Han Dynasty is the largest feudal social practice since Qin Dynasty . The Qin Dynasty set a precedent for feudal society, and many advanced measures were not tested and unfortunately died in the second lifetime. Where will feudal society go? This historical task falls on the shoulders of the Han Dynasty.
Han Dynasty did not disappoint historical expectations, and used the national life of the Han Dynasty for more than 400 years to create a complete feudal system for later generations. The dynasties that followed for more than two thousand years have not escaped from the influence of the Han Dynasty, and have moved forward without exception along the Han Dynasty's strategy.
Although the Han Dynasty was a predecessor of feudal society, it was also the dynasty with the most wise lords of all dynasties in the process of crossing the river by feeling the stones. One very important reason is that it is related to its emperor selection system.
. Achievement of a wise man but not a legitimate
The biggest feature of feudal society is the system of inheritance of the eldest son of the family, from the royal family to the ordinary people's family, one step to the end. As long as you are the eldest son of the wife of your wife, you will be born as the "king" of the family, and no one else will compete with you for the qualification to be a heir. As long as someone dares to compete with you, he will have lost morally.
The inheritance system of the eldest son has both advantages and disadvantages. The good side is that it can maintain the stability of the family and avoid internal struggles within the family for status. The bad side is that no one can guarantee that the eldest son is a chosen person with both virtue and ability. If his abilities and morality are not good, it is easy to disrupt the family and even lead the tribe members to the abyss of destruction.
The Liu family of the Han Dynasty solved this problem well. Their basic strategy was to establish a virtuous person but not a legitimate person.
Most of the emperors who had achievements in the Han Dynasty did not come up through the system of inheritance of the eldest son, especially Western Han . In addition to the second generation of emperors, Emperor Hui of Han Liu Ying, Emperor Wen of Han Liu Heng, most of them were selected by the emperor and the ministers of the regent from a bunch of candidates, and some were even found from the down-and-out royal family who were wandering among the people. For example, Emperor Xuan of Han Liu Bingji was still in his infancy at that time. Because his grandfather Liu is deeply involved in the witchcraft disaster, Liu Bingji spent his childhood in prison.
Han Wudi squeezed out the position of the eldest brother, Crown Prince Liu Rong, Han Zhaodi Liu Fuling lies down a bunch of brothers as the youngest son, let alone Emperor Xuan of Han Liu Bingji, the only emperor who ascended the throne as a prisoner, and even Eastern Han Han Han Ming Emperor Liu Zhuang also seized the position of crown prince of his elder brother, Liu Qiang.
Although they did not inherit the throne as their eldest son, they were all rare and wise kings. It can be seen from this that the selection system of the Western Han emperors, which established wise but not legitimate, had strong institutional advantages.
Why was the Han Dynasty able to promote the establishment of wise men but not legitimate
The more you implemented the "establishing wise men but not legitimate wise men" dynasty, the fewer the more you went back, and there were still the legacy of the Han Dynasty in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Emperor Yang of Sui and Emperor Yang of Sui was born as a non-legitimate eldest son, and their actions were far beyond other brothers.
Song Dynasty is also OK, Renzong Emperor ranked sixth among all the brothers, but it was no longer possible in the Ming Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to establish the ancestor system:
Anyone who has no prince in the court must have a brother and a brother, and must be born of a legitimate mother. Born by a concubine's mother, she cannot stand even if she grows up. If a treacherous minister abandons the legitimate position and establishes the common people, the common people must keep their part and not move. If the letter is sent to report to the legitimate position, the legitimate position must be in the throne.
means that the throne can only be inherited by the eldest son or the eldest grandson, unless the one branch has lost his heir, they can follow the path of brothers and brothers. Although Zhu Di relied on his strength to seize the throne of the eldest grandson without any ruthlessness, he firmly controlled the imperial rank of the old Zhu family to his own branch. But after Zhu Di became emperor, he still followed the "primary inheritance system" set by Zhu Yuanzhang.
Han Sui and Tang Song dynasties can be established but not established. However, in the Ming Dynasty, it was not feasible. A very important reason is that the feudal imperial power is constantly reaching its peak, and the power of prime minister is constantly weakening.
Review of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wen of Han Liu Heng was put down after the rebellion of Lu was put down, and the Marquis of Jiang Zhou Bo investigated and promoted the throne from many sons of Liu Bang , especially after Emperor Zhao of Han had no son after his death. In terms of the choice of successor, the general Huo Guang decided completely. First, he established Liu He, and found that Liu He was an incompetent guy. Then, in the name of the empress dowager, he issued an edict to depose Liu He as Haihunhou , and then selected Liu Bingjihai, who was wandering among the people.
From this matter, we can best see how powerful the prime minister or general of the Han Dynasty was. He has the power of life and death established by the emperor, and is like the controller of the empire outside the royal family. The prime minister was by no means a false title in the Han Dynasty, it had the strength to compete with the imperial power.
For example, after Liu Bang became emperor, he granted the Prime Minister Xiao He 3 privileges, Seeing that the king did not follow, he was not famous, and went to the palace with his sword and shoes. After Xiao He saw Liu Bang, he did not need to trot and kneel up. He just needed to bow to each other and say hello to Liu Bang without calling his name. He could even bring weapons to court. Such treatment will never happen in later generations.
raises the power of the prime minister to a certain level, which is called "governing the world with scholars and officials." Although the emperor is called the Emperor, in fact he is a body. Since he is a human being, he has all the weaknesses of human beings, and he cannot be a omnipotent person who governs the world from the perspective of God.
As the saying goes, one hero has three helps. Below are a group of powerful prime ministers who are good helpers to the emperor. These prime minister groups can help the emperor give advice and avoid the emperor's decision-making mistakes. For the country and the people, it is beneficial to all without any harm.
In the Han Dynasty, not only ministers tended to "establish wise men but not legitimate", but the emperor himself also only took the talent. Emperor Wu of Han accidentally killed his eldest son Liu Ju in his later years, resulting in a vacant position in the crown prince, and many princes were eager to try. Because the second son, Liu Hong, died young, the most competitive person was the third son, Yan Wang, , Liu Dan, , he was very active in moving closer to Emperor Wu of Han, but Emperor Wu of Han was very disgusted with his approach and believed that the King of Yan was restless, so he entrusted the throne to his youngest son Liu Fuling at the time of death, mainly because he valued Liu Fuling very much like his strong and smart self when he was a child.
This is the reason why the Western Han Dynasty is more concentrated. Because the emperor was "selected", as long as the emperor was not particularly foolish and the ministers below were willing to contribute, they could always create a prosperous situation. Since he had achievements in a prosperous era, the emperor was naturally called the wise monarch and holy lord by aristocratic families.
Conclusion
In fact, there was a dynasty with many wise lords, and it was also a period when "establishing wise men but not establishing legitimates" was more popular, but people were not willing to recognize it, it was Qing Dynasty .
Among so many emperors in the Qing Dynasty, only Daoguang The emperor inherited the throne as the eldest son. This is the only example in the 296-year history of the Qing Dynasty. Although it is not popular, the Qing emperor's diligence and diligence in political affairs is incomparable to any other dynasty, and it also determines that it is the only dynasty that can compete with the Han Dynasty with the number of "wise monarchs and holy lords".
Regarding the pros and cons of the eldest son inheritance system and the pros and cons of "establishing a virtuous but not a legitimate", netizens think which one is more reasonable, welcome to leave a message in the comment area.
