Western Han Dynasty Xianliang Wei Xiang (prose)
Text/Wang Yishang (Shandong)
In the dingtao district where there was "the world under heaven" in ancient times, there was a Wei xiang from the Western Han Dynasty in history. He was born in a humble peasant family, cared for the people and was familiar with agricultural affairs, and after he went to the palace, he repeatedly warned the ministers of the imperial court to be self-disciplined and not to hurt the peasants; he advised the emperor to be honest and diligent in his administration and love the people, which reduced many burdens for the people.
According to Wang Jianxin, a staff member of the Wenshi Committee of the Dingtao District CPPCC Committee, Wei Xiang was able to stand out because he was intelligent and studious since childhood, diligent in reading, good at thinking and diligently pursuing. Confucianism in the late Western Han Dynasty became the guide to governing the country at that time, Wei Xiang especially loved "Yi", because its "Yi" is the first of the Six Classics, rich in dialectical thought, many people think that it contains the "source of the road", Wei Xiang carefully read and studied the mysteries in "Yi", painstakingly pondered and studied, and gradually had a set of effective ideological systems.
In the early days of the Western Han Dynasty, in order to restore the social economy that had been destroyed and decayed by the war at the end of the Qin Dynasty, the imperial court implemented the Taoist concept of "Huang Lao Wu Wei". In the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, as the national strength turned strong, the concept of governing the country underwent profound changes. Emperor Wu firmly believed in the "Outer Confucian Inner Law", and his harsh punishment and harsh conscription constantly aggravated internal and external contradictions. In the later years of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the social economy tended to wither, social contradictions intensified day by day, and signs of turmoil appeared. Under the pressure of the situation, Emperor Wu of Han was forced to issue an edict declaring himself guilty and admitting the mistakes of previous administration. Therefore, it was decided to change the domestic and foreign policies, reverse the old policy of harsh punishment and harsh law, arbitrary expropriation and tyranny, and implement a new policy of enriching the people and emphasizing the peasants, alleviating the sufferings and restoring national strength.
As the economy became more prosperous, the idea of over-enlistment re-emerged. After Wei Xiang became prime minister, he advocated lightening the burden on the people and resolutely curbing the momentum of the old trend of thought. He wrote to Emperor Xuan and advised him to reduce his foreign conquests. One of the aims is to alleviate the burden and suffering of the people and give them time to engage in agricultural production.
In the second year of Yuan Kang (64 BC), the Northern Xiongnu attacked the Western Han army of the Cheshi Tuntian in the Western Regions. Because of the insistence of the Han army, the Xiongnu were never able to break through the Che division, and Emperor Xuan of Han sent Chang Hui to lead Zhangye and Jiuquan to raise troops to rescue and welcome the Tuntian soldiers back to Quli. After the rescue was successful, Emperor Xuan consulted with Wei Xiang and the later general Zhao Chongguo and others, believing that they could take advantage of the weakness of the Xiongnu and send troops to attack their right, so that the Xiongnu did not dare to invade the western region again.
Wei Xiang paid attention to observing the people's feelings and caring for the people's sufferings, and repeatedly wrote to ask for "peaceful imprisonment, leniency of rent, relaxation of mountains and mountains, and prohibition of horse brewing and storage" and "comfort yuanyuan and convenience for the people". The love of the people is overflowing with words and has been seen in the annals of history. He was concerned about disaster relief, and specially put forward the proposition of "accumulating from farming and using the measure of manpower to prepare for fierce disasters", opposing the state's extravagance and waste, and advocating saving resources by measuring people to prevent disasters and famines.
What is even more valuable is that he also insisted that the people's resistance was the result of the exploitation and oppression of the imperial court. He pointed out that due to the mistakes in the policy of the imperial court, the people had no food, clothing, and basic material living conditions, so they had no choice but to violate the criminal department, and said: "From time to time, if the husband is in the wind and rain, he will hurt Nongsang; if Nongsang is injured, the people will be hungry and cold; if they are hungry and cold, they will die in shame; and if they are hungry and cold, they will die in shame; and if they are thieves and thieves, they will also be born." He also said, "If the king moves in the Tao, and obeys the yin and yang, then the sun and the moon are bright, and the wind and rain are harmonious, and the cold and summer are harmonized." That is to say, the emperor's administration is required to follow the natural law of yin and yang reconciliation, and not to act arbitrarily and overdraft the people's strength. And to the point, he slammed the officials who did not execute the vegetarian meal.
During Wei Xiang's reign in Maoling, he severely punished Hao Qiang for his outstanding political achievements, and it was not long before he was promoted to the post of Taishou of Henan. Next, he continued to implement the policy of rectifying the administration of officials and punishing corrupt officials. As a result, some corrupt officials who committed wrongdoing were afraid and cautious all day long, and some even abandoned their posts for fear of the severity of the officials' rule. In order to provide disaster relief and relief to the verification officials, he personally practiced without fear of troubles and difficulties, and examined the actual situation in various places, so that he could detect the changes in the micro, report the truth, and have the foresight to prevent micro-gradual changes. Most of the disasters concealed by some local officials were investigated and known by Wei Xiang, so that relief measures could be taken as soon as possible.
While implementing the policy of lightly shaking and giving small amounts, attention should be paid to reducing the burden on the people and rewarding farming and weaving. In order to prevent officials from infringing on the interests of the people, Wei Xiang further devoted himself to the rectification of maladministration and the rectification of the rule of officials, vigorously implemented reforms to select the best and the worst, and the beijing division and the ministers of the DPRK and the central government were mostly selected from local officials with political achievements, and those who were mediocre and drilled camps were dismissed at any time. As a result, Wei Xiang was called "a good official of Han Shi" by history, so he was sheng and called Zhongxing Yan. ”
January 7, 2022 (the fifth day of the first lunar month)
【About the author】:Wang Yishang (pen name Cordyceps sinensis), born in 1957, is a government employee and a member of the Communist Party of China. He was once employed as the deputy editor-in-chief of the editorial department of the "Reporter's Cradle" newspaper of Shandong Heze Journalism Institute. Since 1979, he has published works in the army, and has published more than 3,000 works. His works have been published in Heze Daily, Dazhong Daily, Peony Literature, Writers and Readers, Modern Writers Literature, Times Literature, Essence of Writing, World Poetry and Literature, Great Northwest Poets, Northern Lights, Literature, Selected Contemporary Chinese Masters, Selected Contemporary Literature, Ginseng Flowers, and Oriental Collections. Gold List Famous Articles- Selected Works of Cultural and Creative Achievements in the Past Forty Years", "Literature of Great Love in the New Century. There are nearly 100 literary websites such as newspapers and magazines such as "Selected Works of Chinese Rural Poetry" and "Selected Chinese Rural Poems", and have won more than 80 commendations and awards at the provincial and municipal levels. His works have been selected for the "Qilu Literary Works Annual Exhibition" for many times. He is a member of the Shandong Provincial Writers Association, the Shandong Prose Literature Association, the Heze Writers Association, the China Writers Network, the Blue V Poets of the China Poetry Network, the contracted writers of the Jiangshan Literature Network, and the director of the Dingtao District Writers Association.
Editor: Ma Xuemin
One point number Qingwei Heze creative base