Chinese history has 5,000 years. Although there are not many things in the above 5,000 years of history, there are many contents in the following 5,000 years of history.
This makes people who study Chinese history extremely painful, but they are also extremely proud in the pain.
However, China's splendid five thousand years of civilization history have only 20 pages in the history books of the United States. You should know that there are more than 1,000 pages of history textbooks in the United States, which surprised many people.
So what content does Chinese history in American history books contain? Why are there only 20 pages?
Confucius
In fact, the history textbook used by the United States records China, in addition to the four great inventions, China's geographical environment, etc., also focuses on introducing 6 historical figures, namely:
Confucius, Ying Zheng , Liu Che , Li Shimin , Wu Zetian , Zheng He .
Confucius was the first Chinese figure to appear in American history textbooks. The influence of his thoughts in China and even the world can be imagined.
However, due to differences in culture, politics, economy and thought, there is a certain difference between what the Chinese think of Confucius and what the American think of Confucius.
Chinese people learn Confucius and learn more about his "Analects of Confucius" and his core ideas of "ritual" and "benevolence".
But the United States obviously value Confucius' official position more.
Confucius began to appear in American textbooks in the first half of the 19th century.
book focuses on his position as a judge and the US Attorney General Secretary.
At that time, Confucius' position was to capture thieves and ministers of rule of law. After he became the "Siko", he killed the Shao Zhengmao , who was good at bewitching people through language, and exposed the person's body for three days. This happened during the " Lu State Grand Principal " period, and can be found in historical books.
It can be seen that the Confucius recognized by Americans represents more of the incarnation of "order and law", rather than the founder of Confucianism . This is related to adapting to society and maintaining social order, and is more in line with the idea of American social development.
In addition, the United States also carved the image of Confucius on the lintel of the Supreme Court. The other two are the national leaders of Jewish , and the ancient Greek Athens legislator Solon .
Therefore, if we understand Confucius in another way from the American perspective, the final result will be unexpected.
Qin Emperor and Han Wu, Emperor's achievements
In addition to Confucius, the American history textbook describes two emperors: Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng and Han Wu Emperor and Liu Che.
Chinese learn from Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng, and learn more about his vision, his determination to sweep the six countries, and his contributions to unifying China's words, weights and measures, currency, etc.
China advocates unity and overallity more. When introducing Qin Shihuang, it will also describe the influence of his ministers around him on his achievements.
In addition, the evaluation of Qin Shihuang in history books has made contributions and demerits, and he is viewed from two aspects.
The description of Qin Shihuang in American history textbooks is almost always a word of praise. They believe that Qin Shihuang is a great hero, and both personal abilities and personal charm are outstanding, which is very consistent with the " personal heroism " advocated by the United States.
An American once said: In the history of the United States, there has never been a person like Qin Shihuang. He saved the masses from suffering like God's messenger and brought stability and happiness to the masses.
This is not just an American idea. Qin Shihuang described in American history textbooks are all extremely powerful personal abilities, and the meritorious ministers who assisted him are basically covered by Qin Shihuang's personal powerful light.
Americans do not care about the harm caused to ordinary people by the construction of Qin Shihuang's late rule, such as the hard work of the people and the money caused to the ordinary people. They believe that compared with Qin Shihuang's achievements, everything else is harmless.
Because for the American ruling class, the joys, sorrows, sorrows, and happiness that ordinary people have are nothing compared to their own interests.
Among the achievements of emperors of all dynasties, the only one who can compare with to is Emperor Wu of Han.
In the understanding of the Chinese, Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che was one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history. He was a pioneer and master in pioneering philosophy and foreign political concepts, and had great talent.
Emperor Wu of Han reigned for more than 50 years. After more than 20 years of war, he eliminated the threat of the Huns, expanded his territory and stabilized the state's regime. He also sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, opened up the Silk Road, and promoted the exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the various countries of the Western Regions.
At the same time, Emperor Wu of Han was also the first emperor to use " Sin Yi " to criticize himself. Although historical materials have proved that he did not correct it afterwards, this attitude and courage to admit his mistakes were not something that the previous rulers had never before.
. The Han Emperor Wu of Han described in the American history textbook, Liu Che, was a person who sent Zhang Qian to on the mission to Great Yuezhi to open up the Silk Road that affected the history of Eurasian for thousands of years.
Emperor Wu of Han Liu Che defeated the Xiongnu and other nomadic peoples in scattered through a tough military policy. It is said that a nomadic people fought for survival when they moved westward, allowing the Western Roman Empire to die, and rewritten the history of Europe.
It can be said that Europeans had a very deep impression of Emperor Wu of Han. He was the one who "given a candy with silk treasures in one hand and the Xiongnu who moved westwardly slapped Europe in the face."
Therefore, Emperor Wu of Han not only had a profound influence in Chinese history, but also had a huge impact on European history. Americans would never ignore such a tough Chinese monarch.
Tang Taizong Li Shimin, "Zhenguan Governance"
If Qin Dynasty and the two emperors of the Han Dynasty both advocated conquest by force, then Tang Taizong Li Shimin's civilized rule was even more encouraging and left an unprecedentedly prosperous dynasty in history.
What the Chinese know most about Emperor Taizong of Tang was that he pioneered the "Zhenguan Governance" and worked hard to govern, making Tang Dynasty the most prosperous and open symbol in history.
In fact, Emperor Taizong of Tang should not be underestimated in terms of force. Chairman Mao once praised him as the emperor who led troops to fight in Chinese history, followed by Zhu Yuanzhang .
Emperor Taizong of Tang expanded his territory in war, but did not, like Emperor Wu of Han, end up exhausting the national treasury after years of war, and the people complained. Instead, while enriching the national treasury, he expanded the territory and moved from "governing the world" to "prosperous times".
Historical books have a very high evaluation of Emperor Taizong of Tang Li Shimin, calling him: "It can be called one person for thousands of years", which is the emperor of the ages.
However, although the history books also record the disgraceful incident of Li Shimin's succession and was criticized by many people, compared to his later role in the continuous strength of the Tang Dynasty, these defects are not worth mentioning.
The Americans described Tang Taizong Li Shimin made great historical contributions to the development of national territory and ethnic exchanges.
American scholar Fitzgerald even commented on Li Shimin: It seems that he is the person who is destined to be, and there seems to be nothing that cannot be done. He has made great contributions to society and world civilization, and his personality has a great influence on the people around him. He is a legendary figure. Among all the emperors in ancient China, he is an unparalleled existence.
Among them, the most familiar gathering places for foreign Chinese, are usually called " Chinatown ", rather than "Han Street", etc., which is enough to illustrate the influence of the Tang Dynasty.
Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in history
, and in addition to Emperor Taizong of Tang, there was another emperor in the Tang Dynasty who was written into American history books. She was the only female emperor in Chinese history - Wu Zetian.
In the impression of the Chinese, Wu Zetian was able to break the ancient ideological shackles of favoring boys over girls with his own strength, and became the supreme ruler. In an era when people dared not even imagine, he created his own legend and was a very admirable emperor.
Even Chairman Mao had a very high opinion of Wu Zetian: she was definitely not completely a licentious and unjust person written in unofficial history. She had the talent to govern the country, the ability to tolerate people, the wisdom to recognize people, and the skills to employ people. Of course, Americans want to introduce such an female emperor who has made great contributions in history.
American sinologist Luo Han has a sentence in his book "Wu Zhao: China's Only Female Emperor", which is very eye-catching - "She has no gender, she is a saint."
Because Wu Zetian never thought that gender would hinder her, she ignored the traditional conventions believed in by the patriarchal society and embarked on a path of her own. This spirit is worth learning from later generations.
In addition, the Tang Dynasty under Wu Zetian's rule has developed in all aspects. Many data show that development is the hard truth. Only continuous development can break the old shackles and create new laws.
Zheng He, seven voyages to the West
In addition to the thinkers and the great emperor introduced above, Zheng He, as a "Three Treasures eunuch ", also had a very high influence in world history.
For Chinese people, as soon as they mention Zheng He, they will think of his achievements in "seven voyages to the West".
In the eyes of later scholars, Zheng He spent the second half of his life basically on the sea. The 7 sailing activities he ordered were carried out, whether in time or in terms of regional scope, were the peak of the world's sailing industry at that time.
In the American history textbooks, Zheng He once believed that his "seven voyages to the West" belonged to a "semi-global voyage". He took the most powerful navy in the world at that time to sail from the East to the West, and explored the known world.
Zheng He visited more than 30 countries and regions during his 7 28-year voyages, which was much earlier than the European Columbus and Magellan . There was once a global plane in the United States named Zheng He.
In fact, some American scholars have a high evaluation of the Ming Dynasty navy. They believe that at that time, the Ming Dynasty could have completely established a powerful marine empire and should explore the forefront of the world.
was only later a problem with the political inheritance of the Ming Dynasty, which led to the humanities and geography of the country that had been explored being buried and discarded, and he broke his hands and feet and walked towards the road of no return. Until the Qing people discovered this period of history, it was shocking.
Although American scholars also believe that Zheng He was in a time of "the twilight atmosphere is increasing", the sailing activities he carried out were not actually promoting cultural exchanges between China and the West like the Silk Road opened up by the Han Dynasty, but his sailing spirit is admired by Americans.
Conclusion:
The United States selected the above 6 characters to introduce Chinese history, and selected some of the ideas represented by some Chinese characters in a targeted manner. It was a "American Chinese history" after whitewashing. They ignored the true overall Chinese history and did not absorb it in a diversified way, so they developed into the current unilateralism of the United States.
In fact, the United States' own history is not glorious. The most criticized one is the origin of the United States' "Thanksgiving Day" - the story of "a farmer and a snake".
According to records, in 1620, some persecuted immigrants from Europe went to the North American continent to seek survival, and the simple Indians promptly sent food to help them.
Later, this Indian tribe that saved the immigrants was exterminated, and the leader was dismembered after his death. Moreover, the United States' massacre plan against Indians lasted almost a century.
The festival set up by Americans to "grate to the Indians" was gradually turned into "grate to others" due to the extinction of the Indians. This festival that represents hypocrisy in the United States still exists today. Does anyone still remember the story behind it?
