"
" Song Shenzong passed away, Song Zhezong succeeded to the throne, and the new law faction still exercised its power in the court. But suddenly one day the old law leader Sima Guang appeared in the court, which was a former important official who had not appeared in the Song Dynasty for fifteen years.
What does his return mean? And who can reactivate a sixty-six-year-old man?
"
At this time, a woman in the palace gradually surfaced. She is the grandmother of the current emperor, known as "the daughters of Yao and Shun" - the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao .
So, the question is: Why did the Empress Dowagers of the Shenzong and Zhezong dynasties both oppose Wang Anshi and strongly support Sima Guang? How could Sima Guang, who was almost 70 years old, be favored by important figures of the emperor's grandmother?
To uncover this case, we need to count the four generations of the Zhao Song royal family Renzong , Yingzong , Shenzong and Zhezong...
When Song Shenzong ascended the throne, Empress Cao (grandmother-level figure) of Song Renzong was respected as the Empress Dowager, and Empress Gao (his own mother) of Song Yingzong was respected as the Empress Dowager.
Empress Dowager Cao is kind and frugal, planted grains and raised silkworms, and was good at flying white books. She is a legendary woman.
Gao Taotao is the niece of Empress Cao. He has been with Empress Cao since he was a child and later betrothed to Yingzong as his wife. However, he died five years after Yingzong ascended the throne. Shenzong succeeded to the throne. The long-standing Northern Song Dynasty urgently needs to solve internal affairs, economic problems.
Divine Sect dynasty, two leading figures with new and old lineups - Wang Anshi and Sima Guang. Song Shenzong insisted on appointing Wang Anshi to reform, but his grandmother, Empress Dowager Cao, tried his best to oppose the new law, saying: "The laws and regulations of ancestors should not be changed lightly." He advocated the dismissal of Wang Anshi. After Wang Anshi survived until Empress Dowager Cao passed away, she did not expect that her niece, Empress Dowager Gao Taotao, still opposed Wang Anshi and the new law. Because Empress Dowager Cao and her niece Empress Dowager Gao both came from famous families and represented powerful forces, they naturally opposed it.
Song of Shenzong died in his eighth year of rule, Song Zhezong succeeded to the throne, and Empress Dowager Gao was promoted to Empress Dowager. According to the order of Emperor Shenzong of Song, the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao assisted the young emperor and ruled the country from behind the curtain. Although the Empress Dowager was a woman, she had excellent ruling ability. She found that the new law was too ideal and had a gap with reality. Many people who implemented the new law had the activities of forming cliques for personal gain and cracking down on dissidents. So using this as an excuse, the new law was abolished immediately. At this time, Sima Guang, the leader of the old party, was re-activated and returned to the court to become the prime minister.
From then on, the new law faction was completely abandoned from the court, and Sima Guang and the old party were promoted and valued again. So, does it mean that the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao, who opposed Wang Anshi's new law, was a person who was conservative, used power for personal gain, and hindered the development of the Northern Song Dynasty? Actually, it is not the case.
When Gao Taotao was the queen, her younger brother Gao Shilin served as the rank of the inner palace for a long time. At that time, Yingzong wanted to be promoted to his younger brother's official position, but Empress Gao refused: "It is an excessive grace to be an official in the court. How can we help the previous generations to express grace to the queen's tribe?"
When Gao Taotao was the queen mother, his son Song Shenzong wanted to build a luxurious house for the Gao family several times, but Gao Taotao refused. Finally, the court granted empty land, and Gao's family invested in the construction of the house, but did not use a penny of the national treasury.
When Gao Taotao was the Empress Dowager, Gao Taotao's two nephews (the emperor's uncle generation) should be promoted according to their qualifications, but Gao Taotao insisted that they would not agree. Zhezong repeatedly requested and was promoted to a higher-level official position.
During Gao Taotao's administration, he was frugal and honest in government, and worked hard to govern. Therefore, during this period, politics was clear and economic prosperity was prosperous. Therefore, the period of Zhezong was the last period of Northern Song Dynasty when the economy was prosperous, the world was prosperous, the politics was clear, and the country was strong, which was inseparable from the virtues of the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao.
"Hundred Schools of Life" invites Professor Zhao Dongmei from Peking University to tell you the third part of the series "Sima Guang" and depicts many anecdotes of civil officials in the political arena of the Northern Song Dynasty. Please pay attention.
Baijia Forum
"Sima Guang" third part
Broadcast time: January 12-February 8 12:00
Producer/Zhang Guangyi Editor-in-chief/Liu Ming Huang Lijun
Editor/Tian Chuyun Yu Yi Chen Zhiyi (internship)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-