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In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang completed the basic unification of China as a whole, and then called the Empire Daming. A new centralized government was established in the East.
About 150 years after Zhu Yuanzhang completed the “great cause of reunification”
On April 20, the 16th year of Zhengde (1521), Emperor Wuzong of Ming Dynasty died. Since Wu Zong of the Ming Dynasty had no descendants, Yang Tinghe, the first assistant, invoked the principle of “brothers end up with younger brothers” in the Emperor Ming Zuxun and issued an edict in the name of the emperor five days before Wu Zong’s death, ordering Zhu Houxi to inherit the title of King Xing. On the day after Wu Zong died, yangtinghe asked the Minister of rites to ask the Empress Dowager Yizhi to officially announce Zhu Houxi as the heir to the emperor.
On April 22, the 16th year of Zhengde (1521), Zhu Houxi received the mission in the capacity of King Xing, accepted the imperial edict of the empress dowager, received courtesies from various officials at the palace, and then went to Beijing with the mission.
Outside Beijing, the first round of “big ceremony” clashes broke out.
According to yangtinghe’s arrangement, the etiquette department was asked to greet Zhu Houxi with the prince’s etiquette, that is, entering from the Donghua gate and living in the Wenhua hall. However, zhuhouxi did not accept this plan, saying: “the imperial edict made me the heir to the throne, not the prince.” The two sides did not compromise each other. Finally, the Empress Dowager ordered the ministers to write on paper to persuade them to enter. Zhuhouxi received the paper in the suburbs, entered from the Daming gate, and then ascended the throne in the Fengtian hall.
On May 27, the 16th year of Zhengde (1521), Zhu Houxi officially became the emperor, and the next year he was renamed Jiajing. Shortly after he ascended the throne, there was a three-and-a-half-year debate between emperor Jiajing and the old ministers of Wu Zong about who was the emperor of Jiajing (that is, the father in the patriarchal sense) and the emperor’s birth father. Regardless of the opposition of the courtiers, Emperor Jiajing pursued his father as Emperor Xian and later granted him the title of Emperor Xian and his mother as empress dowager of the state of Xing. He was renamed emperor Xiaozong of the Ming Dynasty and revered the emperor as “emperor bokao”.
In September of the 17th year of Jiajing (1538), Emperor Xingxian was revered as “emperor Ruizong knew the way to heaven, Hong Deyuan, renkuan, Mu Chunsheng, and simply respected the emperor of literature”. The memorial tablet of emperor Xingxian was elevated to the Taimiao temple, ranking above the Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, and the tomb of emperor Xingxian was changed to the Xianling mausoleum. The event of the grand ceremony ended with the victory of emperor Jiajing.
Today, let’s talk about “the great ceremony” and “the right to abortion”
In 1865, Lincoln completed the basic unification of the United States as a whole, and the southern government ended in failure. A new centralized government was established in the West.
About 150 years after Lincoln completed the great cause of unification
In June, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court officially made a judgment, overturning the precedent of establishing the right to abortion “Roe v. Wade case”. This means that women’s right to abortion, which has been recognized in the United States for nearly half a century, will no longer be protected by the constitution.
As soon as the news came out, there was a wave of polarization in the United States, with anti abortion activists cheering on one side and protesters angry, desperate and even hysterical on the other.
The governments of various states in the United States are also standing in line. At present, the number of states that have made it clear that abortion will be banned is equivalent to the number of states that continue to support this right.
It is foreseeable that this judgment will not be the end of the dispute over the right to abortion, but the beginning of a new debate. In the short term, American public opinion generally believes that the right to abortion will become the core issue of the mid-term elections in November.
Many Chinese people may not understand why the dispute over “abortion right” has caused such a big wave in the United States and will become a “life and death” issue for everyone.
Just like many Westerners do not understand why the debate over “great rites” would cause such a big wave in the Ming Dynasty, and would become a “life and death” issue for everyone.
What the two seem to dispute is “political correctness”
The essence of the dispute is “political rights”
Want to understand the current “abortion right” debate
, it is necessary to understand the debate on “great rites” in the Ming Dynasty.
In the Ming Dynasty, it took 18 years for the “great ceremony” to accomplish such a thing. Is it necessary? This “title” almost split the whole court, which not only had a far-reaching impact on the political life in the Jiajing period, but also had an indelible impact on the bureaucratic system of the entire Ming Dynasty. Is it necessary?
Not to mention Westerners, many Chinese people don’t understand
In fact, it doesn’t mean much to ordinary people, but it is “necessary and necessary” for political figures
In order to understand this problem, we can first look at the two protagonists of “Dali Yi”:
“Yili school” represented by Emperor Jiajing
“Ritual protection school” represented by yangtinghe
The obvious reasons why emperor Jiajing insisted on respecting his father are:
In order to be the emperor, he let his father die and said, “isn’t this the son of heaven who is unfilial?”
The obvious reasons why yangtinghe insisted on maintaining the position of Wu Zong are:
Since the Shizong was a small sect that followed a large one, it should respect orthodoxy and say that “those who disagree should be killed!”
It seems reasonable on the surface, but no one is willing to explain the reasons behind it:
Jiajing inherited the great orthodoxy with a small clan, which was naturally inferior to the orthodoxy of the throne. If he made even a small step in this matter, the emperor’s authority would no longer exist. After that, he was at the mercy of the minister. This is the root cause that he will never accept.
The power base and source of yangtinghe did not come from emperor Jiajing, but from emperor Xiaozong and Emperor Wuzong. It was for their own power base that they naturally tried their best to maintain the orthodox status of Xiaozong and Emperor Wuzong. For yangtinghe and other ministers, “protecting rites” was also “protecting power”.
After understanding the essence of the “great rites”, let’s look at the “right to abortion” and understand the right and wrong of the “right to abortion”.
The essence of the right to abortion has little impact on the lives of ordinary people. After all, no one often has abortions, but it is of great significance to some “politicians”.
To understand this, we must first see clearly the two forces behind the “right to abortion”:
“Conservative” forces dominated by “Republicans”
“Liberals” with the “Democratic Party” as the main force
The obvious reasons why “conservatives” insist on “illegal abortion” are:
That the fetus is also life, should be protected!
The obvious reasons why the “liberals” insist on “legalizing abortion” are:
Abortion is a personal choice, and the government should not prohibit it!
It seems reasonable on the surface, but no one is willing to explain the reasons behind it:
The group of “conservatives” may initially consist of the traditional “wasp” group (white Anglo Saxon Protestant). Later, it gradually expanded to the group of people who believe in “American traditional values”, believe in Trump and believe in Maga.
They are the losers of globalization and domestic political struggle in the past 30 years. In the face of the decline of their own economic and political power, they believe that it is the United States that has lost its “American spirit” that has made the United States what it is today and that they have lost their wealth and status in the past. What they want is to go back to the United States that they “aspire to spiritually”.
The initial representatives of the “liberals” may be those who pursue “minority rights” and “women’s rights”, and gradually join the LGBT group (now it should be lgbttqqiaap+), and then gradually expand to those who believe in the values of “human rights” and “freedom” and believe that “freedom is not absolute = absolutely not free”.
They are the winners of globalization and domestic political struggle in the past 30 years. Facing the rise of their own economic and political power, they believe that it is the “new American spirit” that the United States has achieved today, and they can achieve today’s wealth and status. What they want is to continue to move towards the “America they yearn for spiritually”.
The “right to abortion” is just a signal, just like the “great ceremony” is only a signal. Behind the “what ideas can guide the United States” are:
“Who is in charge of this country!”
There will be more such issues after the “right to abortion”:
“Do you want to give more ransom and preferential treatment to ethnic and sexual minorities?”
“Do you want to continue globalization or return to American Isolationism?”
“Should we continue to open up immigration or crack down on it?”
…………
You know, behind every policy, there are countless capital and endless power.
In essence, Jiajing’s great rites dispute the power distribution relationship between the inner court and the outer court, between the imperial power and the scholar power, and between the monarch and the minister in the imperial power system of the Ming Dynasty. That is, who can take charge of the interpretation and operation of rules.
More than 150 years after the unification of the Ming Dynasty, there was a dispute over “grand ceremony”, and there was also a dispute over “abortion right” more than 150 years after the unification of the United States. In essence, the dispute is “who can take charge of the interpretation and operation of the rules!”
The dispute over the “grand ceremony” in Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, including the subsequent Wanli incident of “striving for the foundation of the country”, has greatly intensified the tearing of politics in the Ming Dynasty. Since then, the Ming Dynasty has not formed a unified consensus to pool its strength, but has fallen into endless party strife and game without a bottom line.
In the end, this tearing has affected the people’s livelihood at the bottom. China has fallen into a huge ruling crisis, and has also given “Nuzhen” the opportunity to enter the customs