After the Ming emperor settled down, he regarded Neo-Confucianism, a neo-Confucianism produced in the Song Dynasty, as exclusive. During the Yongle period of Ming Dynasty, Zhu, a Confucian scholar in Raozhou, had slightly different views on Zhou, Cheng, Zhang and Zhu Zhixue, which were considered as academic discussions. Knowing this, he was furious, ordered him to send a staff to punish him, and burned his book, saying,' There is nothing wrong with his descendants.' Judy's words opened the neo-Confucianism meditation represented by Zhu in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Since then, Neo-Confucianism has become the only knowledge, while others have become heresies and been banned (banned books, Literature Prison, written by Wang Bin, China Workers Publishing House). However, the syllabus of the imperial examination in Ming Dynasty was more strict, and the questions must be drawn from the four books compiled by Zhu, and the understanding and application of the four books must also follow the annotations.
The examination syllabus seems irrelevant, but it is a powerful baton, commanding and regulating the brains of Confucian scholars, and then controlling the thoughts and concepts of society. Therefore, in the Ming Dynasty, the thought guiding people's actions was Neo-Confucianism, which centered on preserving justice and destroying human desires. It's ridiculous to think about it now. Can people's desires be extinguished? Although the ancient sages said, if you have no desire, you will be just, but if you really have no desire, the result may not be just. On the contrary, it may be too soft, and throwing it in your face will definitely wait for it to die. Of course, if we think deeply, this theory of "one being, one being destroyed" is also full of romantic idealism. All human desires are destroyed, and only one justice remains in our hearts. This is really a world of great harmony! Perhaps because of this, the theorists of the Ming Dynasty are constantly expanding and excavating the profound connotation of preserving justice and eliminating human desires. Social managers, that is, herdsmen's officials, carefully turn the research results of theorists into social rules to feed all people with surnames.
In such a dynasty, Neo-Confucianism was talked about and used. At that time, the air may also be filled with the atmosphere of Neo-Confucianism. Naturally, literature and art can't be detached from the outside world just for the sake of art, but must be literature and art under the guidance of Neo-Confucianism and literature and art that carries forward the essence of Neo-Confucianism. But strangely, it was in this degenerate Ming Dynasty that a large number of pornographic literature appeared, which became popular literature and pornographic paintings appeared, that is, erotic paintings.
Jin Ping Mei, known as the No.1 in China, is now recognized in art, but its erotic description is widely spread and has a great influence on later literature. No novel can compare with it. At present, it can still be seen in Jia Pingwa's "Abandoned Capital". In addition, we can also see that there are twelve or three kinds of * * created, engraved and popular in Ming Dynasty, such as Cut the Light and Newspeak, Tell the Judge, Yichun Fragrance, Ruyijun Biography, Love History, and Yang Di Emperor's Erotic History. In these works, no matter what the theme is, there are a lot of explicit sex scenes. In addition, there are countless novels of talented people and beautiful women that are obscure but still dominated by love between men and women. In addition to the literal things, the appearance and popularity of erotic paintings in Ming Dynasty is no less than that of pornographic literature. According to the research of sinologist Gao Luopei, the erotic paintings in Ming Dynasty used five-color overprint in its heyday, and its high level and beautiful picture are amazing so far (Liu Dalin's "China Ancient Sex Culture"). These pornographic literature can still be seen today after four or five hundred years, which shows that there were so many printed materials at that time and their popularity was flourishing.
Pornography naturally encourages lust, and lust is really a human desire. On the table of the mainstream culture of the Ming Dynasty, high-profile singing is bad for nature and destroying human desires, but behind it is pornographic literature that promotes desire. Although it is forbidden to burn books and destroy editions from time to time, one after another * * * still appears and is popular. Isn't it strange that there is something so contrary to the theory under the same sky?
This probably starts with the living conditions and environment of Confucian scholars.
As we know, the Ming Dynasty was an era of severe punishment and severe laws. From the day Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the dragon chair, the emperor held the power of the world tightly in his hand and had supreme authority. When the Ming Dynasty was founded, there was a post of prime minister. But after a few years, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little uneasy that one person was above ten thousand people, so he made a charge of rebellion and killed all the prime ministers, and set the rules from then on. Zhu's position as prime minister will never be established again. Later, this became a national discipline, and no one dared to propose restoration. During the Wanli period, although Zhang was a prime minister, he did not have the name of prime minister. Therefore, during the whole Ming Dynasty, although eunuchs kept playing politics, eunuchs were also good at politics, which made the dynasty restless and the people miserable, but no one dared to propose to re-establish the prime minister to help the emperor manage the huge empire. In the middle of Ming Dynasty, there was a Boxer Emperor because he wanted to call his biological parents Empress Taihe. The courtiers rose up against him. The emperor was so angry that he never went to see the minister again for twelve years. In Bai Yang's words, the Ming Dynasty was a headless dynasty. Even under such circumstances, none of the courtiers dared to have presumptuous ideas, which shows that the Confucian courtiers at that time were quite satisfied.
Confucian scholars and scribes in the Ming Dynasty probably did this for two reasons. One is that they were taught from an early age to be loyal to the monarch and protect the country. Even if an asshole sits on a dragon chair, the courtiers full of poetry will bow down and kowtow to him. Mencius said: the people are precious, the monarch is light, and the country is second. It is important to warn people who believe in his theory to be loyal to the monarch, but if the people are miserable, there may be no monarch to be loyal to, reminding them to sympathize with the people's feelings more or less and let them live. Unfortunately, in the Ming Dynasty, the book Mencius read by scholars was an abridged version, which deleted the words of protecting and caring for the people, leaving only those who were loyal to the monarch and had a good life. Another reason is the powerful clothing under the butcher knife. Shortly after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang began to kill people, fearing that the hero would be overwhelmed after his death. Zhu Yuanzhang was in power for 20 years, and killed most of the heroes who fought with him, all by copying from the same door, even his protege and big friend. On the one hand, kill heroes, on the other hand, kill Confucian scholars. When writing poems and articles, anyone who violates Zhu Yuanzhang's taboo words such as light, thief and ze will be killed, not to mention others. His fourth son, Judy, took the world from his nephew and then killed him for a period of time. Among them, reading seed Fang Xiaoru killed more than 800 people. In the decades after the founding of the People's Republic of China, father and son were killed all the way, and countless heads were cut off, mostly Confucian scholars and scribes. Faced with this reality, who wants to make fun of the emperor with his own head? As a result, bloody head conquered the courage of scholars for more than 200 years.
In the Song Dynasty, literati could not squeeze into the official single-plank bridge, but they could also learn, find out what Taoism was, and express their original opinions. However, by the Ming Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism had become a royal truth, and there was no need for scholars to use their brains and make theoretical innovations. Therefore, what they can do in the Song Dynasty cannot be done at this time. Although scholars such as Li Zhi, Huang Zongxi and Tang Zhen appeared in the late Ming Dynasty and put forward the theory of childlike innocence and new people's foundation, these theories have become prominent scholars and the objects of scholars' research, but at that time they were authentic metaphysics and underground scholars, and the results of those studies were secretly made. Even their books have to be labeled as "book burning" and "library", and they dare not.
Open reading is not good, and the road to imperial examination is too narrow. Scholars have to eat to support their families, even romantic talents need some money and have to find another way to live.
In the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the commercial atmosphere was already very strong. After the economic prosperity, some rich and educated idlers appeared, and the publishing industry developed accordingly. Booksellers want to make money, scholars want to eat, and people with spare money want to be comfortable, so popular literature appears and becomes popular. Popular for a long time, it naturally flows to pornographic literature, because bed literature can best hit people's desires and become a bestseller. Therefore, once pornographic literature appears, it will soon be on the bestseller list, which is naturally a matter of course.
In these pornographic literature, in addition to attracting readers' sex scenes, more or less the dreams of literati are entrusted. In this * * * "Dancing Flowers" written in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, we can get a glimpse of the literati's mental journey. There is a scholar in the book who has had several women in a row. When he was among several women, he went to the next examination room. As a result, he made a name in the exam, married all five women home, surrounded by beautiful women, promoted to a higher position and made a fortune, and became immortal happily. Scholar's dreams are beautiful, round and gentle, but most of them are dreams.
When talking about the reasons for the prosperity of erotic literature in the Ming Dynasty in China's ancient sexual culture, Liu Dalin said that one of them was that the Ming emperors were dissolute and officials took the lead. There are also criticisms that rulers advocate Neo-Confucianism, but they do not practice Neo-Confucianism themselves. There must be some reasons for this, and the demonstration effect of official morality is great. But I think, if we look at the history of China before the Ming Dynasty, which dynasty's emperor was not three palaces and six courtyards, and his concubines were like clouds and bohemian? Which official rich man is not three wives and four concubines? But it didn't lead to pornography.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, literary inquisition was very popular. However, the textual research of these cases shows that none of these cases are motivated by pornographic literature creation, and even if there are such reasons, they are not pure. This is a very peculiar historical phenomenon. I think, in the eyes of politicians, the popularity of pornographic literature, although immoral and dangerous to morality, must be banned, which is as harsh as dealing with historians who study history, expose the shortcomings of the royal family, and scholars who discuss state affairs. After being caught, authors and booksellers should be beheaded, their works burned and their plates destroyed. Of course, it is necessary to check pornographic literature, but it is only for show. The reason is that politicians understand that it is much better to lead the minds of smart people to women than to let them ponder the structure and production method of the dragon chair. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Zhi died in prison because he publicized his childlike innocence. But at the same time, porn writers are not treated like this. So if this conjecture is true, it may also be the objective reason for the prosperity of pornographic literature in Ming Dynasty. Looking at the Qing dynasty after the Ming dynasty, the internet is still particularly tight, but pornography is especially further, which proves that this conjecture is not bad.
From this point of view, the rise of erotic literature in the Ming Dynasty, on the one hand, is the disappearance of normal academics, and the minds of literati are nowhere to be used, only fun for women; On the one hand, the emergence of cultural market provides external conditions for the spread of literature, so that readers can make a living without starving, and booksellers are also willing to make a little money. On the other hand, the official acquiesced with wide eyes. As for the truth of preserving justice and eliminating human desires, at this time, it has to sing in a high-profile way, because the first priority of human beings is to show eat drink man woman's desires after all.
In this world, there are two things that can erode people's spirit most, and the same is money. As the saying goes, money makes the mare go, and money can subdue the spectre, let alone a living person with desire in his stomach. What kind of mental hard bones may lose their hardness in the face of money; Another point is * * *. We can learn the power of femininity by borrowing the poems in erotic literature that advise people to be alert to femininity: 28 Beauty is crisp as a crisp body, and Wan Jian is wrapped around her waist, but she obviously doesn't bow her head to see you, secretly teaching you to wither your bones. Among the 36 schemes, it is proved that the honey trap is still tried and tested. It is reported that when Americans interrogate Iraqi prisoners of war, the more effective method is honey trap when they are faced with soldiers who are full of teaching. Therefore, if we want to stifle people's spiritual beliefs and pursuits, we just need to release these two things. People will put down the means of chasing money and enjoy it on women's chests after getting the money. In this way, there will be no more spiritual soldiers.
However, the cost of eroding people's spirit is also huge. The last emperor of the Ming Dynasty probably had a deep understanding. When Li Zicheng's troops entered the capital, all the Confucian military commanders who showed loyalty around Chongzhen every day at ordinary times disappeared without a trace, leaving him alone to walk the last journey of his life with an ancient tree and become a real loner. And is this related to the prevalence of * * * in the Ming Dynasty and the glitz of people's hearts? I think this may be a proposition worth studying.