The Big-Mouthed Economist of the Ming Dynasty

Lu Ji - The Grandmaster of Luxury Economy

This name is so little known that not many people will pay attention to it except a few researchers. However, I am afraid everyone knows the name of Lujiazui in Shanghai, and this "Lujia" refers to the family of Lu Shen, who is the father of Lu Ji.

The ancestors of the Shanghai people are particularly honest, in the name of the place, often using the vernacular. Xu Jiahui is where the Xu Guangqi family lived, and Lujiazui is where the Lu Shen family lived. Simple, clear, but also the historical information embedded in, quite good. （What does the word "mouth" in Lujiazui mean? Huangpu River flows to Lujiazui this piece, came to a ninety-degree bend, in the east of the river to form a protruding beach, imaginative forefathers from this side of the river to look at the past, over there, how like a huge golden beast stretched out his head to open his mouth in the drinking water, the mouth so to come.)

In recent times, the Xu Guangqi family fame, Lu Shen family fame is inferior. In fact, the Lu family is also famous, the achievements are not much weaker than the Xu family. The ancestor of the Lu family is a descendant of the king of Qi Xuan in the Warring States period, the descendant of the king's lesser son, moved to Pudong, the first big long Lu Shen, non-mundane people, is the history of Shanghai's high-powered and learned big man, in the Ming Dynasty by the emperor point of the Hanlin.

The descendants of the Lu family flourished, and several places in Pudong named Lu family house are related to the Lu Shen family. The children and grandchildren in the field of culture and thought also left a lot of big names, Lu Ji, Lu Mingyang, Lu Qilong, Lu Mingkuo, Lu Yingliang, Lu Bingfu, Lu Xixiong and so on are in the cultural achievements. The most personalized when push Lu Ji (1515-1552), modern people crowned him as the Ming Dynasty economic thinker writer.

Buy buy buy buy - the main thing that is in the vulgar extravagance

The Ming Dynasty people lived a rather nourishing life, traveled to the mountains, riding in a luxury car, eating a big meal, listening to the sound of music. So much so that the government was worried about the impact of extravagance on social stability and enacted laws to combat it. At this time, Lu Ji stood out and raised his hand against the "ban on extravagance", shocked the world to say, "luxury" not only should not be banned, but also to greatly advocate.

He said, "I have not seen the luxury of the world is poor enough," "since a person said, a person thrifty, a person or can be spared from poverty. From a family, a frugal family may be spared from poverty. As for the world's situation, it is not so." What does that mean? It means that I have never found that the world is poor because of extravagance, and that a person or a family, by being thrifty, may not be poor. But the whole society, advocating thrift will not work, to be rich, you have to consume, buy buy buy.

This point of view today to see or a few points of truth, to encourage consumption, not very out of the ordinary, amazing there is it. He believes that the reason why the Jiangnan area is rich, because "the main thing that is in the vulgar extravagance" "Today, the wealth of the next in Wu Yue. Wu custom of luxury, no more than the people of Suzhou and Hangzhou. There is not plow inch of soil and mouth food sorghum, not to manipulate a loom and body clothes embroidery, I do not know its geometry?" In other words, because the people in the Wu-Yue region like to spend money to live a brocade life, so rich.

More radical statements are "only to the lakes and mountains of Suzhou and Hangzhou, its residents on time and travel, travel must be a boat, marsupial, delicacies, good brew, songs and dances, can be said to be extravagant. And I do not know the mikoshi, boat, singing children, dancing prostitutes up to the lake and mountain to stay in the Cuan, do not know how many of them". Means the rich people of these fun activities, for the mikoshi, boatmen, singing children, dancing prostitutes to provide the conditions of livelihood, there is no need and impossible to ban the so-called luxury. The first thing I want to do is to make it clear that if the rich people don't play, the boatmen will have to live with what they have to do.

Oh, this is said, shelved today is also looking for the rhythm of the fight, three views and its incorrect, hedonism. The first time I've seen this, I've seen a lot of people who have been in the business for a long time.

The Chinese and foreigners to discern - culture in front of everyone is equal

Lu Ji since there is a "thinker" name, the idea of sure to make a difference. He had a point of view of the equality of Chinese and barbarians, very unique. With modern words to explain is that he believes that people regardless of the country race, culture is good people is China, culture is low people is barbarians, if the culture of foreigners is good is also China, Chinese people culture is poor is also barbarians. Quite avant-garde ah, do not store any prejudice, do not exclude anyone, on the culture as the only standard, culture before everyone is equal.

The distinction between Chinese and non-Chinese has been around for a long time. Usually, "China" refers to the central China region, and "barbarians" to the remote areas of the minority as much. However, to the Ming Dynasty, the meaning of the Chinese and barbarians should be a qualitative change, the Ming Emperor Zhu Di from 1405 AD to 1433 AD, sent Zheng He seven times to the Western Ocean, through the Southwest Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, the farthest to the east coast of Africa. As a corollary, by the time of Lu Ji (1515-1552), the concept of "barbarians" in the concept of the Ming Dynasty was probably extended to Asia and the West, which were outside of China's territory. Therefore, the "barbarians" here were not only the ethnic minorities in China, but also the foreigners in today's sense, and of course, the westerners with high noses and blue eyes were also included. During this period, far in the West, Europe was at the height of the Renaissance movement, keen on geographical discovery, Magellan led a fleet of ships around the world, crossing the Pacific Ocean, stopping through the Philippines, but did not come to China.

And, in China facing the Pacific Ocean on the shores of the East China Sea, there is no direct contact with the Western civilization of the land oar, already have the acceptance of people from all over the world, as long as your culture is recognized as a "good" category. This is also the germ of the spirit of the "sea of tolerance" ah.

But how does Lu Ji determine whether a culture is good or bad? I did not find this information, and we can infer that it should still be based on Confucianism as the standard. The idea of Lu Shen's family is based on traditional Confucianism, unlike Xu Guangqi's acceptance of Western Catholicism. The first time I saw this, I was able to see that the world's most important people had been in the same place, and I was able to see that the world's most important people had been in the same place, and I was able to see that the world's most important people had been in the same place.

Lu Shen's mansion - a picturesque view of the pavilion across the river

In Xujiahui, Shanghai, there is a small park called Guangqi Park, which preserves the remains of Xu Guangqi's family. And the Lujiazui area Lu Shen family mansion cemetery was basically destroyed, pity pity.

Lu Ji's dad, Lu Shen, several times a lifetime, several times back to his hometown, when the footprints of the officials throughout Jiangsu, Fujian, Shanxi, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Sichuan, half of China, until 1544 at the age of 62, and finally be able to return to his hometown to enjoy the blessings. Lu Shen in the literary world is also rich in high reputation, poetry and calligraphy, the author of "Yanshan set" and "Yanshan outside the set" and so on.

Like those famous ancient writers, Lu Shen pursued a life of style, and lived a very sophisticated life. His mansion in Lujiazui, beautiful, "across the building as a picture". It was 1521 he borrowed the name of his father's death, stayed at home in Lujiazui to take a long vacation, took the opportunity to build, named "after the paradise", taking the meaning of the Song Fan Zhongyan famous line "the world's worries first, after the world's happiness and joy", said that although he was retired, but also do not dare to I'm not forgetting about my worries. In fact, it is not to use his brain to think of ways to make his life as beautiful as poetry and painting, and not to be envied by others in terms of public opinion. He has a large collection of books, up to tens of thousands of volumes, a small library, this special construction of the "Jiangdong Mountain House" collection of books.

The garden is now nowhere to be found, Shanghai's various experts have made a number of visits, can only guess that about in the vicinity of the rotten mud ferry road at the time of the Haixing Road, not far from the cemetery of Lu Shen. Lu Shen's tomb was once one of the scenic spots in Pudong. There are pagoda, canal, main tomb, ancestral hall, etc. On both sides of the canal, there are Wengzhong, stone horse, stone sheep, etc. In front of the tomb, there is a stone tablet carrying Gui Tuo (Gui Tuo), the front side of which reads, "The Cemetery of Lu Wenyu, the Right Servant General of the Ministry of Rites of the Ming Dynasty" and the back side of the stone tablet is engraved with the biography of Lu Shen. 1970, when Pudong was digging the air raid shelters, the grave of Lu Shen was dug. At that time, the cultural researchers heard of the past, but at least rescued some artifacts, collected by the Shanghai Museum.

The Lu family also had a famous descendant called Lu Xixiong in the Qing Dynasty, who used to work with Ji Xiaolan as the chief compiler of the Siku Quanshu. Later, the Qianlong found that the book has denigrated the court words, angry, let the two responsible for remodeling, and the cost of the two out of pocket. Lu Xixiong exhausted, and finally died suddenly at his post.

Today's Lujiazui, global luxury goods gathered, the paradise of the Lu oar good better to have a good time.

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