Chapter 001: The Debate of History

The professor was taken aback to find that the person asking the question was actually there to challenge him. After a moment of hesitation, he finally said: "Although what you said is an objective fact, history tells us that the Ming Dynasty was ultimately overthrown by the Qing Dynasty, wasn't it? If the Qing Dynasty was not more advanced than the Ming Dynasty, how could it have defeated the Ming? Moreover, as I mentioned earlier, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty over several generations were not wise monarchs. For instance, Wanli did not attend court for thirty years, and Tianqi was even more notorious for favoring Wei Zhongxian, which led to the suffering of the people."

The sound of the mobile phone alarm rang out at the right moment, and Tang Kexiao casually picked it up to take a look, only to find that it was barely 7:30. Glancing at the date, he saw it was Sunday, so he placed the phone back by his pillow. Half-asleep, he mumbled, "I must have forgotten to turn off the alarm. It's still early; I'll just catch a few more winks." With that, he turned over and fell back asleep.

At this moment, Tang Kexiao had already forgotten that he was in front of many people, treating it merely as a debate with someone. He said: "What you are talking about is just the emperor, but during the Ming Dynasty, the real power was held by the cabinet. Therefore, the emperor's involvement in affairs was not particularly significant for the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, according to historical records, Emperor Wanli did not seem to completely neglect state affairs; he simply did not attend court. This is similar to some people today who do not go to the office but work from home. You cannot say that they are not working, can you?"

The professor looked somewhat awkwardly at the rather lukewarm scene below. As he adjusted his glasses perched on the bridge of his nose and was about to deliver his closing remarks, he heard a voice coming from below: "I have a few questions to ask."

In this way, the professor felt even more embarrassed. After a moment of silence, he said, "What you say is quite reasonable, but history cannot be changed. The fact that the Ming Dynasty was replaced by the Qing Dynasty is an unalterable truth." After pondering for a moment, he added, "Moreover, considering the situation in the late Ming Dynasty, if the Ming Dynasty had been attacked by Western powers, their fate might have been even worse than that of the Qing Dynasty."

The professor clearly did not anticipate that the person posing the question would articulate it so well, and he was somewhat at a loss. However, Tang Kexiao had not finished speaking; he continued: "Moreover, the ultimate downfall of the Ming Dynasty can be attributed, after all, to natural disasters. It was precisely these disasters that rendered the people unable to survive, ultimately leading to uprisings across various regions. The country fell under the dual blows of the Later Jin and the rebel forces. Now, let us examine the Qing Dynasty you mentioned. The advanced Qing Dynasty, as you describe it, after more than 200 years of development, allowed our nation to suffer foreign invasion. Meanwhile, the rulers of that time, such as Empress Dowager Cixi, were only concerned with their own enjoyment. Is this what you refer to as advanced?"

In this small county town, there are not always historians coming to teach courses as in large cities like Shanghai. Two days ago, Tang Kexiao finally learned that a scholar with a doctoral degree in Ming history would be giving a lecture at the library, scheduled for this morning at 8:30. Therefore, he set his alarm clock for that time before going to bed last night

Tang Kexiao did not know how he ended up making the first call at https://www.hetushu.com, but since he had already spoken up, he certainly could not sit back down. Seeing that someone finally showed interest, the professor was quite pleased and quickly said, "Feel free to ask any questions you may have, and I will do my best to help you with the answers"

The professor was somewhat at a loss. He glanced at the audience below and found that everyone was watching him with great interest, realizing that he had no choice but to continue speaking. Thus, he could only brace himself and said: "A dynasty in its later years is certainly not in good shape, but compared to the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty is much better. It initiated the Self-Strengthening Movement, allowing capitalism to begin in our country..."

After organizing his thoughts, Tang Kexiao said: "Professor, I cannot agree with your evaluation of the late Ming Dynasty. In fact, it was not as dire as you described. I have seen in my readings that the economic development of the late Ming was already quite rapid, and the people's lives were relatively good, with even the emergence of the seeds of capitalism. The Qing Dynasty at that time was merely a regime in the Northeast with very insignificant productivity and culture; they were not advanced at all, let alone progressive."

At 8:20, Tang Kexiao walked into the conference room on the second floor of the library. As he looked around the large classroom, which had only about fifty people scattered throughout, most of whom were elderly with gray hair, he felt a deep sense of disappointment. He finally understood why there were not many scholars coming to give lectures in this city; with such a small audience, those scholars would not come either

At first, Tang Kexiao was able to concentrate on what the professor was lecturing about, but after listening for nearly an hour, he found it increasingly difficult to continue. This was because the content presented by the professor was merely information he already knew, and the professor's perspective lacked any distinctiveness. The discussion about the late Ming Dynasty was nothing more than a reiteration of the incompetence of the court, the immense suffering endured by the common people, and the subsequent outbreak of peasant uprisings across various regions, which ultimately led to the fall of the Ming Dynasty. By the end, the professor concluded, "Thus, by that time, the fall of the Ming Dynasty was already inevitable, and the rise of the Qing Dynasty represented a replacement of this backward and decaying dynasty with a more advanced and progressive force." Hearing these words made Tang Kexiao roll his eyes repeatedly, and he regretted spending his precious sleep time on this lecture.

It was only at this moment that Tang Kexiao realized how overly excited he had been, arguing with someone over a matter that had already become a settled fact. This was truly not in line with his usual demeanor, so after a self-deprecating smile, he left the library

The professor was left speechless after a brief discussion; in reality, he was merely a mediocre teacher. His purpose in coming here to lecture was simply to earn some money, but unexpectedly, he found himself at a loss for words today, which was quite embarrassing for him. The staff member nearby also noticed that the professor had run out of counterarguments, so they stepped in to diffuse the situation, saying: "Thank you to this enthusiastic gentleman for his perspective. Due to time constraints, we will conclude today's lecture here. Thank you all for your attendance, and we look forward to seeing everyone next time"

Noticing that it was still early, Tang Kexiao began to attack his breakfast. Just as he finished his meal, he saw an elderly man dressed in a Zhongshan suit entering the classroom, accompanied by someone who appeared to be an administrator. After testing the microphone, the staff member handed the podium over to the elderly man

Tang Kexiao is a recent university graduate working at a small company. In order to simplify his future job search, he neglected his interest in history when filling out his college application and chose to study something else. Unfortunately, the field he studied did not lead him to a job, which left him quite dissatisfied. However, his interest in history remained undiminished, and he often peruses historical books in his spare time, treating it as a way to quench his thirst for knowledge.

Riding his electric bike, Tang Kexiao hurried towards the library in the eastern part of the city at the fastest speed. He still felt happy to be in this small county town. In the past, he always dreamed of going to big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, but now he realizes that there are advantages to living in a small city as well. For instance, the roads are not congested, and his home is not far from the library, allowing him enough time to arrive punctually.

After expressing his own views, the professor, following the example of those renowned scholars, invited the audience to ask questions, promising to respond himself. However, most of the attendees were elderly individuals with little to occupy their time. Although there were several who had an interest in history, they were also reluctant to draw attention to themselves by asking questions. Consequently, after waiting for two to three minutes, the professor found that no one had come forward to ask anything.

Tang Kexiao's anger was ignited by his final remark: "How can you be so certain that if the roles were reversed, the Ming Dynasty would be worse off than the Qing Dynasty? It is a well-known fact that until the Wanli period, our Ming army was still able to assist Korea in defeating the Japanese invasion, while the Qing Dynasty at that time was being beaten by Japan and forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Furthermore, even if we were to take a step back and consider that the Ming Dynasty was unable to withstand the foreign powers and was bullied, that is still different from the Qing Dynasty signing unequal treaties with foreign enemies. It is important to remember that the rightful owners of the Central Plains are us Han people; the Qing merely seized our land and people. They may have taken it, but ultimately they brought about national humiliation to that extent. This is akin to my own property being squandered by myself, which is inconsequential, but if someone steals my money and spends it recklessly, then tells me that if that money were in my hands, it would be squandered even more thoroughly, what kind of logic is that?" He then looked up at the professor.

Fifteen minutes later, Tang Kexiao suddenly sprang up from the bed: "Damn, I completely forgot that I have to go to the library for a lecture today. No wonder I set the alarm!" While complaining about his forgetfulness, he hurriedly got out of bed, put on his clothes, and after a quick wash, grabbed the breakfast his mother had prepared for him in the living room and rushed out the door

Hello Professor, it seems you have forgotten that I just mentioned the emergence of the seeds of capitalism in our country during the mid to late Ming Dynasty, which is a fact acknowledged in historical texts. This occurred several hundred years earlier than the Self-Strengthening Movement you referred to. Moreover, the Qing government at that time was engaged in the Self-Strengthening Movement to learn about Western firearms, yet during the Ming Dynasty, our firearms were still at the forefront of the world. How is it that when they came into the hands of the so-called advanced nations, our firearms regressed instead?

With the assistance of the staff, the professor was finally able to step down from the podium, at which point his face was already drenched in sweat