There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 480 Fujian and Taiwan
Did the Zheng family's ancestral home in Nan'an, Fujian, exceed the prescribed standards for sacrificial rites?

Nie Yu didn't immediately understand what the Zheng family ancestral home was until he finished reading the memorial: "Zheng Chenggong's ancestral hall!?"

This Zheng Chenggong was not just a habitual expression of Nie Yu's, but was written that way in the memorial, explicitly referring to the Zheng Chenggong Ancestral Hall.

The ancestral hall of Lord Guoxing in Nan'an was officially identified as the Zheng Chenggong Ancestral Hall in the official documents of the Qing Dynasty, and it even had a plaque inscribed with "Loyal Minister" by Kang Youwei.

As soon as he finished speaking, Nie Yu shook his head: "He was bestowed the imperial surname by the former Ming Emperor Longwu. He should either be called Zhu Chenggong or by his original name. What kind of incongruous name is Zheng Chenggong?"

Gu Jing quickly explained: "Zheng Chenggong was given this name by the Qing court to avoid using the surname Zhu from the Ming Dynasty. However, the common people call it Zhu Chenggong Ancestral Hall or Guoxingye Ancestral Hall."

After saying this, he secretly kept an eye on things. It seemed that His Majesty had already made up his mind about this matter, but he still wanted to see what His Majesty would say.

Nie Yu casually flipped through a few pages and roughly understood the whole story.

It's not very big, but it's not small either.

The incident stemmed from the Zheng family members who remained in Nan'an, Fujian, taking advantage of the year-end to worship their ancestral home, which also served as a way to pay homage to the national surname god.

This is a local Zheng family tradition every year. Although the Emperor Guoxing was always a staunch opponent of the Qing Dynasty, Kang Youwei wanted to appease the people and find more political legitimacy for himself.

Therefore, instead of condemning Koxinga as a traitor, they publicly acknowledged his achievements and specially wrote a couplet for him: "Four garrisons were divided, troops were stationed on two islands, daring to contend for half the country in the southeast; the princes had no land, but he stood firm in one corner, only then did we know that there was a loyal man overseas."

Immediately afterwards, an imperial edict was issued to relocate the grave of Lord Guoxing and establish a temple for worship.

Even disregarding the fact that Kang Youwei was a Manchu, this series of actions truly won over the hearts of the people in Fujian and Taiwan, and also put Shi Lang in a rather unpopular position.

If Lord Guoxing was a loyal minister, then what was he?
Is he a traitorous dog or a disloyal traitor?

Regardless of who it was, the newly appointed magistrate of Nan'an County found out and took advantage of the Zheng family's worship of the national star to interfere as well.

The magistrate of Nan'an County believed that this was a ceremony to commemorate heroes who resisted the Qing Dynasty, and that the government could intervene and participate in the ceremony to help the Han people promote their political legitimacy in Fujian and win over the hearts and minds of the people in Fujian and Taiwan.

The magistrate wanted to do it this way, but the county clerk had a different opinion. He wasn't against worshipping the Emperor Guoxing, but he thought that the Emperor Guoxing was the imperial surname bestowed by the Ming Dynasty, essentially an honorific title from the previous dynasty, and the royal title was also conferred by the previous dynasty, which was somewhat against the rules.

The Han Dynasty had only recently been established and had not yet granted any substantial sacrificial or official titles to the Emperor.

There's definitely no problem with people performing their own sacrifices; if the people don't complain, the officials won't investigate!

However, if the government were to perform the sacrifices, it would be a taboo. If we were to consider it more seriously, it would be considered an unauthorized private sacrifice or illicit worship by the government during a sensitive period (a folk shrine built without the permission of the imperial court).

The debate quickly escalated from whether the Zheng family's sacrificial rituals exceeded the bounds of propriety to the legitimacy of the Guoxingye (Lord Guoxing)'s own sacrificial rites.

The Qing dynasty, which was a Manchu dynasty, did not bestow any title upon the Lord of the Imperial Surname, and the official documents of the Qing court even referred to him as Zheng Chenggong. The emperor of our great Han dynasty has not issued an edict to acknowledge him either. People are asking how local people can arbitrarily worship the Lord of the Imperial Surname.
That's how many things are; if you don't talk about them, they're no big deal, but once they're brought up and weighed, they immediately become big issues!

The sacrificial dispute in Nan'an County, Fujian Province, is not strictly aimed at the national deity Guoxingye, but rather at the local Fujian government's dilemma: why hasn't the imperial court clarified the sacrificial rites for the whole country?

Any sacrifice without the explicit recognition of the imperial court is considered a frivolous and immoral worship. Ordinary people may worship on their own without any problem, but if it gets out, the government will definitely have to step in and destroy it.

If the incident escalates too much and the property is demolished, the officials involved will also be held accountable and punished.

Take Mazu, the goddess of traditional Fujian religion, for example!

The Mazu belief originated from a woman named Lin Mo from Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian Province, in the early Northern Song Dynasty.

Because she rescued people from maritime disasters many times during her lifetime, and later died while rescuing people from maritime disasters, local fishermen spontaneously built a small temple ("Lingnu Temple") to worship her.

More than a hundred years later, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, the Song court was sent on a mission to Goryeo. On the way, they encountered a shipwreck and almost lost their lives. Fortunately, they were protected by Mazu and were able to turn the danger into safety and complete their mission.

Emperor Huizong of Song therefore bestowed the plaque "Shunji" upon the Mazu Temple on Meizhou Island, signifying that it would bring good fortune and blessings.

In the first year of Shaoxi reign of the Southern Song Dynasty, Mazu was officially conferred the title of "Linghui Lady".

In other words, after enduring more than a hundred years, he finally achieved enlightenment and was officially recognized as a deity by the imperial court.

Later, during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, because the Mongols initially relied on sea transport, they attached great importance to deities related to sea gods. Kublai Khan bestowed upon Mazu the title of "Heavenly Princess Who Protects the Nation, Assists the Sage, and Blesses the People," and included her in the state's official worship.

During Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean in the Ming Dynasty, in order to appease the crew and reassure them to sail with him, he petitioned the court to build a Tianfei Palace for Mazu.

During the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi defeated the Zheng family in Taiwan and appeased the people of Fujian and Taiwan. He then re-established the title of Empress of Heaven for Mazu.

It can be said that the Mazu faith, which has been supported by imperial decrees throughout history, is quite active and influential in the Fujian and Taiwan regions.

It wasn't until the Republic of China era, when the Mazu faith lost the support and recognition of the Republic of China government, that it began to suffer setbacks.

In general, the situation in Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan is quite complicated. There are too many mountainous areas here. The Han Dynasty relied on advanced fertilizer technology and the widespread promotion of high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes and corn to feed the people, but it was impossible for them to become wealthy and develop.

To achieve development, the only options were to expand maritime trade and establish overseas colonies, both of which required the support of the Mazu faith. This is why the local governments of Fujian and Taiwan were so concerned about this; for them, resolving the issue of Mazu worship was just as important as resolving civil administration issues.

Clearly stating that sacrificial rites can appease the people and make them believe that the new dynasty is trustworthy. Only when the people trust the government can the government easily dismantle and break up the powerful clans in Fujian and Guangdong.

Nie Yu read the memorial twice and said, "This is indeed my oversight. It's just that the Taichang Temple is a newly established institution, and I am not yet fully familiar with its specific work, which is why I did not clarify the sacrificial rites of the realm in time."

At this point, Nie Yu paused and asked, "What is the current title of the Mazu faith in Fujian?"

Gu Jing recalled for a moment and said, "The Mongol Yuan dynasty bestowed upon her the title of Tianfei, which was followed by the Ming dynasty. When the Manchu Qing dynasty's pseudo-emperor Kangxi was appointed, she was further honored as Tianhou. The large-scale official Mazu temples on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are now all Tianhou Palaces."

Nie Yu nodded: "Then let it remain the Empress! I will not change it. The Ministry of Rites and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices shall immediately begin to arrange the investiture of Mazu of Fujian, as well as the ceremonial objects and the dispatch of the master of ceremonies."

In ancient folk sacrificial beliefs, there were two paths to achieving enlightenment:
The first was the official title bestowed by the imperial court.

Secondly, the imperial court bestowed sacrificial ritual objects upon them.

Both are considered official sacrificial rites recognized by the imperial court.

Nie Yu did not intend to further bestow titles upon Mazu, as it was indeed unnecessary. He would simply grant her sacrificial vessels and send a special envoy to Fujian to preside over the official sacrificial rites, which would serve as a statement of his position.

Although the Court of Imperial Sacrifices was a newly established department and an independent institution, it was actually subordinate to the Ministry of Rites and was normally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites. It was equivalent to an institution outside the Ministry of Rites that was specifically responsible for state sacrifices.

First, let the Court of Imperial Sacrifices clarify the Mazu belief in Fujian, and then gradually begin to clarify the folk beliefs in various parts of the south. See which ones can be recognized and officially recognized, and which ones are absolutely unacceptable and should be destroyed as illicit and immoral deities.

Demolishing mountains and temples was something that founding emperors of all dynasties had to do. Not all beliefs are good; the White Lotus Religion also started with the licentious worship of Mao Zedong.

There were also the Tianli Sect members who were turned by spies during the Northern Expedition, rose up to help the Han army fight, and took over Shandong and Henan. They also belonged to the category of privately established cults.

By the way, the Heavenly Principles Sect also has some people preaching in Shuntian Prefecture (Beijing), and they are all core disciples of Lin Qing, the "Emperor" of the Heavenly Principles Sect.

If history hadn't changed, these guys would have followed "His Majesty the Emperor" into the Forbidden City a few years later and almost captured the Jiaqing Emperor alive.

Having resolved the issue of sacrificial rites between Fujian and Taiwan, Nie Yu then turned to the more visible problem of the Zheng family: "Isn't the county magistrate who impeached the Nan'an magistrate and the county assistant who violated the regulations regarding the Zheng family's sacrificial rites surnamed Shi?"

"Forehead……"

Gu Jing paused for a moment, realizing what the emperor was going to ask, and quickly replied, "I am indeed surnamed Shi, but I don't have much of a connection with Shi Lang's family. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to become the Assistant Magistrate of Nan'an County."

There isn't much of a connection, which means there is a connection, but it's not deep. It's probably that after Shi Lang became successful, the Shi family, which was a distant relative and fell into decline, couldn't even benefit from his success.

Nie Yu shook his head and sighed again: "I will not pursue this matter this time. As for the issue of the Zheng family's violation of the regulations in their sacrificial rites, I will also have the Court of Imperial Sacrifices send someone to Nan'an County to preside over the sacrificial rites for the Zheng family. The dignified Prince Yanping of the Great Ming Dynasty is loyal and filial to the country, and he even drove out the foreign invaders from Taiwan for our China. With such achievements, how can there be any violation of the regulations?"

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

The cabinet ministers bowed in unison.

Nie Yu hadn't finished speaking yet: "After the sacrificial ceremony, let's rebuild the temple for him! Temples should be built in both Fujian and Taiwan. The temples should no longer use the inappropriate name of Zheng Chenggong. From now on, they should all be changed to Zhu Chenggong, and the achievements of the recapture of Taiwan should be written in detail so that they can be passed down to future generations."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gu Jing quickly accepted the decree.

He didn't mention anything about taboos or anything like that. Only foreign regimes like the Manchu Qing dynasty would avoid mentioning the former Ming dynasty. Why would our great Han dynasty need to avoid anything? We'll just be open and honest about it.

Nie Yu then added, "Since we've mentioned the Zheng family's sacrificial rites, then the Shi family should also be included. Let the local officials investigate thoroughly to see if the Shi family is conducting any sacrificial rites. If they are, I will also bestow upon them a plaque."

What would the plaque say? Of course, it couldn't be "traitor," that would be too offensive. Nie Yu was an honest man; at most, it would say "traitorous official" or "lackey."

They've already surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and become dogs, and they still want to be heroes?
Keep dreaming, you son of a bitch!

With these few words, Nie Yu had definitively defined the nature of Shi Lang and Lord Guo.

Koxinga was an indisputable hero who fought against the Qing dynasty to recover Taiwan and expel the Dutch colonists, while Shi Lang... was nothing but a dog!

Shi Lang received such a high evaluation from the emperor. Although the emperor had previously said that he would not pursue the matter further, and those other county magistrates with the surname Shi in Nan'an should still be able to continue serving as county magistrates, he could forget about ever being removed from the position of county magistrate again.

If one can remain as incorruptible as water, one might be able to retire peacefully in the position of county magistrate. But if one dares to embezzle even a single penny, countless colleagues and censors from the Censorate will surely impeach and report him.

The emperor's dislike of Shi Lang was a clear political signal in itself.

As for whether innocent people will be implicated? That's something the Shi Lang family brought upon themselves. They enjoyed the benefits of surrendering and becoming dogs, so naturally they have to pay the price.

The fact that the emperor didn't execute anyone shows that he was already extremely kind and benevolent.

(End of this chapter)