Human beings have a common characteristic, that is, to make "excuses" for their actions, to make it seem reasonable, to get the support of more people, so as to achieve their own goals, but also to channel their own psychology. How to make the whole thing as natural as a cloud and flow requires people to use their wisdom and develop their imagination.
For the ancients, calling the emperor was a big thing, especially those who were not the descendants of the royal family and realized their dreams halfway, they needed to give the people of the world a perfect reason to get the support of the people. Li Yuan, the founder of Li Tang, was facing such a situation at that time, and Lao Tzu was the mask he chose, and he also played a good role as he wished.
I. The Prologue of the Tang Dynasty - Li Yuan
1, go with the flow to achieve great things
Li Yuan was originally an official during the Sui Dynasty, and was a relative of the Sui Emperor, and had always been quite important to the emperor. It was supposed that he should swear to die to defend the interests of the nobility and the royal family, and in fact he always did the same, because he was influenced by Confucianism from an early age, and he knew what to do in this position. However, with the major changes in the social situation in the later period, he had to make other plans.
The corrupt society of the late Sui Dynasty was already terrible, and the people of the world could not stand the actions of the monarch. The ranks of the uprisings are increasing, either spontaneously formed by the people or by relying on their own positions of power. If the Li family did not win the first place, others would also appear in the emperor's seat, and at this time, the fight was speed and opportunity. At that time, the words "where Yang Hua flew and landed, the plums were strong and the world" also made the Sui Emperor wary of the Li family.
The Li family had a son who was outstanding and full of enthusiasm for the establishment of meritorious service, and he made careful preparations early, especially seeing that his father was slow to start, he began to persuade his father, this person is Li Shimin, who has made important contributions on the road to Chuangtang. At that time, Li Yuan made some mistakes in his position, the emperor wanted to ask him, at a critical juncture, the Li family could not wait any longer, with the favorable east wind, Li Yuan became emperor in one fell swoop and became Tang Gaozu.
The Sui Emperor did it against the people of the world, and it was sooner or later that he was overthrown. Among the many forces, the Li family is only one of them, the Li family developed to the end, to a large extent, in line with the development trend of society, pushed forward by the times, and at the same time led by the active and enthusiastic son, they can become winners, in the eyes of most people, there is nothing wrong with it.
2. Taoism is dressed as a shelter
Li Yuan, who claimed to be empress, made many moves in order to appease the people. First of all, he abolished the previous strict tax policy, which greatly reduced the burden on the people. In terms of ideological construction, he vigorously promoted the development of Taoism, which was completely opposite to the Sui Dynasty, in order to let the people of the world see that what they did was completely opposite to the previous dynasty of all evils, and that the originator of Taoism was Laozi, and with Laozi's surname Li, Li Yuan considered himself to be his descendants.
The ancients attached great importance to the recognition of ancestors and returned to the sect, Lao Tzu had a lofty position in the Chinese ideological circles, and Li Yuan recognized him as his ancestor, which just gave the Li family a dazzling aura, and outsiders would become respectful of them. Taoism made unprecedented progress during this period, and stood in the glorious C position among the two major sects of Buddhism and Confucianism. Even during Li Yuan's reign, he personally went to visit Lao Tzu's Louguan.
After returning from Hangu Pass, Li Yuan began to build a large number of Taoist temples in the folk, and the Laojun Temple was an important product of this period. The statue of Lao Tzu has become more sacred in people's hearts, and the circulation of the Tao Te Ching in society has become widespread, and the teachings in it have a great influence on people's thinking and have a positive effect on calming people's minds. His actions have won more people's hearts, and Taoists have become the backbone and an important participant in supporting the Li family.
With a powerful protector, any of Li Yuan's actions seemed acceptable, and no one dared to come out to refute the supreme position, while other ambitious forces also chose to disappear in the face of the general trend. Lao Tzu never imagined that during the Li and Tang Dynasties, he would be called "Holy Ancestor" by everyone, and he did not know how he would feel.
Second, understand the hearts of the people with the society
1. Etiquette and education are the first to stabilize the society
Although Li Yuan won the power by raising an army, his noble origin and the education he received from childhood made him know the importance of etiquette to society and how to get the approval of the people in a peaceful way. "Li Yuan ordered the armies to attack the city, and there was no need to violate the Seven Temples and the Acting Royal Family, and the offenders destroyed the three tribes", such a move can be seen in his idea of re-teaching and honoring, and such a concept can be more accepted by the common people.
He was well aware that the power of deep-rooted ideas over the people could be higher than that of the king, and his original intention to promote Taoism was to supplement people's spiritual world and maintain his own political power. "Haotian God, Wufang Emperor, Imperial Prayer, Shenzhou and Zongmiao for the Great Ceremony". This is Li Yuan's law of behavior, and important rules and regulations are implemented according to the rules left by his ancestors.
2. Various initiatives are in full swing
Later generations looked at history and found that the most important achievement of the Tang Dynasty came from Li Shimin, so they all believed that he was a capable emperor, and his father was considered by most people to be an inactive person. In fact, as an important pioneer, he played a pivotal role in many important time nodes, and without him, the great prosperity might have come a little later.
He seemed to have achieved nothing in the early days of his reign, but he laid a solid foundation for the Future Generations of the Li Family, and after his reign, he began to posthumously honor his ancestors, so that his fathers and grandfathers had a lofty status.
Later, his sons had a cruel struggle for the position of crown prince, and for the sake of the future of the Li family and for the sake of succession, he decisively gave up the throne and directly let Li Shimin inherit it. This behavior of not dragging mud and water allowed Li Shimin to sit smoothly in the desired position and helped him solve unlimited troubles. After that, Emperor Taizong continued to create brilliant achievements in this position, and these achievements were inseparable from the support of his father at that time.
This kind of boldness and open-mindedness can be done by few people in history, but bystanders are more willing to look directly at the results rather than the intermediate process. To a certain extent, this kind of behavior of his is also in line with the Taoist idea, respecting nature, not violating the will of Heaven, and may get the best results.
Iii. The descendants of the Li family hold Taoism
1. Li Tang Taoism occupies a high position
Li Shimin used his political talents to bring a full and peaceful era to the common people, during which Time Taoism continued to be promoted in the country and Confucianism was ranked behind it. The descendants of the Li family built Taoist temples in various places, and the appearance of the buildings was diverse, leaving a high achievement for future generations in the field of Taoist architecture, and the most important cultural heritage has always influenced future generations.
The Kaiyuan Daozang is an important cultural relic of the Xuanzong period, which contains the essence and charm of Taoism. Lao Tzu's birthday was also valued in the later period, and in different eras, this date had different names and was closely related to the names of emperors. This birthday is also a blessing for the people, on this day, people can enjoy benefits that are not usually available, and civil servants can rest for a day on this day.
By the Later Zhou Dynasty, due to the change of the successor's surname, the ruler needed new spiritual powers to strengthen his position, and Wu Zetian chose to do the same as Li Yuan, except that she needed to introduce another sect as a leader. At this time, Taoism inevitably fell out of the high position, and Buddhism reoccupied the high place. In the midst of this ups and downs, posterity can see the importance of spiritual power to the emperor.
2. History promotes the change of Taoism
The most prosperous stage of the development speed and power of Taoism was in Li Tang, although its status changed with the rulers in the later period, but its influence left in the early Tang Dynasty was so great that it developed to the present, which has an important relationship with the powerful national strength at that time. The stronger the national strength, the stronger the momentum of the development of a certain mainstream ideology.
China's three major ideological systems have their own characteristics and development trajectories, and from the overall situation, their prosperity and dissemination are inseparable from the influence of national conditions. The importance of ideological education, the emperors of all generations are well aware of the truth, they stand out in the hundred schools of thought, they have their own practicality and value.
If you want to maintain your position all the time, you need to adjust your direction according to the changes of the times at all times, and only those who can conform to the trend of the times can persist to the end. Commodities need to be like this, and ideological education is even more so. Those who have not been eliminated by the times are enough to represent their strong strength.
epilogue
Lao Tzu, as the protective color of Li Yuan's claim to the throne, played an important role in consolidating the position of the Li family, and at the same time, the Taoist ideas it represented were further promoted and disseminated in this process. From this point of view, the two show a win-win cooperation relationship, both sides have achieved good results, from a macro point of view, the spread of Taoism on society and the people has a positive impact more than a negative, the combination of doctrine and power is a success.
Ancient emperors had many backgrounds like Li Yuan, and coincidentally, these big figures also needed to find a reasonable starting point for their careers, so that the people of the world could accept it. Some did a good job, some used too much force, causing strong resentment in society. From this, it can be concluded that finding the right starting point is harmless, and the most important thing is to benefit the people and society, so that such a measure can be recognized by people.
Resources:
Old Book of Tang
《General Commentary》
"Tang Hui Wants"
The Great Tang Dynasty