Unveiling China's Forbidden Parallel: Xi and the Legacy of Last Emperor of Ming Dynasty Chongzhen 2024-01-16 00:17

hi thank you for watching digging to China I'm Don Shan if you have not done so already please subscribe to my channel thank you very much in October 2023 an intriguing incident unfolded in mainland China as a book titled Chong Jen diligent emperor of a fallen Empire was delisted the official explanation from the publisher attributed the removal to printing issues prompting Distributors to swiftly withdraw the book upon notification consequently the book disappeared from the shelves of the Chinese online book retailer Dong Dong and the sales on jd.com were halted in the current Chinese cultural landscape the removal of sensitive books is not a novel occurrence typically such removals are associated with books touching on contemporary political issues all those critical of centralized Authority especially from foreign sources however the recent delisting of the book Chong Jen diligent emperor of a fallen Empire is noteworthy as it solely delved into historical content the question arises why would a historical account about a ruler from over 300 years ago face removal the author the late Chan uong served as the head of the history department at the Central University for nationalities and was an esteemed expert in Min Dynasty history until his passing in May 2023 the book is not a recent publication it was originally released in 2016 under the title trong past the final landscape of the Ming Empire the recent incident involves a reprint with a modified title possibly a strategic decision by the books publisher to enhance Market appeal unexpectedly this change led to the significant controversy by inadvertently touching upon sensitive subjects concerning the highest leadership why is is this assertion made just take a look at the cover introduction of this book where it boldly declares repeatedly employing foolish strategies step by step in error the more diligent the emperor the more the Empire perishes exploring as aspects such as Finance party governance military personnel decisions the book guides readers to comprehend how Emperor chungen consistently adopted misguided strategies leading the empire down the path of demise after reading such a summary who comes to mind first I presume that for most people it's not chungen but rather shiin ping hence it's unsurprising that this book was removed by revant the Chinese Communist Party authorities and even the previous version was delisted a bald head avoids the spotlight someone with low self-esteem fears hearing any form of criticism as each word spoken may seem like a personal affront yet when such attempts to hide are revealed they often end up becoming a source of mockery the CCP frequently engages in these counterproductive attempts to conceal the obvious like many others I was initially unfamiliar with this book and had never heard of it however after it was banned and removed from circulation it is spared the Curiosity and the people are now eager to acquire a copy to see its content the online price of the book's previous version has doubled likely due to increased demand it can be said that the band has inadvertently brought attention to and elevated the popularity of this book regardless of whether the book initially intended to allude to Shi Jinping after its ban it has achieved precisely that effect why does the CCP fear discussions about the trong what are the taboos associated with Chong for them today I'll explore the com commonalities and the differences between Shi Jinping and Chong the typical traits of a ruler who leads a nation to ruin include inadequate abilities and widespread characters flaws while historically such rulers bear various derogatory names there are degrees to these shortcomings plac say Shi Jinping and chongon side by side it's probable that chungan himself will find the comparison insulting due to its strong negative implications while Shi Jinping shares all of Chan's shortcomings he lacks any of Chan's merits so what are the shared shortcomings between Chong Jen and shiin ping firstly both exhibit the flaw of harboring Grand Ambitions without possessing the acquired talent and displaying a rigid and self-willed nature when tronan assumed the throne it was during the late period of the Ming Dynasty marked by internal and an external turmoil and the Empire's deteriorating State Tron aspired to make a significant impact aiming to be a transformative leader to steal the Ming Dynasty back on course while such aspirations are commendable the tragedy lies in the disparity between his Ambitions and his actual capabilities trong spent his early life within the confines of the Imperial Palace at the age of 16 his brother emperor Ming shiong unexpectedly passed away without leaving an air consequently as mong's only surviving brother Chen hastily ascended to the throne as a young Emperor Chen lacked any distinctive talents furthermore not being the not being the designated Heir and lacking relevant political experience he had inherent shortcomings however rather than acknowledging these limitations Chong was desperate for Solutions his approach to both domestic and diplomatic matters was mocked by excessive aggression and inflexibility resulting in a passive stance on various fronts for instance despite having no military expertise TR insisted on giving directives a notable Ming Dynasty General Sun Tran had successfully quailed a peasant Uprising led by Le Zang in shanii Province achieving victory such as defeating the rebel leader gaing xang and forcing lead chongin to retreat however distrusting mil commanded Chun unwisely intervened repeatedly reassigning Sun Tran and allow Le CH to Stage comebacks eventually when Le Chung post a significant threat and the situation spiraled out of control trong Jun ordered to underman an undipped shunran to engage in a decisive battle leading to sh Tran's death on the battlefield and leaving the Ming Dynasty without capable military leaders despite these outcomes chungen refused to to accept the fault attributing any mistakes to the incompetence of his subordinates his famous assertion was my ministers have misled me in his view he bought no responsibility and any issues arose solely from the presence of corrupt officials xiin ping shares a resemblance with ch in disregard his Ascent to power is primarily attributed to his red lineage and the positive Legacy left by his father within the party rather than his personal outstanding abilities Shi jinping's Ambitions exceed those of Tren while Tren sought to rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty shiin ping envisions establishing a community of shared Destiny for mankind and aspires to be a global leader since assuming office Xi Jinping has prominently raised the banner of so-called struggles engaging in conflicts against the heaven Earth people and the civilizations of Nations globally despite being being an elementary school students who struggles to read fluently and lacks familiarity with common Chinese characters Shin ping frequently positions himself to provide a guidance to China and even the entire world the second common trait is a strong centralization of power and a penchant for vanity and reputation when trun ascended the throne the Ming Dynasty had already stood for 260 years despite facing political challenges a stable and effective civil servant system had been established a term we recognize today cabinet originated during the Ming Dynasty typically major political directives were initially discussed in cabinet meetings subsequently they were deliberated within the six Ministries to propose Solutions a process known as p in Chinese finally the emperor would Grant approval this practical decentralization of power with specialized individuals handling specific task serves to some extent as a check against personal autocracy to offer an imperfect analogy the M Dynasty's cabinet could be compared to the modernday state council with the chief minister of the cabinet resembling the Prime Minister the cabinet was responsible for the specific execution of administrative functions while the emperor retained the role of granting final approval following Chong's Ascend to the throne he entirely revoked authority of the cabinet choosing to personally make decisions on all matters regardless of their significance this led him to review official documents daily often extending late into the night while one could frame this as diligent governance a more critical perspective might characterize it as consolidating power making unilateral decisions and disregarding established governance principles with the cabinet reduced to a symbolic entity and Emperor lacking High competence it becomes questionable where the state affairs could avoid encountering issues since assuming office Xi Jinping has consistently pursued a path of centralization implementing a strategy known as small team governance this approach involves establishing various leadership teams stripping away administrative functions from the original state Council and consolidating all political and administrative authority of the country under his Monopoly this transformation shifts the focus from government Affairs to party Affairs highlighting the party's control over all aspects the role of the premier of the state Council once considered the second in command within the CCP has been diminished to a subservient position position with little real influence and certainly no power of constraint with great power comes great responsibility however Chong Jun characterized by significant vanity and a keen desire for reputation attempted to consolidate the power without shouldering accountability whenever issues arose even when the decision were clearly his own he consistently shifted the blame onto his ministers claiming success for effect Ive leadership and attributing failure to subordinate incompetence becoming a recurring pattern take for instance his decision to prioritize internal stability before addressing external threats by negotiating with the later Jin to counter Rebel Le CH the later Jin became the Manu Le Chin Dynasty however Chung pursued of a claim led him to send Chen Shing J the minister of War for secret negoti iations aiming to avoid being perceived as compromising despite nearing an agreement the co talks were exposed facing opposition from numerous War oriented ministers to deflect responsibility Chen incredulously fed ignorance of the matter and Escape goed Ching ja executing him to silence any potential Revelation consequently discussion of Peace negotiations become taboo and the Ming Dynasty forfeited its last opportunity to reverse its fortunes when Le Chun was on the verge of capturing Beijing trun contemplated moving the capital to nanin however concerned about his reputation he didn't want to be seen as fleeing he attempted to have a lower ranking official proposed idea for his approval yet when the proposal to move the capital faced opposition from senior ministers tronan reversed his position claiming he never entertained the idea this missed opportunity to relocate the capital led to his eventual entament and a demise in Beijing doesn't this bear a striking resemblance to Xi Jinping Xi Jinping frequently boasts about personally commanding and orchestrating initiatives however when faced with challenges he consistently avoids shouldering the blame a prime example is the pandemic control over the past 3 years from the Wuhan lockdown to Nationwide the nuclear asset testing it's apparent to any Discerning Observer that these decisions were solely made by shiin ping initially when the lockdown and the testing seemed somewhat effective he took full credit yet as public discontent grew and containment policies faltered he shifted blame to local governments accusing them of inadequate execution he attributes all success to himself while assigning faults to others in this aspect the parallels between Chong Jen and shiin ping are striking the third common flaw is a fondness for Harsh measures and an inability to distinguish between loyalty and treason Chen wasn't originally the air apparent and he grew up amidst the treacherous intrigues of the Imperial Court fostering a character marked by cruelty ingratitude and a blood line between loyalty and betrayal upon assuming the throne he swiftly eliminated the influential way J Shen conducting a comprehensive Purge of the unique uh faction while one might expect a shift towards constructive governance after a removing political Rivals trong Jen considered the Triumph of way jong xen a successful president consequently he frequently resorted to purge to handle ministers even when his grip on power was Secure in response to this pleasing actions by subordinates he would either reprimand and dismiss them or in severe cases imprison and execute them during his 17year Reign Tren replaced 19 chancellors and 50 Grand secretaries a significant Turnal compared to the mink Dynasty's entire 276 year history which saw only 164 Grand secretaries additionally he executed two chancellors 11 Governors General and 12 provincial Governors a notable case was Yen chungan who while defending Leong effectively prevented the menu forces from breaching the Great War however due to an unfounded accusation and a CH suspicious nature this crucial figure in the nation's defense was unjustly executed resulting in a self-destruction of the defensive line Tran's failure to differentiate between loyalty and treason can be described as reaching a disturbing height he viewed loyal ministers like with suspicion and implemented strict precautions while extending unwarranted trust to treacherous ministers such as W Yang Andi for instance when tun a purely opportunistic and innap individual astonishingly held the position of Chancellor for8 years in compassing half of ch's RM since assuming power shiin ping has used the purported anti-corruption drive to purge various factions within the party including clicks and factions consolidating considerable Authority for himself however aking to Chong Jen he appears to Harbor insecurity repeatedly employing pures to establish his unwavering leadership those not aligned with his faction regardless of their capabilities find themselves sideline even within his own faction individuals perceived as lacking loyalty face potential removal in the past 6 months figures like a foreign minister Ching gang defense minister Lee Shang Fu and high ranking officials personally promoted by Shi Jinping and the rocket Force have not been exempt conversely Xi Jinping favors individuals like a Tai Chi w e and Lee CH long-term loyalist who consistently praise and defer to him in the current political Landscapes of the CCP competence and integrity seems less critical than the willingness to submit obedient within such a cadra of officials doubts arise about their ability to govern effectively raising concerns about the nation's well-being the highlighted similarities between Chen the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the present Emperor xiin ping likely meet little contention however if one were to draw a parallel between xiin ping and a ruler presiding over a nation's decline Chong might vly oppose the reasons for this will be analyzed in upcoming segment exploring the notable differences between these two figures thank you for watching please leave a comment and a subscribe to my channel just click the Subscribe button right here I'll See You Again shortly until then be well