1
The Central Committee of the Han Dynasty attached great importance to the ideological persuasion and enlightenment of the princes, hoping that through careful ideological education, the princes would be satisfied with the status quo, recognize the sacred status of the monarchy, and be willing to act as a barrier to the monarchy and maintain a high degree of consistency with the monarchy.
"The so-called' enlightenment' is a political system centered on kingship, which injects the value system of kingship into people's consciousness through reading, commendation, school education and various sacrificial ceremonies, and cultivates loyal ministers and obedient people who meet the political needs of the monarch."
At the beginning of the vassal king, the son of heaven set up a division to assist the king. The early teacher was Julian Waghann, whose position was very important and his responsibility was great. He was responsible for assisting and educating the governors so that they could grow and do things according to the requirements of the central kingship. Later, the central government also ordered the kingdom "Xiang" to cooperate with teachers and undertake the education work of princes.
The content of enlightenment is Confucianism which is beneficial to centralization and absolute monarchy. In The Prince of China, Mr. Liu Zehua said: "The Confucian theory of the holy king blindly emphasizes the creation and maintenance of the ideal kingdom by the power of personal authority, and its basic political orientation is the worship of personal political authority." "Hierarchy is the most common structural form of authoritarian social and political system, and hierarchy and its corresponding theory will inevitably put Wang at the top of the pyramid-shaped social and political structure."
2
Confucianism tried its best to maintain the patriarchal clan system closely related to absolute monarchy. Because Confucianism has so many benefits of strengthening absolute monarchy, it has become the first choice for monarchies to educate local governors.
For example, The Biography of Six Kings of Xuanyuan in Han Dynasty records that Wang Yu, the son of Emperor Xuandi of Han Dynasty, committed adultery when he was young, causing Fu to sit next to him. Later, he turned over a new leaf and planned to repent. The Emperor of the Han and Yuan Dynasties personally wrote a letter to Fu Xiang, asking him to "be the king of filth instead of the right technique of the Five Classics, and become famous all over the world".
After Yuan Di's death, Liu Yu went to North Korea to inquire about scholars and historical records, and Emperor Han Chengdi consulted General Wang Feng on this matter. Wang Feng believes that "The Five Classics are written by saints, and everything lasts forever. Wang Shenle said that Fu Xiang is a Confucian, and it is enough to talk at any time. It's not enough to pay attention to my husband's little quarrel, the path is blocked, and it's not enough to be afraid of mud in the distance. Zhu Yi is good for practitioners, but he doesn't love kings. "
Therefore, the son of heaven adopted Wang Feng's suggestion and did not agree to Liu Yu's request. Fu and Xiang * * * both bear the obligation to educate and help the vassals. If you don't do well, you will be investigated, which shows that the central government attaches importance to the Confucian education of princes.
three
At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang and his martial arts group were in charge of the central political situation. Most of them came from humble origins and had little knowledge, and they disdained the Confucian scholars who owned and spread this culture at that time. Although Liu Bang, under the persuasion of Lu Jia and others, realized that the world could not be governed immediately, except for a few Confucian scholars such as Shu, most intellectuals were excluded from the central government.
Sima Qian said in Historical Records Biography of the Scholars: "Uncle is a Chinese etiquette, because it is too vulgar, and many students are salty, so they sigh and learn." But there is still a war to pacify the four seas, and there is no time for chaos. Xiaohui and Lv Hou are both officials and ministers who have made meritorious military service. Filial piety has been conquered, but Emperor Xiaowen has a good reputation in punishment. When it comes to scripture, it's not Confucianism. Dou Taihou is good at Huang Lao's technique, so the doctor has an official question and didn't go in. "
Not only are Confucian scholars ill-fated, but also cunning rangers, heroic assassins, wealthy businessmen and others are all under the attack of kingship, and their relationship with Han Ting is extremely tense. At the same time, the central government's policy of selecting officials is relatively simple, and it is difficult to select real talents by appointing children and selecting talents.
In contrast, Wang Yanshi, a local warlord, is very popular in keeping customers. For example, the son of Emperor Wendi "attracts heroes from all sides, and lobbyists from Shandong are endless", and the son of Emperor Jingdi from Hejian has a lot of research on ancient times. "Good Confucianism, clothing, hope, win Confucianism. Shandong Confucianism came from many places. "
Liu Fei, king of Yidu, Jiangdu, "has infinite strength, manages the palace view and recruits all directions", Liu Chang, king of Huainan, "gathers disciples to rebel and supports the bandits", and his son Liu An "accumulated wealth and left the treasures of the county governor" during the period of Emperor Wu; Liu Ci, the king of Hengshan, "also has the heart of hospitality".
The situation of abundant local talents and lack of central talents is very unfavorable to the centralization and autocracy of the monarch. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very dissatisfied with the practice of recruiting talented people by governors and officials. Wei Qing said, "Since we are friends with Wu 'an, the son of heaven often gnashes his teeth. He is attached to a scholar-bureaucrat, and those who recruit talented people by hook or by crook are also the handles of the people. People obey the law, why not! "
four
At the same time, Liang Wudi changed the system of appointing officials, began to investigate and recruit scholars on a large scale, and set up many subjects, such as German Founder, German Literature, Filial Piety, Mingjing and Cai Mao. The court lured them to be officials, persuaded them to get rich, and made a large number of Confucian scholars enter the official career. The procuratorial system is a system that centralizes the appointment power that was originally in the hands of local counties, countries and officials and is directly controlled by the emperor.
At the beginning of the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he "called the prime minister, the censor, the princes, the middle two thousand stones, the two thousand stones, and the princes to give each other talents and speak out." Then, he accepted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion that "Liehou, county magistrate, and two thousand stones should choose sages and pay tribute at the age of two", and for the first time in the first year of Yuanguang, "each county and country should offer a filial piety".
In the first year of yuanshuo, a decree was issued in the form of imperial edict to urge its implementation. "No filial piety, no imperial edict, should be disrespectful. If you are dishonest and incompetent, you will be exempted. " The Chaju system was customized in the Han Dynasty and absorbed a large number of local talents.
In addition to the inspection system, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also used various methods to select talents from all over the country in an eclectic way, such as recruiting talents, banishing them, writing letters to worship officials, and taking exams. The entry of a large number of intellectuals who master Neo-Confucianism makes it possible to completely transform counties and States and merge administrative power.
The "left official law" and "interest-bearing law" cut off the source of talents in the kingdom, and the election based on Neo-Confucianism is even more drastic for the kingdom. With the common idea of rebuilding the unified system, these intellectuals finally put the unified monarchy based on the county system into practice.
Therefore, Hanshu said: "The winners of the Han Dynasty are happy here ... Because of their achievements, the legacy of this system is beyond the reach of future generations." Since the Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the strategy of moving talents up has made the central monarch stronger, and more and more talents have gathered in the imperial court, which has dwarfed the local vassal States and made them unable to compete with the talents of the central court, thus accelerating the pace of autocratic monarchy.