Starting from the final results of Wang Mang's reform, explore the reasons why the world has blackened Wang Mang

引言

Today I want to talk to you about a very strange emperor in Chinese history. What a weird trick? This emperor was an intellectual at the time, and was elected by one vote. You might say this is impossible. How many years ago we voted for me. Then I want to tell you that this is indeed a fact. There was an emperor elected by the people in the Han Dynasty, and you must have heard that it was Wang Mang. Wang Mang satisfies all the intellectuals' imagination of ideal personality at that time, and he is simply the rebirth of Zhou Gong.

王 Mang portrait

Let me start with a short story. In the past, the emperor had an arsenal. During the Jin Dynasty, there was a fire in Wuku called Yuankang. Fire. The fire was so big that all the weapons and armors of the time were burned out. Because Wuku not only hides armored weapons, it also hides a large amount of kerosene, so once it burns, it is out of control. Later, people checked the account book that counted fire losses. This list said that the biggest loss of the fire was the burning of three handed down national treasures.

Which three national treasures are there? Ranked third is a rusted sword. Legend has it that this sword is the one that Liu Bang killed the white snake back then. The second place is a pair of straw sandals, eh, don’t laugh, these shoes are claimed to be worn by Confucius, and of course they are considered national treasures. The third one. What is a human head? This is a bit strange. The first two pieces were either worn by the emperor or used by a saint. Why is this head called a national treasure? That's because this head is Wang Mang's head.

高祖切白蛇

At that time, witnesses called Wang Mang's head simmering in the fire, red hair growing on his head, and Liu Fang in his mouth. Isn't this the word used to describe the image of monsters and monsters? After being spread to the people, it was compiled into a nursery rhyme called Chitose Skeleton Long Fangs. Does it sound weird? I just said that when Wang Mang's intellectuals saw Gong Zhou in the eyes of this world, how did a 180-degree turn come about? Next, let's analyze the reasons.

A Confucian ideal personality

It is said that during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han, Emperor Xuan of Han married a woman surnamed Wang to be the queen. One person gained the Tao and the chickens and dogs ascended to heaven, so the Wang family began their journey of flying to the sky. At that time, people who used the name of a queen or a harem concubine as officials were called foreign qi. The Wang family was one of the representatives of foreign relatives at that time. After the death of Emperor Han Xuan, Emperor Han Yuan came to power. That is, when the son of the queen queen came to power, the queen queen of course became the queen mother.

It is not wrong that Wang Mang is a child of the Wang family, but his father died very early. In those days, men were the backbone of the family, a child whose father had died. The status of the family is certainly not high. Although it is not controlled to starve. The family will give some financial relief, and that will stop there. In addition, the epic books describe Wang Mang as ugly. I think it was to plan that the people who wrote the history books would meet him. The characters undergo some image processing, and I think the image of Wang Mang has been processed. I looked at how it was described in the history books. He said that his eyes were protruding, his eyes were still red, his chin was short, and his voice was very hoarse. This was obviously demonizing Wang Mang.

Wang Mang portrait

There is a saying in the "Hanshu": Red Emperor Xingxi, a certain handed down to Huangdi Jince Book. Another sign says Yunyun, the name of a certain high emperor. The book says that Wang Mang is the true emperor, the queen mother is like the fate of heaven, and the books are all eight ministers of the book mang, and he is named Wang Xing and Wang Shengzhang because of his own name. All eleven people are appointed as assistants.

Then how did Wang Mang step onto the political stage? At that time, the patriarch of the Wang family was his uncle, the one named Wang Feng mentioned above. After Wang Feng became seriously ill, Wang Mang, as his nephew, had to wait on his bed according to his filial piety. Wang Mang took care of him in every possible way. . As for his cousins, even Wang Feng's biological son regarded his father as a virtue, and there was no filial son before the long hospital bed, so they didn't pay much attention to him.

And because Wang Mang has learned a lot of Confucian classics, he really did his best, and Wang Feng was moved to the point. You don’t even have a nephew to his own son.Good for myself, so when Wang Feng was dying, he recommended it to his sister, who was the queen mother of the dynasty, saying that this is often a good child, and we can train it. So this Wang Mang started the first step of his rise.

Wang Mang portrait

Moreover, Wang Mang is always strict with himself and his reputation is good, so Wang Mang quickly walked to the peak of power. For example, after Wang Mang became the Great Sima, that was basically what the country's second-in-command and third-in-command meant. His son killed someone, and Wang Mang himself killed him. It's unimaginable if you change it now, you see, in the eyes of ordinary people, that is a saint.

Therefore, Wang Mang is supported by people all over the world by relying on his tangible reputation. It is said that 480,000 people wrote to support Wang Mang’s supremacy, which means that you are too powerful and we admire you too much. We feel that if this country is handed over to you, we can all live a good life, so please come to power and become the emperor. Right.

Wang Mang usurped the Han

Idealism's hit the wall

Why did Wang Mang make a 180-degree turn later, from what everyone recognized was a saint into everyone’s mouth Where's the anti-thief? Let's take a look at the three reforms after Wang Mang took office. Wang Mang is a devout Confucian believer. Look at the word used, devout believer. Wang Mang thought that Confucianism was absolutely correct and truthful, so he made many reforms. Three examples: restoration of Zhou rituals, abolition of slavery, and currency reform.

There is a saying in the "Han Shu·Wang Mang Biography": In the first five years of the Yuan Dynasty, 902 people, including doctors, doctors, and Yi Lang, suggested that "Six arts are universal meaning, as seen in the text, "Zhou "Official" "Book of Rites" suitable for today, is the tin of nine lives."

周礼

So Wang Mang planned to restore the mine field system. What is mine field system? To put it simply, it means to collect all the land in the country and distribute it evenly to everyone, so that everyone has their own fields to grow. This is a good idea, it must be a good idea.

Those family members stopped doing it on the spot. If you move other people's cheese, they will have to fight you hard. Liu Xiu was a leader elected by these aristocratic families and successfully overthrew Wang Mang's regime.

Wang Mang vs Liu Xiu

"Wang Mang's Abolition of Slavery" film and television image