Reaching to the Sky

This autumn, we'll be introducing a prominent figure, and I'll write a brief introduction to facilitate your reading. Yuwen Yong, Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, was a renowned statesman and military strategist during the late Northern and Southern Dynasties period. While both were emperors, the historical Yuwen Yong was far more reliable than Emperor Wu of the Southern Dynasties, Xiao Yan. To summarize Yuwen Yong's life, the general outline is that he endured twelve years of hardship, killed the powerful minister Yuwen Hu, and after assuming personal rule, he abolished the privileges of Buddhism and Taoism, ordered monks, nuns, and priests to return to secular life, and nationalized their land. The result was a significant increase in government revenue and a surge in military manpower—this is known as the "Suppression of Buddhism by Emperor Wu of Zhou." This transformed Northern Zhou from a weaker position relative to Northern Qi into a stronger one, defeating Northern Qi, unifying the north, and laying a solid foundation for Emperor Wen of Sui's unification of China. He later died young during a campaign against the Turks in the north. Yuwen Yong's greatest contribution was establishing the political principle that monks must respect imperial power through the anti-Buddhist movement. This severed the possibility of Buddhist monasteries challenging the authority of the common people's government, thus preventing the development of a theocratic regime and establishing the tradition of separation of church and state in Chinese dynasties. This allowed China to maintain its advantage over other regions in terms of national system for nearly a thousand years. Comparing this to other countries in Eurasia, especially Western Europe, it is easy to see that the separation of church and state is the most fundamental characteristic of advanced civilizations. Western Europe only achieved separation of church and state after the Renaissance, through continuous struggle, and only after the Industrial Revolution did it achieve socio-economic take-off. Undeniably, religion can provide spiritual comfort to believers at certain stages, but if religion participates in politics, the consequences are absolutely tragic. Yuwen Yong's reign coincided with the beginning of the Dark Ages in Europe; a comparison reveals that Yuwen Yong's contributions are difficult to summarize in a few words. Because religion doesn't have a mainstream influence on Chinese society, some Westerners and domestic "public intellectuals" have put forward a very malicious argument: "It's pathetic that the Chinese have no faith." Do the Chinese truly lack faith? Perhaps most simply don't have any religious beliefs! Because the Chinese haven't experienced a theocracy, they have maintained their unique beliefs in "ancestor worship" and "the worship of Heaven." These two Confucian and Taoist philosophies have deeply influenced us; they are our most fundamental beliefs. Under the influence of different beliefs, the Chinese and other peoples have followed different paths of development. History proves that we were advanced for over a thousand years, and lagged behind for less than 200 years in the middle. As long as our faith remains, we can still achieve the highest level of progress.

Congratulations on the completion of this book! [Love you]

I think the best ending is no ending at all. Human imagination is boundless; Nanfeng is always alive, whether in the hearts of Zhuge and Anning, or in our imaginations.

It's already over 200 chapters. And it's still just two useless characters. To sum it up, the first 200 chapters are basically just two useless characters causing trouble everywhere.

17K's system is getting worse and worse. To reread chapters I previously subscribed to, I have to pay again, and the only option is to subscribe to the entire book. I was charged another 19 yuan.

The towering library is a treasure trove of excerpts. Please feel free to upload your favorite sentences and paragraphs; please check for duplicates before submitting!

Qiu Da, don't go to a blind masseur; their techniques aren't very effective. Let me recommend something else: go to a dimly lit alleyway where a scantily clad girl will give you a massage. It'll definitely work!

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