people on the Mongolian Plateau are accustomed to worshiping wild beasts and heaven. This is completely different from the Chinese people who worship their ancestors."

"The Great River Civilization is inseparable from blood clans. The influence of blood clans has penetrated into all aspects of society, temples, economy, and life. In the early days of Chinese civilization, both the feudal establishment and the inheritance of clans were the product of this characteristic."

"This is because the foundation of Chinese culture is the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy and the patriarchal order derived from it. The worship of ancestors provides social customary support for the maintenance and consolidation of the patriarchal order. This cultural custom is different from the Great River Civilization. It’s not open.”

Zhu Gaoxu had some enlightenment. He remembered the material foundation and top-level structure mentioned in the first volume of "On National Destiny".

Zhu Gaoxu tentatively said: "In other words, it is precisely because the nomadic people born on the Mongolian Plateau in the north did not have the material foundation of a small-scale peasant economy, so they did not have the top-level structure of a strict patriarchal system."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded and said: "Because of the fragility of the nomadic economy, the nomads themselves identify with tribes far more than they identify with clans. This situation did not change until the foreign conquests of the Golden Family changed Mongolia's material foundation. .”

"Therefore, in the harsh environment of the Mongolian plateau, they are more accustomed to worshiping powerful beasts and God who has the ability to control destiny."

Li Jinglong added: "Chinese civilization is completely the opposite."

"Chinese civilization's attitude towards wild animals is that those that can be domesticated are poultry, and those that cannot be domesticated are animals; with regard to the attitude of God, in the life of farmers, of course, they have to depend on the weather for food, but the construction of basic water conservancy facilities has also made China's Farmers do not fear and worship God as much as Mongolian nomads, they only have a slightly upward mentality."

"Even." Jiang Xinghuo pursed his lips and smiled: "Chinese civilization is accustomed to a concept of equal exchange when worshiping various gods in the sky. I will give you incense, faith and money, and you will help me. Solve my problem, if it can’t be solved, I will find the next god.”

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu and Li Jinglong also laughed.

It's funny, but it's true.

If ordinary people want to have a child, which one cannot be worshiped by Guanyin, Taishan Empress, or Zhang Xian? Anyway, everyone is dealing with the same thing.

After talking about Mongolia, Jiang Xinghuo continued to talk about the next country, North Korea.

"If North Korea includes higher hills, strictly speaking, eight-tenths of its land area is mountainous. Therefore, North Korea's agricultural farming conditions, as a whole, are actually not as good as those in China, which has several large plains. Here People are relatively poor and find it difficult to create brilliant art."

"As a closed peninsula surrounded by sea on three sides, the only external influence that North Korea can accept is China, which is bordered by land. It is precisely because China is extremely strong and North Korea is extremely weak, so for hundreds of years North Korea has regarded China as its righteousness and implemented Seriously."

"And the so-called principle of taking matters into consideration is based on the strategy of small countries serving big countries to preserve themselves under the balance of strength. Well, this is also learned from China."

The concept of "big things" has been around since the Spring and Autumn Period. In "Mencius King Hui of Liang", King Xuan of Qi asked: Is it right to treat neighboring countries? Mencius said to him: Yes, but the benevolent can regard the big as the small. This is the story of Tang's affairs with Ge, and King Wen's affairs with Kun and Yi. But a wise man can make a big deal out of small things. Therefore, the great king serves Mao Huan, and Gou Jian serves Wu. Those who regard big things as small things are those who are happy with heaven; those who think of small things as big things are those who fear heaven. Those who are happy with Heaven protect the world, and those who fear Heaven protect their country.

This means that only when small countries fear destiny can they gain stability.

To put it more bluntly, follow your heart when you should.

"So this geographical environment determines what the national spiritual characteristics of North Korea are?" Li Jinglong asked with a blink.

"self-abasement."

Jiang Xinghuo said concisely and concisely: "Inferiority is something engraved in the bones of North Korea, and inferiority inevitably leads to false arrogance."

"North Korea is different from Japan, which I will talk about next. Japan's attitude towards inferiority is to pick up a knife and fight the stronger. If they lose, they will commit suicide by caesarean section and die with honor. Anyway, Japan is not afraid of death. Their usual geography The environment determines that Japan often dies inexplicably. And if Japan defeats the powerful, it will immediately expand from inferiority to arrogance like a toad taking in air."

"As for North Korea, it has neither the ability nor the courage to wield a sword against the strong, so its only way to relieve its inferiority complex is to use the pen in its hand. This is a typical half-bucket of water. As a student of China, North Korea has a good Confucian culture. You don’t learn anything, but you learn something bad and become proficient.”

"Spring and Autumn brushwork covers up history and creates a history of nothingness. This is North Korea's arrogant way."

Today's lesson seemed to be getting more and more joyful, and the two burst into laughter again.

Li Jinglong recalled that during the Hongwu and Jianwen dynasties, when he met the North Korean mission as a distinguished representative, the North Koreans were timid and pretentious in private, and he couldn't help but smile knowingly.

"The last one is Japan."

Hearing this, Li Jinglong cheered up.

The highlight for him had arrived.

"Geographical conditions, first of all, the land area. We have said that Japan has few local resources, and there are few plain areas suitable for farming and they are all along the coast. Therefore, once Japan becomes strong, it will like to invade foreign countries to obtain fields and resources. Japan's item storage They are relatively famous, which is also related to their small land area and small living space."

"In terms of mental traits, this kind of performance that is severely affected by geographical conditions is even more obvious."

"The main points are summarized in three points. The first point is self-improvement; the second point is collective; and the third point is life and death."

"The first point is self-improvement. Precisely because Japan has a long and narrow terrain, lack of resources, and many natural disasters, Japanese people living here inevitably have a pessimistic mood, but they can survive tenaciously in harsh environmental conditions and feel self-improvement. Solace is different from North Korea’s national spiritual trait only of inferiority; Japan’s national spiritual trait has this kind of self-improvement, and this self-improvement includes learning from the strong.”

"In terms of learning, China has always been the object of learning for Japan. Most of Japan's etiquette comes from China."

"This in the end is why?"

Zhu Gaoxu was also a little curious. He had never been to Japan and had never seen Japanese people.

Jiang Xinghuo said solemnly: "Have you ever taken a long trip alone?"

Zhu Gaoxu shook his head, but he seemed to recall something.

In Zhu Gaojiu's memory, the first time he tried to rescue Jiang Xinghuo from prison by substituting one thing for another, he and Jiang Xinghuo drank a lot of wine in order to get Jiang Xinghuo drunk.

At that time, Jiang Xinghuo confided a few words from the bottom of his heart to him.

"I am like a traveler across the ocean. The ocean is vast and traceless, and a solitary boat passes through one scenery after another. It is a bit fresh at first, but then becomes helpless."

"I have been too far away from the shore in my life, and I don't know if I can return to my hometown. So sometimes I lose control of my emotions and scream for help at the sea, which is like saying goodbye..."

Mr. Jiang, you must have experienced a long, long lonely journey.

Jiang Xinghuo didn't know Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts, so he continued.

"Japan, like a traveler wandering on the edge of the civilized world, must pay attention to etiquette, even if this etiquette is inexplicable, stubborn, and unreasonable, because the meaning of this etiquette does not lie in the etiquette itself, but in the use of etiquette. This kind of etiquette reminds oneself that one is a member of civilization, thereby maintaining spiritual independence.”

"Of course, this kind of spiritual independence is also reflected in culture. Although Japan has learned Confucian culture and Chinese Buddhist culture from China, it has an isolated self-esteem. Although it is under the cultural influence of China, it has never truly surrendered. Once there is a strong person who surpasses China and influences it, it will not hesitate to cut off the culture it learned from China and learn its culture from the new strong person. This is part of Japan's self-improvement I mentioned before. aspect."

"So what I just said about inferiority and self-improvement sounds quite awkward." Li Jinglong sighed.

"Yes, it is a twist, and this kind of twist will continue to manifest itself."

"This manifestation is the second and third points, or in other words, the shame culture spawned by collective consciousness."

"I call it two things, the chrysanthemum and the knife."

The two of them didn't quite understand, Jiang Xinghuo said slowly.

"The second point is collective." Jiang Xinghuo said, "Also because of the geographical environment with frequent natural disasters, Japan has realized the vulnerability and limitations of individuals. In order to survive, individuals must rely on the collective. For a long time, ordinary Japanese people They all live a collective life and adhere to the collectivism principle of collective interests first. This kind of collectivism, according to Japanese proverb, is that it is difficult for a chrysanthemum to show its own beauty, but when many chrysanthemums bloom at the same time, it is brilliant and beautiful. beautiful."

Li Jinglong nodded and said, "This is not incomprehensible."

"The third point is life and death."

Jiang Xinghuo continued following the words: "I just mentioned that Japan was influenced by Chinese Confucianism and Han Buddhism. Therefore, Japan attaches great importance to etiquette, justice, integrity, and shame. It has a deeper 'shame culture' than Chinese Confucianism. It even requires people to have their belly opened to show their innocence. . But at the same time, they are extremely cruel to themselves and their enemies, cruel to the point of being shameless, and they are not afraid of the death of their enemies, nor are they afraid of their own death."

"Japan and China have completely different attitudes towards death."

Jiang Xinghuo looked at the leaves falling from the new crooked neck tree and said: "Chinese Confucianism believes that if you don't know life, how can you know death." Zilu asked Confucius about ghosts and gods, and Confucius answered with ease, treating mysterious questions such as ghosts and gods, life and death. , transferred to the value of life in this world."

"But Japan does not shy away from death. Since the cherry blossoms of the Tang Dynasty were introduced to Japan, Japan has liked the cherry blossoms that bloom in an instant and then wither in an instant. This is the same as their view of life and death. They believe that death is the flash of life that blooms in an instant."

Zhu Gaoxu was a little unbelievable: "It's really strange."

It is indeed strange. If you look at it according to the standards of Chinese culture, there is a very classic saying that can describe it.

Better to die than live.

"The reason why Japan has to downplay death poetically, as I said when I talked about North Korea, is because of its geographical environment. The monsoon climate has led to unstable returns from farming, and frequent storms in summer and autumn have damaged the fishing industry. The risks, as well as frequent earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions, have led to a high probability of accidental death in Japan, which is actually a kind of helplessness."

"Under such geographical conditions, it is easy for the Japanese to be sensitive, suspicious and capricious, because they are extremely insecure. This lack of security derives from the second point just mentioned, which is a strong collective consciousness. At the same time, Also due to the high importance attached to other people’s opinions and one’s own reputation, distorted self-esteem is formed.”

"From our common Chinese point of view, suicide is sometimes a sign of cowardice, while Japan believes that suicide embodies the fearless courage of the samurai to welcome death without hesitation and no regrets, and can restore the soul of the humiliated person. The reason for purification and detachment is that Japan believes that the soul exists in the human belly, so committing suicide by disembowelment with a knife can release and sublimate the soul."

Indeed, let alone committing suicide, Xiang Yu, who did not run away even though he had a chance to make a comeback, was also written a poem, saying "The children of Jiangdong are so talented, and it is unknown whether they will make a comeback"?

And Han Xin's "crotch humiliation" became a good story. Very few people who read this story laughed at Han Xin for not showing off his courage. If Han Xin killed someone or committed suicide in anger, how could there be any stories about the Han soldiers and immortals in later generations?

Chinese people generally will not choose suicide unless they are in a desperate situation.

However, Japanese suicide is obviously based on some kind of custom.

This kind of suicide is not necessary in many cases.

"If they are insulted, ridiculed, or criticized by others in public, they will feel that they have suffered great shame. There are only two ways to wash away this shame. One is to use ridicule as a source of motivation to continuously improve themselves. The other is to despise or humiliate others, and disemboweling oneself with a knife is the highest expression of contempt for oneself.”

Li Jinglong is a little sluggish. He co-authored, "Japan's caesarean section is caused by shame. If we want to laugh at the Japanese every day, will all Japanese have caesarean section with a knife?"

That's not right, maybe someone will raise a knife and demand a duel.

Li Jinglong secretly noted this in his heart.

——When you go to Japan, be sure not to laugh at the Japanese.

After all, he still wants to come back alive. If he acts too recklessly on other people's territory, the chance of coming back alive is low.

For Li Jinglong, life is the first priority, glory and wealth are the second priority, and shame is the third priority.

"Gone?"

Zhu Gaochi was slightly startled.

"Maybe it's gone." Zhu Di rubbed his eyebrows and said with some confusion, "Although what I said today is very good, I still feel..."

"Not happy." Zhu Gaochi felt the same way.

"Yes, I'm just not happy."

Zhu Di probably recalled the feeling of being repeatedly shocked by the theories such as the 'Law of Dynasty Cycles', 'Sharing the slaves to the mother', 'Silver Banknotes', etc., but it just lacked that feeling.

Strange, am I addicted to this feeling?

Zhu Di shook his head and threw this ridiculous idea out of his mind.

Gu Cheng, who was beside him, was thoughtful. Since the emperor had decided to comprehensively adjust the Ming Dynasty's strategy and gradually shift from land to sea, the information obtained from the lecture was still very useful.

If you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger.

At the same time, the theory of 'World Island War' also greatly inspired Gu Cheng. The old general suddenly felt that his previous vision was limited to the surrounding areas of the Ming Dynasty, which seemed a bit narrow indeed.

Unlike these three people, Dao Yan shook his head slightly.

Dao Yan was very sure that Jiang Sheng would not only analyze these superficial things, or only have a little depth.

Since Jiang Sheng dares to speak, he must have a groundbreaking new theory.

Sure enough, Jiang Xinghuo lived up to the believer's expectations.

Under the tree, Jiang Xinghuo rested for a moment and continued to speak.

"Just now we talked about the spiritual characteristics of the country, and what I want to say is that it is the geographical environment that determines the formation of the country and the spiritual characteristics of the country. And it is the spiritual characteristics of the country that determines the formation of the future nation-state."

Upon hearing this, Dao Yan raised his eyebrows.

The nation-state?

I’m afraid this is what Jiang Sheng really wants to talk about!

Here we are, unfolding such a long map, and this shining dagger finally reveals its edge.

The previous ones are all prologues.

——————

Although every soul originally shines with moral brilliance, like a brand new knife, it will rust if it is not sharpened regularly. As they say, this kind of rust on the body is as bad as the rust on the knife.

Therefore, one must pay equal attention to both the sword and one's nature, and sharpen it frequently. Even if it is rusty, the soul is still shining underneath the 'rust' and just needs to be polished again.

——Ruth Benedict, "The Chrysanthemum and the Knife"

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