>>2082230
I read this book recently called "1587: A Year of No Significance". It explained a lot about why the seemingly rich, powerful, centralized Ming was actually a weak and ineffectual state barely clinging to life. Nurhaci pretty much mercy-killed them.
Part of it was the immense focus on Confucian classics and the countless court ceremonies. It was like the ceremony itself was more important than actually getting things done, and projecting moral purity was more important than actually doing moral actions. And the only moral foundation everyone could agree on was the Four Books, so that was what everyone learned.