In the ancient history of thousands of years, the emperor's centralized rule model of "one person ruling the world" has been practiced. The emperor is at the top of the pyramid of power, with supreme status and real power. The inheritance of imperial power, for most of the time, is based on a hereditary system, and before the death of the previous emperor, the throne will be passed on to his sons or grandsons and other direct blood relatives. Unless there is a rebellion or a change of dynasty, hereditary system has always been the most important form of imperial succession.
There is a glaring flaw in the hereditary system. It is common sense that those who are qualified to govern the country should be competent people who are extremely good in all aspects, who are very talented, and whose virtues are relatively noble. However, the hereditary system seriously deviates from this principle, and does not recognize moral integrity, only blood relatives. Even if the heir is a complete villain, even if the heir is a babe who learns to speak, as long as he is the heir of the previous emperor, he can become the next emperor.
In this way, it inevitably leads to a serious problem: the succession of the throne, which is related to the future and destiny of the country, has completely become a "big luck", whether the next emperor is good or bad, whether it will bring happiness or disaster to the dynasty, everything can only be left to fate. The large number of non-human situations entrusted to the throne, and the emergence of tyrannical kings in an endless stream, are all the evil consequences of the hereditary system.
Both the Book of Shang and the Records of History record that in the ancient period of the Yao Shunyu era, there was another form of near-perfect imperial succession system: the Zen system. When Emperor Yao abdicated, he did not pass the throne to his son Danzhu, but "selected the best" and passed it on to Da Shun, who had both moral integrity and ability. When Da Shun abdicated, he did not pass the throne to his son Shang Jun, but to the wise Dayu.
The biggest difference between the Zen system and the hereditary system is that the former uses moral ability as the basic basis for selecting heirs, while the latter is based on blood relations. Comparatively speaking, the Zen concession system has obviously greater advantages in ensuring that the wise king will be brought to power, and for the country's long-term peace and stability, prosperity and prosperity, and it is also a more advanced, fairer and more perfect imperial succession system.
But what is puzzling is that the Zen system is so perfect, but it was quickly eliminated by history. The Zen system was only truly practiced during the reigns of Emperor Yao and Emperor Shun, and by the time of Dayu, it was difficult to sustain. In his old age, Dayu initially passed the throne to the xianchen Boyi, but Dayu's son Qi rebelled and seized the throne by force, ending the Zen concession system. Although in the history since then, the Zen concession system has been briefly "resurrected" many times, but basically the Taishang Emperor "Zen Concession" to his son, or the traitor forced the emperor to abdicate and replace him, which is called "Zen Concession", which is completely two concepts from the Zen Concession System in the Yao Shunyu era.
Zen system is almost perfect and more fair and reasonable, why is it eliminated by history? Because it has two fatal flaws. First, the Basis for the Selection of Successors by the Zen System is "Virtue and Talent", but "Virtue and Talent" does not actually have a clear criterion for judgment, and the definition is very vague. You think that Zhang San has both moral integrity and ability, but I think that Li Si's moral integrity is better than Zhang San's, and others can also think that Wang Wu's moral ability is unmatched. The standards of the Zen system are so vague and general that it is easy to create an irrevocable chaos when passing on the throne.
In contrast, although the hereditary system has many drawbacks, it can at least provide a concise and clear criterion: the throne can only be passed to the direct blood relatives of the previous emperor, and if he asks for it, it is a crime, everyone will be punished, and many unnecessary disputes and troubles will be saved. In this way, it is inevitable that the Zen system will be gradually eliminated and replaced.
Second, in the process of implementing the Zen concession system, the descendants of the previous emperor were often put in danger. Emperor Yao's son Danzhu was exiled by Emperor Shun, and Emperor Shun's son Shangjun was also exiled by Dayu. Because as the sons of the previous emperor, they are often ostracized and attacked by the next emperor as a direct threat. In this way, the previous emperor was kind enough to pass the throne to others, but brought disaster to his own family descendants, which emperor would be interested in the Zen concession system again? Therefore, it is not unreasonable for the Zen system to be eliminated by history.
References: Shang Shu ( Shang Shu )