This episode of "Journey of Civilization" revisits the historical landscapes of the East and West in 1095 AD, focusing on the imminent eruption of the "Crusades" in the West, a major historical event. The program not only narrates the course of the event but also delves into the complex mobilization mechanisms and far-reaching impacts behind it, while also articulating the host's analytical approach to historical phenomena.
In 1095, in the East, the Great Song Dynasty was busy with Emperor Zhezong's "youthful vengeance," reinstating new policies and purging old officials. Emperor Yelü Hongji of the Great Liao Dynasty had changed his reign title to "Shouchang" and was already 64 years old. The Jurchen tribes were rising between the White Mountains and Black Waters, and the 28-year-old Wanyan Aguda was yet unaware of his legendary future.
Turning to the West, a massive tide was brewing – the "Crusades." Although the official departure was in the following year (1096), Pope Urban II spent the entire year of 1095 campaigning for it. At meetings in Italy, he argued that the Eastern Roman Empire was oppressed by Muslims and sought aid from the Roman Church. Subsequently, the French-born Pope returned to France, undertaking a tour of mobilization, culminating in a church council convened in Clermont on November 27. There, he delivered a speech that profoundly influenced medieval Europe, with two core points: first, Muslims had seized the Christian holy city of Jerusalem, and Christians should reclaim it; second, all participants, whether living or dead, would receive full remission of sins and their souls would ascend directly to heaven.
The Pope originally planned, rationally, to allow nine months for preparation, with departure set for August 15 of the following year. However, popular enthusiasm surged, and a spontaneous "People's Crusade" (approximately 20,000 to 50,000 people, including knights, monks, peasants, serfs, vagrants, and even women) set off eastward prematurely in the spring of the following year. This sporadic war, spanning nearly two centuries and encompassing nine Crusades, was not just a cold statistic but permeated the lives of almost every European, becoming a daily sentiment flowing in their veins.
The episode raises a core question: Why, in the "stagnant" era of medieval Europe, characterized by material scarcity, limited information, and underdeveloped infrastructure, could the Pope, with a single command, successfully launch such a large-scale, profound, and prolonged military mobilization? This is a "miracle" that is difficult to comprehend.
To answer this question, the episode first compares the reasons behind large-scale peasant uprisings in Chinese history with their rarity in Europe: China's monsoon climate led to frequent floods and droughts, easily creating waves of displaced people and large-scale migrations. Coupled with a well-developed state administration system in traditional society, when administrative capacity declined during the late stages of a dynasty, peasant wars easily erupted. In contrast, Europe's temperate oceanic/Mediterranean climate was relatively stable, with localized disasters. Furthermore, a highly fragmented feudal social structure (peasants belonged to lords, not the state) and diverse social absorption mechanisms made it difficult for displaced people to form large-scale gatherings. Moreover, Chinese peasant uprisings often leveraged existing organizational authorities (e.g., Chen Sheng and Wu Guang utilizing military grassroots structures, Zhang Jiao utilizing Taoism).
The host further points out that religious fervor alone cannot explain the Crusades. Muslims had controlled Jerusalem for over four centuries, so why was it launched at this particular time? The early "People's Crusade" suffered a disastrous defeat due to lack of organization, logistics, and language barriers, proving that pure enthusiasm could not sustain a war. The core ethics of Christianity even included teachings of "non-violence" and "loving your enemies." More critically, war requires immense financial and material support; faith cannot pay these costs. The Fourth Crusade, for instance, attacked Constantinople due to debt, demonstrating "uncontrolled cost management" rather than pure religious fanaticism.
The episode introduces economist Mancur Olson's theory of "The Logic of Collective Action": In large groups, while interests may seemingly align, costs are difficult to distribute evenly during concrete actions, easily leading to a "free-rider" effect and collective action failure. The solution is "selective incentives" – rewarding participants and punishing free-riders. Though Pope Urban II had not read this book, his offer of "full remission of sins and souls ascending directly to heaven" was an exceedingly clever selective incentive, bringing immense temptation to the religiously fervent Middle Ages.
However, the Pope's call achieved "extraordinary" results not merely due to the incentives he designed, but because it "unexpectedly pressed the selective incentive buttons of many others." Each social class had its own "agenda":
* **The Pope himself:** Seized the opportunity to expand the Roman Curia's secular power and build an armed force loyal to the Pope.
* **Various Kings:** Used the pretext of a "holy war" to centralize royal power and enhance prestige; simultaneously, they directed unruly feudal nobles and surplus knights eastward, alleviating internal pressure, and even profiting from the lands and properties mortgaged by the nobility.
* **Nobles (second and third sons):** Europe's primogeniture system meant many noble sons had no land to inherit, and the Crusades offered an opportunity to acquire land, titles, and spoils in the East.
* **Knights:** As Europe's security environment improved, knights lost their purpose. The Crusades provided a legitimate and justified outlet for these "surplus idle forces."
* **Merchants (e.g., Venice, Genoa):** Saw huge business opportunities in providing transport, supplies, and financing for the Crusaders, and hoped that if Jerusalem were captured, they could reshape Eurasian trade networks and expand their commercial territories.
Thus, the outbreak of the Crusades was not merely religious fanaticism, but rather, at that particular historical juncture, the diverse needs and differing motives of various social strata in Western Europe, under the "framework of legitimacy" provided by the Pope, found a common outlet. This "incentive compatibility" allowed seemingly disparate individual interests to coalesce into a powerful force directed eastward.
Although the Crusades did not achieve their initial military objectives, they had a profound impact on European civilization: They acted like an accelerator, invigorating the entire society. Large-scale, long-distance population movements broadened Europeans' horizons. The influx of Eastern culture and knowledge opened closed minds, laying the groundwork for subsequent commercial prosperity, the Renaissance, and the Age of Discovery.
The episode concludes by elaborating on "Journey of Civilization's" core historical perspective: "Fewer judgments, more explanations." The host believes that premature conclusions and judgments hinder critical thinking and personal growth. By repeatedly asking "why did this happen" and exploring multi-faceted, multi-layered explanations, one can more deeply understand the complexity of history and allow space for intellectual growth. The host emphasizes that every step in the accumulation of human civilization is a miracle, and hopes that viewers will embrace the mindset that "everything is a miracle" to collectively explore the mysteries of civilization.
Season Two of the program concluded with a tribute to Xi Murong's poem "The Ferry Crossing," and announced that Season Three would be released on March 4, 2026.