Emperor Wu of Han's ancestors were all opposed to Confucianism.
His great-grandfather Han Gaozu Liu Bang was from a mixed background, and he hated Confucianism the most, except for his uncle Sun Tong, who let him taste the taste of being an emperor, the rest were scolded at the sight of Confucianism; the emperors of the first half century of the Han Dynasty also respected Huang Lao, liked to rule in a quiet and indifferent manner, and ruled with arches; the ministers also ruled with inaction, and the best example was Cao Shan, the best example of which was Cao Shan, the grandmother of Emperor Wu of Han, who had "suppressed" Emperor Wu of Han for many years, and an old lady who hated Confucianism and liked Huang Lao.
Therefore, when the young Emperor Wudi of Han had just ascended the throne, he had no real power, and the reason why he did not toss and turn was not that he did not want to, but that he could not.
Emperor Wu of han Liu Che
As soon as no one could really limit his power as emperor, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty immediately formulated a basic national policy for the Han Empire: deposing hundreds of families and respecting Confucianism alone. The year was 134 BC, Emperor Wu of Han was 23 years old, and the proposer of this idea was Dong Zhongshu. According to the "Biography of Dong Zhongshu of the Book of Han", the saying at that time was called "Tui Ming Kong, Suppressing the Hundred Families", and in the "Jizan of Emperor Wu", Emperor Wu of Han called it "deposing the Hundred Families, the Six Classics of the Table Chapters"—no matter what it is called, it is the same thing.
This was the biggest disturbance in his long career as emperor, in addition to sending Wei Qing and Huo to attack the Xiongnu in the north on many occasions. However, it turned out that the influence on future generations far exceeded that of the Northern Expedition against the Xiongnu, and Confucianism as the orthodox ideology of feudal society was decided and passed down for nearly two thousand years.
Deposing Hundreds of Families and Respecting Confucianism Alone: Influencing China's basic national policy for more than 2,000 years
But is that really the case? Was Emperor Wudi of han really a "confucian confucianism"?
The answer is: non-also! The "Confucian" that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty zun was the Confucian of the Fa, not the Confucian Confucian, and the so-called "deposing of the Hundred Families" was not really deposed.
From the founding of the Han Empire to the time when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came to power, it was resting with the people for more than sixty years, and various ideological trends were constantly surging, and the central imperial court adopted an attitude of basically ignoring its own survival. But Emperor Wu of Han was different, he divided the hundred families of his sons and hundreds of families, and then adopted different countermeasures.
In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the ideological and cultural field was still a hundred schools of thought
For Confucianism, he recognized their core values and directly elevated Confucian thought to the heights of state ideology, as it was useful for maintaining his rule. Since then, the great unity of Confucianism, the supremacy of monarchy, and the three principles and five constants have become the mainstream ideas of feudal society. It can be said that Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty only extracted the part of Confucianism that was useful to him to decorate into imperial culture, he was by no means a monopoly of Confucianism, Confucius has always advocated returning to the Zhou Gong era, has always advocated feudalism, and the real management system of feudal society is not feudalism, but counties, which is evident.
Confucian culture
For the Fa, Emperor Wu of Han was recognized in his heart, and there were no rules and no squares. However, the Fajia could only be the Fajia of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and could never be passed down in the folk as the Hundred Sons and Hundred Families—this was very dangerous for the rule of the Empire. Moreover, Han Wu's Confucianism is actually the Confucianism of the Dharma, and Confucianism and Law are mutually exclusive, which will be discussed later.
Representative figure of the Dharma: Han Feizi
Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty was deeply afraid of the Zongheng family from the bottom of his heart, because the Zongheng family only did one thing every day, that is, to wander between the various princely states, shake the three inches of uncorrupted tongue, unite this, and fight that - this is the unstable factor that really affects the Han Empire. The entire Warring States was basically chaotic under the usurpation and instigation of the Zongheng family, and now Yin Jian is not far away, and the princes with the same surname exist like independent kingdoms, so it has become a top priority to crack down on the Zongheng family.
The characteristics of the Zongheng family: chao qin twilight chu, turning clouds and rain
For Huang Lao, Emperor Wu of Han did not really abandon it, one by one, the way of culture and martial arts. Moreover, the Huang Lao in the early Han Dynasty was not completely inactive, and the so-called "Huang Lao Criminal Name" was actually a synthesis of various doctrines, including the Taoist rule of inaction, the rule of law by the Legalists, and the Confucian thought of famous teachings. It's a veritable hodgepodge.
"Deposing a Hundred Schools" was not "burning books to pit Confucianism", and for non-Confucian believers, Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty did not eliminate them from the flesh, and their writings were not burned. In this regard, Han Wu was much more intelligent than the Qin Emperor, although their starting point was the same.
"Deposing a Hundred Houses" is a soft "Book Burning Pit Confucianism", "Book Burning Pit Confucianism" is a hard "Deposing a Hundred Families"
Let's look at why han wu's "deposing hundreds of families and respecting Confucianism alone" is essentially a Dharma. And this kind of foreign Confucian law and the ruling ideology of the han and the qin influenced China for more than two thousand years, and Mao Zedong said that "all generations practice Qin political law" is very reasonable (see Mao Zedong's "Seven Laws: Reading the Theory of Feudalism", Presenting Guo Lao).
Mao Zedong's Seven Laws: Reading the Theory of Feudalism, Presenting Guo Lao
Local organizational structure: The Han Empire implemented a mixed system of county system + princely state system, with the county system as the main body, and after his father Emperor Jingdi of Han quelled the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms in 154 BC, Emperor Wu of Han issued the "Tui En Order" in 127 BC, which repeatedly divided the powerful princely states and made them unable to compete with the central government. According to the Chronicle of princes and princes since the Jianyuan Dynasty, the princes or those who wanted to promote the sons and daughters of the princes and princes were ordered to be named on each article--in the name of family affection, the princes and their descendants had to thank Emperor Wu of Han for their wisdom and loss. For example, Liu Bei's family, whose ancestors were the King of Zhongshan Jing, pushed En down from generation to generation, and sold straw shoes when liu Bei was pushed. Is this a Confucian approach? Confucius was a staunch fan of feudalism.
The Edict of Tuien completely deprived the princely states of their ability to compete with the central authorities
Dong Zhongshu's treatment: "Depose hundreds of families, respect Confucianism alone" Although it was proposed by Old Master Dong, Emperor Wudi of Han did not give him the status of a general and the right to call the wind and rain, because in the eyes of Emperor Wu of Han, Dong Zhongshu was also Mr. Yidong Bao, and it was okay to write articles, but not to go through The Lunji Dynasty. His status was always low, and he was constantly beaten by Han Wu, according to the "Biography of Dong Zhongshu in history": "Therefore, Dong Zhongshu was an official, and when he died, he was saved." Therefore, Dong Zhongshu did not dare to repeat the disaster. The old man was too frightened to speak. The Confucian student who was really reused by Emperor Wudi of Han was Gongsun Hong, because Gongsun Hong grew up at the grassroots level, capable and mature, and old and cunning, and whatever Emperor Wudi of Han asked, Gongsun Hong could give appropriate countermeasures and quote scriptures, which made Emperor Wudi of Han very satisfied—obviously, this is not real Confucianism, or rather, this is neo-Confucianism. And Gongsun Hong finally broke a custom in the Han Dynasty, first worshiping the chancellor and then being a marquis, you know, the previous ministers were all marquises.
Dong Zhongshu
Intellectuals: After the "deposing of the Hundred Families and the Exclusive Respect of Confucianism", Confucianism was gently bribed by the Empire, and the Empire also governed the country according to Confucian ideas, but it did not mean that the Empire and Confucianism were equal. When the two live in peace, it is natural that the ming emperor is wise and wise, and the wind and rain are drizzling; once the king turns his face, Confucian Sheng has no way but to kill me as a fish and meat by a knife, and becomes a lamb to be slaughtered. That is to say, Confucianism must honestly fulfill the "devil's agreement", while the empire can break the contract at any time without paying any price. Since then, Confucians have been sold in batches, serving as cattle and horses for the empire, with neither personal freedom nor freedom of thought. What is the difference between this and "book burning pit Confucianism"? It's nothing more than a hard knife and a soft knife.
The "Devil's Pact" between the Western Han Empire and Confucianism
The trembling bureaucracy: Since the bureaucrats of Confucian origin have been promised to the devil, of course they must live in the shadow of death every day. During the reign of Emperor Wu, more than twenty of the important courtiers and celebrities in the imperial court died of death, "including five ministers and four imperial masters." Also out of the list are crown prince Liu Zhao and empress Dowager Wei Zifu, as well as the mother of the new crown prince (Emperor Zhao of Han) Hook Yifuzi. Some of them died from emperor Wu of Han's obscenity, and some died from his harsh law. —— Yi Zhongtian, "The Empire of Han Wu". In the same book, it is also recorded that in the face of the monster of the empire, Li Guang chose to die unyieldingly, while Sima Qian chose to endure humiliation and steal his life. There is also a description in the book that "the courts and prisons of the empire are too terrible" – where is this Confucian practice?
The Death List of High-Ranking Officials During Emperor Wu's Reign – Yi Zhongtian's "The Empire of Han Wu"
Cool Officials Politics: The cool officials of Han Wu are probably second only to the cool officials of the Wu Zhou Period, and these cool officials often practice white terror in the name of loyalty to the king and the country. At that time, there were many cool officials who were the most dismaying, and Sima Qian specially opened a column for them, "History of Cool Officials", which listed eleven famous cool officials, such as Zhi Du, Ning Cheng, Zhou Yangyou, Zhao Yu, Zhang Tang, Yi Zhong, Wang Wenshu, Yin Qi, Yang Shu, Minxuan, Du Zhou, etc. In addition to these eleven famous cool officials, he also added a paragraph: Shu Shou Feng Dang was violently frustrated, Guanghan Li Zhen was good at people, DongJun Mi servant sawed xiang, Tianshui Luo Bi [Tui Xian], Hedong Chu Guangguang killed, Jing ZhaoWu, Feng Yi Yin Zhou Viper, Shui Heng Yan Feng Pu strike and sell please. At the end of the article, Sima Qian sighed: What a foot! What a number! - So fierce, and so universal, is it kingly?
Torture to extract confessions
Fight the Ranger: The Ranger is not a big hero, the big hero, the big hero is also, like Guo Jing for the country and the people called the big hero. The rangers of the Western Han Dynasty refer to the local powerful forces, the land snake, the most representative of which is Guo Xie. It is said that this Guo Daxia was ordered to move, because he was so influential, the local government simply became his follower, and even alarmed the great general Wei Qing to intercede for it. Emperor Wudi of Han's sensitive nerves were touched, affecting local politics, turning clouds and rain, which was more terrifying than the princely states, killing! As a result, a generation of heroes is in a different place. There are not many local tyrants like this who have been suppressed and forced to move, and there is only one reason, which affects the stability of the empire. Like the Cool Officials, Sima Qian also set up a column in his "Chronicles of History", "The Legend of the Rangers".
Guo Xie's image in "Emperor Wu of Han" - played by Zhang Shan
Poor Soldiers: Since the siege of Han Gaozu Baideng, the Western Han Dynasty has enjoyed more than half a century of peace, and it was broken by Emperor Wu of Han. He could no longer stand the repeated offenses of the Xiongnu and launched a series of northern expeditions. In 127 BC, the Battle of Henan, Wei Qing occupied the Hetao area; in 121 BC, the Battle of Hexi was launched, and Huo Wentai captured the Hexi Corridor; in 119 BC, Wei Qing and Huo Wentyi attacked in two ways, East and West, Wei Qing defeated The Forces of Dadan, huo went straight to the Xiongnu's current Mongolian territory, sealed the wolf Juxu, and expelled the Xiongnu to the north of the desert. However, the price was that the treasury was empty and the people did not have a good life, forcing Emperor Wu of han to issue the edict of "turning the platform to sin against himself" in his later years, expressing reflection and self-criticism - but it is an indisputable fact that Han Wu's life was based on war.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty launched a series of decisive battles against the Xiongnu
For a long time, we all know that Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty launched the "deposing of a hundred families and respecting Confucianism alone", but rarely thought deeply about the nature of this movement and its impact on future generations. For more than 2,240 years of Feudal Chinese society, it is actually the Fa who has always been exclusively respected, but this Fa family is cloaked in the cloak of Confucianism - let's call it "Neo-Confucianism".