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The Nanjing Museum has a collection of ID photographs of Zhejiang officials in the middle and late Ming Dynasty. Among them, an official named Liu Boyuan had this experience:
Early retirement at the age of 50 may have been too comfortable, and he lived at home for another 53 years, until he died at the age of 103.
In the ID photo, the official surnamed Liu showed a sly smile, very agile, and even a little cute. After watching his experience, some netizens quipped: "It is simply my ideal life."
ID photo of a Ming Dynasty official. Source/Network
Netizen comments. Source/Network
It seems that the pace of life of the ancients is quite similar to ours: going to school, going to work, retiring.
How did the ancients spend the long road to retirement? What do they do when they retire?
The ancients also had the concept of retirement?
The first step in starting a high-quality retirement is to qualify for retirement.
So did the ancients also have the concept of retirement? In fact, the word "retirement" is not a concept that exists in modern times. Because the ancient general public did not have the concept of going to work in the modern sense, and there are few records in the history books, the retirees discussed in this article mainly refer to the officials with formal establishment in ancient times. The ancients were particular about their rhetoric, and there were many ways to say the word "retirement". If you see in the history books such words as "Zhi Shi", "Begging Bones", "Returning", "Zhi Zhi", "Zhi Zheng", "Offering to The Government", "Offering to Support", and "Asking for The Old", then there is no doubt that officials must be talking about retirement.
So, how old did ancient officials have to retire?
"Etiquette and Qu Li" has a cloud: "The doctor is seventy and causes things". That's right, ancient officials retired much later than we do, and could only retire at the age of seventy. The average life expectancy of the ancients was originally very short, "people to seventy years old is rare", the ancients can live to seventy years old very few. Therefore, such a system is actually equivalent to allowing ancient officials to work in their posts for a lifetime. Although it seems a little unreasonable, the "Seventy and The Cause" as one of the rituals has been handed down and followed by various dynasties.
In the Ming Dynasty, the retirement age of officials changed. During the Hongwu period, Zhu Yuanzhang adjusted the retirement age to sixty years old. Later, the retirement age of the Ming Dynasty was adjusted to "the year of the Beijing official and the civil official is seventy, the local official is sixty-five, and the military attache is sixty". In the Qing Dynasty, the principles followed by officials were generally seventy zhishi.
Institutional regulation is one thing, practice is another. Looking at the resumes of officials, it can be found that a large number of officials have not retired on time at the age of seventy. These "unusual" officials can be roughly divided into two categories:
One category, officials who have reached the age of seventy but cannot retire.
In ancient times, officials over seventy years old, if they were articulate and looked less old, still had the possibility of being retained. The old and new Book of Tang records that a considerable number of officials were still heavily used after they were over seventy years old, such as Yu Shinan of the Taizong Dynasty, Xu Jingzong of the Gaozong Dynasty, Yang Shenyun of the Xuanzong Dynasty, Guo Ziyi of the Daizong Dynasty, Du You of the Xianzong Dynasty, and so on.
The same was true of the Yuan Dynasty, where emperors were reluctant to allow the retirement of technical officials engaged in medical techniques, yin-yang divination, and craft manufacturing. Take Guo Shoujing (1231-1316) as an example, Guo Shoujing was an official to Taishi, proficient in astronomy, water conservancy, mathematics, surveying and mapping, and was also a technical official. Guo Shoujing's reign as an official was highly valued by the emperor, and the "History of Yuan" records that in the seventh year of Dade (1303), Emperor Yuan Chengzong issued an edict that all officials who reached the age of 70 could retire, but Guo Shoujing alone could not. At this time, Guo Shoujing was 72 years old. Under the stipulations of the edict, Guo Shoujing, who was more than seventy years old, could only continue to work at his post. In the third year of Yanyou (1316), Guo Shoujing died.
Guo Shoujing in the film and television drama, the most famous scientist of the Yuan Dynasty. Source/Network
Another type of official, before the age of seventy, retires early for special reasons.
The retirement system of the ancients had a certain degree of flexibility, and not everyone had to stay up until they were white-haired before they could leave the official arena. There is also a way for them to say goodbye to the bureaucracy – to pay early, that is, to apply for retirement early. There are many reasons why officials apply for early retirement, including those who are not competent enough and have the interest to quit early; those who hate the officialdom and are forced to retire after failing in the struggle for interests; and those who want to go home to serve their parents or who are really unable to do their duty because they have illnesses.
Some of the officials who retired early are indeed suffering from illness and want to return home early and spend their old age in peace. For example, Feng Qi (1559-1603), the Shangshu of the Ming Dynasty, due to illness, was connected to the "Sixteen Beggars", but in the end the emperor still failed to grant his request. For these officials, although they should feel honored to be valued by the emperor, the loss of freedom is also a bit helpless.
However, for most ordinary officials, the probability of obtaining approval is very high if they voluntarily apply for early approval. In many dynasties, the emperor also rewarded those who gave in advance.
This is because if the official chooses to send a letter in advance, he can solve the situation of redundant officials in the imperial court to a certain extent. At the same time, the advance of the Shi is also equivalent to letting the sages set aside a seat for younger talents.
In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jing, a soldier of the military department, was unable to handle military and political affairs due to the inconvenience of his legs and feet, and applied for early retirement. After Tang Taizong finished reading Li Jing's recital, he greatly appreciated his behavior:
"Since ancient times, there have been very few people who are rich and content. No matter how wise or foolish the people of the world are, they cannot know themselves, and although they are unbearable, they are forced to become officials, and they still want to take office when they are old and sick, and they will never give up their positions of power. Public energy knows the general body, deep enough to be commendable! ”
Li Jing, the first general of the Tang Dynasty. Source/Network
Whether it is a normal retirement according to the system, or a voluntary retirement and resignation, the moment an official walks out of the gate, his mood must be extremely sad.
Where do we go from here?
Historically, the vast majority of officials return to their places of origin after retirement. "The tree is tall, the leaves fall back to the roots", and the return to the homeland occupies an important position in the traditional consciousness of the Chinese. The synonym for retirement, "begging for bones", means to ask the emperor to bury his bones in his hometown, which shows the attachment of the ancients to their hometown.
The Tang Dynasty poet He Zhizhang returned to his hometown of Yongxing, Yuezhou (present-day Xiaoshan, Hangzhou, Zhejiang) in the third year of Tang Xuanzong Tianbao (744). At this time, he was more than eighty years old, and in the face of various changes in his hometown, he was full of emotions, and wrote down famous sentences such as "the little boy left home and returned to the old mane, and the township tone did not change the sideburns" and "Only the mirror lake in front of the door, the spring wind did not change the old time wave" and other popular sentences.
The "He Zhizheng" in the film and television drama is based on He Zhizhang. Source/Screenshot of the TV series "The Twelve Hours of Chang'an"
The reason why officials do not choose to stay in the capital after retirement is that in addition to "Chang'an is big, it is not easy to live", life in a big city is not easy to maintain, and there is also a deep attachment to hometown and relatives.
How much pension could the ancients get?
After leaving the official field and returning to their hometown, the officials entered a new trajectory of life. In general, senior officials have a more secure life after retirement, while middle- and lower-level officials are often burdened by insufficient financial resources.
The amount of pension of officials is related to the economic situation at that time and the social ability of officials themselves. Some officials can get the full salary after retirement, while some officials can only get half of the salary, or even lower.
In the Han Dynasty, officials with more than two thousand stones were able to get one-third of the original Feng Lu after retirement. In the first year of the First Year of the Hanping Emperor," he decreed that "those who are older than 2,000 stones and who are older than those who are old and have attained fame shall be divided into three parts, and they shall live with one and die with one." Due to the difficulty of grain transportation, the Han Dynasty's Feng Lu was not all in kind, and the government would fold the grain into coins and distribute it.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the pension was slightly increased, both giving coins and distributing Lu rice. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, officials also had subsidies after retirement, and Emperor Wu of Liang issued an edict stipulating that the pension should be one-half of that of Feng Lu during his tenure. However, due to the great power of the Mengmen clan during the Wei and Jin dynasties, the retirement system was not perfect, and many officials were reluctant to choose retirement even if they were old.
In the Tang Dynasty, feng lu was mainly in the form of rice or field, and the system stipulated that the civil and military officials who were awarded more than five pins were treated half of the salaries of feng lu when they were in office. For meritorious subjects, the Emperor would specifically grant them full benefits. Under the Song Dynasty and Tang Dynasty, retired officials also took half of the Feng Lu when they were in office. However, in the Song Dynasty, the phenomenon of redundant officials was serious, and in order to encourage officials to retire, the emperor would give many preferential treatment to officials who were willing to retire, and even agreed to officials receiving full salaries after retirement. In the Northern Song Dynasty, the generous retirement benefits given to officials also exacerbated the phenomenon of redundancy to a certain extent.
During the Liaojin Dynasty, rulers also gave retired officials half a salary. Interestingly, the Kim Dynasty had a system of ordering retirement, which was specifically aimed at the elderly but unwilling groups of officials. Once ordered to retire, they are not entitled to salary. In the Yuan Dynasty, officials from poor families after Zhi Shi enjoyed half-payment treatment.
In the Ming Dynasty, officials basically did not retire. However, rulers would give better political treatment to officials who retired according to the etiquette. Although retired officials have no real power, they have grades and can continue to enjoy privileges such as tax exemption and exemption from military service for serving officials. At the same time, the emperor would also give them the gifts, dispatch miscellaneous servants, and reward them with houses. When officials retire and return to their places of origin, the imperial court will also reimburse the expenses needed on the road, which can be regarded as a kind of economic compensation. In addition, the imperial court would also take care of officials who had difficulties in life. The MingHui Canon records that during the time of Ming Chengzu, retired officials who had no heirs to support could receive two stones of rice per month until their deaths.
Ming Dynasty official. Source/Network
In the Qing Dynasty, the treatment of retired officials was divided into three types: full, half, and no food, but the overall economic treatment was much better than that of the Ming Dynasty. After retirement, the officials not only remained in the official ranks and enjoyed the privilege of exemption from military service, but also had the power to complain to the emperor about local government affairs.
In addition to economic benefits, some retired officials also have a big welfare - enyin descendants. This system, because of the merits of the elders, makes the younger generations have special treatment in officialdom, is also known as the grace system. Before the Tang Dynasty, the yin supplement was only available after the emperor gave it a special gift, and from the Tang Dynasty onwards, the Yin supplement became a system. The children of officials can choose to enter the official arena by virtue of the opportunity of shading, and their careers are smoother than those of ordinary people. For the extended family, grace is not only an honor, but also a guarantee of political and economic status. The heirs are officials, and the lintel is shining, which is also a guarantee for retired officials.
After the Tang Dynasty, the pension expenses of officials were mainly issued by various states and counties. Retired officials often hold a voucher and, after passing the inspection by the State Grain Science Institute, go to the granary of the state and county to receive the money. With this material guarantee, the retirement life of officials can be officially opened.
Different paths, different lives
Retirement is an important turning point in the path of life, and the path chosen is different, and the happiness of officials' retirement life is not the same. So, how did the ancients spend their retirement?
Living in seclusion in the mountains and forests, living in poverty
Some officials choose to retire not because they have reached the legal age, but because of their disappointment in the officialdom. After retirement, these officials often choose to live in seclusion, the most typical of which is Tao Yuanming. Tao Yuanming served as an official five times, and then decided to return to his hometown due to corruption in the official field and a dangerous career. After his retreat, he wrote many poems describing the idyllic scenery. "The birds love the old forest, and the pond fish think of the past." Open up the wilderness in the south, and return to the garden and field", the poem reveals his love for pastoral life and his dislike of official life. However, with no other source of income, Tao Yuanming's retirement life was very difficult. Especially in the second year of his return to his hometown, his residence also encountered a fire. After the fire, he was even more destitute.
Another example is Du Fu. After Du Fu was demoted to The Commander of Huazhou and joined the army, he resolutely resigned from his official post. However, at that time, when the Anshi Rebellion broke out, he could not go home, but could only take his family into the river and temporarily take shelter in the thatched hut. After the heavy rain, "the bedside house leaks without dryness, and the rain feet are like hemp that has not been broken", from the perspective of the living environment, his life is also very poor.
Du Fu Caotang scenery. Photography /ebu Bo, Source/Figureworm Creative
Re-employment to sustain livelihoods
With some lower-level officials insecure in retirement, they had to start looking for a new job to support themselves. Most of the retired officials were well-read literati with excellent writing skills, and they used their knowledge to earn a living allowance.
For example, after the Ming Dynasty, epitaphs became popular, and many literati began to write epitaphs and obtained the fee of "polishing pens". There are also some officials who choose to devote themselves to business, such as Shen Han, an official during the Ming Jiajing period, who was deposed because of Shangshu, and after returning to his hometown, he devoted himself to business and his family business flourished.
In addition to these, some retired officials will also return to their hometowns to run education. He Liangjun of the Ming Dynasty once said: "Scholars and doctors should be careful at home to follow the etiquette to train their children and grandchildren, and to practice lanes." Pursuing a career in education is an excellent choice for retired literati. Many people choose to become a school teacher after returning to their hometowns, which can not only serve the township, but also receive certain subsidies.
Traverse the mountains and rivers and enjoy the views
Some officials travel to famous mountains and rivers after retirement. Such as the Ming Dynasty Yuan Hongdao (1568-1610). Yuan Hongdao was already middle-aged when he was an official, and after a year of serving as a county commander in Wu County, Yuan Hongdao felt that the job was too hard, so he applied for retirement the following year. After leaving the official field, he traveled all over the Southeast Shanshui Temple and wrote "Liberation Collection" and so on. He once wrote in the "Record of the Waterfall Viewing of Kaixian Temple to Huangyan Temple": "If you love your body and cherish your life, why use the mountain tour?" And instead of dying in bed, if you die in a piece of stone." From Yuan Hongdao's travelogues, what is seen more is his adventurous tourism spirit.
Yuan Hongdao and The Collection of Liberation. Source/Network
Cultivate emotions and gather friends
Officials who live in relatively affluent life will also choose to build gardens after retirement. Such as Xu Taishi in the Ming Dynasty. After Xu Taishi retired, he returned to the Xiatang Huabu outside the Suzhou Gate, "returning to everything without asking about the outdoors, Yizhi Garden", and lived a life of Shu Xiao's idle residence. Every rock, rockery and bonsai in the garden has been carefully laid out. This Xu Taishi was the original creator of the Lingering Garden, one of the four famous gardens in Jiangnan in the future.
After the garden is built, the owner often invites some like-minded friends to come to the house to chat. As recorded in the "History of Ming", after Gu Xuan (1476-1545) retired, he invited friends to play in the small courtyard of his home, "both returning, constructing the garden, dazhi fortunately staying with residents, and the guests were often full."
Photography /tjx868, Source/Figureworm Creative
Write a book and continue to struggle
Retirement does not mean giving up one's ambitions. Some retired officials still hope to be able to aspire, establish themselves, and establish a family through literature. For example, Sima Guang, because of his disagreement with Wang Anshi, chose to give his life in advance and retired to Luoyang. After his retirement, he used his leisure time to complete the writing of the Zizhi Tongjian. Another example is Ouyang Xiu, who later wrote the "Guitian Record", in which he recorded the anecdotes of the Song Dynasty monarchs and courtiers, as well as the canonical system and human physics of the time.
The Guitian Record records the relics of the imperial court. Source/Network
In addition to the above, the ancients will also actively participate in local disaster relief, bridge and road repair and other public welfare activities after retirement.
In general, the retirement life of the ancients is colorful. Some of them choose to live in their hometowns rigorously and teach the Ming Dao, some choose to return to the hidden landscape and ignore mingzhi, and some choose to travel to the mountains and rivers and cultivate their sentiments. Different life choices also get different life experiences.
For them, Zhishi is not only a farewell to the officialdom, but also the beginning of a new life.
The infinite possibilities of the future are still in their hands.
Key References:
Xiang Zhihong, "Retirement and Treatment of Ancient Officials", Literature and History Expo, 2006.
Hao Jian, "Research on the Living Conditions of Zhishi Civil Officials in the Middle and Late Ming Dynasty", Master's Thesis of Anhui University, 2020.
Jingbei Chronicle: "The System of Tribute to the Northern Song Dynasty and Redundant Official Fees", Qiushi Academic Journal, No. 4, 1984.
Hou Huhu and Wu Juan, "The System of Ming Dynasty Officials", Journal of Yan'an University (Social Science Edition), No. 2, 2000.
Liu Yunzi, "Research on the Zhishi System in the Qing Dynasty", Journal of Ludong University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition). Issue 6, 2009.