Those things in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties

In the long history of China, the Ming Dynasty is a special period connecting the past and the future. It was the last imperial dynasty ruled by Han people in China history. After more than 300 years of historical changes, it is embarrassing. As an important turning point in the history of China, the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties were often criticized by later generations, so every time they were mentioned, there was always more indignation.

A famous writer, literary historian and calligrapher, the pioneer of China's revolutionary literature, is known as the "nike blazer of New Literature". In his last novel, The History of Death and Ming Dynasty, Mr. Tai Jingnong tells an earth-shattering historical story when the country changed hands in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Among them, there is no lack of expression of the author's personal subjective consciousness, and more is a true historical representation of the decline of the Ming Dynasty's national movement.

There are many comments about the demise of the Ming Dynasty. Some people say that the demise of the Ming Dynasty is an irreversible trend of historical changes; Some people say that the decline of the Ming dynasty is mostly related to the collective degeneration of civil and military officials; It is also said that in the troubled times of the late Ming Dynasty, the Han people only thought about food and clothing, and they didn't care whether they were emperors or Manchu. From the historical events described by Tai Jingnong, we can easily find that there are more than three reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty. This historical novel, written during the Anti-Japanese War and hidden in the study for more than 80 years, shows the subversive process in the history of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties in a playful way, from the emperors and generals in the late Ming Dynasty to the slaughter of a small border country by ordinary people.

The story begins with the Li Zicheng Uprising. Emperor Chongzhen wanted to raise his salary, hoping that the Ming army could resist Li Zicheng's attack on the capital. However, the emperor sent eunuch Xu to raise the salary of the emperor's relatives in exchange for hitting a wall everywhere. At this time, as Tai Jingnong said, the Ming Dynasty was powerless, the court was in financial distress, and a large amount of wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few powerful people. For more than 200 years, it has been a long-standing problem, and it has long been difficult to return. The imperial courtiers drag out an ignoble existence, which made the value of the Ming dynasty's force plummet.

From the narrative, we can easily see that Tai Jingnong was helpless and indignant at the rule of the late Ming Dynasty. What is even more shameful is that all the former military commanders of the Ming Dynasty defected to the Manchu Dynasty. According to the compilation time of this book, it is not difficult to understand Tai Jingnong's historical satire on the Ming Dynasty when the Kuomintang retreated to the southwest to resist Japan passively. While revealing a literati's dissatisfaction with political measures, he also tried to warn future generations with the history of the collapse of the late Ming Dynasty.

Although the story of the demise of the Ming Dynasty is a historical novel, it contains many real historical facts, and changing dynasties is a heavy topic. However, Tai Jingnong wrote in a funny way the absurd behavior among the emperor, courtiers and foreign bandits when the Ming Dynasty fell. As Wang Dewei said in the appendix: When the emperor and foreign bandits, rebels and thieves become buffoons, uprisings, wars and even massacres are just bloody jokes.