The "Table of Renunciation" is a very famous table of Zhuge Liang dedicated to the later lord Liu Chan, so what is the significance of this "Table of Renunciation", which has been regarded as an "essential guide for loyal subjects" throughout the ages?
On the national situation
"Chen Liangyan said: The former emperor did not start a business halfway and the middle road collapsed, today under three points, Yizhou is tired, and this is also the autumn of the critical survival." This is the beginning of the "Table of Teachers", the writing is very classic, and as soon as it comes up, it directly tells Liu Chan the urgent situation that the Shu Kingdom is facing. Liu Bei died in the Battle of Yiling, a stormy atmosphere shrouded the new regime of the Shu State, which was built on Liu Bei's prestige, and as the elder-level figures of the Shu Han clique withered away, what was facing the Shu State was an unprecedented development dilemma.
First of all, after Guan Yu lost Jingzhou, the situation of the Shu Han clique took a sharp turn, jingzhou as a bridgehead plotting against the Central Plains was occupied by Eastern Wu, the Shu Han clique was forced to retreat to Yizhou, and the development path was held by Cao Wei and Eastern Wu. Yizhou refers to today's Bashu land, why is it said that after the loss of Jingzhou, the Shu Han clique faced the problem of life and death?
Map of the territory of the Shu Han Dynasty
This is determined by the geographical location of Yizhou, which is roughly the whole territory of today's Sichuan, including Yunnan and parts of Guizhou, which is surrounded by mountains on all sides and a basin in the middle, although it is a good defensive point. However, it is very difficult to develop, and the geographical disadvantage determines the plight of the Shu Han clique.
Coupled with the fact that both the northern and eastern parts of the Shu Han clique were besieged by Cao Cao and Sun Quan, it is no exaggeration for the Shu Han clique at this time to say that it was facing the problem of survival of development. Although Zhuge Liang once said in "Longzhong Pair" that "Yizhou is dangerous, fertile and wild, and the land of Tianfu", this is in terms of the advantages of Yizhou itself, and now Zhuge Liang said that "Yizhou is tired" refers to the development prospects of the Shu Han Group.
Cao Cao occupied the Central Plains, Sun Quan occupied Jiangnan, the geographical advantage is very obvious, with the elongation of time, the Shu Han clique will inevitably have a gap with the two, so Zhuge Liang first explained the current dilemma to Liu Chan in the "Table of Teachers".
On national governance
Based on such a dilemma, Zhuge Liang therefore asked the later lord Liu Chan to exert great efforts to revitalize the country.
Zhuge Liang
At that time, although the later lord Liu Chan was pro-government, after all, he was still young and had no political experience, and Zhuge Liang, as a minister of orphanage, naturally had to teach Liu Chan and guide him to make a difference in politics. Therefore, Zhuge Liang proposed to Liu Chan here: "It is sincerely advisable to open the holy listening, to honor the virtue of the first emperor of guangxian and to promote the spirit of the heroes, and it is not appropriate to be vain and self-effacing, to quote the unrighteous, and to plug the road of loyalty and advice." In the palace, all are one; it is not advisable to be different from each other: if there are adulterers and loyalists, it is advisable to pay a reward for his punishment, so as to show His Majesty's reasoning; it is not appropriate to be selfish, so that the internal and external laws are also different. In fact, it can be summed up as two requirements:
Open up the way of speech, pro-virtuous subjects, far lesser people, so that people with lofty ideals can exert their talents; as a king, you cannot be arrogant and self-effacing, blocking the way and opportunity for loyal people to speak and advise. To this end, Zhuge Liang also specially selected some ministers for Liu Chan (侍中), Shilang Guo Youzhi, Fei Yi, Dong Yun, etc., all of which were good and honest, and zhi was loyal and pure), and asked them to be reused.
The second is to demand that Liu Chan purges politics, clearly distinguish rewards and punishments, praise and encourage loyal and righteous ministers, and not shield and connive at ministers who have committed mistakes, but should be handed over to relevant departments for handling.
Liu Chan
It should be said that the above remarks are Zhuge Liang's efforts to stabilize the rear area, after all, he personally led the troops out on the expedition, and he could not devote energy to domestic affairs, so this is more like Zhuge Liang hoping that Liu Chan would appoint loyal and sages to help him govern the country before going out on the expedition, and not let the country cause great chaos.
Show your heart to Liu Chan
Zhuge Liang has been regarded as a model of "loyal subjects" for generations to come, and after discussing the current situation facing the country to Liu Chan and exhorting Liu Chan to exert himself to govern, Zhuge Liang then revealed his heart to Liu Chan and expounded his determination to "bow down and die before he dies".
He first recalled to Liu Chan the kindness of the ancestor Liu Bei to his knowledge, and then showed that he did not envy wealth and wealth, but only wanted to repay the trust and trust of the ancestor to himself, "The subject is clothed, he cultivates in Nanyang, he lives in the chaotic world, and he does not seek to reach the princes." The former emperor did not despise his subjects, and he was self-deprecating, and the three ministers were in the grass, and the counselors were grateful for the affairs of the world, so they allowed the former emperor to drive away. After the fall of the value, he was appointed to the defeated army, and was ordered to be in danger: Erlai twenty years had one year. Then he elaborated on his deeds and ambitions in the following: "Since he was ordained, he has been worried and lamented at night, fearing that the entrustment will not be effective, so as to hurt the wisdom of the former emperor; therefore, in May, he crossed the road and went deep into the barren. Now the south has been determined, the armor has been sufficient, when the award led the three armies, the north fixed the Central Plains, shu exhausted the blunt, eliminated the traitors, revived the Han room, and returned to the old capital. Therefore, this subject reported to the former emperor and was loyal to His Majesty's office. ”
To put it simply, Zhuge Liang reported to Liu Chan some of his past political achievements, indicating that he did not live up to the instructions of the former emperor Liu Bei, quelled the rebellion of Meng Yu in the south, and made achievements in internal governance of the country and the army, but he did not dare to be tired, because he wanted to realize Liu Bei's ambitions, recover the Central Plains, and support the Han Dynasty, and these were his duty as a courtier to repay the former emperor.
In summary, the "Table of Renunciation" is divided into three parts to interpret, basically a work report submitted to Liu Chan by Zhuge Liang as a courtier, which first analyzed the current situation facing the country, and at the same time hoped that Liu Chan could exert himself to govern, as well as some explanations of Zhuge Liang's own expression of Liu Chan's heart.
The "Table of Teachers" is undoubtedly very important to the significance of the Shu Han Clique, it first clarifies the current situation in front of the Shu Han Clique, so that Liu Chan realizes the current predicament of the country, on this basis, Zhuge Liang can ask Liu Chan to govern the country well, and at the same time Zhuge Liang clarifies the development direction and vision of the country later.
The problems expounded by Zhuge Liang undoubtedly fit the entire dilemma faced by the Shu Han Group at that time, and if they want to make a difference, they must also be implemented like Zhuge Liang, so that the Shu Han Group can break through the development dilemma, from the above three aspects, this is undoubtedly a very classic statement.
After the failure of the First Northern Expedition, before the start of the Second Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang once again went to the Table of Later Departures, in which he once again expounded to Liu Chan the situation under the heavens and the difficulties faced by the Shu Han clique, and at the same time expressed his determination to "bow down and die before death", in general, these are in line with the strategic development direction of the Shu Han clique. Therefore, it is impossible not to say how great its significance is.