Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 601: A World Undergoes Transformation, The Grand Ceremony Begins!
This is similar to his prohibition of the army from engaging in business or farming.

The military is a war machine; fighting is their duty.

The rest should be left to the government system.

It is right for professionals to do professional things.

However, as time went on, Zhu Yunwen increasingly felt that the Ming Dynasty's human resources were in dire need of resources.

In the present Ming Dynasty, construction is underway everywhere, and people are needed everywhere.

The wages for hiring workers have doubled or tripled in the past two years.

Even so, many companies still cannot recruit enough staff.

In particular, there is a lack of educated people.

Many of the jobs available now require a certain level of education to be competent.

The cultural requirements aren't actually that high.

If measured by the cultural level of later generations, it would be roughly equivalent to that of a junior high school student, or even lower. Having the cultural level of a fifth or sixth grader in later generations would be sufficient.

Being able to read basic Chinese characters, recite the multiplication table, and do simple arithmetic already makes one a qualified "talent" who can handle most jobs.

But the Ming Dynasty is currently lacking in such "talents".

There is a lack not only of workers with this kind of culture, but also of officials.

As economic activities in the Ming Dynasty become increasingly complex, more sophisticated oversight is needed.

Things that could previously be left unattended and ignored by the government now require intervention from government agencies.

The number of officials needed to handle affairs naturally increased dramatically.

In response to this situation, Zhu Yunwen already had a comprehensive plan in mind.

He intends to take advantage of this opportunity to worship the sage and formally announce to the world that he will implement compulsory education for more than six years in the Ming Dynasty.

Although the level of technology was still far behind that of later generations.

However, thanks to its vast land, relatively high per capita arable land area, and abundant overseas resources, the Ming Dynasty has now completely escaped the problem of hunger.

Everyone can have enough to eat now.

As the saying goes, "When the granaries are full, people know etiquette." Now that food is no longer a problem, it is natural to put the people on the agenda to receive a higher level of education.

Without the crisis of food shortages, the Ming Dynasty could fully afford the expenses of educating children.

Zhu Yunwen also did not want the children of the Ming Dynasty to become child laborers in large numbers, like some countries during the industrialization period in history.

The reason for setting it at six years is that this period is neither too long nor too short, but just right.

Six years of education is enough for a person to recognize most everyday words, read ordinary newspaper articles, understand simple technical materials, and know basic arithmetic operations, etc.

With such a foundation, it will become much easier to train someone to learn any skill later.

In later generations, because everyone had to receive nine years of compulsory education, people never thought that basic literacy was actually a very important skill and that it was very difficult to cultivate.

A bricklayer might only need a year to learn, a carpenter three years for more complex skills, and a car mechanic only a few months to learn to repair cars; the same applies to most other skills.

One to three years is enough time to learn.

While one can read and write, it takes a very long time.

If a person doesn't know how to read by the time they reach adulthood, it will be more difficult to teach them to read and write than to teach them to be a carpenter, a car mechanic, or any other skilled worker!
There are so many difficulties!

However, what is cultivated in childhood will become a person's "instinct".

Learning to read will become a basic skill that everyone can and understand, just like being able to speak.

This is crucial for the future development of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yunwen also considered implementing nine-year compulsory education, but ultimately chose six years.

The basic knowledge can be learned in about six years.

Of course, now that the Ming Dynasty has even built several universities, there will certainly still be many people participating in continuing education six years from now.

However, that would not fall under compulsory education.

However, with the existence of compulsory education, these higher-level schools will find it easier to recruit qualified students and cultivate more talent.

Another reason for choosing to implement six years of compulsory education is that one must take things one step at a time.

Previously, Emperor Zhu had established a "compulsory education" system that benefited the entire nation during the Ming Dynasty.

However, due to limitations imposed by the objective environment and various conditions, it has not truly been made available to everyone.

Those who were truly qualified to study in "public schools" were mostly the children of local gentry.

Of course, the children of wealthy families and gentry would not go there either, as they looked down on these "public schools" and believed that the teaching quality was too low, far inferior to their own private schools.

Zhu Yuanzhang's "compulsory education" was also opposed by most of his court officials.

It was only because Old Zhu insisted on his own way that the project was barely pushed through.

It wasn't until Zhu Yunwen came to power and implemented vigorous reforms that the Ming Dynasty had enough money, and the original schools gradually began to improve.

The compulsory education that Zhu Yunwen wants to establish now is quite different from the schools he used to run.

This is meant to be accessible to everyone.

For this reason, implementing compulsory education will require building a large number of schools, countless teachers, and establishing a comprehensive system.

These are not easy tasks.

Implementing this policy for six years first will significantly reduce the requirements in these areas.

We can extend it gradually when the time is right.

Seven years, eight years, nine years...

Even now, the people of the Ming Dynasty still uphold the concept of "many children, many blessings," and each family has many children.

In the past, due to food shortages and poor medical and sanitary conditions, the survival rate of newborns was extremely low, and many died prematurely.

Now that there was no shortage of food, Zhu Yunwen also vigorously promoted better and more scientific medical and health technologies, such as ensuring that the scissors used during childbirth were sterilized, and advocating that people drink boiled water instead of drinking cold water directly.

The mortality rates for infants and children have both declined sharply.

Raising many children in a family is naturally not easy.

Most families can afford to force these children to receive six years of education in a short period of time.

If it's longer, it becomes very difficult.

In the Ming Dynasty today, most teenagers who are only a teenager are already starting to help with household chores and take on some of the family responsibilities.

Only a few people were able to continue their studies full-time.

This is the current reality.

Zhu Yunwen was well aware of this.

Therefore, national policies are not divorced from reality.

As for family planning, encouraging people to have fewer children, that's definitely not a national policy.

If there's a population explosion, let it explode.

Even if the population of the Ming Dynasty were to increase several times over, it would still be within the acceptable range.

As urbanization progresses, the birth rate will naturally decline and stabilize at a normal replacement level.

There is absolutely no need for the imperial court to interfere.

With the urbanization rate increasing, the real headache for the imperial court will likely be the low birth rate.

Implementing compulsory education will not only comprehensively improve the cultural literacy of future generations and cultivate talents for the country, but also has two other major benefits.

Firstly, this opportunity could be used to launch a large-scale literacy campaign nationwide. Teachers who teach children could also teach adults, simply by staggering their teaching times; existing classrooms could also be shared in rotation.

Adults work during the day and attend night classes at school.

After a period of training, they will be able to read and write and perform basic calculations.

Currently, the demand for educated individuals is so great that ordinary people can see this and are willing to learn.

Once a large number of adults are no longer illiterate, they will be able to perform basic technical jobs, which can immediately alleviate the urgent human resource shortage in the Ming Dynasty.

Secondly, through widespread education, with nationally compiled textbooks promoted nationwide, the thoughts and ideas of the people throughout the country will become more consistent, further enhancing the cohesion and centripetal force of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, prior to this, the people had a very weak sense of national and ethnic identity.

They resisted foreign invasions often only because the methods used by the invaders were too bloody and cruel, and in order to survive, they had no choice but to fight back desperately.

As for concepts such as "national honor," "national dignity," and "defending territorial integrity," they are almost entirely blank in their minds.

Implementing compulsory education can subtly instill this concept in children from a young age.

Only in this way can the Ming Dynasty forge an unshakeable force, and the Chinese nation become even more indestructible.

With compulsory education being implemented uniformly by the state, unified textbooks would naturally be compiled, thus ensuring that education remained in the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

It should be understood that in the past, the ideas and concepts instilled in students by private schools were entirely up to the teacher.

The imperial court was difficult to control and manage.

On the surface, everyone was teaching Confucianism, the Four Books and Five Classics, and the way of the sages.

The actual interpretations are often quite different.

To put it simply, all teachers will incorporate their own insights into the lecture process.

Among them, quite a few lead people astray.

Implementing a unified education system and using standardized teaching materials can significantly reduce the occurrence of such situations.

The imperial court must firmly control the education of children, rather than allowing private schools to instill all sorts of nonsensical ideas into them.

Furthermore, if the imperial court wanted to promote new ideas and concepts, it should also use the classrooms of schools to gradually take root in the hearts of every citizen of the Ming Dynasty.

……

In recent days, all preparations for the sacrificial ceremony to the saint have been proceeding in an orderly manner.

In addition to officials, nobles, and descendants of Confucius, a number of renowned Confucian scholars, including Fang Xiaoru, have also arrived in Qufu.

Two days before the sacrificial ceremony, the front page of the Da Ming Daily published an article signed by Kong Ne, the Duke Yansheng of the time.

Spanning thousands of words, it elucidates the origins of the Way of the Sage in a profound yet accessible way, which is precisely the essence of the new learning that is now highly regarded and popular throughout the world.

The article states that "the world belongs to all" is the core of Confucian thought and the true way of the sage.

The article immediately caused a national sensation upon its release.

After all, Kong Ne's identity was extremely special!

He was a direct descendant of Confucius and inherited the title of Duke Yansheng. His views on how to define the "Way of the Sage" were of paramount importance.

Kong Ne's public statement undoubtedly carries significant weight.

The news spread quickly, and people eagerly read it, with many even holding up newspapers and spreading the word.

Some even went so far as to confront those old scholars who had always looked down on "new learning," holding newspapers in hand, and sarcastically asked, "Where have you been studying? You don't understand the principles that even the descendants of sages agree with?"

In their view, since even the eldest grandson of Confucius so resolutely supported the new learning, what was there to argue about?
The following day, the newspapers published a series of signed articles by other prominent Confucian scholars who supported the new learning and endorsed Kong Ne's views.

By this time, those who were observant had already figured out the secret.

His Majesty intends to use this grand sacrificial ceremony to formally legitimize the new learning and establish its orthodoxy.

This is not surprising; His Majesty's previous attitude was already quite obvious.

The new learning has already swept the world and become the most prominent learning of our time.

Many people were eagerly anticipating the early promulgation of the imperial edict, which would establish the new learning as the orthodox Confucianism, and were extremely excited about it.

Of course, there are also some stubborn conservatives who still have an extreme aversion to new learning.

Faced with the possibility that the imperial court might establish the new learning as the orthodox doctrine, they felt extremely grieved and devastated, as if they had lost their parents.

……

On the day of the sacrificial ceremony, the area around the Confucian Temple was already teeming with people, shoulder to shoulder, a dark mass stretching as far as the eye could see.

Although very few people are allowed to enter the temple to participate in the ceremony, this does not stop people from coming to see the grand occasion.

The prestige of a sage is deeply ingrained in the bones of countless people and has endured for thousands of years.

Even the villagers who were illiterate held the sage in high esteem and regarded him as a god.

The influence of Confucian culture and thought on China is unparalleled.

In addition, rumors had been circulating among the people that His Majesty would announce some momentous measures during his personal worship of the sage.

So countless people, filled with burning curiosity, flocked from all directions.

From the Confucian Temple outwards, the main road stretches for more than ten miles, teeming with people, densely packed and seemingly endless.

Some people even arrive days in advance, just to get closer to the front row when watching the excitement, even if they can only see the backs of the people in front of them, they are satisfied.

As for the festival itself, outsiders naturally have no chance to see it.

The gates of the Confucian Temple have always been open only to a select few.

After all, the Confucian Temple itself is only so big and can't accommodate many people.

However, the scene of hundreds of thousands of people gathering outside the temple was already quite awe-inspiring.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The sound of bells rang out.

This is the signal that the sacrificial ceremony has officially begun.

The bustling crowd outside quickly quieted down.

Although people cannot go inside the Confucian Temple to participate in the sacrificial rites and can only watch from the outside, it does not affect their "pilgrimage" spirit at all.

Upon hearing the bell, they all spontaneously straightened their clothes and waited in silence.

Since we're here, even if we can't go inside to offer sacrifices, we can still "offer sacrifices" outside; that would be a way of showing our sincerity.

Almost everyone who comes here thinks this way.

Therefore, they can quickly calm down.

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

"Snapped!"

A few more cracks of whips, and the sound of ancient music began to play slowly.

Inside the Confucian Temple, Zhu Yunwen was dressed in solemn imperial robes, his expression serene.

Following the pre-arranged ceremonial procedures, this grand ceremony concerning the transformation of the world slowly commenced!

……

(End of this chapter)