The shame of the Han people

 

The shame of the Han people

 

Agudengba chatted with Azhuo and Chu Sanxing about the Yuan Dynasty.

Chu Sanxing asked: Chinese people always like to praise the Qin and Han, Tang and Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties, but why are there almost zero praises for the Yuan Dynasty?

Azhuo said: I am also very curious.

Agudenba said:

Chinese people like to say that Chinese culture is the crystallization of the wisdom of people of all ethnic groups in China. The collision of grassland culture, Yellow River culture and Yangtze River culture has aroused countless brilliant sparks and provided inexhaustible driving force for the continuous development of Chinese culture. They praised the Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, but rarely praised the Yuan Dynasty, because the Yuan Dynasty regarded the Han people as subordinates, and today's China is dominated by Han people. This is a reality that everyone in the world knows. It can be said that the Yuan Dynasty was an era of shame for the Han people. This is indisputable history.

The Yuan Dynasty was the first unified country of ethnic minorities established and developed on the basis of the Great Mongolia founded by Genghis Khan. The Mongol Borzhijin clan was the actual ruler of the Yuan Dynasty. In 1271 AD, Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, won the fierce "battle for the throne" and changed the country's name according to the "Great Qianyuan" in the "Book of Changes" It is "Dayuan".

Looking at the Yuan Dynasty objectively from a historical perspective, it is not difficult to find that the Yuan Dynasty was actually a dynasty that "stands on the shoulders of giants". In 1206 AD, Genghis Khan unified all Mongolian tribes through force, and then Kublai Khan established the "Dayuan". In about 65 years, the Mongols at that time went from a tribe to the pinnacle of unifying China and even the world.

Although the Yuan Dynasty was very powerful in history, due to the influence of its own political system, development direction and many other factors, it fell apart in less than 100 years after the founding of the country.

Such a powerful country actually became a "short-lived" dynasty. This is not only thought-provoking, but also worth pondering for future generations.

Agudenba said:

At that time, the Yuan Dynasty implemented a policy of ethnic discrimination, and the Han people, who accounted for the majority of the country, were at the bottom of society. At that time, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty even divided people into four classes. The highest class was the "Mongolians", the second class was the Semu people, the third class was the Han people, and the fourth class was the Southerners. That is, the Han people in the areas originally ruled by the Southern Song Dynasty.

Since the Yuan Dynasty was established by the Mongols, the ethnic discrimination policies of the Yuan Dynasty were also implemented by the Mongols. This policy placed the Han people at the bottom of society.

Having suffered unfair treatment and inhuman oppression for a long time, the Han people were very dissatisfied, and they eventually lost their sense of belonging and attachment to the Yuan Dynasty.

But we have to admit that the Yuan Dynasty was one of the more important dynasties in Chinese history. The reason why we say this is because the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty not only meant the rise of ethnic minorities. At the same time, the Yuan Dynasty, as a key dynasty that connected the past and the future, not only achieved the great cause of national "unification" that was not completed during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, but also provided historical inevitable factors for the establishment of the Ming Dynasty.

As a member of the royal family of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongolian Borzhijin clan had already formed a relatively enlightened outlook on life and "world view" against the backdrop of their ancestors' wars.

During the period of Genghis Khan's Great Mongol Empire, Mongolian soldiers not only traveled across Asia on war horses, but even expanded their territory to the Mediterranean Sea and along the Danube River.

From this historical fact, it is not difficult to find that the Mongols during the Great Mongolian Kingdom were the first batch of Chinese to go abroad. Therefore, the customs and culture of the Mongolian people, on the premise of having their own national characteristics, also integrated the customs and culture of other ethnic groups in China at that time, as well as other races around the world.

The Mongolian people, who originated from the Mobei grasslands, have always lived a nomadic life of "living on grass and living on water". However, due to the extremely harsh natural conditions in Mobei, especially the cold weather in winter, under the influence of this lifestyle and living environment, the Mongolians have formed national customs and culture that are completely different from the Han people.

During the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, on the basis of completely retaining the living habits and folk customs of their ancestors, the Mongolian people formed a unique custom and culture that is "inclusive and inclusive" in the process of continuous development.

This is not only the inheritance of ancestral customs and culture, but also in line with the life characteristics of the Mongolians in the Yuan Dynasty at that time.

Agudenba said:

From an objective perspective, the Yuan Dynasty was actually the continuation of the Great Mongolia. However, due to the relatively developed political, economic, cultural, and commercial activities during the Yuan Dynasty, this also had a great impact on Mongolian customs and culture during the Yuan Dynasty. Coupled with the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, the ruling ideas of "all-inclusive" and "equal treatment" had a great promotion effect on the customs and culture of the Yuan Dynasty.

Starting from Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, and even later emperors of the Yuan Dynasty, they basically adopted a relatively loose policy in dealing with national customs and culture. This was also the basis for the diversification of customs and culture in the Yuan Dynasty.

While respecting the customs and culture of their own nation, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty also respected the culture and religious beliefs of the Han and other ethnic minorities. This made an irreplaceable contribution to the multi-ethnic customs and culture, exchanges and integration during the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the society of the Yuan Dynasty even had the phenomenon of "three religions and nine streams, all of which were worshiped". During the Yuan Dynasty, the "feast" of customs and culture formed was not only related to the ruling ideology at that time, but also a manifestation of the turning point in history.

The Yuan Dynasty was a country integrating politics, military, economy, agriculture, commerce, and culture. From the founding of the Yuan Dynasty in 1271 AD to the founding of the Ming Dynasty in 1368 AD, in a period of 98 years, the Yuan Dynasty went from high spirits to ruin. Although it left many regrets to history, it was during these 98 years that the Yuan Dynasty created a Another miracle.

At that time, the Yuan Dynasty not only did not care about the differentiation of social classes, but also continued to launch wars. The frequent wars made the country's war costs much higher than the investment costs, so the national power was seriously consumed. Although the economic development during the Yuan Dynasty was not satisfactory, the culture, art, customs, folk culture, etc. of the Yuan Dynasty left an "inexhaustible" important cultural treasure house for future generations. Especially in the fields of culture, art and customs, it not only reflects the development level of the Yuan Dynasty at that time, but also the customs and culture left by the people of the Yuan Dynasty still influence future generations until now.

Many classics and celebrities in history do not have a very high evaluation of the Yuan Dynasty, but even so, they cannot erase the historical achievements of Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, and the Yuan Dynasty.

Although the Mongols had the highest status during the Yuan Dynasty, other ethnic groups were divided into "four classes". In particular, the Han people of the Song Dynasty who were defeated by the Yuan Dynasty were given the lowest status in the "four classes" system of the Yuan Dynasty. This is indeed a shame for the Han people. But this only shows that the Yuan Dynasty established by the Mongols had limitations, but these limitations played a very positive role in the political, economic, military, and cultural development of the Yuan Dynasty at the beginning of its establishment.

The establishment and demise of the Yuan Dynasty, China's first unified ethnic minority regime, had its historical inevitability. From the establishment of the Great Mongol Kingdom in 1206 AD until the demise of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368 AD, the total life of these two ethnic minority regimes established by the Mongols was only 162 years. But this does not affect the influence of the Yuan Dynasty in Chinese history, especially the customs and culture with Mongolian characteristics derived from Mongolian customs and habits, which still play a relatively important role until now.

Agudengba sang a national song "I Love My Home":

 

i love my home

i love my home

My family is a big family

I have fifty-six brothers and sisters

 

We all speak Mandarin

The whole world is my home

i love my home

 

We all love to sing a song

Our home is in China

Zhonghuaxing

Family fun