Emperor Liu Shi of Han Yuan Dynasty
Character Profile
Emperor Liu Shi of Han Yuan Dynasty[1] (74 BC - 33 BC), 48 BC —Reigned in 33 BC and was the 11th emperor of the Western Han Dynasty. He is a horse and is the son of Liu Xun and his first wife Xu Pingjun. A few months after his birth, his father ascended the throne and became emperor. Two years later, his mother, Queen Xu, was poisoned to death by Huo Guang's wife Huo Xian. After Huo Guang's death, in May 67 BC (April of the third year of the Lunar Calendar), Liu Shi was established as the crown prince. In January 48 BC (the twelfth month of the first year of Huanglong in the lunar calendar), Emperor Xuan succeeded to the throne after his death. He died of illness after reigning for 15 years, and his posthumous title was Emperor Xiaoyuan. In 4 AD, Liu Qu honored his temple name as "Gaozong". Later he was buried in Weiling.
Chronology of Liu Shi:
In 74 BC, Emperor Liu Shi of Han Yuan Dynasty was born.
In 67 BC, he was established as prince.
In 48 BC, Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty passed away and Prince Liu Shi ascended the throne.
In 46 BC, Liu Shi abolished the Zhuya County in Hainan established by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in 110 BC.
In 42 BC, Liu Shi sent troops to suppress the rebellion of the Qiang people in Shaanxi.
In 33 BC, Wang Zhaojun left the fortress.
In 33 BC, Emperor Liu Xi of the Han Yuan Dynasty passed away.
Reigning Year
Chu Yuan (5) 48 BC - 44 BC
Yongguang (5) 43 BC - 39 BC
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Jianzhao (5) 38 BC - 34 BC
Jingning (1) 33 BC
The watershed from prosperity to decline
The history of the Western Han Dynasty is generally divided into two periods with Xuan and Yuan as the boundary. Emperor Xuan was the "Lord of the Restoration" and maintained the steady development of the Western Han Dynasty. However, starting from Emperor Yuan, the Western Han Dynasty began to decline. It is said that "Yuan, Cheng, Ai, and Ping were inferior to each other from generation to generation."
The origin of "being gentle and benevolent and loving Confucianism"
Historians' evaluation of Emperor Yuan is "being gentle and benevolent and loving Confucianism". This review should be more positive than negative, or at least mixed. Now it seems that the word "soft" is used appropriately. Emperor Yuan was indeed a weak and indecisive person. As for the word "benevolence", it must be greatly discounted. The so-called "good Confucianism" is true, and it also plays a certain role, but in the end it only falls short because the good ones are "vulgar Confucianism".
When Emperor Yuan was the crown prince, he suggested to Emperor Xuan: "Your Majesty's punishment is too severe, it is better to use Confucian scholars." Emperor Xuan reprimanded him and said: "The Han family has its own system, which is based on the overlord's way. How can it be purely moral education? "The so-called "hegemony" refers to the pre-Qin Legalist way of governing the country. The classics studied are very wide, including "Spring and Autumn", "Poetry", "Shangshu", "Li", "The Analects", etc. Emperor Yuan's foundation in Confucian classics was not only far superior to that of his father, he was also second to none among all the emperors of the Western Han Dynasty.
Pure Ren Dejiao
Before Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, the ruling strategy of "overlord and Taoism" was basically implemented. By the time of Emperor Yuan, he began to reverse the imperial system of the previous dynasties. He only worshiped Confucianism and moral education, governed the country entirely under the guidance of Confucian classics, and selected officials and personnel entirely according to Confucian standards. Why did Emperor Yuan abandon the "hegemony" that advocated harsh punishments and laws, and instead adopted the Confucianism of "ruling the country with gentleness" and emphasizing "education"?
Emperor Yuan’s “pure moral education” not only had his own profound cultivation of Confucian classics, but also had profound social reasons, that is, land annexation was intensifying, farmers went bankrupt one after another, and some invested in farms and became Some of the tenants and slaves accepted the government's fake land and became fake land farmers (state tenant farmers), and some became refugees. The taxes and servitude originally borne by these people were all passed on to the people who were organized into households, that is, the self-cultivators. Coupled with political corruption, corrupt officials, and frequent natural disasters, struggles against the rule of the Western Han Dynasty continued to break out in various places. Therefore, under this severe situation, the rulers had no choice but to give up their "hegemony" and purely rely on moral education in order to alleviate social conflicts. This change in strategy was proposed and implemented by Emperor Yuan.
In terms of implementing the Confucianism of "education", Emperor Yuan took the following measures:
Respected Confucianism. When Emperor Yuan came to the throne, he immediately took measures to respect Confucius.
Kong Ba, the 13th grandson of Confucius, "submitted a letter asking for sacrifices to Confucius." Emperor Yuan immediately issued an edict saying: "He ordered his master to praise Cheng Jun and Hou Ba in Guan Nei to sacrifice 800 households in the city where he lived to worship Confucius." This was to worship Confucius in the name of the emperor. In a major move, Kong Ba was granted the title of Marquis of Guannei, granted 800 households in the city, and was given the title "Praise to the King". To Shizhong, he was given an additional 200 jin of yellow catties and the first residence in his mansion. When Kong Ba passed away, Emperor Yuan wore plain clothes twice to pay homage to him, gave him money and silk as a secret weapon in Dongyuan, and presented it to Liehou for burial ceremony, with the posthumous title of "Fierce Lord". In the second year of the Yuan Dynasty (47 BC), Xiao Wangzhi, the master, was appointed and given the title of Marquis of Guannei, with a settlement of 800 households. After Xia Hou Sheng died, "he was given a tomb and buried in Pingling. The Queen Mother gave him 20,000,000 yuan and served him in plain clothes for five days to repay his master's kindness. Confucian scholars are proud of it." The social effect of respecting emperors and masters will inevitably lead people to turn to Confucianism, which naturally greatly improves the social status of Confucianism.
Select officials and appoint people based on Confucian standards. Soon after Emperor Yuan came to the throne, the number of doctoral disciples in Taixue was greatly increased, from 200 during Emperor Xuan's reign to a thousand. These doctoral students will be examined in subjects A, B, and C every year. Those who pass the examination will be awarded corresponding official positions. Therefore, there was a saying in the society at that time: "The leftover son is full of gold (yíng, bamboo cage), not as good as a classic." Xia Housheng, the great Confucian master, often taught his disciples: "When a scholar is ill and does not understand the classics, he only needs to be clear about the classics." , "The blue purple (referring to high-ranking officials) is like picking up mustard ears everywhere." It can be seen that reading Confucian classics and becoming an official has become the main way for scholars to enter officialdom at that time.
Under the guidance of Emperor Yuan's Confucian policy, the ministers of the imperial court respected Confucian classics, and Confucian scholars were all over the court. They were either high officials or local governors. Guo Moruo said: "After the Yuan and Cheng dynasties... the Ming Dynasty gradually became a decisive political force, and a family of Confucian scholars who were 'prefects, pastors, governors, and passed down their careers from family to family' emerged." After a large number of Confucian students entered the political circles, they would inevitably take Confucian ideas Use it in political affairs.
Government should be based on classics and principles. After Emperor Yuan came to the throne, he abandoned the mixed politics of Emperor Xuan and his overlordship, and issued various government orders and edicts mostly based on scriptures. When questioning ministers, they must explore "how to apply the meaning of scriptures"; when ministers enforce the law, they must "accord with the meaning of scriptures"; if the language in ministers' memorials does not conform to the meaning of scriptures, they will inevitably be severely criticized. Emperor Yuan's love of Confucianism did not require officials to make superficial remarks, but to put it into practice.
Due to the temptation of wealth and wealth, teaching and studying Confucian classics became a common phenomenon in society. Since Emperor Wu "deposed hundreds of schools of thought and commended the 'Six Classics'", it was not until the Yuan Dynasty that Confucian classics truly flourished. It was precisely because of Confucian benevolence and righteousness as the guiding ideology of governing the country that the turbulent society temporarily calmed down. The Western Han Dynasty did not collapse immediately, but lingered for decades.
However, Emperor Han Yuan's use of Confucianism to govern the country also left a negative impact. Wang Fuzhi, a thinker in the early Qing Dynasty, commented on the Yuan Emperor's extensive use of Confucian scholars: "Since then, the Han Dynasty has had no upright scholars, so it has promoted the country to serve people." At the same time, the use of scriptures to recruit scholars has indeed selected a large number of talents for the Han Dynasty, but from this It also determines that many people become officials by reading the scriptures. Therefore, after becoming officials, they often do not fulfill their duties faithfully but only try to maintain their salary and status. Those who can govern cannot be officials, and those who are officials cannot govern. Scholars and officials are completely different. This cannot but affect the effectiveness of political power at all levels in the late Western Han Dynasty, and has a serious negative impact on the society at that time. In particular, Emperor Yuan emphasized the use of classics to select scholars, so some "nerds" who only knew books and did not know about official affairs were also elected into government agencies at all levels.
I was lucky enough to be "the son of a family"
In the first month of the first year of Wufeng (57 BC), Prince Liu Xi was 18 years old. Emperor Xuan held a crown ceremony for him, which marked that he had reached adulthood. . In the fourth year of Wufeng (54 BC), his favorite Sima Liangdi died of illness. Before she died, she choked and said to the prince: "My death is not destiny. It was the other concubines who were not favored by the prince. They cursed me with jealousy and took my life alive!" Prince Liu Shi believed this very much, so he became filled with grief and anger. Illness, depression, and rejection of all concubines.
Empress Wang was anxious about this and quickly reported it to Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.
Emperor Yuan, who was originally sick, originally wanted to ignore political affairs and control the power through the eunuch Shi Xian. As a result, power was delegated to others, forcing Xiao Wangzhi to commit suicide, and Zhou Kan and Liu Gengsheng were demoted to common people.
The reason why Emperor Yuan fell from power was not only due to Jin Xing’s cunning and cunning, but also due to his own political incompetence. Sima Guang commented: "What's more, Xiao Yuan is a king who is easy to bully but hard to understand." The autocratic power of the eunuch Shi Xian was actually the result of the connivance of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty.
The end of the Han-Hungarian conflict
During the Xuan Emperor period, as the national power of the Han Dynasty increased, the power of the Huns was repeatedly weakened, and the relationship between Han and Hungary underwent historic changes. After the second year of Emperor Xuan's reign (60 BC), a power struggle occurred within the Xiongnu ruling group. At first, there were "five chanyus fighting for establishment", which were mutually incompatible, massacres and mergers, and the "chanyus descended from heaven" in the Western Han Dynasty. Wadang finally formed the Huhanxie The opposition between Chanyu and Zhizhi Chanyu. During the reign of Emperor Han Yuan, two major events occurred in the relationship between Han and Hungary. One was Chen Tangping's destruction of the Zhi branch, and the other was Zhaojun's departure from the fortress.
Destroyed the Zhizhi
When Emperor Han Yuan first came to the throne, the Xiongnu Zhizhi Shanyu thought that he was far away from the Han Dynasty, and he resented the Han Dynasty for supporting his enemy Huhanxiedan. Since then, he has intended to sever ties with the Han Dynasty, and colluded with King Kangju to build a Zhizhi city (today's Jiangbul) on the banks of Du Laishui (today's Hengluosi River) as a base for further expansion of his power. The Zhizhi extended its power to the Western Regions of the Han Dynasty, directly threatening the Han Dynasty's rule in the Western Regions. In the third year of Jianzhao (36 BC), the new governor of the Western Regions launched an attack on the Xiongnu and won a great victory.
At this point, the Han Dynasty finally eliminated the hostile forces eyeing the Western Regions. For the next nearly 40 years, the Western Region maintained a state of peace, and transportation between China and the West was unimpeded. Although Chen Tang had many bad deeds as an official, his achievements in raising troops and quelling the Zhizhi should still be affirmed.
Zhaojun went out of the fortress
After Zhizhi was killed, Huhanxie Chanyu was happy to eliminate his political opponents, but he was also afraid of the power of the Han Dynasty. In the first month of the first year of Jingning (33 BC), Huhanxie Chanyu entered Chang'an for the third time to pay homage to the Han Dynasty, and expressed his willingness to marry a Han woman as the Yan family. Emperor Yuan was also willing to use marriage to consolidate the friendly relations between Han and Hungary, so he made Queen Qiang his wife.
Wang Qiang, also known as Zhaojun, was renamed Mingjun during the Western Jin Dynasty to avoid the taboo of Sima Zhao. He was a native of Zigui, Nanjun (now part of Hubei). Although Zhaojun was elegant in appearance and dignified in behavior, because he had not been granted a title by the emperor, his status in the harem was extremely humble and he was not taken seriously. Like most palace maids at that time, Zhaojun "had been in the palace for several years and was not allowed to see the emperor, so he accumulated sorrow and resentment." But when history provided an opportunity, she took the initiative and voluntarily married the Huns. At the farewell ceremony held before leaving, Emperor Yuan saw Zhaojun's plump face, beautiful makeup, and brilliance. He was lingering and moving around, and he couldn't help but regretful. He wanted to keep her, but he couldn't break his promise, so he had to let her go to Han. The evil escapes from the barrier.
In order to promote the unity of the Han and Hungarian nationalities, Zhaojun, a courageous palace maid of the Han family, voluntarily went to the fortress to perform a political marriage and became an outstanding woman who will go down in history. Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty believed that this political marriage would prevent "the border from war and revolution", so he specifically changed the reign name to "Jingning", which means peace on the border. Huhanxie Chanyu named Wang Zhaojun "Ninghulan clan", and "Ninghu" means "the Xiongnu will get Zhaojun, and the country will be peaceful." Since then, the long-term war between Han and Hungary has come to an end, and the two sides have maintained friendly relations. The 150-year-long conflict between Han and Hungary was like a majestic symphony, and Zhaojun's departure was like a perfect "rest".
The deeds of Zhaojun are only a few dozen words in official historical records, but there are many records in official and unofficial histories, and they are even more legendary. There is such a legend in "Miscellaneous Notes of Xijing": "Since Emperor Yuan's harem was so large that it was not common, he ordered painters to draw pictures and call them according to the pictures. The people in the palace bribed painters, the most were one hundred thousand, and the few were not less than fifty thousand. The only king Qiang refused, so she was not allowed to see her. "Due to the despicable behavior of the painter Mao Yanshou, Zhaojun was deprived of her youth, causing her to leave her hometown and marry in a foreign land.
According to the Eastern Han Dynasty writer Cai Yong's "Qin Cao", Zhaojun was unhappy after marrying the Xiongnu and wrote a poem, which later generations called "Zhaojun's Resentment", in which there is such a line. Verse: "The fluttering swallows gather in the far distances of the Western Qiang. The mountains are high and the rivers are deep. My father and my mother are here, and the road is long. I am so sad and sad."
"This poem is probably a work of false trust. It is also said that Zhaojun also wrote a letter to Emperor Yuan. The content of the letter is as follows: "I am fortunate enough to be imprisoned, saying that I will rely on the sun and the moon, and I will have a lingering fragrance after death, but I am frustrated. Paintings, traveling to foreign lands. How dare you feel sorry for yourself when you have to sacrifice your life to repay your kindness? I only regret that the country has deposed the emperor and moved it to the humble workers. Looking south at the Han Dynasty, it only increases the sorrow and knots! He has a father and a younger brother, but His Majesty has little pity for him. "It is said that Emperor Yuan was greatly moved when he got the book, and he resented the painter for obstructing him, and blamed him for deceiving the emperor. Painter Mao Yanshou and other five people "abandoned the market on the same day", and for a time the painters in the capital were almost extinct. Wang Anshi wrote in his "Ming Fei" "Qu" wrote: "When I came back, I was surprised by the painting hand. How many times in my life has it caught my eye?" The origin of the artistic conception could not be painted, and killing Mao Yanshou was in vain. " He went against the orthodox notion of blaming Mao Yanshou for deceiving the emperor, and pointed his criticism at Emperor Han Yuan.
In the Han Dynasty, there were many women who went to the fortress to get married, and most of them were wealthy clan princesses. But they All his actions and deeds soon disappeared with the long river of history, but Zhaojun, who came from a "good family", has been remembered through the ages. In 1963, Comrade Dong Biwu wrote a poem in praise of Zhaojun, which was engraved in front of Zhaojun's tomb. On the stone tablet: "Zhaojun has been around for a long time, and Hu Hanhe has seen him personally. The poets all hold their own secrets, and all their efforts in writing and writing are in vain. ” Not only affirmed the historical significance of Zhaojun’s departure from the fortress, but also affirmed the historical vision of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty.
Death of Emperor Yuan
Not long after Wang Zhaojun left the fortress, Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty became seriously ill. In the first year of Jingning ( In May of 33 BC), Emperor Yuan died. After reigning for 15 years, Liu Shi was posthumously named Emperor Xiaoyuan and was buried in Weiling (now Xinzhuang Village, Zhouling Township, Weicheng District, Shaanxi Province). In the same month, the crown prince Liu Ao ascended the throne as Emperor Xiaocheng. In 4 AD, Liu Kuang honored his concubines as "Gaozong".
Queen
Empress Xiaoyuan and Wang Zhengjun
Concubines
Fu Zhaoyi, the Queen Mother of Dingtao, Princess Du and Dingtao *** King
Feng Zhaoyi was born as King Xiao of Zhongshan
Wei Jieyu, Princess Pingyang
Sima Liangdi (the concubine of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty when he was the crown prince)
The son
Liu Ao, Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty
Dingtao Emperor Liu Kang
Zhongshan Xiao Wang Liu Xing
Female
Princess Pingdu
Pingyang Princess
Posterity Comments
Han Bangu
The minister’s maternal grandfather’s brother was the servant of the Yuan Emperor. The minister said: The Yuan Emperor had many talents and was good at playing the drum, harp, and harp. He played the flute and sang songs by himself. He was very young and fond of Confucianism. When he came to the throne, he recruited Confucian scholars and entrusted them with political affairs. Gong, Xue, Wei, and Kuangdie were made prime ministers. Wenyi continued to travel, but the cause of filial piety and propaganda declined. However, due to being respectful and thrifty, his orders were gentle and elegant.
——"Han Shu·Yuan Emperor"
p>Song Hongmai's "Essays of Rong Zhai - Three Kings of the Han and Tang Dynasties Know Their Sons"
When a wise king sees that his son has talent, he will love him and praise him. With the help of Yi Xiaohui and the advice of ministers, Emperor Xuan used Huaiyang King Qin as a strong man, who was good at scriptures and laws, and was intelligent and talented. He sighed and said, "He is really my son!" He often wanted to establish a prince as his heir. It started in a subtle way, and it lost its mother early, so it is difficult to tolerate it. Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty imitated me with the Keying fruit of King Wu, and wanted to replace the pheasant slaves with it. Later, Ruyi was killed by Lu's mother, Ke was killed by Changsun Wuji, and Zhang Bo's trap was almost inevitable. The actions of these three kings cannot be seen from the outside. However, Xiaohui's benevolence was weak and he was overthrown by the Lu family several times; Xiaoyuan's superiority and softness continued, and power was transferred to Yansi, and the Han Dynasty declined; Gaozong was mediocre and cowardly, and after being restrained and violent, the Li family suffered especially misfortune. It is obvious that it cannot be continued. Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Xuan, and Emperor Taizong were all talking about the talents of the three sons, not just their appearance. They could be called knowing sons. He Ming Chongyan said that King Zhe of Ying was the Zhongzong. The appearance is similar to that of Taizong. Zhang said that the elegance of Taizong's portrait is similar to that of a loyal king, that is, Suzong. This is just based on its similar shape. If we put it in terms of talents, Zhongzong regards Taizong as a world apart! Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty was fortunate that his concubine Cao Gong gave birth to a son, and said: "My son has strong hair on his forehead, like Emperor Xiaoyuan." How can it be said that he is really Xiaoyuan? What's more, the condition of the infant is evil!