Emperors, Generals, and Nobles: The Spirit of Aristocracy—Righteous or Wicked?

 Emperors, Generals, and Nobles: The Spirit of Aristocracy—Righteous or Wicked?

At a glance, Chinese history is brimming with emperors, generals, and prime ministers, while a cursory look at European history reveals a pervasive spirit of aristocracy. Reflecting on China’s smallholder peasant society, it seems it most needed emperors—ideally benevolent ones. In contrast, Europe’s religious society likely required nobles—preferably enlightened ones. Benevolent emperors could reduce the frequency of wars and disasters, while enlightened nobles could temper the fervor of religious extremism. History has its own inertia. In Chinese history, if an emperor was too incompetent or even tyrannical, the peasant society would eventually overthrow him. In European history, if the nobility became too rigid or insular, the狂热 zeal of religion would exact a price from them. Different worlds, yet they seem to share a similar logic.

Let’s set aside Japan—this peculiar outlier—for a moment and roughly examine the last five hundred years of history. Humanism, the Industrial Revolution, constitutionalism, and even the origins of modern civilization—all seem to stem from Europe. But correspondingly, the colonial spirit, imperial ambitions, the opium trade, and even certain evil ideologies that still hinder human progress today—which of these did not also originate in Europe? Thus, looking at the broader picture, the forward development of human society inevitably comes at a cost, and most of these costs are immense, exceedingly so. Returning to Japan, it managed to catch up with nearly every wave of progress—sometimes even leading the charge—and it rarely escaped the accompanying costs, often suffering the worst of them. This is the reality of history: the Earth is round, and the advancements of science and trade have made it rounder still.

On this round Earth, there is space, there is time, and there are people. With people come motives and opportunities—and perhaps even the mysteries of fate. But if fate exists, it’s a matter for the heavens and gods, and perhaps it’s best not to dwell on it too much. For an individual, motives can be grand—immensely grand—but perhaps they shouldn’t exceed the bounds of one’s own heart, lest they breed delusion. Opportunities can stretch long—immensely long—but perhaps they shouldn’t extend beyond a century, lest they become a laughingstock. History is a mirror. It cannot be hypothetical, yet how many who delve into it haven’t secretly imagined alternative histories in their minds? History should be compared—without comparison, how can we discern the righteousness or wickedness, the good or evil of past figures? Yet history can hardly be detached from reality. Time and space cannot be abstracted, nor can motives and opportunities easily be so. Such is history, and likely the present and future as well.

The Earth is round, and perhaps every generation bears its own duties and responsibilities, just as every generation has its own boundaries and limitations. Universal enlightenment, world harmony, or even probing the boundaries of time and space through science and technology might be noble goals—but their goodness isn’t entirely certain. Extrapolating from this, no matter who it is—be it an individual, a nation, or an organization—recognizing the direction forward with clarity and striving toward it is already quite admirable. If one can also avoid leaving behind great calamities, that might be considered near perfection. Forcing progress too hard risks disaster; demanding too much likely leads to chaos.