(1)
In order to compete for the throne, the feudal dynasty of China had a farce in the Kangxi era of nine sons seizing the legitimate sons;
In fact, for the royal power, this move was normal;
At about the same time as our nine sons vying for the legitimate sons, in the next door Kingdom of Korea, that is, in ancient Korea, the tragedy of the eldest son killing his father with a knife also happened.
The prince, in ancient Korea, was similar to the prince in ancient China, who was locked in advance to inherit the throne;
was born in an imperial family, and all the resources were the best in the country;
had the most virtuous and talented teachers, and the best quality education;
could he definitely cultivate a virtuous monarch with both political integrity and talent?
The answer is not necessarily;
The crown prince Si Mou of the Joseon Kingdom was born in the expectation of the royal family. He lacked nothing and could reach the pinnacle of power as long as he behaved well;
However, although the crown prince Si Mou was not stupid, in the eyes of the king's father Yeongjo, he was insatiable in learning and did not seek to make progress. ;
In the royal family, a successor to the throne with orthodox blood cannot be strict with himself in the established way, be studious, improve moral character, and have the ability to govern the country, which is treason;
As a father, Yeongjo gradually lost patience and hope, and began to ridicule and humiliate his son in public intentionally or unintentionally;
At this time, the tragedy of an ordinary native family began.
A person who is always criticized by name for being ignorant, stupid, always doing wrong things, and always living in punishment is often more painful;
Si Miao Crown Prince Li Chang is always in a state of depression, self-blame, pain, wanting to escape, but having no choice. In Naihe's struggle, he became depressed;
became a little crazy as a result, and was rumored to be suffering from madness;
is similar to today's depression , mania, and bipolar affective disorder;
's psychology gradually became distorted and paranoid.
Finally one day, one night in July 1762 AD, which was the Qianlong era of China, Li Chang broke into his father's palace with a knife;
Presumably at that extreme moment, he wanted to stab to death his father, the king, who had forced him to a life worse than death, and then end his own life;
Once it was over, he no longer suffered from pain.
However, he did not actually assassinate his father in the end;
But the matter was still known by his father as the king;
This is not bad, it is a crime of treason, rebellion, and deceiving the king;
At this time, even if it is a biological father and son, the following treason is unforgivable;
Yingzu could only punish him, lock him in a wooden cabinet for a few days, and starve to death.
This is the famous "Imwu Disaster" in Korean history.
(2)
After Li Zang's death, his son, the grandson of King Yeongjo of Joseon Li Zhen, became the king of a country and was called Jeongjo;
Because he had seen the turmoil and human tragedy between his father and grandfather since he was a child, Li Zhen understood this very well. The unwritten rules of politics and the rules of the game of power;
As soon as Zhengzu ascended the throne, he began to rectify his father's name;
deleted the content about his father's misdeeds in the palace records, and built ancestral halls on a large scale to commemorate his father, wrote his father's growth memoirs, and created a new positive, loving and gentle father image.
In order to achieve this goal, innocent people must bear unwarranted responsibilities;
those in power who were still alive when the father was alive were transferred from their posts, and those who have passed away have their successors marginalized and no longer have access to core power;
This is still not enough, and someone must serve as a scapegoat for the death of Prince Si Miao;
Who should be chosen as the scapegoat?
They are the two teachers of the prince;
If the prince does not teach, it is the fault of the teacher;
Letting the teacher take the responsibility is the most appropriate reason;
Therefore, as the teacher of the prince, he has been accused of being a "traitor".
In fact, all this was just King Jeongjo strengthening his own power, wanting to make the political atmosphere more favorable to himself, and eliminating dissidents as much as possible;
There was no resistance in the whole process, and no one even stood up to deny the deletion of history;
Crown Prince Si'ao once again became a positive image that was respected and looked up to by future generations, which consolidated Jeongjo's hereditary position of power.
(3)
What is the significance of this historical tragedy? What experiences or lessons can modern people learn from
?
Whether it is a country, a palace, a company, or a school;
As long as there are differences in power and hierarchical boundaries, there will be unspoken rules that cannot be stated openly;
The more obvious the power divisions, the stricter the hierarchical boundaries, the more obscure the exercise of the unspoken rules.
At this time, if the powerful are not good at using power games and unspoken rules to consolidate their position, they will easily lose their authority and lose;
So, almost every power holder will use this kind of power game to make the situation beneficial to him when he is in his position.
Those who are not good at or not interested in power are simply not suitable for this position.
Where there are hidden rules of power, there are victims of the power game;
The victims are often people around the powerful;
are those familiar people, but They are people who have not completely won the trust of those in power;
Therefore, accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger;
It is like those women who are selected into the palace as concubines. Although they live in the palace, they can easily become victims of the fights between the concubines in the harem if they are not careful.
Under power, there is no right or wrong;
Following authority is correct;
Going against the will of authority is treason and wrong;
Don't judge good or bad by the results, let alone right or wrong by the results.
If people cannot understand this, it is easy for people to live in the stubbornness of their own moral sense, unable to reconcile with themselves, and struggling with conflicts.
Even if they are born into the royal family, there will be people who are not suitable to be emperors;
Preferences brought about by human nature cannot be changed;
Which one has a greater impact on a person's growth, nature or environment?
The part of nature is essential and cannot be changed the day after tomorrow;
The part shaped by the environment can be changed, and good and bad can be slowly corrected in the environment.
A person who is not interested in politics by nature can only grow into a useless person under coercion;
But in fact, he is just not suitable to be an emperor, not really a useless person;
Put the useless person in the right position, he may be more suitable to be an artist, an expert, a scholar, maybe he is more inventive and creative, and is a partial talent.
If Li Ju's father, Yingzu, could realize this truth, he would not have to forcefully restrain Li Ju with strong ethics, but instead give him free space to do what he wants to do;
I dare not say whether Li Ju can achieve success in a side industry;
But Li Ju can at least live a normal and happy life without having to die an unexpected death.
I envy some people for having the richest father, and envy others for being born into wealth;
However, once the person does not adapt to the unspoken rules of the business world and the game of power, wealth and wealth can also bring huge pressure, and it may be easier to destroy a person.
Regardless of whether you are a rich or poor family, whether you are parents or an individual, you must learn to understand your own nature;
explore your potential in a way that conforms to your nature;
is far more important than wealth and material enjoyment.
So, before Li Chang died, he asked Yingzu: How great would it be if we were just ordinary father and son?
(Author: Han Feng, MBA from East China Normal University/emlyon Business School, France, human resources director of European and American companies, if you read this article and want to tell me your thoughts, please leave me a message)
