Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 301 What happened to you in our Qing Dynasty!

The funny thing about this incident is that, judging from the information of later generations, the English were probably serious at the time.

On the one hand, at that time, "China blowing" was rampant, and scholars condemned the church's restraint of technological progress. Aristotle harmed Europe for thousands of years, and believed that it was necessary to learn from the advanced civilization of the East.

At that time, the European sages published words that praised the East, and people in Guo Kang's previous life probably couldn't bear it.Even now, when Siris is still at the pinnacle of the world and people really look down on barbarians, it will make people feel embarrassed.

Missionaries who have been to China often express very straightforward praise.Italian missionary Maffei praised the imperial examination system, saying that there was no hereditary nobility there, and everyone became the "founder" of their own destiny.

Li Ming, a French missionary, put it more directly. He believed that because young people in China had to take exams, they studied hard and increased their wisdom, which put an end to the ignorance and laziness of Europeans.Without the hereditary system, it would also allow the emperor to replace incompetent officials-this is what European countries have been pursuing, but have not been able to fully achieve.

On the other hand, the Portuguese missionary Zeng Dezhao believed that famous scholar-bureaucrats and students who had not obtained a degree actually belonged to the nobility.However, this kind of nobility relies on knowledge rather than lineage, so it is obviously more advanced.

Local scholars in Europe got the information brought by the missionaries, and they also invested in research one after another, and it became popular for a while.

Quesnay admired Confucius very much, and said bluntly: "One "Analects" can defeat the seven sages of Greece." He believed that in order to make the country prosperous and lasting, it should follow China, because it is the best example of governance according to natural laws.Accordingly, Quesnay wrote a series of monographs, put forward the concept of "Physiocratism", and even specifically marked the place of publication as "BJ" to emphasize the importance.

The Physiocrats were not only a popular trend of thought, but also had a great influence on the policies of the whole of France.Therefore, Quesnay was honored by the French as "Confucius of Europe".

After Quesnay, Turgot, another representative of the Physiocratic School, simply publicly claimed that China's agriculture is more developed than that of any other country in the world, not because of their advanced technology, but because of their superior system: Chinese Unite as one, inherit the rational system preserved by the ancestors from generation to generation; while the laws of Europeans are full of fraud and trickery.It can be seen that the failure of European agriculture is a system problem, which cannot be solved by simple technological innovation.

Moreover, since Europeans generally have not seen this kind of civil government that adopts the imperial examination system and bureaucracy, they do not hesitate to praise it.

Voltaire discovered that the government office can be subordinate to one level and manage everything, and officials must pass several rigorous examinations before being hired.For this, he praised endlessly.

He also claimed that the Chinese emperor was authoritarian on the one hand, and on the other hand was restricted and guided by philosopher-type officials. Good government structure.

Another scholar, Kirche, simply believes that China is a Platonic utopia.Since it is ruled by scholars, according to the wishes of the holy philosophers, it must be a happy kingdom.

Rousseau also praised various policies and laws of China.He found that in China, even the excessively high price of rice would affect the political future of the provincial governor; and once a popular uprising occurred, the local officials would inevitably fall.The emperor often supported the people in conflicts between officials and the people, and for this purpose executed officials who provoked riots.

Rousseau believes that this shows that the quality of the Chinese people and the emperor is quite high.The public never causes troubles without reason, and they believe that the emperor can judge fairly;This is obviously a very just system.

Diderot also agreed with this, and praised China's political and ideological system and Confucian moral philosophy in his "Encyclopedia".He said that people agree that the Chinese people have a long history, noble spirit, exquisite art, outstanding intelligence, clear politics and philosophical literacy.Therefore, the Chinese nation is superior to other nations in Asia and even comparable to the most civilized countries in Europe.

Others, on the other hand, thought he was being too arrogant.Holbach, who is also an encyclopedia school, believed in "Social System" that China is the only country that can combine the fundamental law of politics with morality.The fact that this country has been able to prosper for so long is to tell people that prosperity must rely on morality.Therefore, he believes that China's moral principles and political system are the best models of social systems.European governments must learn from China.

As for the reason, Voltaire also analyzed it.He observed that the Chinese emperor and the government attached great importance to the construction of public facilities, safeguarding public interests, building bridges, paving roads, digging canals and other projects to bring convenience to people.And the reason behind this, Voltaire came down to, is that Chinese patriarchy is at work.

He believes that, unlike other civilizations, patriarchy in China has not been weakened, and the "filial piety" of children to their fathers has always been the foundation of the country.Therefore, the Chinese government authorities love the people like their children, and are especially keen on public welfare undertakings.

For this reason, Voltaire also tracked the Eastern news at the time, and concluded that the new emperor Yongzheng loved the law and valued public welfare more than his father, so that "no one among the emperors spared no effort to encourage farming."The emperor also rewarded hardworking and filial farmers, and personally reviewed felony cases, which obviously fulfilled the duties of a monarch and proved his theory.

As for the deeper reason, Voltaire believed that it was the morality formulated by Confucius that produced such a good political system and practice.Therefore, it is self-evident who should learn from it.

He said it more euphemistically.Another scholar, Poivier, even directly stated in "The Philosopher's Travels": "As long as the laws of the Chinese Empire become the laws of all countries, China can provide a fascinating picture of what the world might become." copy.

He also called on people to "go to BJ! Look up at the greatest man in the world, he is the true perfect image of heaven."—and referring to the age, this man should be Qianlong.

Of course, some philosophers hold different views. Among the "Three Masters of Enlightenment", Montesquieu is different from the other two.He believes that China's political system has serious problems, so he only praises its policy of emphasizing agriculture.But because of this, he was repeatedly attacked by giants such as Quesnay and Voltaire, and was sprayed by a group of "foreign loyal ministers" who advocated the Qing government at that time...

However, these things are not too well-known in the East and West in later generations, and everyone has little motivation to publicize them.

For Europeans, many things they boasted back then were too outrageous, and China has such a strong sense of presence in the intellectual history of modern Europe. emotional support.

For Orientals, these things are all too familiar.It turned out that what I was experiencing was what Europeans had done long ago.This will make people feel that all human beings are actually the same, destroying the particularity of "Western civilization" and even the sanctity of "learning from abroad".

Therefore, everyone actually doesn't want to mention it.

(End of this chapter)