Datang is not far away, how can China get closer?
Many scholars believe that as long as a person follows the original path of Chinese culture, he will become a Chinese sooner or later.
I don't agree with this statement because it's not.
The direction of Datang needs a kind of heroic righteousness. This qi appeared in the Qin and Han empires, especially Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
However, Qin Shi Huang was exhausted by severe civil strife and major works, and Emperor Wu of Han was devastated by a war with the Xiongnu that lasted for more than 50 years.
Later, the excessive and fragmented chaos was even more lifeless. Although there are masters of Wei and Jin, Wang Xizhi, and Tao Yuanming, who continue the noble spiritual bloodline, the more noble and compromised they are, the more they cannot resonate with the world.
In this case, how is it possible to build the Datang?
The sense of space is the result of a powerful force. This power no longer comes from the court or the literary garden, but only from the wilderness.
The power of the wild, the power of the uncivilized wild. Can uncivilized wilderness participate in the creation of great cultures? It depends on how quickly it can enlighten itself. If it succeeds, then the power of the wilderness can become the backbone of the entire civilization.
Over time, China gained this ferocious power.
The wilderness unit starts from the eastern foot of the Great Khing'an Mountains in the north.
The Xianbei people still live in a primitive nomadic state, and the Tuoba Department has gradually gained a foothold here.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty destroyed the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu moved west to the south, and the Xianbei Tuoba clan came to the homeland of the Xiongnu, formed a strong alliance with the remnants of the Xiongnu tribes, defeated other tribes, ruled the north, established a dynasty, and built the capital at the end of the fourth century AD in today's Datong, Shanxi, called Pingcheng at that time.
At the suggestion of Han scholars, the country was officially changed to"Wei", which means that the Three Kingdoms replaced the Wei regime and entered Chinese orthodoxy, known as the Northern Wei Dynasty in history. Subsequently, after half a century of war, the Northern Wei Dynasty completed the unification of the Yellow River Valley.
The victory and the expansion of the scope of rule after the victory encouraged the Xianbei leaders of the Northern Wei Dynasty to invest in cultural reflection.
The most obvious problem is that the Han people have been conquered by the Han people and can be at their mercy, but the agrarian civilization represented by the Han people cannot be at the mercy of the rules of nomadic civilization.
In order to effectively manage agricultural civilization, it was necessary to prevent the annexation of powerful countries and introduce a system of equal land, a household registration system, a tax system, and a provincial system, which required a series of major reforms in lifestyles and cultural patterns.
Either we don't reform and let the fertile land of the Central Plains give up farming and grazing, and we return to the primitive era together; Either we reform and let the culture of the vanquished triumph over itself, and together we move towards civilization.
The wise men of the Xianbei tribe boldly chose the latter. Of course, they met with tremendous resistance. Arrogant and fragile national measures have repeatedly evolved into barbarism. They also brutally murdered some Han Chinese who were officials with them, such as Cui Hao.
But God bless Xianbei, God bless Weibei, God bless China, on this bloody road of reform, there is only one final conclusion: cynicism!
From the end of the fifth century AD, Empress Dowager Feng to Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong implemented a series of strict sinicization measures. Beginning with the administrative and agricultural systems, reforms in the field of culture quickly followed.
Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong issued a series of strict edicts that belonged to the category of culture.
First, the capital was moved from Datong (Pingcheng) in Shanxi to Luoyang, Henan. This is because the northern homeland is more suitable for nomads"Shang Wu", while the Southern Central Plains region is more suitable"Bunji"。So-called"Bunji"It is to fully accept the social governance style of the Han people.
Second, it was forbidden to speak the language of the Xianbei people, so everyone switched to Chinese. Older ** can adapt, but ** under the age of thirty will be immediately demoted and punished if they still speak Xianbei language.
Third, the traditional clothing of the Xianbei people was abandoned, and the style of clothing and hat based on Han clothing was introduced.
Fourth, all Xianbei people who move to Luoyang will determine their place of origin"Luoyang, Henan"After his death, he was buried in Pishan Mountain, north of Luoyang.
Fifth, the Xianbei people changed their surnames to single surnames.
Sixth, the original sacrificial form of the Xianbei people has been changed by the Han rituals.
Article 7 advocated intermarriage between Xianbei and Han Chinese, and stipulated that Xianbei nobles should take the lead in marrying Han scholars.
It is indeed surprising that the ruler of a minority has so many orders issued by the ruler of a minority with great power and no one to coerce. This is extremely rare not only in China, but also in the history of the world.
The angry reaction was predictable. All the responses were long-lasting, enthusiastic, and all associated with national honor. In addition, it will also extend to members of the Xiaowen Emperor's family, such as the crown prince.
This reactionary punishment of Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong was so cold that it was completely unreasonable.
This is very similar to the characters in Shakespeare's plays. As a descendant of the Xianbei people with pure blood, he could not be proud of his ancestors, but he had to decide to abandon the traditional ecology of his ancestors on his own.
He had to endure the pain. But it was precisely because of this pain that he had to stick to his decision and not allow himself or his subordinates to hesitate or waver.
He punished one volleyball player after another, and in fact punished himself.
His predecessors, the first to propose"Sinicization"The ideological founding emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Tuoba Jue (Daowu Emperor), once fell into the spirit because of this kind of self-questioning, self-talk, and killing people and goods. This, I think, is the spirit that civilization inevitably produces between reactionary and barbaric.
Such meandering often takes hundreds or even thousands of years, but they have to be completed in a few decades, so that even history itself faints.
In the fifth century AD, China ended the life of Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong. But he died ...Only 32 years old!
It is unbelievable that Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong, who only lived on Earth for 32 years, did something that changed the world so much.
Nominally, he ascended the throne at the age of four and reigned for 28 years, but it was actually his grandmother, Empress Dowager Feng, who was in power. Empress Dowager Feng was only 23 years old when she died, so she reigned independently for only 9 years.
What an incredible 9 years!
His courage and determination led to a complex political upheaval. But this series of reforms has had a profound impact on the most important ecological culture, and it is difficult to turn back.
For nine years, he pushed northern China to a tipping point in culture that would change the whole of China.
As a result, he became an outstanding emperor in the history of the Xianbei people, the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and even the history of China.
As a cultural reformer in a true macro sense, I have special respect for him.
As for the reforms of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty, I am afraid that they are somewhat misleading to many fanatical Han nationalists and advocates of the Great Central Plains in contemporary Chinese intellectual circles.
Emperor Xiaowen's actions seem to have further demonstrated the superiority of Han culture.
It is true that compared with the Xianbei people who have just come out of the primitive society, the Han culture is much more mature. Thanks to the many excellent social management designers who appeared in the third dynasty of the Xia and Shang dynasties, thanks to the rich interpretations of the hundred schools of thought, and thanks to the excellent practices of the Qin and Han empires, the Han people have advantages not only in technology but also in material, and can lead the nomads to seek a rapid leap in culture.
It is also a historical fact that foreigners tend to outnumber Han Chinese, but they are culturally disadvantaged.
However, with all this in mind, we must also understand that Emperor Xiaowen's Zen reform was not only motivated by respect for Han culture, but also for more practical reasons. When he opened his eyes and realized that he had just enjoyed broad sovereignty, he thought for a moment and then immediately looked for other sovereign qualifications other than military.
In ancient Macedonia, Alexander the Great was a young ruler who died almost the same year as Emperor Xiaowen, and whenever he conquered a country, he bowed to the gods in order to gain sovereignty over the military.
We must see that Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong did not force his people to convert to Han culture, but he did not prevent them from integrating their heroism into Han culture. On the contrary, only when they are completely sinicized can they truly integrate their own brilliance into Han culture.
The Xianbei people were forbidden to wear Hanfu and speak Chinese, but the Han people were not. In fact,'Huh'The process of sinicization is also Han'Huh'The process of transformation. According to my theoretical summary, they form a kind of ubiquitous'Bidirectional isomorphism, vortex, intergenerational fusion'pattern.
Since the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Han Chinese have benefited greatly from the ecological culture of the northern and western ethnic minorities, and the list goes on. Once, when I explained this history to students in the School of Humanities at Peking University, I asked them to think about it, and they really came up with a lot of such examples when they were unprepared.
I laughed, thinking to myself that there are still many people in the younger generation who understand that Chinese culture is not only a giver in ancient times, but also often benefits from the cultures of other peoples.
I said to the students of Peking University, among all the examples you mentioned, the musical instruments that I am most interested in are: the Hu Ji, the Qiang flute, the Qi drum, the Qiuzi pipe...Without these instruments, the Tang Symphony would not be complete. Anyone who has seen Dunhuang and read Tang poetry is easily aware of this.
And that's just the first aspect. It can be seen that Datang was not created only by the people of the Central Plains.
In addition, there is such a vitality in Chinese culture, which is a little dark, a little cold, a little primitive, a little chaotic, but very open, very free, very relaxed.
The sky is vast and the wilderness is vast"What the sons and daughters of the ox cart by the river have never experienced, but it has become a new cultural background. Chinese culture is also like a horse on the grassland, galloping with its hooves and majestic.
This is what Lu Xun said"The Tang people have a beard"。
And that's not all. At the same time that Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong did everything possible to encourage the Xianbei people to intermarry with the Han people"Phlebotomy"The process is also in full swing.
Note that this is no longer a division in the political sense, but in the sense of life, which is a great harmony in the field of anthropology.
From this, I want to uncover the mystery of the origin of the Tang Dynasty from a deeper level: the Tang Li royal family, the crystallization of the mixed blood of Xianbei and Han.
Tang Gaozu's biological mother Li Yuan and Tang Taizong's biological mother Li Shimin are both Xianbei people. Li Shimin's queen is also a Xianbei person. Thus, 3 4 of the bloodlines of Li Zhi of Tang Gaozong were Xianbei and 1 4 were Han Chinese.
In fact, they were also sisters of Yang Guang, the mother of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, and Li Yuan, the mother of Tang Gaozu. Their place of origin is said to be"Luoyang, Henan"--The birthplace of Emperor Xiaowen Tuoba Hong.
In this context, we have to admire once again the foresight of Emperor Xiaowen, who involved the people in this important historical event in the gentlest and most pragmatic way.
This is the way to the distance, that's really clear.
Initially, the road was a bit narrow, a little crooked, and a little rough, but over time it has become a very important street in Chinese history.
The most representative attractions in the Tang Dynasty are the Yungang Grottoes and the Longmen Caves.
The Yungang Grottoes in Datong, Shanxi Province, and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, Henan Province, were the capitals of the Northern Wei Dynasty. These two grottoes were the main transportation arteries leading to the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
I wanted to describe it a little bit to shock those who were too immersed in the traditional Han culture, but after much hesitation, I decided to give up, because before Yungang and Longmen, these words were useless.
We have evidence that the writer Bingxin set foot on the dusty path leading to the Yungang Grottoes with friends when she was young, and the words she described with her pen were almost all exciting, almost ripe, but in the end she admitted that they were useless.
He wrote: trillions of incarnations, carved all over the mountain, ingenious, and magical. As it comes, a world, a wing, a hoof, a flower, a leaf, each beautiful, each beautiful and true, not as words, as painting. Looking back at a page of infinite nostalgia, looking forward to a page calls infinite yearning. The eyes could not focus, the feet could not stand, it was like a thief suddenly broke into the treasure house, his soul was lost, he did not know what he had taken with him, and then he remembered it, it was like entering the heavenly palace in a dream, and when he woke up, his heart was clear, his mouth could not speak, and he realized that useless words had appeared!
Bingxin was obviously very surprised. Because the Xianbei rulers who led the construction of the grottoes not only showed the majesty of the wilderness, but also brought more and more distant civilizations into the grotto in cold blood, more than anywhere else.
Because they dare to make concessions to Chinese culture, they also have to make concessions to other cultures. They became one"Empty baskets", any culture can take its place.
Their cultural thickness is not enough and they have not yet formed a solid cultural system, but this weakness soon turns into an advantage, and they become multicultural"A member of an extended family", because they are less repulsive.
This opens the door to a real cultural feast.
Here is a good contrast: a group of learned old men, who live together scattered and close together by virtue of their birth and weight; Suddenly came a young and strong man, he left the school since he was a child, his academics did not carry any prejudices, he was modest and polite, and at the same time invited the strengths of the old people to ask the weaknesses of the old people, and in this way, with him as the center, these old people gradually came together and lived.
This young and strong man came from the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei tribe.
The cultural festivals of Yungang and Longmen are very lively.
Tan Sitong is the most important excavator of the Yungang Grottoes, and the Yungang Grottoes are still called today"Tan's Five Caves", his charm is still undiminished. He was originally a monk in Liangzhou (present-day Wuwei, Gansu), an extremely important center of Buddhist culture. In 439 AD, 30,000 officials and thousands of monks of the Northern Wei Dynasty broke through Pingcheng, the capital of Liangzhou, and there must have been a large number of experts and craftsmen carving Buddha tombs in Danya. Therefore, the Yungang Grottoes have obvious Liangzhou characteristics.
But Liangzhou is more than just Liangzhou. Archaeologist Su Bai believes that the Liangzhou Grottoes are a model of the fusion of two Xinjiang systems, Qiuci (today's Kuqa region) and Khotan (today's Hotan region). Khotan and Khotan (the true western region) are also linked by the intersection of Indian, South and Central Asian cultures.
This is why the Yungang Grottoes, which pass through Liangzhou, are full of layers of distant exotic cultures, which are difficult to understand.
For example, many people who visit the Yungang Grottoes today will be surprised: why is the Greek style of sculpture (including the large columns of the Greek temple) so obvious?
I can answer this question with certainty: he was influenced by Gandhara art. Gandhara, on the other hand, is a mixture of Greek and Indian cultures.
How did Greek culture blend with distant Indian culture? We have to mention the Macedonian king Alexander the Great again. He was the most learned scholar of ancient Greece, Aristotle, and it was he who brought Greek culture to Babylon, Persia, and India in the East.
While researching Buddhist culture, I visited Taxila, now in Pakistan, where Sirkap, the birthplace of Gandhara art, is located.
Buddhist art, which preceded Gandhara and other monuments, underwent an epoch-making change with the arrival of Alexander's crusade and the arrival of many accompanying artists.
From the bridge of the nose to the eye sockets, lips and chin, a series of statues with European characteristics were produced and widely distributed in western China, such as the Qiuci and Khotanese regions. For this reason, I have also made several comparative trips to Greece and Rome.
This shows that the Yungang Grottoes inevitably integrated Indian and Greek culture after absorbing the poetry and paintings of Liangzhou, Qiuci and Wutai.
After the Northern Wei Dynasty moved its capital to Luoyang, it vigorously built the Longmen Grottoes. The Longmen Grottoes inherited the scale of the Yungang Grottoes, but among the many cultures, the Central Plains culture accounted for a significantly higher proportion.
This is the spirit of the Northern Wei Dynasty: teaching and learning from each other, majestic, traveling in the swamps, and almost integrating the essence of several important cultures in the world.
This luxury is unique in the world.
From here, the Datang River is close at hand.
The reason why Datang is great is because of its purity.
Throughout the ages, many literati and artists have pursued the purity of Chinese culture, including the purity of language and writing. Extreme purity has become a glassware that, as long as it is carefully wiped every day, can never change its insignificance, delicacy and fragility. I don't know one day, in the process of wiping, a little too hard, it will be broken into pieces, and the splinters will scratch the hand.
In addition, glass is a composite substance, how can it be said that it is completely clean?
The Northern Wei Dynasty made the best preparations for the impure Tang Dynasty.
On this street, which is becoming more and more open due to pollution, there are two majestic tomb gates. Standing in front of the cave and looking back, on the eastern slope of the northern foot of the Great Xing'an Mountains, there is also a small stone chamber - Xianbei.
A stone chamber and two caves made entirely of stone monuments are obvious passages between the sky and the earth.
He was the only emperor in history to be killed because of his wife's anger.
When Gao Guang ascended the throne, he was still an idle teenager.
It is not surprising in Chinese history that his grandmother, Empress Dowager Feng, was in power (although there was only a 26-year gap between them).
Empress Dowager Feng is very snobbish, and many women have this common problem, which is understandable. Empress Dowager Feng has a strong desire for power, power must be a good thing, and whoever you attach to will be attached to whomever you want, which is understandable.
During the reign of Empress Dowager Feng, important departments in the palace would place cronies in the palace. Since it is easy and convenient to do so, as long as there is no so-called one-day chaos, there is nothing to blame.
Empress Dowager Feng is arbitrary, and she has the final say in all major and minor matters of the country. During the reign of Empress Dowager Feng, the country was well governed and prosperous.
If you can manage a country well and maintain peace between people, there is nothing wrong with being a ****.
Empress Dowager Feng governed the country well and laid a good foundation for Tuoba Hong's future rule of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
When Tuoba Hong grew up, Empress Dowager Feng arranged a family affair for him. The bride's name is Feng Yuan, the daughter of Empress Dowager Feng's elder brother's family, and Tuoba Hong's aunt is a cousin in seniority. Although the family was more mixed, this was not a problem at the time.
In the fourteenth year of Taihe (490 AD), Empress Dowager Feng died.
After the death of Empress Dowager Feng, Tuoba Hong took power. He began drastic reforms, and the Northern Wei Dynasty entered a new era.
Soon after, Tuoba Hong planned to move the capital from Pingcheng, the capital of the Northern Wei Dynasty, to Luoyang in the Central Plains.
The plan to move the capital was thwarted by strong opposition from the ministers, who were reluctant to leave their homeland, believing it a pity to lose so much of their possessions.
In this case, Gao Hong felt very uncomfortable.
Tuoba Hong announced in the palace early in the morning that he would conquer Southern Qi and unify China. He asked all the ministers in the palace to bring their families and children, and said that no one should be missing.
Under the leadership of Tuoba Hong, a 300,000-strong Northern Wei army marched towards Luoyang.
When they arrived in Luoyang, the ministers realized that they had been deceived, but they had no choice but to stay in the Central Plains. There is nothing to be done. Let's settle down and get on with our lives.
Looking at the helpless ministers, Tuoba Hong smiled. He successfully completed the task of moving the capital.
After the completion of the relocation of the capital, Tuoba Hong actively worked hard to transform the Chinese language, not only food, clothing, housing and transportation, but also to learn Chinese and write Chinese characters.
The only exception was Empress Fengyuan, who resolutely did not speak Chinese and did not wear Hanfu. She also forbade her family to speak Chinese.
Feng Yuan's approach made Tuoba Hong very dissatisfied, and after several attempts to persuade him to no avail, in July of the 27th year of Taihe, Feng Yuan was dismissed from the post of Empress Slow, demoted to a commoner, and sent to Yaoguang Temple for retirement.
Actually, Feng Yuan and Tuoba Hong have a good relationship, but now the relationship is not good, the husband sings, and the wife doesn't sing along, but also blows.
A woman can be coquettish in front of her husband, but she must never be coquettish in front of the emperor's husband.
This was a huge price that Feng Yuan had never expected. No wonder he ended up like this.
A woman's greatest talent is not how much money she can earn or how much she can do, but that she can read a man's heart and feel his pulse.
After Feng Yuan was dismissed, the Empress Dowager Cixi was at the end of her rope. Tuoba Hong thought of Feng Run again.
Who is Feng Yun? Feng Run, Feng Yuan's half-sister.
Feng Run followed Feng Yuan into the palace. Feng Run is handsome and burly, but unfortunately he has a contagious ** disease. Although Tuoba Hong likes him very much, he can only let him enjoy the shade on the side.
Tuoba Hong has been obsessed with Feng Run all these years. He sent someone to inquire about Feng Run's condition and learned that Feng Run's **illness has been basically ** in recent years.
Tuoba was overjoyed and took Feng Run into the palace and made him the queen.
In the past, Feng Run was a sensible and sensitive girl, but the years were cruel and accompanied by illness. Now Feng Run has become selfish and narrow-minded.
Tuoba Hong didn't understand these changes, in his heart, Feng Run was still the same Feng Run as before.
No matter how smart and talented a man is, he will look more or less stupid in front of women.
Gao Hong is no exception.
Empress Feng Run saw that there were many concubines in the harem, and she really couldn't bear it. She thinks that Tuoba Hong can only love her alone, so she plans to get rid of some of Tuoba Hong's favorite concubines.
Tuoba Hong was busy with state affairs and rarely had time to accompany him, but at first it was okay, but after a long time, he was a little lonely and couldn't keep the empty room.
Something happens when a man or woman can't be alone.
Feng Run began to pay attention to men, and she found a man named Wang Bodhisattva very interesting because he had adulterous affairs.
This situation was irresistible from the beginning, and Feng Run used his power and influence to find a more suitable **.
Feng Run had a younger brother, Feng Chuang, who was named the Duke of Beiping by Tuoba Hong. This person likes Tuoba Hong's sixth sister, Princess Pengcheng.
Feng Chang told his sister Feng Run about it, and her sister said with a smile"I have decided, so I will marry her to you. "
Princess Pengcheng was furious when she heard this, and went to find Tuoba Hong.
At that time, Tuoba Hong was directing the battle at the front. Princess Pengcheng told Tuoba Hong what Feng Run had done.
Tuoba Hong didn't expect his queen to be so ruthless and unjust, so he was furious. Tuoba Hong has been tired all year round and is already sick, and Feng Run's incident undoubtedly contributed to his illness and made his illness even more serious.
After returning to the palace, Tuoba Tao was first imprisoned by Feng Run, and soon ordered him to be executed in order to get rid of him.
Huang Yuhong became increasingly ill and died a few years later.
Later, it was believed that Takubahiro was killed because of his wife's anger.