Why did Jin Yong's novels belittle the Ming Dynasty and Chongzhen?
The main reasons why Jin Yong's novels belittled the Ming Dynasty and Chongzhen were as follows: In Jin Yong's novels, the Ming Dynasty was described as a corrupt and incompetent dynasty with internal and external troubles. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, political corruption, military slackness, and frequent natural disasters caused the country's finances to be extremely difficult. The army was unable to resist the invasion of foreign enemies, and various political struggles and divisions appeared within the army. The Ming emperors in Jin Yong's novels were often portrayed as stupid, incompetent, greedy, or cowardly. Emperor Chongzhen was portrayed in Jin Yong's novels as a selfish, cold and cruel ruler. He was afraid that his power would be eroded, so he used various means to cover up his crimes, such as ordering the massacre of cities, arresting and exiling innocent people, and strengthening the surveillance and control of officials. Emperor Chongzhen was also portrayed as someone who cared nothing about the sufferings of the people and only wanted to eliminate his political opponents, so he often took extreme measures. The Ming Dynasty and Chongzhen in Jin Yong's novels are portrayed as negative elements in history, which is in stark contrast to the positive characters in the novel. The positive characters in the novel were usually portrayed as brave, upright, and responsible characters, while the Ming Dynasty and Chongzhen were portrayed as corrupt, internal and external troubles, selfish, and cruel dynasties, forming a sharp contrast with the characters in the novel. The main reason why Jin Yong belittled the Ming Dynasty and Chongzhen in his novels was to enhance the drama and plot tension of the novel. Although this method might cause some misunderstanding and deviation from historical facts, it was understandable in the creation of novels.