The Rise of the European Emperor

After meeting with Bishop Fulda, Julius II remembered a very important question, called Marin away alone, and had a secret conversation.

"Marin, you just said that your teacher, Einstein, has really been to the East?"

"Yes, I have really been to the East, and told me everything I have seen in the East!" Marin said seriously.

"So...how do you think we send people to preach in the Ming Empire?" Julius II looked hopeful. For a man like him to become Pope, is there anything more important than preaching?

"Not so much!" Marin said affirmatively. As a top student in the history department, Marin knew very well that the early spread of Catholicism during the Ming Dynasty was a failure.

"Why?" Julius II asked in confusion. In his eyes, the glory of God should cover the whole world.

"There are three major problems, which are very important. If you don't solve them, I don't recommend going to the Ming Empire for missionary work!" Marin said sternly.

"Which are the three major questions?" Julius II asked with interest.

"First, in the Ming Empire, imperial power is paramount, and no forces outside the imperial power are allowed to appear. If Catholicism wants to go to the Ming Empire, it must first submit to the imperial power, otherwise it will not spread the word." This is also the most fundamental one. In the early days, Catholic missionaries suffered enough in this regard and were expelled many times because those idiots believed that imperial power should not interfere with divine power.

"This is impossible, how can the servants of God accept the leadership of secular forces?" Julius II was immediately dissatisfied. In Europe, even the emperor should be respectful when he sees him, and the priests are detached from the world, how can they submit to the imperial power...

"That's what the Ming Empire is like, my father-in-law, Europe is Europe, and Asia is Asia. Don't use European habits to demand Asians, otherwise, missionary will fail!"

"Could it be that the servants of the gods have to serve the mortal monarchs?" Julius II was angry.

"If you don't succumb to imperial power, your missionaries will be killed in the Ming Empire!" Marin said with certainty.

"How dare they?"

"Just because they have millions of troops!" Marin said lightly.

During this period, the Ming Dynasty was still in its prosperous period. What's more, there are still great gods such as Wang Yangming in the country, and no one wants to be stabbed in front of the powerful Ming Dynasty. Even in the weak period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch were not able to get it right.

Julius II was silent, after thinking for a long time, he asked:

"What about the other two problems?"

"The problem of worshiping ancestors! Catholics are only allowed to worship gods, not others. However, Easterners emphasize worshiping ancestors and worshiping ancestors. If missionaries forbid them to worship ancestors, the government will directly arrest the missionaries!" This is A case that actually happened during the Ming Dynasty.

Julius II was silent for a while, and said:

"What about the third?"

"The third point cannot be said on the table, but it is very important... Specifically, Catholicism only allows monogamy. In the Ming Dynasty, from the emperor to the common people, many people have multiple wives..."

"It's unreasonable, how can they indulge their desires so much?"

"If you object to them having multiple wives, even if you are the Pope, those people will not hesitate to hack you to death!" Marin said affirmatively.

Julius II choked suddenly, and he also felt that things were more complicated than he thought. If nothing else, these three issues are in serious conflict with the teachings. And Marin also said that once these three rules are broken, the Eastern court will raise the butcher's knife without hesitation...

"By the way, for the first item, I have another addition..." Marin said as if he had remembered something.

"What supplement?"

"Catholic doctrine says 'under God, everyone is equal', don't take this sentence to the Ming Empire to say..."

"why?"

"The Eastern Empire is a country with strict hierarchies, and it is impossible for everyone to be equal. The teachings say that 'everyone is equal', which is equivalent to touching the bottom line of the eastern court and violating the principle of 'the supremacy of imperial power'. In the eastern propaganda 'under God' , that everyone is equal', missionaries were expelled or imprisoned in light cases, or directly beheaded in serious cases..."

Julius II took a deep breath and said:

"The eastern country is so terrifying and dark?"

"It's not terrifying and dark, but the rules over there are different from ours here..."

"Then what do you mean, it's not suitable to go to the Ming Empire to preach?"

"Yes, not very suitable. Unless, you are willing to work around..."

"How to work around?"

"First, respect the imperial power and the eastern hierarchy, and never mention 'under God, everyone is equal'!"

Julius II's face became ugly, which was equivalent to giving up the basic teachings.

"Second, believers are allowed to worship their ancestors and maintain certain traditional customs!"

Julius II's face was even more ugly...

"Third, polygamy is allowed..."

"Don't say it! I will never agree to such a compromise!" Julius II shouted, which is a compromise? It is clear that the basic teachings are being revised...

"Don't go to preach if you don't compromise, otherwise, all of your missionaries will become wanted criminals in the court of the Ming Empire..."

"What you said must be false, you lied to me, right?" Julius II asked hopefully. How he hoped that Marin's words were all lying to him...

"No, every sentence is true! No adulteration!"

"Oh, no! Am I just watching tens of millions of people not being able to bathe in the glory of God?" Julius II felt a little pained.

"No, not tens of millions, but 110 million people!" Marin reminded kindly.

Then, Julius II suffered even more...

...

There is no way to do this. Don't look at the fact that there are many Christians in the country in later generations, because after the revolution, the domestic feudal hierarchy was completely eliminated. Moreover, monogamy is also stipulated by law. In this way, two of the three major problems are solved. As for the issue of worshiping ancestors, later generations also regarded it as a form and no longer valued it so much. Hence, the foundation for the spread of Christianity.

In ancient times, during the feudal dynasty, it was impossible for Catholicism to spread successfully in China. At most, fooling a small number of people. And those ruling classes, most of them will not accept it. As for the history of Emperor Nanming's belief in religion, he was forced to jump over the wall before he converted to Catholicism.

But a principle of "monogamy" will make the Eastern ruling class fry. To promote "everyone is equal" is definitely an itchy head, looking for a cut...

Therefore, during the reign of the Huaxia feudal dynasty, Catholicism was destined to only fool a small number of people...

As for the Manchu period, when missionaries entered the palace, it was because the Manchu emperor regarded those missionaries as foreign monks and regarded them as rare things. To put it more bluntly, those missionaries who entered the court were all "pets" raised by the emperor... The emperor used their knowledge in mathematics, astronomy, and painting, but after using them, they would never officially support their mission. Only allow them to do it privately...

Marin's words dealt a huge blow to Julius II. However, Julius II still decided that one day, after Marin opened the route of the Ming Empire, he would bring a few missionaries from the Holy See to the Ming Empire to see it with his own eyes and try it out. Otherwise, he will not be reconciled...

In fact, what Marin said was somewhat absolute. During the Ming Dynasty, there were also successful missionaries. However, those successful missionaries have deliberately ignored the above three major problems and deliberately avoided cultural conflicts. Some even wore Confucian clothing and pretended to be a Confucian scholar like Matteo Ricci in order to have a good relationship with the Chinese literati. However, preaching in this way has actually violated the original intention of Catholicism and has little meaning.

Moreover, Marin knew that his father-in-law Julius II was the famous "God of War Pope" and a tough man. Such a compromise that goes against the teachings is clearly unwilling to Julius II. Therefore, Marin is not optimistic about the missionary mission to the Ming Empire...

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