The Revelation of the Fall of a Genius Teenager- A Brief Analysis of Jia Yi, a famous political commentator in the Western Han Dynasty

Original Kang Youpeng

Here we need to briefly introduce the political structure of the early Han Dynasty. After Qin Shi Huang unified the Six Kingdoms, abolishing feudalism and implementing the county system is undoubtedly a historical progress. However, due to the death of Qin II, there were many doubts about the Qin system after Han Xing, coupled with the strong demands of clan relatives and meritorious people to cut off the land and honor, the early Han Dynasty implemented a dual-track system of "parallel counties and states" - that is, the counties under the central jurisdiction coexisted with the feudal states controlled by the princes. After suppressing the rebellion of Han Xin, Yingbu, Chen Hu and other princes, Han Gaozu's reign dealt a heavy blow to the separatist forces of the king with different surnames. In the era of Emperor Wen, the king with the same surname still had a large fief, held a strong army and heavy weapons, and collected the wealth of a land. Their feudal system was similar to that of the Jingshi, and they had a perfect bureaucratic system, except for the feudal state Taifu and the chancellor who were appointed by the central government, and other officials were appointed by the princes. The princes' thrones have been hereditary from generation to generation, and the family members only recognize their masters, but do not know the imperial court, forming a close personal attachment relationship. The central government's control over the princely states was extremely limited, and the princes actively installed cronies in the court, bribed ministers, and spied on the central government. In the long run, once the princes decided to raise troops to disobey, there would soon be turmoil and even great division. Jia Yi was keenly aware of the seriousness of these problems, and in the "Public Security Policy" presented to Emperor Wen, he focused on summarizing the historical experience of opposing separatism in the early Han Dynasty, pointing out that the strength and prosperity of the feudal kingdoms of the princes would inevitably lead to rebellion, and if measures were not taken early, it would definitely cause great chaos in the world. He put forward the countermeasure of "building up the princes and reducing their strength" and advocated the establishment of a strict political order, "making the situation in the sea like the arm of the body, the arm of the command, and the restraint of the subordinate" in order to safeguard the unity and stability of the country. Four years after Jia Yi's death, Emperor Wen of Han tried his strategy, dividing the State of Qi into six and the State of Huainan into three, effectively alleviating the threat of the Qiang domain to the central government. The later Han Jing Emperor adopted the proposal of Chao Wrong to implement the "strategy of cutting the domain", and Emperor Wu of Han adopted the main father's policy to implement the "Tui En Order", all of which continued to practice Jia Yi's thought. Through the unremitting efforts of three generations of emperors, the stubborn disease of the princely kingdoms was basically solved from the system, laying a solid foundation for the great cause of the Han Dynasty for more than 400 years.

In the seventh year of Emperor Wen of Han (173 BC), Gaozu's young son Liu Chang the Prince of Huainan was arrogant and arrogant, usurping the etiquette system, and acting arbitrarily in the feudal state. In particular, he contacted the Xiongnu and Minyue and plotted a rebellion, and was detained in Chang'an after the incident was exposed. The courtiers were extremely indignant, and the court discussed that his sins should be killed, and Emperor Wen pardoned him, was deposed by the title of king, and died of hunger strike on the way to Shu County. Emperor Wen was afraid of being left behind in the name of mutilating his compatriots, and appointed Liu Chang's four sons as the ranks. Jia Yi was worried that he would restore their princes to the throne, so he went to The King of Huainan to be punished for his sins, and the whole world knew about it. If he reuses his son, he will not only bear the wishes of the people, but also leave a great trouble for the enemy's confidants. Borrowing the case of revenge in history, he also failed to convince the emperor, and the advice was not adopted!

A few years later, in the eleventh year of Emperor Wen of Han (169 BC), Jia Yi entered the dynasty with Liu Sheng, the king of Lianghuai, and King Huai of Liang accidentally fell off his horse and died. Jia Yi was sad that as a taifu, he did not fulfill his duties and often washed his face with tears. According to the Han system, King Huai of Liang died childless, and the name of the country should be removed. Although Jia Yi was in a state of extreme sorrow, he still used the foresight of a politician and considered the important position of the Liang state, and suggested that the emperor should put the safety of the world first, and either continue to be the heir of Liang Huai, or transfer other princes to succeed liang guo, in order to prevent the princes from sitting on a big plot. It was also proposed to adjust the county's jurisdiction over Huainan to enrich Huaiyang and Liang land, so that the land of Liangguo would be bordered by the Yellow River to the north, and the Huaiyang state would take the land south of Chen (present-day eastern Henan and part of Anhui) on the Yangtze River. Thus, the Liang Kingdom was bounded by Mount Tai to the north and Gaoyang (southwest of present-day Qixian County, Henan) to the west, with more than forty large counties. In this way, the Liang state was enough to resist the Qi and Zhao states, and Huaiyang was enough to resist the Wu and Chu countries to ensure that at least two generations of emperors of the Han Dynasty could sit back and relax. Emperor Wen of Han adopted Jia Yi's strategy and later transferred the crown prince Liu Wu to succeed Liang Wang. In the "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu" that broke out during the reign of Emperor Jing of Han in the following 15 years, the State of Liang blocked strong enemies and played a unique role in the unification of the Han family. This is the work of Jia Yi's foresight.

However, more than a year after King Huai of Liang fell off his horse, Jia Yi still deeply blamed himself, often wept, and finally died young due to excessive sorrow. He is only 33 years old.

Throughout Jia Yi's life, it seems inferred from his life trajectory that he was famous at the age of only 18, and in addition to his talent, he must have received a good education when he was young. Reading poetry and books, Bo Gu and the present laid a profound foundation for his later development of Hongzhi. The discovery and reuse of the noble wu gong initially provided a platform for Jia Yi to integrate his knowledge into practice, and it should be noted that Wu Gong's political achievements ranked first in the country, and Jia Yi would also learn wisdom and insights that are difficult for ordinary people to obtain; not to mention that Wu Gong was a disciple of Qin Xiang Li Si, who could also be described as a re-disciple of the famous thinker Xun Quan of the Warring States. Jia Yi had been with Wu Gong for three or four years, and his ears had made him stand on the shoulders of giants. However, it is unimaginable that Wu Gong was favored by Emperor Wen of Han, and Wu Gong, who cherished talent and loved talent, recommended Jia Yi to the emperor, so that Jia Yi stood above the nine days overnight, and his irrepressible youthful vitality and talent burst out like a volcano. Such a life encounter, Xunzi's high-footed Li Si and Han Fei at that time were also beyond their reach, and many talented people in history could also meet and could not be sought. Jia Yi did not live up to the expectations of the public, and soon stood out among the doctors, thus winning the appreciation of Emperor Wen of Han, and was promoted from doctor to doctor of Taizhong in one year. However, things must be reversed! However, the sharp Jia Yi did not know that the danger was imminent, and his grand and eloquent and bold reform and neglect touched the sensitive nerves of vested interest groups, and the ensuing counterattack and suppression even the emperor, who had just taken the throne, had to retreat. Since then, this talented political star has had to stay away from the temple and "stay in the distance"!

Although Jia Yi, who was slandered and degraded, did not ascend to the position of secretary of state, Emperor Wen, who had just ascended to the throne, valued his appreciation and use by the world. In particular, his profound insight and superhuman foresight not only had a great influence on the government and the public at that time, but also played a role in laying the foundation for the long-term peace and stability of the Western Han Dynasty, and stored the eternal treasure in the treasure house of Chinese history. Liu Xiang, a famous scholar of the Han Dynasty, praised: "The meaning of Jia Yiyan's three generations (Xia Shang Zhou) and Qin's rule of chaos is very beautiful, and it is accessible to the national system, although the ancient Yi (Yin) and Guan (Zhong) have not been far away." When the time comes, the work will be prosperous. The Qing Dynasty scholar Yuan Ming also praised: "(Jia) is born or not, the emperor will use life; if he uses what he gives, he will be far more than Chao (wrong) and Dong (Zhongshu), and the day of death will rob him of his years. Chairman Mao commented that Jia Yi's "Public Security Policy" was "the best political theory of the Western Han Dynasty" and "the whole text is to the point of the current situation." It can be seen that Jia Yi's political foresight and talent have also been recognized by future generations. However, there are also different views in history about Jia Yi's external appointment: Sima Qian, because he passed on Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng together and poured out his regrets for them, the people of the world often used the implication that Jia Yi was degraded, and like Qu Yuan, he was slandered and did not meet the world; Ban Gu clearly put forward a different view, believing that "Yi Yi ended early in the day, although he did not go to the secretary of state, he did not meet him" (Book of Han); Su Shi of the Song Dynasty pointed out that "non-Han (emperor) cannot be used (Jia) sheng, and students cannot use Han Chinese", thus issuing "the difficulty of non-talent, so it is really difficult for those who use themselves" ("Jia Yi Theory") Sigh!

If we analyze the political situation of the Han Dynasty at that time, Jia Yi seems to have a deeper reason for being released. In the early years of Emperor Wen, there were three main forces, namely the Han court, the military elite, and the princely kingdoms, which maintained the balance of government and government. Emperor Wen inherited the throne as a substitute king (irregular succession of thrones), so he relied on the old ministers of Daidi to rebuild the court, and at first politically, the court was based on the internal court, and the princes and kingdoms were introduced as the support, suppressing the overly powerful military meritorious beneficiary classes in order to achieve political balance and political stability. Jia Yi was neither from the military class nor an old vassal of the state, he was recommended by Wu Gong, a representative figure of the emerging group of legal officials, and was appreciated by Emperor Wen for his outstanding political ability. Jia Yi's strategy of strengthening imperial power was in line with the interests of Emperor Wen's court, but most of the former ministers of the daiguo were cautious and respectful of Emperor Gao's heroes. Jia Yi was young and vigorous, not deeply involved in the world, and at the beginning of Emperor Wen's reign, his foothold was unstable, and various contradictions between the imperial court, domestic and foreign regions were intertwined, and the situation was extremely complicated, but he radically and high-profile advocated large-scale restructuring, and although the intention was good, it was not appropriate! It is conceivable that this not only directly offended the military heroes who held great power, but also found it difficult to gain the support of the old ministers of the daiguo, and it was difficult to gain a foothold in the court with emperor Wen's temporary appreciation. In order to appease the anger of the military heroes, Jia Yi was first sent to the remote Changsha Wang Taifu, and then Zhou Bo was spared from the state of Dai, thus achieving the effect of "punishing one hundred people". It can be seen from this that Emperor Wen of Han, who had just ascended to the throne, handled things cautiously, and walked on thin ice, but with his superb political wisdom, he broke the deadlock between the new court and the conservative government, and ensured the stability of the new central government.

Looking at the past and the present, covering up the contemplation. The success or failure of Jia Yi, a talented teenager, does not seem to have exceeded the general law of talent growth. His unique talent of Wang Zuo, the fortunate encounter with the help of nobles, and then the top platform, and the appreciation of young emperors, etc., are undoubtedly indispensable and important factors for his spring breeze and ideal ambitions. However, his official frustration and slander are inseparable from his ignorance of current affairs, his failure to judge the hour and the situation, or his lack of political wisdom, sharp edge, and rare setbacks and experiences, "big ambition and small amount" (Su Shi's "Jia Yi Theory"), especially because of his deep affection and self-condemning and sad character, so that he died young - he lost the opportunity to make a comeback forever. Life is a one-way marathon, and the real game is a contest of time, will and endurance. The bitter lesson has to make future generations lament, regret and ponder! The great man Chairman Mao once gave a poem to praise Jia Yi, in order to enlighten future generations.

Seven absolutely

Jia Yi

Jia Shengcai was unrequited, crying and feeling sorry for Qu Wen.

The king of Liang fell off his horse for ordinary things, and he paid for his life with sorrow.

Seven laws

Yong Jia Yi

The young man is a temple talent, and his ambition is not rewarded.

Chest article soldiers millions, boldly illuminating the Chinese national tree thousands of platforms.

Xiongying had no plan to pour out the Holy Lord, and Gao Jie was finally suspected.

Thousands of years have cherished Changsha Fu, and the blank Miluo step dust.

First draft on November 29, 2021

Yuyuantan South Road, Beijing

appendix:

Jia Yi (200 BC – 168 BC), Han Chinese, Luoyang people. In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, he was a famous political commentator and literary scholar, known as Jia Sheng, Jia Taifu, Jia Changsha and so on. Jia Yi's works mainly have two categories: prose and rhetoric: political essays comment on current politics, the style is simple and steep, and the discussion is lively, which Lu Xun called "Western Han Hongwen". Representative works include "On Passing the Qin Dynasty", "On accumulation and storage", "Chen Zhengshi Shu" and so on. The words are all riotous, and the form tends to be scattered, which is the precursor to the development of Han Fu, and is the most famous in "Hanging Qu YuanFu" and "Bird Fu".