The emperor after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty
Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty (July 14, 156 BC [1] - March 29, 87 BC), the first emperor of the Western Han Dynasty Seven emperors, outstanding politicians, strategists, and poets.
Liu Che ascended the throne at the age of sixteen.[2] In order to consolidate the imperial power, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the Central Dynasty and appointed governors in the local areas. Create an inspection system to select talents. Adopting Zhufu Yan's suggestion, he issued the "Tian En Order" to eliminate the kingdom's power and return the salt, iron and coinage rights to the central government. Culturally, Dong Zhongshu's suggestion was adopted, "Depose all schools of thought and respect only Confucianism." It ends the situation since the pre-Qin period that "teachers have different teachings, people have different opinions, and hundreds of schools of thought have different methods". During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, he expanded the territory, defeated the Xiongnu, merged with Korea in the east, conquered Baiyue in the south, and conquered Congling in the west. He conquered Dayuan, established the territory of China, opened the Silk Road, created the first reign name, and promoted Taixue.
Liu Che opened up the largest territory of the Han Dynasty and made achievements in various fields. The Han Dynasty was one of the three most prosperous times in Chinese history. In his later years, he went on a military expedition and caused the disaster of witchcraft. In the fourth year of Zhenghe (89 BC), Liu Che issued an imperial edict to blame himself. In the second year of the Yuan Dynasty (87 BC), Liu Che died in Wuzha Palace at the age of 70. His posthumous title was Emperor Xiaowu, his temple name was Shizong, and he was buried in Maoling.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was born in the first year before Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty (156 BC); according to "Historical Records", "
Portraits of Liu Che [3]
Han Shu "The Biography of the Concubines" records that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was born in the seventh year after Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty (157 BC). His mother, Wang, was the middle son of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. [4-5] When his mother Wang was pregnant, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty was still the crown prince. Wang dreamed that the sun entered her arms, and when she told Emperor Jing about it, Emperor Jing said: "This is a noble expedition." Before Liu Che was born, his grandfather Emperor Wen of Han passed away. After Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty came to the throne, Liu Che was born, and he was also the only son of the Wang family. [6]
In the fourth year of Yuan Dynasty (153 BC), Liu Che was named King of Jiaodong as a prince. [7] In the same year, Emperor Jing's eldest son and half-brother Liu won the title of crown prince. In the autumn and September of the sixth year of the Yuan Dynasty (151 BC), Empress Bo, who had no children and no favors, was deposed. In the first month of spring of the second year (150 BC), Liu Rong, the deposed prince of Li, was made King of Linjiang; in the fourth month of summer, Yisi, his mother Wang was made the queen, and Dingsi, Liu Che was made the prince. [8] His becoming the crown prince had a lot to do with his mother, Queen Xiaojing, and his aunt, Princess Liu of Guantao, who engaged in prostitution. Liu Prostitute promised to marry her daughter Chen to Liu Che, the king of Jiaodong who was four years old at the time (calculated in imaginary years in ancient times). [9] Liu Che later married Chen as his concubine, and the time of their marriage is unknown.
In the first month of the third year of the Yuan Dynasty (141 BC), Emperor Jing died. In Jiazi, Prince Liu Che ascended the throne as emperor. The empress dowager Dou was honored as the empress dowager, and the empress Wang was called the empress dowager. [2]
At the beginning of his accession to the throne, the Han Dynasty had been established for more than sixty years, and the world was stable. The ministers of the court all hoped that the emperor would hold a ceremony to worship Mount Tai and Mount Liangfu, and change and determine various systems. . [10] The emperor also advocated Confucianism and recruited wise men through virtuous and upright subjects. Zhao Wan (wǎn, late), Wang Zang and others became officials by relying on their erudite articles, and reached the high position of public minister. They wanted to suggest that the emperor build a Mingtang to declare politics and religion in the south of the city according to the ancient system, as a place for court meetings with princes. [11] The plans they drafted for the emperor to go on tour, to enshrine Zen, and to change the calendar system of clothing and color had not yet been completed. At the time when Empress Dowager Dou was still advocating the Taoist doctrines of Huangdi and Laozi, and did not like Confucianism, she sent someone to visit Zhao Wan privately. Zhao Wan and Wang Zang were summoned and examined for the illegal profit-making and other things they did. Zhao Wan and Wang Zang committed suicide, [12] and the things they suggested were abolished. [13]
It was not until Dou Tai
Li Guang, a famous general during Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty[14]
, died that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was able to take control of power. [15] He further weakened the power of the princes and kings, and issued the favor order proposed by the minister Zhufu Yan (yǎn), using the legal system to promote the princes and kings to enfeoff their sons as princes, so that the fiefdoms of the princes and kings had to reduce themselves. [16] At the same time, he established a governor to supervise the local area. Strengthen the centralization of power, organize private businesses such as iron smelting, salt boiling, and wine making to be managed by the central government, prohibit the princely states from casting money, and centralize financial power in the central government. Ideologically, Dong Zhongshu’s suggestion of “deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone” [17] paved the way for the special status of Confucian education in ancient China. He founded Taixue, a specialized Confucian education in Chang’an, which was the highest level at that time. School.
During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty never lacked the idea of ??rule of law. While promoting Confucianism, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also adopted regulations and criminal laws to consolidate the authority of the government and demonstrate the status of imperial power. Therefore, sinologists believe that this should be a system based on Confucianism and supplemented by law, with internal laws and external Confucianism. Confucianism is promoted to the general public to show the government's mercy, and harsh criminal laws are imposed on the government. Restrain ministers. [18-19]
After a series of economic development and people's livelihood policies such as the recuperation and recuperation of Wenjing Zhizhi, the national strength of the Western Han Dynasty has flourished. While inheriting these policies, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty actively prepared for the development of military power. [18]
Militarily, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty first quelled the unrest in the Minyue Kingdom in the south. [20-21] Later, he began to use military means to replace the humiliating pacification policy to completely solve the threat of the Huns in the north. He sent famous generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to attack the Xiongnu three times on a large scale, captured the Hetao area, captured the Hexi Corridor, conquered the Western Regions, sealed the wolf in Xu, and pushed the northern territory of the Han Dynasty from along the Great Wall to Mobei. [22] [23]
At the same time as the war against the Xiongnu, peaceful and military means were used to make the countries in the Western Regions surrender. After losing the fertile and lush Monan region, the Xiongnu royal court moved to Mobei. This basically solved the threat of the Xiongnu to the Central Plains since the early Western Han Dynasty and laid the foundation for the later integration of the Western Region into the Chinese territory. Zhang Qian was sent as an envoy to the Western Regions, and the Silk Road began. [18]
In terms of astronomical calendar, the Han Dynasty has always inherited the Qin system. The Qin calendar - Zhuanxu calendar has been implemented in the early Han Dynasty, with October as the beginning of the year. Until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty changed the calendar and implemented the new calendar. The Spring Festival began when the calendar was changed in the early days of the taichu period and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty corrected it. [24]
The witchcraft disaster in the second year of Zhenghe was a major political event within the royal family in the last years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. People at that time believed deeply in the theory of curses from gods and monsters, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was no exception. One day at noon, while he was lying in bed sleeping, he suddenly dreamed of thousands of wooden men holding sticks hitting him, which scared him awake. He thought someone was cursing him and immediately sent Jiang Chong to investigate. [25]
Gongsun Jingsheng, the son of Prime Minister Gongsun He, used 19 million military funds without authorization. After the incident, he was arrested and imprisoned. At that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued an edict to arrest Yangling hero Zhu Anshi. In order to atone for his son's crime, Gongsun He captured Zhu Anshi and transferred him to the court. Unexpectedly, Zhu Anshi wrote a letter in prison, claiming that Gongsun Jingsheng had an affair with Princess Yangshi and buried a wooden figure on the road to curse the emperor. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious. Gongsun He and his son were put to death in prison and their entire family was executed. Princess Yangshi, Princess Zhuyi, Wei Qing's son Changping Hou Wei and his wife were implicated one after another and were killed. [25]
Jiang Chong led Hu wizards to dig in the ground everywhere to look for wooden figures, and arrested those who used witchcraft to harm people. Jiang Chong searched the rooms of Empress Wei and Prince Liu Zhi, and took out the wooden figures prepared in advance to frame the prince. [26] At this time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was recuperating in Ganquan Palace and was not in Chang'an.
On Renwu in July of the second year of Zhenghe (91 BC), the prince sent someone pretending to be an envoy to arrest Jiang Chong and others, and killed Jiang Chong. Su Wen fled to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and complained to the prince. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did not believe this at first and sent an envoy to summon the prince. However, the envoy did not dare to go to the prince. He reported to Emperor Wu that "the prince has become a traitor and wants to kill his ministers. Flee back." Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was furious and ordered Prime Minister Liu Quyou to lead his troops to quell the rebellion. The prince took his people away and forcibly armed tens of thousands of citizens from the four cities of Chang'an. When they arrived at the west gate of Changle Palace, they encountered an army led by Prime Minister Liu Qumao. They fought fiercely with the Prime Minister's army for five days, killing tens of thousands of people. [27] There were rumors in Chang'an City that the prince was rebellious, so people did not dare to rely on the prince. However, the forces on the prime minister's side continued to strengthen. In the end, the prince was alone and weak and was defeated, so he had to flee Chang'an. [28]
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was extremely angry. Only Ling Gumao, the third elder of Huguan, dared to write to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to redress the grievances of the prince. [29]
Portrait of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty[30]
The prince fled east to Hu County (now west of Lingbao, Henan) and hid in a spring dove. The owner is from a poor family and often weaves and sells straw sandals to support the prince. [31] The prince had an acquaintance who lived in Hu County. He heard that he was very rich. The prince sent someone to call him, and the news leaked out. On the eighth day of the eighth lunar month of August, the local officials rounded up the prince. The prince knew that he could not escape. Then he returned to the house and hanged himself to death; [32-33] The master died fighting with the people who were searching for the prince, and the two grandsons were also killed together.
[34]
The prince had three sons and one daughter, all of whom were killed due to the Witchcraft Rebellion. The prince's son, Liu Jin, the grandson of Emperor Shi, had a son, Liu Bing, who survived and was still in infancy. He was later renamed Liu Xun and became Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. . [35]
For a long time, there are many things about witchcraft and people who don’t believe in them. Officials and common people reported each other on the crime of witchcraft and harming people, but after investigation, it was found that most of them were false. The emperor knew that the prince was worried and had no ulterior motives. He went to bed with Lang Tian Qianqiu and sued the prince for his injustice, saying: "If you mess with your father's soldiers, you should be whipped; if the son of the emperor kills someone accidentally, what should be done with it? I dreamed of a white-headed old man teaching me what to do." Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty suddenly came to his senses, and immediately appointed Tian Qianqiu as Dahonglu, and ordered Jiang Man to be beheaded and Su Wen to be burned to death on a cross bridge. Those who had attacked the prince were also killed one after another. [36] Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty felt sorry for the innocent prince, so he sent people to build a palace in Hu County, called the "Si Wong", and also built a high platform called the "Returning Wangsi Platform" to express his gratitude to the prince Liu Juhe. The whole world heard the thoughts of those two grandsons and felt sad.
Luntai sins against oneself
Main article: Luntai sins against oneself
In his later years, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty failed to seek gods and immortals, and the disaster of witchcraft caused the death of his father and son. fratricide, Prince Liu Zheng's suicide, and various blows made Emperor Wu feel discouraged and regretful for his past actions. After climbing Mount Tai and worshiping in Mingtang, Emperor Wu issued the "Luntai Sinful Edict", which said: "Since I came to the throne, I have acted wildly and rebelliously, causing the world to suffer. I cannot regret it. Anyone who hurts the people and wastes the world from now on will be punished!" "[37-38] To express admission of one's mistakes. As a result, the world gradually returned to harmony, laying the foundation for the prosperous age of Zhaoxuan and Zhongxing.
Tuogu Huo Guang
Main entry: Huo Guang
In 88 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked a painter to draw a picture of "Zhou Gong carrying the princes of the dynasty" as a gift.
Accepting Huo Guang, who was entrusted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty [39]
To Huo Guang, it means that Huo Guang will assist his youngest son Liu Fuling in becoming emperor. [40] During this period (the specific time is unknown), Liu Fuling's mother, Mrs. Gou Yi, was reprimanded for "misdeeds" and died in Yunyang Palace. It is generally believed that the son was young and the mother was strong. In order to prevent Mrs. Gou Yi from repeating the situation of Empress Lu, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty found an excuse to execute her. [41]
In February 87 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made Liu Fuling the crown prince on his deathbed. Four days later, on Dingmao Day, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty died in Wuzha Palace at the age of seventy. . [42] Jiashen was buried in Maoling in March. Huo Guang formally accepted the imperial edict of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and became the auxiliary minister of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty Liu Fuling. He assisted the government together with the chariot general Jin Rixi, the left general Shangguan Jie, the imperial censor Sang Hongyang and others. [40] [43] His successors, Emperor Zhao (actually Huo Guang was in charge) and Emperor Xuan insisted on implementing the policy of resting with the people formulated by Emperor Wu in his later years. Therefore, in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, the Zhaoxuan ZTE situation emerged that was praised by later generations.
After Liu Che's death, he was given the posthumous title of Emperor Xiaowu, the temple name of Shizong, and he was buried in Maoling. [42]
Before the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, there were very strict regulations on whether the deceased emperor could pursue the temple title. According to the standard of "the ancestor has merit and the lineage has virtue", the founding monarch was generally the ancestor and the successor monarch. Those who have the ability to govern the country will be the sect. Among the fourteen emperors of the Western Han Dynasty, after 211 years, only four emperors had temple titles, namely Taizu Gao Emperor Liu Bang, Taizong Xiaowen Emperor Liu Heng, and Shizong
When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to the throne, on the one hand, the political situation was relatively stable. The country's economic situation is also relatively good. On the other hand, the factors that divide the vassal kingdoms still exist, the Huns on the border are constantly harassing, and the idea of ??feudal rule has yet to be established. [45] Economically, Sang Hongyang's ideas were adopted, and the government directly operated transportation and trade; militaryly, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were appointed as generals, [46] which eliminated the threat of the Xiongnu, unified the present-day Guangdong and Guangxi, and promoted the development of economy and culture.
Strengthening centralization of power
In order to strengthen centralization of power, Emperor Wu accepted Zhufu Yan's suggestion and issued the Tuien Order, which allowed kings to distribute their own land to their children and establish smaller vassal states. The main content is: In addition to inheriting the throne from the eldest son, the princes and kings can also enfeoff other sons in the prince's country in the form of "extending favor" (that is, spreading favor widely so that more people can enjoy the privileges). The new princely states were freed from the restrictions of the original kingdom, became geographically independent, and basically deprived of their political power, subject to the jurisdiction of local county officials. In this way, the formerly independent local kingdoms automatically handed over their power to the state. From then on, local kings and princes only enjoyed material privileges, that is, they enjoyed the taxes and fees of their own fiefdoms. But the political privileges of the past are gone.
[16] [44] Emperor Wu also found an excuse to cut off half of the princely states at that time. [24] Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the political structure of China's unification.
Establishing the Central Dynasty
During the periods of Emperor Hui, Emperor Wen, and Emperor Jing, most of the prime ministers were treated with courtesy, mainly because they followed Liu Bang and conquered the world. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the prime minister often had disagreements, and they often had conflicts He used the excuse to suppress and kill the prime minister, which made the ministers unwilling to take over the post of prime minister. In order to implement his orders, he established China and North Korea, and the Shangshutai also appeared during this period. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also had a very favorable condition for weakening the power of the prime ministers, which was that the original prime ministers were all heroes who founded the country. They were old or died. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took advantage of this favorable opportunity to let many Confucian scholars replace the elders and take control of the state power. At the same time, he strengthened his power by attacking the prime minister. In 124 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked Gongsun Hong, a Confucian scholar from a civilian background, to be the prime minister. This changed the previous practice of always having a nobleman be the prime minister. [47]
Establishing a reign name
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the first emperor in Chinese history to use a reign name. In 113 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty designated the year as the fourth year of Yuanding, and established The previous names were changed to Jianyuan, Yuanguang, Yuanshuo and Yuanshou, and each year was numbered for six years. However, according to some unearthed cultural relics, they are all marked with Jianyuan, Yuanguang and other year names, proving that Jianyuan, Yuanguang and other year names were not later assigned to their lives
Emperor Xiaowu Liu Che, Emperor Zhongzong Xiaoxuan Liu Inquire. [44]
In order to further strengthen the power of the monarch, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent censors to supervise local powerful officials. In 106 BC, the country was divided into thirteen supervisory districts. Each district was called a department, and each department sent a governor. The central governor was called Sili Xiaowei, and the other twelve states were called governors. [49]
The status of the governor was quite high at that time, equivalent to that of an imperial envoy. He was permanent and had his own office in the local area. As far as the name "Provincial Governor" itself is concerned, it actually already has this characteristic. "Tai" means assassination, that is, detecting lawlessness, and "Shi" refers to the envoy sent by the emperor. [50]
Employment policy
The appointment of officials during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was diversified. Officials with more than 2,000 shi can pass Renzi
Su Wu, who stayed in the Xiongnu for 19 years during the Liu Che period and remained unyielding for nineteen years, [51]
The system allows his descendants to become officials; wealthy people can pass "Selected" as officials, such as Sima Xiangru[52]; descendants of sages can be taken care of, such as Jia Yi's two sons who were taken care of to become county guards. [53] However, what is particularly striking is that Emperor Wu employed people based on their talents and not stick to one pattern. For example, the Queen's Wei Zifu was selected from among the slaves. Wei Qing and Huo Qubing were selected from slaves and slaves' children respectively. [54] Prime Minister Gongsun Hong, imperial censor doctor Erkuan, Yan Zhu, Zhu Maichen and others were all selected from poor civilians; [55-56] Censor doctor Zhang Tang, Du Zhou and Tingwei Zhao Yuze They were selected from among the petty officials. [57] What is particularly noteworthy is that some of the generals appointed by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty were Yue and Huns. And Jin Rixi (sound: jin'mi'di), a slave who was captured by the Huns and raised horses in the palace,[58] was actually selected as an important minister of Tuogu together with Huo Guang and Shangguan Jie. These circumstances show that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was not restricted by class origin and national differences in selecting talents.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the principle of meritocracy in employing talents. During his reign, he issued edicts seeking talents twice in the first year of Yuanguang and the fifth year of Yuanfeng. [59-60] "Open up the road to art and extend the learning of hundreds of schools" [61], "There are people in the prefectures, counties, officials and people who have extraordinary talents, who can become generals and ministers and conquer the country" [60]. This means that as long as they are willing to fight for the cause of the Han Dynasty, have artistic skills and talents, they can be employed as generals and envoys to distant countries. [62]
Because of this, there were many talents during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Ban Gu said in amazement: "The Han Dynasty prospered when it won people!" The emergence of this phenomenon is worthy of careful study.
Edict of Sin
In the fourth year of Zhenghe (89 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty declared to the world: He had caused suffering to the people, and he would no longer engage in military warfare and waste money on the people. Even express regret. This is the "Luntai Sin Ji Zhao". [38] This edict was the first imperial edict in Chinese history to punish oneself. [