The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Wang Wenlong smiled when he heard Pang Di's question. This was the reason why he was willing to communicate with Pang Di.

He said: "I think Matteo Ricci's method is very good: harmonize and adapt to Chinese culture, focus on communication with literati, take the upper-level route, preach through indirect means of science and technology, and remain open to Chinese moral values ​​​​and etiquette practices. An attitude of respect.”

Wang Wenlong commented: "This is why Matteo Ricci was successful. I think this method should be named the Ricci Rules and be widely publicized among the Jesuits."

The Ming and Qing courts did not oppose Catholicism. There were many popular religions in China, including Catholicism. The key is that you have to obey them.

The real problem with Catholic missionary work in China is the exclusivity of the Catholic Church. It constantly requires the Chinese to change all traditional customs and listen to the Pope and the religious orders instead of the court. This is ridiculous in China, and it would be ridiculous if it could be spread. .

Because of this, Western missionaries repeatedly encountered obstacles in preaching in China, until Matteo Ricci understood this.

After many encounters with the missionary in China, this gentleman finally learned wisely and knew that he could not be forced to do anything. So he no longer forbade believers from worshiping their ancestors and learned to wear Ming Dynasty clothes. People thought he was a monk and invited him to a Buddhist temple to warmly entertain him. He also accepted it and had a good relationship with the local monks.

Historically, the first Catholic church built by Matteo Ricci in Zhaoqing received a plaque from local officials with the inscription "Come to the West from the Pure Land". Because the local officials did not know what Catholicism was, they completely regarded Matteo Ricci's Catholic church as a foreign monk's church. buddhist temple.

After seeing it, Matteo Ricci happily hung up the plaque, and said "Pure Land" and "Paradise" had the same meaning as other priests - focusing on a sensible person.

It was precisely because of this method that the gentry officials of the Ming Dynasty were willing to communicate with Matteo Ricci.

The "Matteo Ricci Rule" not only maintains the integrity of Chinese culture, but also provides a way for Chinese and Western cultures to communicate. It is undoubtedly the most suitable missionary method for China's national conditions. With this, the Jesuits have become the only religious order that can successfully preach in China. .

For this dynasty, as long as the Catholic Church does not exclude pagans, missionaries worship Jesus, Buddhists eat fast, and Taoists practice immortality, and no one interferes with anyone, then there will be no problem for the Jesuits to preach in China, and China will get what they want. The large amount of imported European technology - at this stage, both sides are making money.

The astronomers Tang Ruowang and Nan Huairen, and the painter Lang Shining in previous lives were all Jesuits, and they also entered China under Matteo Ricci's rules.

The Ming Dynasty does need European technology, even with Wang Wenlong, a time traveler.

Because science and technology is a complete system, Wang Wenlong may know one or two key points in history, but the remaining large amounts of technology are developed by craftsmen over a long period of time. It is impossible for Wang Wenlong to establish a technology system in the Ming Dynasty with nothing.

For example, Wang Wenlong knew about the improvement of the casting technology of iron cannons in the late Qing Dynasty, but he had never even entered a foundry. It was impossible to build a high-rise cannon from the ground to build a better cannon than the Macao Bojiala Cannon Factory. He knew Newton's law and could calculate parabolas. But he could not write a set of artillery drills: complete experience must be accumulated by using artillery in practical operations on a large scale.

Historically, the Jesuits imported a lot of these things to the Ming and Qing Dynasties in order to preach in China.

In previous history, by the time of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, the "Matteo Ricci Rules" had become the official standard for determining whether missionaries were legal.

During the Kangxi period, it was stipulated that only missionaries who abide by the "Matteo Ricci Rules" could enter China to preach under the "ticket" system, and those who did not comply would be expelled. Some European missionaries who abided by Matteo Ricci's rules also left a mark on history as "Western Confucian style".

It was not until the end of the Qing Dynasty that the country's national power declined greatly, and the imperial court no longer had the ability to control missionaries who went to China privately to preach, and this set of rules was completely broken by Western missionaries.

When many foreign missionaries came to preach when they had an absolute advantage in force, they basically cooperated with colonization. They directly used compradors and Japanese devils to develop believers, and even scorned Matteo Ricci's rules. They threatened the local area, destroyed temples, demolished temples, and protected the country. The two Japanese invaders occupied people's farmland, and the original balance between Catholicism and Chinese society was directly broken.

After listening to Wang Wenlong's words, Pang Di was silent for a long time. He was somewhat opposed to this method of preaching, which was in harmony with paganism.

But after thinking about it, Pang Di had to admit that Wang Wenlong's analysis was correct. It seemed that only in this way could the door to preaching to the Ming Dynasty be opened.

After a long time, Pang Di stood up and said: "Mr. Jianyang's analysis is very insightful. I should write a letter to the Society of Jesus. On behalf of the Society of Jesus, I would like to express my gratitude to you."

Wang Wenlong said: "It's just a little suggestion. Maybe I will ask you for help in the future."

Pang Di smiled and said, "I will try my best to help when the time comes."

Even by the end of Chongzhen's reign, the Society of Jesus had only developed more than a hundred thousand believers, but the proportion of upper-class literati among them was very high. This was also the main missionary direction of the Society of Jesus.

Through today's exchange, Pang Di and I have very much agreed with Wang Wenlong's world vision, and know that such figures were absolutely rare in the Ming Dynasty. Even if the Jesuits do not use the Matteo Ricci rules mentioned by Wang Wenlong, it is still necessary to make friends with celebrities like Wang Wenlong.

……

"Mr. Sir, are we approaching the boundary of Xiamen Island?" Shen Yixiu sat on the sedan chair and looked curiously at the scenery of the Fujian Sea.

This was the first time she saw the sea.

Wang Wenlong told her: "Stop running around and go back to the cabin and sit down. It will be dangerous to float in the sea later."

Shen Yixiu shook his head and said, "I want to see how they lift anchor and sail." Wang Wenlong said, "Don't disobey me, you will understand later."

"I don't believe it." Shen Yi stood at the stern of the boat with a straight head.

When the boat set sail, she was no longer worried.

There is no Xiamen Cross-sea Bridge these days. You still have to take a boat from the boundary of Quanzhou Prefecture to Xiamen Island. Although the distance is only ten miles, it is still a sea boat after all. In October, the weather is windy from the northeast, and several people can sit there. It was a small boat. The smaller the boat, the more bumpy it would be on the sea. After a while, Shen Yixiu couldn't stand it anymore. He was dizzy and was helped into the cabin by Li Guoxian and the maid.

Wang Wenlong was rolled back by Shen Yixiu and Li Guoxian before he couldn't hold back his laughter.

Xiamen City is located on Xiamen Island. This place was originally a border guard station, called the "Zhongzuo Station". The city wall is only more than a thousand meters in circumference and six meters high, and it looks like a small fortress.

The city of Xiamen was not under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou or Zhangzhou. It had previously been under the jurisdiction of the Fujian capital commander who managed the guards. It was at the horns of Kinmen City, Gaopu City, Yongning Acropolis and Zhenhai Acropolis. There were originally more than a thousand defenders.

When Wang Wenlong arrived, this originally desolate coastal defense fortress had already begun to look like a city after several months of development.

Parts of the city wall were demolished, then rebuilt and expanded. The height of the city wall was also increased, and outside the city wall, a "Guanxiang" area that was like a large city at this time appeared.

This also depends on the fact that there are too many refugees in Zhangquan, who come to work as soon as they have a mouthful of food. In a short period of time, this border fortress was built to at least the size of a large county.

After passing Gulangyu Island, Xiamen Island was in front of us. As soon as the boat arrived at the shore, we saw a large crowd of people crowding the pier.

Most of these people were young adults, but they were all dressed in rags and looked lean. When they saw a ship stopping at the pier, they quickly gathered around them.

"My boss, my boss, do you want someone to carry your bag?"

"Master, call me, I have the strength."

"My boss, I'll give you two coins to carry to the city."

There were random shouts all around. It turned out that these people were not beggars, but laborers working on the dock.

Such a man was already young and strong. When Wang Wenlong looked from a distance, he saw that the beach in the shade of trees in the distance was full of ragged people looking at them timidly. They envied and wanted to come up to carry their bags, but they didn't. Push in with strength.

These bag-bearers huddled together in order to grab work. The gangplank of Wang Wenlong's ship was blocked the moment it was put up, leaving no room to move.

"Ouch." As soon as Li Guoxian's maid stepped on the springboard, these people who were snatching her life pushed the springboard so hard that it almost fell into the sea. She was also shocked.

It was the officials of the Chief Envoy's Yamen who were afraid that Wang Wenlong's family would be in danger. After the boat stopped, they ran over with the Yamen servants in soap uniforms. The Yamen servants took out the iron ruler, shook it and roared twice, and the group of laborers carrying the bags Then they dispersed.

For the sake of safety, Wang Wenlong asked the officials to find sedans for Shen Yixiu, Li Guoxian and their maids. After the women sat in the sedan, a group of men walked towards Xiamen city together with several sedans.

After walking out of the pier, he turned around and saw groups of refugees crowded together on the pier. The stench was so bad that Li Guoxian exclaimed: "Why are there so many people?"

Wang Wenlong said: "Most of them want to be a senior member. The disasters this year have been too serious."

Now that the autumn harvest is coming to an end, all the sweet potatoes and pumpkins from the first season have been harvested. However, the disaster relief bank of Trinity Church ran out immediately after it was taken back because the weather this year was so bad. After the first season’s rice production was reduced due to cold weather, the second season’s rice production was reduced. Ji suffered another flood.

In some coastal counties, the output of two-season sweet potatoes and pumpkins has even surpassed the past staple food of rice, and sweet potatoes have become the staple food of many families.

There are countless small landowners who have gone bankrupt. Many small landowners have to borrow money desperately in order not to sell their ancestral property. The Trinity Church's bank will only lend money after receiving the money. The loan issuance speed is almost twice as fast as the loan in the first quarter.

However, Fujian was not even ranked among the disasters suffered during the Ming Dynasty in the 29th year of Wanli. The Yellow River in Henan changed its course, Guizhou Prefecture was scheduled for an earthquake, and the prefectures in eastern Guizhou and the fifth division of Huangping did not rain from January to June, all of which have caused disasters. A famine that can be recorded in history books.

Among them, the disaster in Guizhou was the most serious. After the governor of Guizhou reported the specific disaster situation, the court immediately decided to escort all the arrears of Xieji silver, grain, money and rice from the two provinces of Sichuan under the lake management to Guizhou to relieve the victims.

We have to help. Guizhou just fought off the Yang Yinglong Rebellion last year, and this year it is experiencing such a degree of famine. If relief is not provided, the entire province will be in chaos in minutes.

Far beyond Guizhou, even the White Lotus Sect has appeared in Fujian, and bandits are everywhere in western and central Fujian. When the village in Tingzhou harvests sweet potatoes, they even pay the local guards to send troops to protect them. The bandits are also very hungry, and they can eat anything just to grab the sweet potatoes. Take action.

(End of this chapter)