This article is originally created by: Upstairs Old Fan
As we all know, the emperor was the supreme existence in the ancient feudal society, and most of the emperors were only succeeded by their own princes after their deaths, but there were still many emperors who chose to abdicate in their later years, let the emperor ascend the throne, and go to be the emperor himself. So as the former emperor and often the father of the current emperor, what rights does Emperor Taishang have?
Although the system of the Taishang Emperor existed before the Han Dynasty, it was really established in the Han Dynasty. As we all know, Liu Bang's birth is not high, and after Liu Bang established the Han Dynasty as emperor, he still had great respect for his old father and saluted his father like ordinary people.
Later, the person in charge of Liu Taigong's family affairs said to Taigong, "There is only one sun in the sky, and there should not be two monarchs on the earth." Although the emperor is your son, he is also the monarch of the imperial court. According to the law, you should honor him as a monarch, so why should a monarch come and see his courtiers? If this kind of thing continues, it is estimated that the emperor's majesty will be exhausted. This made Liu Taigong very afraid, and then when Liu Bang came to visit him, he greeted him at the door, while retreating, with a respectful look, Liu Bang saw it and hurriedly got out of the car to help his father.
After Liu Bang knew the reason, Liu Bang decided to honor his father as Emperor Taishang, and Liu Taigong became one of the few people in history who had never been an emperor, but was a person who was too emperor. After that, the system became a common means of transferring the throne. Of course, the size of the power of the Taishang Emperor is also related to how he became the Taishang Emperor, such as Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty was forced by Li Shimin to become the Taishang Emperor, naturally there is no right, of course, Li Yuan's life is still good, but also a leisurely old age. Like Qianlong, who took the initiative to become the emperor of Taishang, but in fact still controlled the government, his emperor's son was no different from the puppet emperor in the early days.
Historically, the most dynastic dynasty of the Taishang Emperor was the Southern Song Dynasty, and even three consecutive emperors abdicated while they were alive, and then let their successors ascend the throne, which was also related to the weakness of the Southern Song Dynasty, in the Song Dynasty, which emphasized literature and light military force, the poor military ability led to the rule of the Southern Song Dynasty was often threatened, and no one could be the king of the fallen country, so in order to throw the pot, they had to quickly abdicate, let the next successor, and go to the Emperor Taishang to enjoy his old age well.