vrcanaries Chapter 279 The "Integrity" of Literati
Chapter 279 The "Integrity" of Literati
“At that time, the Manchus and Han Chinese stood separately in the court, like two groups. However, he did not expect that the Manchus would not accept him, saying that he was a Han official, while the Han officials did not want him either, and they all called him a traitor, which made him very embarrassed.”
Zhu Yuanzhang (the Ming Dynasty's Eighth Prince): ...Serves him right! Warning: Skin him alive and stuff him with straw!!!
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: I truly despise people like that!
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: So impatient!? Where is his scholarly integrity?!
……
"In a fit of anger, Sun Zhixie decided to launch a heavy attack on the Han people. He then proposed in court: 'Now that Your Majesty has pacified the Central Plains... the proper attire and hair-tying are old customs!' Dorgon then adopted this suggestion and issued a ten-day hair-shaving order!"
General Judy, the Northern Expeditionary Army: You son of a bitch...! ? %... (Utterly vulgar!)
A Song Dynasty official: Why don't you just go to heaven...?
A certain romantic and talented scholar of the Tang Dynasty: As a scholar, I am utterly ashamed to be associated with him! ...? %! ...
"But the process of shaving heads and changing clothes was extremely brutal, because most of the Han people at that time were forced to shave their heads, which made all levels of Han people hate Sun Zhixie very much, so many uprisings occurred."
"However, Sun Zhixie later suffered retribution. On his way back to his hometown, he happened to encounter the peasant uprising army against the Qing Dynasty."
"They found out it was this traitor who did it, so they used every kind of torture imaginable—rotten eggs, rotten vegetables, and so on—on him. In the end, he suffered terribly."
"He just didn't expect that after his death, the Qing Dynasty, through the machinations of Han officials, would ultimately not give him any honors or compensation. I don't know what he was trying to achieve by making such a fuss for so long!"
A young master from a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: Whew~ That feels great! Who told him to offend so many people!
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty: What a traitor!
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: I really don't understand why he did that!?
Upon hearing this, the people of the Ming Dynasty were filled with hatred!
This hairstyle is awful, and they were forced to shave their heads. Our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents, how can they be shaved like this?
And then there's Sun Zhixie. How could a Han official kneel so easily? Did he study hard for so many years just to join forces with the Han people to oppose them?
They have absolutely no integrity that a scholar should have!
……
The live stream continues.
Lin Ke sighed, "It's indeed difficult to evaluate the literati of the late Ming Dynasty, but we can't condemn them all."
"Among them, quite a few chose to die for their country or persist in opposing the Qing and restoring the Ming, while many others chose to surrender to the Qing Dynasty."
"The next person we'll talk about is also a civil official from the Ming Dynasty, but he wasn't fawning over the Qing Dynasty. However, his fawning was quite speechless."
"During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, everyone knows about the powerful eunuch Wei Zhongxian, who held immense power and was known as the 'Nine Thousand Years Old.' There was even a rumor among the people that they knew only the Nine Thousand Years Old, not the emperor."
"In this situation, there is no shortage of sycophants in the court, and Gu Bingqian is one of them. But in terms of flattery, he is also shameless."
"When Wei Zhongxian first came to power and was trying to win over the officials, Gu Bingqian received the signal and went to join him."
"However, Gu Bingqian's shamelessness doesn't stop there. It's somewhat understandable that he would side with the eunuch faction to preserve his official position, but you can't drag your own son into this and express your views to Wei Zhongxian:"
I originally wanted you to be my father, but I'm just an old man, so I'd much rather you be my son's good father!
"So such a person who flattered and fawned over the eunuch faction was considered extremely shameless by the civil officials at the time, let alone the fact that he was given the position of adopted son to a eunuch."
An official from the Song Dynasty said: "This person's behavior is truly shocking; he even had the idea of becoming someone's son!"
A spoiled young man from the Tang Dynasty: This is outrageous!
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: Damn it! ...This guy... ptooey...?! %...
A bystander from the Han Dynasty commented: What a terrifying idea! This person is amazing! He can be both assertive and yielding!!
……
In the imperial court of another time and space, the atmosphere was extremely delicate. Gu Bingqian felt awkward just standing there, and even felt like he was being pricked by thorns.
The mocking and sarcastic gazes made him feel uneasy, not to mention the whispers and conversations around him.
Gu Bingqian clenched his fists, shouting in his heart: A wise bird chooses a good tree to perch on, what did he do wrong!
A wise person knows when to yield; what's wrong with that?
……
Studio.
Lin Ke continued, "Let's take another example from the Tang Dynasty. This time, the main character is Song Zhiwen."
"He passed the imperial examination during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang. He was only 19 years old that year and could be described as having outstanding literary talent and a bright future."
"The New Book of Tang praises his appearance, saying that he was tall and upright, and that he was good at composing poems. Such talent and a good start would be a great hand for anyone."
"At that time, shortly after Emperor Gaozong's death, Empress Wu Zetian ascended to the throne. She had two favored male lovers—Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong."
"So Song Zhiwen thought of the two of them. According to the New Book of Tang, he was to serve Zhang Yizhi a chamber pot, which is to put it simply as carrying a urinal."
"Of course, he wasn't the only one who tried to curry favor with the Zhang brothers. I just didn't expect scholars to be like this. I thought they would look down on male favorites like Zhang Yizhi."
A young master from a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: What the heck?! ? ?
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty: I'm speechless...
A scholar-official from the Han Dynasty: Why him?! Couldn't he have become an official without currying favor?!
During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty
After listening to the whole thing, Li Zhi looked at Wu Meiniang with a wistful expression, his eyes seeming to say: Ha...you still have male concubines!
Wu Meiniang's heart skipped a beat, and she glanced away guiltily. Her feelings were truly complicated!
But will she really rise to that high position in the future?
……
"It is said that Song Zhiwen not only curried favor with the Zhang brothers, but also wrote a 'love poem' for Wu Zetian, but Wu Zetian said he had bad breath and politely declined!"
"Soon after, Song Zhiwen was demoted. In the midst of many difficulties, he missed the good old days and secretly returned to Luoyang the following spring."
Instead of taking advantage of him, his friend Zhang Shenzhi offered a helping hand and took him in.
"Actually, a person who is good at scheming is not necessarily a despicable person, but Song Zhiwen, whether you were currying favor or seeking personal gain, I would only assume that you were scheming for your own official position. But how could you betray a friend who offered you help?!"
“At that time, Wu Zetian was the empress and the Wu family was at the height of their power. Song Zhiwen learned that his friends Zhang Shenzhi and Wang Tongjiao were plotting to kill Wu Sansi.”
"So he went to the palace to inform on them, revealing all of Zhang Shenzhi and Wang Tongjiao's plans. Let's not even talk about whether Zhang Shenzhi and his group could pull off this plan."
"The main problem here is that Zhang Shenzhi and his family, who were kindly taken in, were betrayed by Song Zhiwen, ultimately implicating their entire family."
"And Song Zhiwen no longer had to go to that place of exile. He took advantage of the opportunity to inform on others and was promoted to the position of Chief Clerk of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices."