First of all, we must find the reason from Zhu Yuanzhang. He is the two ends of the first mouse among Confucian scholars. During Zhu Yuanzhang's political career, he not only relied on Buddhism and Taoism, but also killed monks and Taoists from time to time. The same is true for Confucianism, Legalism, etc. Although he often denounced Legalists such as Li Si and Han Fei, most of the essence of his governance thoughts came from Legalist works.

Zhu Yuanzhang

He has always praised Confucius and Mencius, and he must be called the three generations. Confucianism seems to be his only banner, but deep down he really despises Confucian scholars. If he ordered that 'every scholar should use a single log for an equal position', when asked why, Zhu Yuanzhang replied: 'Show your talents and be strong, and you will not defeat my case. ’ Although this is a trivial matter, it can be seen that the scholar’s ??status in Zhu Yuanzhang’s mind. In the early Ming Dynasty, not only the local government needed a large number of talents, but the central government in Nanjing also needed a group of literati. Zhu Yuanzhang showed considerable patience and sincerity in his ability to govern the world, including Yuan's survivors. For some early scholars who defected to him, such as Song Lian, Liu Ji, Tao An, etc. He had trusted them a lot. Before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China, special treatment was also given. For example, if Liu Ji is regarded as Zhuge Liang and himself, never calling him by his first name, but treating him as a teacher, this is the highest courtesy the emperor can give. In the early years of the Wu Kingdom, when Zhu Yuanzhang was formulating national taxes and grains, he also specifically reduced the tax on Qingtian County, Liu Ji's hometown, by five acres, saying that he wanted to "make Bowen's hometown a good talk in the world." Song Lian, one of the four famous teachers, is a standard Confucian scholar. He was once the teacher of Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son, Zhu Biao, explaining classics, history and governance. Later, he served as Qi Juzhu, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and an imperial official, and presided over the revision of the code of "Yuan History". He is known as the first civil servant of the Ming Dynasty and is Zhu Yuanzhang's chief advisor on literature and Confucianism. For a long time, the relationship between the monarch and his subjects was quite harmonious. Tao An, who has followed Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time, is also honored. Zhu Yuanzhang also personally wrote a couplet for Tao An's mansion, "Unparalleled strategy of the country and dynasty, the first chapter of the Han Dynasty", which made its lintel shine and made its scribes shine.

Other literati were not so lucky, especially those who transferred from the Yuan Dynasty after the fall of most of the capital. Zhu Yuanzhang looked down upon them the most, and the most prominent representative wanted to push the dangerous elements known as the "national history" of the Yuan Dynasty. During the Yuan Dynasty, Su Wei participated in the compilation of three history books, "Song", "Liao" and "Jin", and biographies of "Concubines". The army of the Ming Dynasty entered Dadu, and "the soldiers entered the government and were hidden in the annals of history, and the public spoke of it in the governor Wu Miandai." If there is no lack of experience, then the elements are strong’. A dangerous bachelor with a reputation for winning national fame. He has reached the age where he values ??literature and treats others with courtesy. One day, sitting behind the screen, I never knew. It's comfortable to step outside the screen. On the screen, who are you looking for? Su said: "Old minister is in trouble. The words after harmony are slow. He smiled softly and said: 'I only know that Boyi and Shu Qi are here. People who are so well-educated are so despised. Needless to say other things, often

Zhu Yuanzhang was not very interested in the titles given by various gods and celebrities of various dynasties, but he was kind to Confucius. . Then he ordered the temple in Qufu, and the old official gave the sacrifice to Duke Feng. In February of the first year of Wu Hong, Ding Wei, Confucius' former teacher, was enshrined in Guo Xue's prison. Before going to Qufu to offer sacrifices, Zhu Yuanzhang earnestly warned: "Zhongni's road is vast and vast, integrating with heaven and earth. There are people in the world who don't want to do things. I am the lord of the world, and I want to be enlightened by the Ming Dynasty to practice the way of the sages. 'Now that you have made sacrificial wine and come to the capital, you still send your son to the palace to worship. You should respect him. 'But when the descendants of Confucius should not go to Korea, Zhu Yuanzhang became furious again. According to historical records, in March of the first year of Hongwu, General Xu Da conquered Jining, Shandong Province. Qufu, the hometown of Saint Master Confucius, belonged to Jining Road. Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Confucius, the 55th generation of Sunyuan Imperial Academy, to toast Kong Kejian and ask him to come to Nanjing to pay homage. Kong Kejian hesitated, he couldn't complain, so he only sent his son Kong Xixue. Some people suspect that Zhu Yuanzhang, who attacked the Duke of Feast, looked down upon him and thought that he was an emperor of humble origin, which made him feel extremely insulted. Although he was repeatedly restrained, he was always angry, so he drafted an imperial edict and hurriedly sent it to Kong Kejian, saying: "Although I started as a commoner, the ancients called themselves emperors after the people, and they were also the ancestors of the Han Dynasty." You have a disease, but you don’t know whether it’s true or not. If you say your illness is holding me back, that's impossible. Kong Kejian felt something was wrong, so he rushed to Nanjing day and night. Kong Kejian's arrival turned Zhang Yuan's anger into joy.

On the eighth day of April in the first year of Hongwu, Zhang Yuan cordially and gently summoned Kong Kejian in the main hall. On August 8, Ren Shen wrote, "The Duke of Fengyan attacked Qufu and made him the prefect, so that he could remain as before." From then on, the Ming and Qing dynasties followed each other and when they attacked and enthroned the Duke of Feast, they just treated him as noble and let him go. Zhu Yuanzhang also gave Confucius about 600,000 acres of land for 115 families. That's all.

As for Zhu Yuanzhang, who was extremely self-respecting and self-willed, he was unwilling to have such a noble soul as Confucius, the "Sage of the Selected Works". In the second year of Wu's reign, an edict was issued saying: "The Temple of Confucius opens in the Spring and Autumn Period and ends in Qufu. There is no need for worship from all over the world." ’ The imperial edict is in hand. For example, Qiantang, the Minister of Justice at the time, said: "Confucius has been teaching throughout the ages, and everyone in the world respects his teachings." Therefore, Confucius can be worshiped by the world, and the gift of repaying one's origin cannot be abolished. The minister also advised: "In ancient and modern times, only She Ji, Huang San, and Confucius worshiped together. The people of the world are not in one country, Huang San cannot live, and the way of Confucius cannot be established. Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Zhou Gong were all saints. But if the Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Principles are brought to the extreme and reflected in the scriptures, they will be models for all kings and models for all generations. If the world falls but no one will fall, Confucius will also be able to teach with the Tao and the world will respect him. , not their people, but their way. Let the people of the world read their books, be taught by them, and do their things, rather than sacrifice to them. This is not because they care about people's hearts and help the world to educate. After making such a fuss, Zhu Yuanzhang felt it was unreasonable, so he reluctantly withdrew the order, so a few years later, he vented his unknown anger on the head of the old teacher Mencius. Secondly, we must find the reason from Mencius' thought. Among ancient Chinese thinkers, Mencius' people-centered thought is the most prominent. He has a famous saying: "The people are the most important, the country is the second, and the king is the least." Mencius believed that "the land and the people are the most important." Government is the "three treasures" of the country. Whoever can protect the people will be king, because if you destroy the people, you will be a lonely husband. If you don't deserve to win the world, you will be overthrown even if you win the world. Overthrowing such an emperor is not an act of regicide, just like overthrowing the rule of Yin He, it is to eliminate harm for the people. Mencius said: "The one who wins the world is the Tao." The people win the world. Those who win the world will lose the world. On the contrary, as long as people support people, those who cannot win the world will definitely win the world. Therefore, it is because Qiu Min is the emperor, the emperor is the princes, and the princes are the officials. '. In other words, Qiu Min is more important than the emperor. Therefore, Zhao Qi of the Han Dynasty said in the chapter "The people are the most valuable" that "the people are the king and the king is the minister. The king and the people are the most important." , according to Mencius's purpose.

Zhu Yuanzhang

If the emperor cannot protect the people, all the people in the world can be killed. Therefore, Mencius did not advocate that all the people in the world should be loyal to one surname. Confucius once said: “The king makes his ministers courteous, and the ministers are loyal to the king. "So, what should I do if the monarch and his envoys are not polite? Confucius did not go on. However, Mencius followed Confucius's words one step further. He said, 'If you regard your chiefs as brothers, you should treat your chiefs as brothers.' The leader is regarded as the center of your stomach; if you regard me as a dog or a horse, then I regard you as a Chinese; if you regard your ministers as dung, you will regard your ministers as enemies. In other words, in Mencius. In his mind, there is no absolute authority of the emperor, and the relationship between emperor and minister is relative. He said, "If you talk about adults, you will not regard them as majestic." . The "benevolence" Mencius talks about here is mainly for the sake of the people. In order to win and protect the world, the emperor must implement benevolent government and care for the people.

So, how can we win the hearts of the people? You should think about the people and don't impose things that the people hate. The way to win the people is to win the hearts of the people. Set your heart, get what you want, and get together with it; don't do anything wrong for you. That is to promote the interests of the people and eliminate harm for the people. Mencius called this kind of politics of "conquering people with virtue" as "benevolent government" and "kingly way", while "using power to suppress people" actually loses the people's support. Mencius called it "hegemony". and 'tyrant'. Comparing these two kinds of politics, Mencius further believed that 'those who convince others with force will not be convinced by force, but will not be convinced by force; if the emperor convinces people with virtue, he will be sincerely convinced'. A benevolent person is invincible. Why is a benevolent person invincible in the world? Mencius said that it is because of the "Tao" that "people who seek the Tao will be helped more by nature." If people are harmonious, they will be invincible.

A tyrant who persuades others by force, attempts to conquer others by force, and constantly launches wars, "fighting for land, killing people, killing wild people; "fighting for cities, killing cities", thereby committing a heinous crime, and deserves to be "punished". What is commendable is that Mencius, who lived in the Warring States Period when wars were constant and murderous activities were rampant, was able to have these thoughts that transcended the times. But these sparks of thought were particularly dazzling for Zhu Yuanzhang, who tried to establish the Zhu family through power. In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang was disgusted with all the different doctrines of Mencius' era. In the first year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang once said when discussing academic issues with Confucian ministers: "During the Warring States Period, arrogance spread

The beginning, end and results of the incident

"The whole country generally worships Confucius. In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang was still worried about the problem. One day in the fifth year of Wu Hong's reign, Zhu Yuanzhang accidentally looked through "The Chronicles of Ming Dynasty" again and saw that "the people are the most precious", "the king is the least", and "the king is the most important". Treat me as my brothers and feet, and treat him as my heart; if you treat me as a dog or a horse, then I will treat you as a Chinese; if you treat your prince as dung, then I will treat your prince as an enemy, and 'bullying' ', 'Tyrant', 'Madam', you will feel more like a thorn in my side. He looked at it and cursed: "What a ridiculous thing!" How could it be like what a courtier said? If this is old today, could you give me a pocket knife? On the same day, Mencius was ordered to be expelled from the Confucius Temple and was not allowed to enjoy anything. He also said harshly that the ministers were 'disrespectful to those who remonstrated and ordered Wu Jin to shoot them'. Seeing this imperial edict, everyone in the imperial court was panicked and at a loss. At this time, Qiantang, the Minister of Punishment, stood up and shouted loudly to vindicate Mencius. Zhu Yuanzhang was of course furious, and his chamberlain described the emperor's anger to Qiantang. Qiantang said: 'I died for Munch, and my death was more glorious. After saying that, he asked people to carry the coffin prepared in advance, bare chested, and with the determination to die, he went straight to the direction of Fengtian Temple. All the ministers of the Tang Dynasty worked for Qiantang. The chamberlain also flew in to report. Sure enough, I saw Zhu Yuanzhang's life. The guards of "Wu Jin" led the full bow with murderous intent, waiting for the arrival of Qiantang. Zhu Yuanzhang became even more angry when he saw the tragic situation in Qiantang. He actually asked the guards of "Wu Jin" to shoot a few arrows. Qiantang was shot in the left arm, right shoulder, and chest, and was shot down in the palace, but he still struggled to climb to the throne. Seeing Qiantang's pain and perseverance, Zhu Yuanzhang finally gave in. After this incident, Zhu Yuanzhang not only did not punish Qiantang, but also ordered the imperial doctors from the imperial hospital to carefully treat his arrow wounds. The next year, Zhu Yuanzhang, who had regained his composure, issued an edict saying, "Mencius discerned heresies, warded off evil spirits, and invented the way of Confucius so that he could enjoy it as before." In this way, Qiantang made great contributions to the saint Mencius. No wonder later generations are full of praise for him. There is a poem from later generations that says, "With the arrow in the coffin as my chest, I will support the saint to the death." The seven chapters of benevolence and righteousness cannot be written, but the thousand-year scroll is still painted. The balance is strong and powerful, and those who have no teeth will eventually achieve virtue. ‘Hong En wants to travel all over the world, and there is a shrine palace to the east of Pan Palace. '

Zhu Yuanzhang

But Zhu Yuanzhang felt that this old Mengman was a bit annoying, saying that 'the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the king is the light'; what is 'filth' and 'hate'; What 'the murderer's father, the man who killed his father, the murderer's brother, the man who killed his brother'; what is 'the thief' is the husband. ‘I have never heard of regicide’; something like ‘if you have something bigger than yourself, you will remonstrate, and if you don’t listen repeatedly, you will change your position’ and so on. These are really a bit like pointing your nose in and criticizing yourself. In particular, "A Brief History of the Ming Dynasty" is one of the official "Four Records of Rites of the Ming Dynasty". Schools at all levels serve as teaching materials, and imperial examinations serve as propositions. Isn’t this bad for all students in the world? In the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang finally did not let Mencius go. Since sharing cannot be done, I should be able to touch your book. Therefore, academician Liu Sanwu was ordered to abridge "Excerpts of Xianzhong Jingulu". 82-year-old Academician Liu Sanwu was very scared after being appointed. After repeated speculation, he deleted 85 articles that Zhu Yuanzhang found irritating and retained more than 170 articles, which became a book of "Mencius". Zhu Yuanzhang immediately issued an edict, stipulating that "from now on, within the eighty-five articles, scholars are not allowed to write propositions, and scholars are not allowed to be selected for the imperial examination. First, the learning of sages must be regarded as righteousness" (Liu Sanwu 0755-