Zhou Donna
Liu Xun's "Wenxin Carved Dragon"
In "Wenxin Carved Dragon", Liu Xun expounded on the emergence of the style of "Zhen" and its function as a concise and concise exposition, pointing out: "The prosperity of Swen flourished in three generations"; "Fu Zhen recited in the official, inscribed on the instrument, although the name is different, but the vigilance is the same". This means that the proverbs originated in the Xia and Shang dynasties and soon became a very popular genre; although the two styles of proverbs and inscriptions used different places and their respective names, their role as warnings was the same.
The early proverbs were all official proverbs, and in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a distinction between official proverbs and private proverbs. The authors of the official proverbs were initially only officials with different duties, and the supreme ruler was the basic object of the official precepts, but soon after, the supreme ruler also began to become an important member of the ranks of the authors of the official proverbs, so there was such a type of official proverbs from the hands of the supreme ruler and with the target of all kinds of officials at all levels as the target of the admonition.
Official proverbs of the pre-Qin period
"The Proverbs of the Yu People"
The three generations of official proverbs that have been handed down to this day are the most complete, representative and influential in the "Proverbs of the Yu People" of the Zhou Wu King. It was the Yu people who were in charge of the Yamazawa Garden during the reign of King Wu of Zhou, and in response to the call of Taishi Xinjia, it was intended to exhort the supreme ruler to remember the lessons of his predecessors, restrain the field hunting of the masses, devote more energy to eliminating all kinds of troubles facing the country, and create a good environment in which man and beast "have their own stakes" and enjoy their own pleasures. Obviously, this is a typical work of "Official Proverbs" of the King Que.
Not long after, King Cheng of Zhou, who was the son of heaven, also joined the ranks of the authors of the official proverbs. He wrote a "Taisho Proverbs", the main purpose of which was to warn the Taisho officials in charge of prisons that they must be "not quite good in prison" and "have a right sentence to be punished", that is, they should be wary of justice and judgment, and "Matilda prudent punishment" is a red line that runs through the "Taisho Proverbs".
After that, the two princely monarchs of the early Spring and Autumn Period, Wei Wugong and the Mid-Spring and Autumn Emperor Chu zhuang, respectively, wrote the "Qi Zhen" and the "Qin Zhen" respectively; the former earnestly demanded that the hundred officials "be respectful to the dynasty," discover problems in a timely manner, and hear the faithful reflection of the advice; the latter earnestly admonished the courtiers to remember the ancient precept of "the people's livelihood is diligent" and guard against laziness and laziness.
Official motto of the Han and Tang dynasties
At the beginning of the 6th century AD, Emperor Xiao Yan of Liangwu's "Fan Bai Zhen" took the group of ministers and officials as the object of admonition, requiring them to "think about everything regardless of size, first think about it", that is, everything must be carefully considered and carefully planned, otherwise, "thinking about nothing will lead to repeated repetitions", which is bound to delay things and hurt the people's wealth; second, it is necessary to "be uncertain in their hearts and not to give orders", that is, they must avoid implementing government decrees when their hearts are uncertain and emotionally unstable, otherwise, they may not only lead to "chaos" and "failure of government", but also may cause tragic consequences of "humiliation" and "death" Third, we must "do not be arrogant" and "do not be noble", that is, to overcome the arrogant attitude and the style of arrogance, otherwise, if you are arrogant and arrogant, you will eventually end up in ruin. The exposition of this official proverb around decision-making, administration, and handling of the world is both concise and reasonable, and is worth playing and learning.
Li Shimin's "Di Fan"
During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, Wu Zetian, Xuanzong Li Longji, and Dezong Li Shi successively had official proverbs. Li Shimin's "Di Fan" was originally written to teach the prince, and it details the traces of the rise and fall of chaos and the way of governing the people, which has a pioneering role in the history of the creation of ancient Chinese official proverbs. Wu Zetian's "Subject Track" written before the official regency belonged to the book of admonition to the courtiers, which focused on the civil and military officials to improve their official morality and enhance their skills, and quoted the scriptures and eloquently, which had a great influence on the government and the public at that time, and was also highly regarded after the spread of Japan in the east, and was considered to be quite beneficial to the governance of the Tao. Emperor Xuanzong's "New Precepts for Commanders" targeted county officials and required them to be diligent in their political affairs and to show compassion for the poor. Because this official proverb is short and concise, county officials in various places have carved stones to warn themselves, which has led to a new change in the official style, and there are many clean and honest officials who have emerged. Emperor Dezong composed the "Proverbs of Criminal Politics" and the "Proverbs of The Emperor", the former of which was a self-vigilant work of "imprisoning the past and writing to kill himself", while the latter focused on the precepts of his close subjects, requiring them to "think and be upright" and actively advise them.
There were four supreme rulers of the Tang Dynasty who successively promulgated official proverbs, which is unprecedented in history. Moreover, these 5 official proverbs also have their own emphases in terms of the object of the rules and admonitions--the "Emperor Fan" is aimed at the crown prince, the "Subject Track" is aimed at the Manchu Dynasty Wenwu, the "Lingchang New Precepts" are aimed at exhorting county officials, and the "Criminal Zhen" and the "Junchen Zhen" target themselves and their close subjects respectively.
Two song and qing dynasty official proverbs
Driven by the influence of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, it gradually became a common practice for later generations of supreme rulers to promulgate official proverbs. Meng Chang, the last emperor of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms of Later Shu, wrote a 96-character "Official Proverb" "awarded to the county state", in which "the people are easy to abuse, the heavens are difficult to deceive" and "Erqi Erlu, the people anoint the people's fat" 4 sentences and 16 words can be called the police policy of the whole text. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of Song simply reversed the above four sentences in Meng Chang's "Official Proverbs" and thus combined them into the 16-character official proverb of "Erqi Erlu, the people anoint the people; the lower people are easy to abuse, and the heavens are difficult to deceive", and the imperial pen was issued to the world after the imperial handwriting, requiring local officials to "obey the precepts". After the death of Emperor Taizong of Song, the successor Emperor Zhenzong successively issued five official proverbs to "self-de-empt". Emperor Gaozong of Song, the founding prince of the Southern Song Dynasty, also wrote an official proverb entitled "Bestowing Xuanzhou You Sentence Xianbai LingZhen".
"Imperial Official Motto"
The official proverbs of the Ming Dynasty are most worth mentioning the 35 official proverbs created and promulgated by Emperor Xuanzong. These 35 official proverbs "take the righteousness of the ancients, and write one article each for all chinese and foreign ministers, so that they can reveal the affairs of the various halls and look at them day and night", and their influence is lasting and huge. Later, they were combined into a book in the Imperial Official's Proverbs in volume 1.
The four emperors of the Qing Dynasty, Shunzhi, Kangxi, Qianlong, and Jiaqing, also had their own official works. The Shunzhi Emperor's "Records of the Servants of The People" is a typical work of "Official Zhen Wang Que", which on the basis of combing through the "evil deeds of traitors" in ancient times and the present, summarizes the risk points in a total of 8 main aspects of thought and behavior, and then writes each book in a targeted manner, knowing the interests and harms of the group of ministers, and setting an example. There are many works handed down by the Kangxi Emperor, including "Lecturer Zhen", "Sacrifice of Wine", "Zhen Zhen of Giving Matters", "YuShi Zhen", "Tai Sheng Zhen", "Tai Chang Zhen", "Ti Zhen Zhen", "Governor Zhen Zhen", "Shou Ling Zhen", "Hechen Zhen Zhen", "Cao Chen Zhen" and other official proverbs. There are 4 official proverbs written by the Qianlong Emperor, namely "Jing Tian Zhen", "Fa Zu Zhen", "Qin Zheng Zhen", and "Pro Xian Zhen", collectively known as the "Four Proverbs of the Yangxin Hall". The Jiaqing Emperor was also a very diligent official author, and according to the "Qing History Manuscript Renzong Benji", he once "made twenty-six chapters of the official motto and declared his subjects".
State and County Matters
If the official works of the above four Qing Emperors focused on the regulation of high-ranking officials of literature and military affairs, then the Yongzheng Emperor focused more on the state and county officials. In the second year after the Yongzheng Emperor took the throne, he instructed Zhu Shi and Shen Jinsi, who had insight into the advantages and disadvantages of the localities and had rich experience in governance, to compile an official proverb that provided guidelines for the governors of prefectures and counties, but it was only because of the death and illness of the two people entrusted to them that the book was repeatedly delayed. Subsequently, the Yongzheng Emperor ordered Tian Wenjing and Li Wei, who were important ministers of the dynasty, to complete the work on the basis of the existing ones. Tian and Li threw themselves into it, and the manuscript was soon completed, which is the "State and County Affairs", also known as the "Qin Prefecture and County Matters" or the "Regulations of the Prefecture and County". The Yongzheng Emperor "Granted Prefecture and County Officials a Few Cases, Night and Night, and Province Cha Ti Tear", thus providing them with reference for them to enter the role and assume the role as soon as possible.
To sum up, from the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty to the Jiaqing Emperor in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, there have been more than a dozen supreme rulers in successive dynasties who have engaged in official creation and have their works passed down through the generations. Under their names, there are more than 90 official proverbs and 4 official proverbs. These official proverbs are undoubtedly an important part of the treasure house of traditional official proverb culture. Due to the change of time, although some of the teachings in the ancient official proverbs have become obsolete, the basic principles and spirits that run through them, such as improving the cultivation of official morality and improving the ability to serve the government, are still of great significance.
Source: Learning Times (03/12/2021)