Wang Mang of the Western Han Dynasty is a controversial figure in history, according to the orthodox point of view of the imperial family, Wang Mang is a sinner who usurped power and seized the throne, he is only a descendant of the foreign relative Wang Family, but he took advantage of the turmoil in the last years of the Western Han Dynasty to "force" his widow Baby Chan Rang to get the jade seal of the country from Empress Wang, and to build a new han on behalf of Han, who opened the precedent in Chinese history to become an emperor through Zen. If there is no certain merit, how can future generations argue endlessly about him, at that time Wang Mang was regarded by the government and the public as the best candidate who could save the crisis, was regarded as 'the reincarnation of the Duke of Zhou'", he called the empress, and some of the reform measures issued by him, although at the time, did not seem to be of much use, but later generations thought that he was ahead of the curve, and even thought that he was a crosser.
If Wang Mang did not claim the title of emperor, his fame was similar to that of the Duke of Zhou, and he should have a tablet in the future life, most likely with Confucius. If Wang Mang had not been proclaimed emperor, his image in the folk should be no less than that of Zhuge Liang. To some extent, Wang Mang was indeed a "saint" at that time, a model of social morality.
Before Wang Mang became emperor, although he was in the Wang family of power and opposition, Wang Mang was sober-minded, simple in life, humble, and did not live a life of luxury and pleasure like most of Wang's children. Inside, he served his mother and widow, raised his brother's widow, behaved rigorously, and externally befriended magi, and everyone praised him as a virtuous courtier, at which time he became a moral model for the family and the people, won the hearts of the people, and laid the foundation for him to be supported by the government and the opposition in the future. After the death of the Han Emperor, there were no heirs, and the empress dowager Wang Zhengjun, as the head of the imperial court, naturally did not treat the children of the Wang clan badly, and the prestigious Wang Mang was recommended by the Qunchen as the Grand Sima and he acted as the administrative agent.
When he did not have power, he did not know how great the temptation of power really was, Wang Mang was not willing to act as an agent of government affairs, his political ambitions were gradually exposed, began to eliminate dissidents, cultivate forces, and most importantly, he knew the importance of the people's hearts, Wang Mang implemented a policy of favor to the people, helped the victims of disasters, and he himself lived a simple life, he won the favor of the whole country, and his admirers even thought that Wang Mang could be compared with the saints of ancient times. In fact, Wang Mang could even poison his sons who did not agree with his claim to be emperor, and also framed and killed his foreign relatives, the Wang clan, and many political enemies in the dprk, but Wang Mang publicized this matter as "destroying relatives in righteousness, serving the public and forgetting selfishness", and spread the deeds to the people, once again winning the praise of the people.
But in fact, Wang Mang was the first to propose that "the prince broke the law and committed the same crime as the common people", and the forerunner of his thinking was so admirable that historians thought that he was a "crosser". In fact, Wang Mang has a moral brilliance, but in the end he did not resist the greed and power desire in the depths of human nature.
In order not to fall into the reputation of usurping power and seizing the throne, Wang Mang endured until he was fifty-four years old, he had already held great power for eight years, the obstacles were almost swept away, all kinds of spells and auspicious rui came one after another, many people advised Wang Mang that he should go further, it was time to usurp the throne, in the past it was an aristocratic revolution or a civilian revolution, and now it was the power of the central government that seized power, no ancients had ever come, but there were many people who imitated Wang Mang's behavior. Although Wang Mang's seizure of power was despised by orthodoxy, and he used all means to seize Liu Jiajiangshan, it can be called the emperor's administrative reforms, and many historians believe that he was "the first social reformer in Chinese history" to be commendable.
Many people think that Wang Mang is a crosser, precisely because of his reform measures, such as proposing that land be state-owned, private people cannot buy and sell, equal distribution, prohibit slave trading, change slaves to "private dependents", stop usury, control prices, improve finances, look at these policies, modern people can easily understand, it is completely the embodiment of human rights thinking, can be placed in feudal society, Wang Mang's behavior can violate the interests of the aristocratic class, slaves and land are in the hands of the aristocratic class, Wang Mang harmed their interests, So much so that social contradictions were triggered, which led to the demise of the new dynasty more than ten years after its establishment.
When Wang Mang implemented the new policy, he happened to catch up with the frequent natural disasters and man-made disasters of the people, the whole country was in a state of turmoil, the people were difficult to survive, they revolted one after another, forming a large-scale rebellion of Chimei and Green Forest, and finally the Green Forest Army invaded Chang'an, Wang Mang was killed by the merchant Du Wu in the chaos, even though Wang Mang was dead, but others still did not have his corpse, the lieutenant Gongbin beheaded Wang Mang's head, hanging in the city of Wan, dozens of soldiers split Wang Mang's body, and even the people also attacked Wang Mang's head. or cut its tongue". Wang Mang is so hated by people that it seems that some of Wang Mang's reform measures are considered to be "reckless acts" and "disasters to the country and the people."
According to records, Wang Mang's head was collected by later imperial families, until 295 AD, when Emperor Hui of Jin, the Arsenal of Luoyang was burned and burned, and it is mentioned in the "Book of Jin and Zhang Hua Biography" that "the arsenal of Emperor Yuankang of Jin fell on fire in October of the fifth year, and the treasure of the successive generations and Han Gao's sword, Wang Mang's head, and Confucius were burned." Shi (Zhang) Hua saw the sword flying through the house, not knowing where it was going. "It is understandable that the sword of Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, beheaded the white snake and the shoes of the sage Confucius were collected, but why Wang Mang's head was also collected.
After the fall of the new dynasty, Wang Mang's head was collected by later royal families until 295 AD, when the Luoyang arsenal was burned by the Jin Hui Emperor.
Successive monarchs collected his head and suppressed it with witchcraft, on the one hand, to warn the courtiers of the evil fate of the rebels, and on the other hand, to hope for peace in the middle of the country. In fact, the ancients were still barbaric, and the values were relatively barbaric, and after the Rebellion of Hou Jing in the Southern Dynasty, Hou Jing's first rank was also hidden in the arsenal, indicating that Wang Mang was not the only treatment.
In fact, Wang Mang's head has played a warning role for the future imperial family, warning the ministers not to be rebels and violate morality, and Wang Mang is indeed an orthodox emperor, the founding emperor of the new dynasty, and the head of an emperor, which naturally has extraordinary commemorative significance.
The treasure of the successive generations and the sword of Han Gao,the head of Wang Mang, and the shoes of Confucius disappeared together, which actually alludes to the loss of virtue of the Jin Hui Emperor and the imminent death of guozuo. But is there really Wang Mang's head in the treasury? At that time, Wang Mang's head was hung in the market, he was trampled and spurned by the people, and his tongue was cut off, could it really be preserved by future generations for three hundred years? It is highly likely that later dynasties exaggerated it.
Wang Mang could have become a saint for eternity, and if he had not usurped the throne and assisted the emperor in being loyal, if he had usurped the throne, he would have been able to govern the country in the traditional way according to the way of the saints, and would not have aroused the resentment of the nobles and the collective, nor would he have been in a different place. However, history has no if, Wang Mang is obviously the ruling talent of the emperor for thousands of years, but because of overcorrection, he will eventually be discredited, which is really sad to think.