In the thirty-eighth year of Kangxi (1699), in April, the 45-year-old Emperor Kangxi visited the Ming Tombs for the third time on his way home from his southern tour. This time, Emperor Kangxi personally revised the memorial:
Emperor Tian was brave and wise, stood up and put on clothes, unified the atlas area, made it thorough and brave, and the previous generation was Moran. At the age of thirty, I patrolled, worshipped, repaired, recommended and studied, and did not stick to the rules. Because of reading the river defense, the province of Nan Fang wheat, garden with, pine and cypress used to think; Merit still exists, and you can follow the example of statutes. In retrospect, I want to reiterate that I should learn from it and enjoy it.
Kangxi's contribution to Zhu Ming pioneer Zhu Yuanzhang was full of praise. After that, Emperor Kangxi observed that the Ming Tombs were seriously damaged, so he ordered them to be repaired again, and bestowed the imperial plaque on the Tang and Song Dynasties and hung it publicly in the Ming Tombs. At this time, it has been 55 years since the founding of the Qing Dynasty. Then, why did Emperor Kangxi give such a high evaluation to the former founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang?
This is related to the cultural situation after the establishment and unification of the South in the Qing Dynasty. After the demise of the Ming Dynasty, some prominent gentry in the south of the Yangtze River insisted on the distinction between Taoism and China and foreigners, and refused to admit the Manchu occupation by force, believing that there was no chance of winning. In a word, all localities don't want to be subjects of the Qing Dynasty, and they have to pretend to be adherents of the Ming Dynasty. Some people are anxious about the demise of China culture and being ruled by barbarians, and are unwilling to serve the new rulers, what's more? Easy to change in summer? . During the Republic of China, scholar Wang Huanbi wisely pointed out:
After the death of Ming Dynasty, the adherents were homesick for their homeland, and they mourned at the mausoleum. They were willing to complain about Jiuyuan's great pain, and the descendants of Hebei had reason to express their feelings. Such as Gu's seven visits, Qu Dajun's three visits, and the travel to the official is deeply sad.
Gu, a famous scholar, even lived in seclusion at the foot of the Ming Tombs at the southern foot of Zhongshan for several years to express his grief. Xia Wanchun, a scholar in Songjiang, was killed by the Qing government with his father and teacher when he was 0/6 years old. It is said that Xia Wanchun was taken to Nanjing and passed by Zijinshan, saying that he wanted to see the death of Emperor Gaozong Xiaoling without regret. It can be seen that the Ming Tombs have evolved into a very important symbol, expressing his yearning for the former dynasty.
Manchu people realized that they could win the world at once, but they could not rule it at once. After the ruling foundation is relatively stable, it is very important for them to win the hearts of the people, that is, the so-called measure of punishing the heart to show the transfer of destiny and virtue.
In order to win people's hearts and respect, Zhu Ming was unanimously recognized by senior officials when it was built in the Qing Dynasty. The day after the Qing Dynasty made Beijing its capital, the emperor shunzhi sent a college student to pay homage to Judy. At the memorial service, it was said that the rogue Li Zicheng ousted the Ming Dynasty. When the Ming Dynasty perished, when we eliminated the rogue and made Beijing our capital, our fate shifted to my side. I sincerely tell you that you should move your throne and put it in the imperial temples of past dynasties.
This kind of memorial ceremony has a strong political intention, in fact, it is to tell the world at the national level that the Ming Dynasty has changed. In fact, this is an excellent ruling skill.
In addition, in the early years of the Qing Dynasty, 40 tombs of emperors of past dynasties were identified, and officials were sent to worship them every spring and autumn, including the Ming Tombs. The emperor shunzhi visited the Ming Tombs in Changping, especially the Chongzhen Mausoleum, poured him three glasses of wine and kowtowed to him.
The emperor of the new dynasty bowed to the king of national subjugation, but not in the previous generation. Emperor Kangxi went to the Ming Tombs to drink one by one. In the thirty-eighth year of Kangxi, Michelle Ye considered looking for descendants of Zhu Ming's imperial clan to guard the Ming tombs:
I want to visit the descendants of the Ming Dynasty, give them a title, and let their sacrifices remain in the world. After the ancient Xia Yin, Zhou was named. Even if Mongolia, the 48 banners of this dynasty, is also a descendant of Yuan, I will still cultivate and support it. After the Ming Dynasty, an official should be granted a mausoleum as appropriate. As soon as we get back to DuDu, we will have a meeting with Jiuqing.
Emperor Kangxi claimed to be the Lord of China, so he naturally had a different mind from the previous generation. The middle-aged Emperor Kangxi was a hero to Zhu Yuanzhang and admired each other. Yong Zhengdi acceded to the throne, announced the wishes of Kangxi, paraphrased as follows:
Ming Taizu's prosperity of cloth and clothes, the unification of Xia Dynasty and the high level of martial arts are beyond the reach of the kings of Han, Tang and Song Dynasties, and his heirs have no traces of decadent and tyrannical subjugation like the previous generation. He wanted to make an example, visit one of his tribes, and grant an official position so that he could serve in the Spring and Autumn Period, which still made him hereditary. When I was studying, I saw that Emperor Saint Zuren was magnanimous and thoughtful, far better than a hundred kings. I think history is the east building and poetry is the white horse. From the Shang and Zhou dynasties, they all contributed to the previous generation.
The evaluation of Zhu Yuanzhang's governance of the Tang and Song Dynasties is undoubtedly worthy of the name, but this statement from the mouth of the Qing emperor has different political significance. Generally speaking, on the one hand, Emperor Kangxi personally went to the Ming Tombs, mainly for the Han literati. On the other hand, Emperor Kangxi's visit to the Ming Tombs was not only a political gesture or power strategy, but also a conscious cultural choice.
In fact, what is more significant is that the Qing Dynasty was able to enter a temple with a long history and a profound cultural system, from which it learned rich knowledge and spiritual wealth. In addition, Kangxi helped himself to become a descendant of China Yingzong series from the alien masters in the eyes of the Han people through the study of cultural classics, thus making the Qing Dynasty get rid of the image of barbarian regime and gradually integrate into the mainstream pedigree of Chinese civilization, which has far-reaching influence.
That is to say, Emperor Kangxi's repeated worship of the Ming Tombs and appeasement of the adherents of the previous dynasties is a side manifestation of his conscious integration of China culture into China's orthodoxy and ethnic diversity, and is the great wisdom of politicians.