In ancient China, officials retired as "Zhi shi" and returned the official position to the king. If the official is old and infirm, he can also take the initiative to apply for retirement, called "begging bones", so that the bones can be buried in their hometown. From the Zhou Dynasty onwards, the "Doctor Seventy and Zhi shi" was used by later dynasties.
But the Ming Dynasty broke the ancient system, and the civil and military officials were sixty zhishi; In the Qing Dynasty, the retirement age of military attachés below the rank of staff general was adjusted to fifty-four to forty-five, "fifty-four generals, fifty-one guerrillas, forty-eight garrisons, and forty-five thousand generals."
1. Political treatment
After retiring, ancient officials still enjoyed corresponding political treatment. The Book of Rites records that when Qing Dafu retires, he is called "The Elder of the Nation", and the general official retires as "Elder Shu".
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The Zizhi Tongjian records that in 43 BC, the three high-ranking officials of the Han Yuan Dynasty, Yu Dingguo, Sima Shigao, and Xue Guangde, the Imperial Master, requested retirement, and after the emperor approved it, they were rewarded with "60 catties of security, horse, and gold".
Retired officials during the Wei and Jin dynasties would have an idle position such as a "consultant". The Tang Dynasty held a farewell ceremony for retired officials, beating gongs and drums to send them back to their hometowns. After the retirement of officials with more than three pins, Eun Zhun walked in the imperial court and participated in the deliberations.
The Song Dynasty Ye Mengde's "Stone Forest Yan Language" says: "At the beginning of the Shenzong Dynasty, Li Shaobaodongzhi's self-attendant Zhishi, summoned to the Yanhe Hall, ordered him to sit and give tea, and retired to the reading official Yan Rao in the Zishan Hall. "The emperor talked cordially with the retired ministers and invited them to drink tea and eat, which was a great political honor. However, Li Dongzhi was a close subordinate of the former emperor, and Emperor Shenzong of Song treated him with him, "so the etiquette is particularly generous, and it is not very unusual."
After Emperor Shenzong of Song, he was allowed to retire with his post, and officials were promoted to the first level when they retired; And after retirement, you can still be promoted to a higher rank.
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The Liao Dynasty took great care of retired officials, stipulating in 968: "The old man, increase his salary to rest at home." "Not only did he increase his salary and ensure that he had no worries about food and clothing, but he also awarded honorary titles and knighthoods to show respect, and if he was sick, he sent a medical officer to diagnose and treat him at any time."
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was stipulated that officials with three pins or above should retire according to their current positions, and those who had served in their current posts for three years or less and had no major faults could be promoted to retire one level. By the middle of next year, those with outstanding performance can be promoted to two levels of retirement. Moreover, after retirement, he still enjoys the original level of treatment by participating in banquets, sacrifices and other activities.
Zhao Shenyi of the Qing Dynasty recorded in the "Yuchao Miscellaneous Knowledge" that the Jiaqing Emperor was "a good old minister". The Qianlong Emperor liked to sing harmony with the poems of retired old ministers, "Where the imperial poems are made, the time is attached to the post, and the fate of the genghe".
2. Economic treatment
The Han Dynasty stipulated that high-ranking officials with more than 2,000 stones of Feng Lu could receive one-third of the pension of the original Feng Lu when they retired. There are also special cases, in the third year of the Han Zhang Emperor Yuan (86), when the Xianguan Fifth Lun applied for retirement, he was given by the Han Zhang Emperor to "live with two thousand stones", and gave him half a million yuan and a public residence.
"Tang Zhishi officials, unless there is a special edict, the case is not given to the servants." Unless the emperor specifically approved, Tang officials did not have a pension after retirement, but they could get a certain amount of land for retirement.
The Song Dynasty "followed the Tang system at the beginning of the country, and The True Emperor issued a special edict to shi officials to give half of the material money, covered to show the meaning of the excellent pension.". In addition to giving half a salary to retired cadres, Song Zhenzong also gave them a promotion, which is called "relocation rank.". However, "relocation of rank" is to be assessed, "must have a clear name and labor efficiency."
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was stipulated that retired officials eat the original salary, but it was soon abolished, and under normal circumstances, retired officials were not paid a pension, and if the family was too poor, according to individual applications, "there is a division to give two stones to the rice, and the whole body." The Qing Dynasty was basically implemented in accordance with the Ming Retirement System.
3. Retirement
Ancient officials had the practice of "hanging cars to the people", and since they retired, they enjoyed their old age in peace and did not come out to work hard.
Xue Guangde, the imperial master of the Han Yuan Emperor, retired and returned home in the car rewarded by the emperor, he hung up the "An car" (high-class car), indicating that he had retired to the rivers and lakes and would no longer go out of the mountains. This is also a display of honor, it is a high-end car rewarded by the emperor!
Officials in history generally have a high cultural attainment, and after retirement, they often write and preach and spread culture. Of course, there are also many retired officials who are still concerned about political affairs and actively exert their "residual heat".
In the ninth year (166) of the Huan Emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Du Mi, a high-ranking ministerial official, told the old man to return to his hometown. But he often went to the local government to talk about things, saying that the east and the west. There is also an official named Liu Sheng in the same township, who after retirement, does not ask about official affairs, "sweeping the track behind closed doors, and doing nothing."
The magistrate was very annoyed with DuMi, so he said to Dumi tactfully: "Now, the gongqing and doctors in the court praise Liu Sheng as a clean and noble person!"
"Liu Sheng is a high official of the imperial court and is treated with courtesy by your local officials, but he knows that it is a good thing, a good person does not praise or recommend, and he does not say a word when he hears bad things." In order to protect yourself, it is like a cold cicada, which is a sin! And as long as I find talent and good behavior, I will definitely report to you, the parent official, and when I see a bad person who violates morality and loses discipline, I will not hesitate to correct it, so that you can be fair in reward and punishment. Don't you think that your beautifully famous magpie also has a little bit of a role for me?"
Volume 293 of the Zizhi Tongjian records that after The Later Zhou Dynasty Emperor Chai Rong's father Chai Shouli retired from the position of Guangluqing, he was surrounded by the old fathers of several high-ranking officials, forming a small circle called "Ten Fathers", "arrogant and arbitrary, the people of Luoyang feared it", even if they killed people, they still escaped justice.
According to Su Rui's "Farewell to Longchuan", after the Eighth King Zhao Defang retired due to illness, when the Emperor went to visit him, the Eighth Prince asked: "Uncle, I haven't seen the Emperor for a long time, who is now the prime minister?" The emperor said, "It's Yan Shu." The prince said, "This man's name is in Tuyu, so how can you use him as prime minister?" When the emperor returned, he found a stubble and removed Yan Shu from his position as prime minister.
However, judging from the historical data, the vast majority of officials in history have retired from the forest and enjoyed their old age in peace.
In the last year of the Liao Dynasty, the high-ranking official Ma Zhiwen retired, and his wife congratulated you: I have been married to you for fifty years, qingsi has turned white hair, children and grandchildren are wrapped around the knees, and the family affairs are also well-organized, but the fields and vegetable gardens in my hometown are almost deserted. Now, you have been approved to retire, just "hand in hand with donggui, Yuyang landscape, since ancient Qingxiu, Leshi entertainment swallow, Si Yu old, isn't it beautiful"?
Ma Daren felt that what Madame said was very reasonable, and happily went back to his hometown to get a garden.