Wei Zheng (580-643), courtesy name Xuancheng, was a famous sage in the early Tang Dynasty who assisted Emperor Taizong of Tang in achieving the "Rule of Zhenguan". Because of his extremely direct advice, he was praised by later generations as "a courtier for thousands of years". According to the "Zhenguan Politicians", Wei Zheng's advice to Tang Taizong amounted to "hundreds of thousands of words", which was evaluated by Tang Taizong as follows: "Those who have achieved my deeds today and are called by the world are only Wei Zheng." Ancient famous courtiers, how to add also! In addition to being a famous courtier, Wei Zheng was also well versed in the way of reading, and could be regarded as a model of governance. When he was a secretary and supervisor, he wrote the preface to the Book of Sui, the Book of Liang, the Book of Chen, and the Book of Qi. In addition, Wei Zheng also edited the magnum opus of senior government, "The Governance of Qunshu Zhijiao", which left behind ideas and writings passed down from generation to generation in the long river of history.
Standing in Confucianism, erudite and good at literature
Affected by the wars during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, although Wei Zheng's ancestors were mainly military, they also showed the family style of "pro-Confucianism and good thinking". According to the Tang Dynasty historian Li Yanshou in the "Biography of Wei Changxian in the Northern History", Wei Zheng's great-grandfather Wei Zhao (魏兆) was "elegant and eloquent, bo involved in qunshu"; his grandfather Wei Yan "sought to be a writer and thought of the immortal karma of the tree"; his father Wei Changxian directly stated in his reply to his friend's letters that he was "the ancestor of the servant, the heirloom of Confucianism". Moreover, in Li Yanshou's pen, Wei Changxian was evaluated as "filial piety is born of all efforts, and loyalty is to the body", which is completely in line with the image of a Confucian who is "loyal and scrupulous" and "seeks benevolence and benevolence". Under the traditional tutoring rule of "taking the father as the teacher", Wei Changxian's words and deeds are self-evident in Wei Zheng's taoism. In addition, Wei Zheng was longer than the Sui Dynasty, which "opened the science to take the scholars" and "rewarded the Confucians". Therefore, the social environment of the revival of Confucianism and the family style of "passing on Confucianism" laid the foundation for Wei Zheng's academic enlightenment.
In addition to "standing on the basis of Confucianism", Wei Zheng was also erudite and good at literature, and came into contact with and absorbed the wisdom of Taoist thought. The New Book of Tang records his experience of "Sui chaos and devious taoists". The interlude of monastic learning not only does not conflict with the true color of its "ancestral Confucianism", but complements each other perfectly. Because what Wei Zheng absorbed was not the Taoist specific "Immortal Technique" or "Health Preservation Tuna", but the Taoist pattern concept of "Dao Wuwei" and the dialectic of "rigidity and softness", the benign reaction of this "combination of Confucianism and Taoism" happened to have excellent results in the process of his study and cognition, so that he under the guidance of the Taoist world outlook and methodology, he strengthened his sense of identity and value of Confucian thought. Moreover, during his time as a Taoist, Wei Zheng also befriended Wang Tong, the great Confucian of the Sui Dynasty, and through Wang Tong's introduction, he gathered Confucians from all over the world, and Wang Tong's heirloom work "Zhongshu" recorded the beginning and end of their friendship. In the process of seeking knowledge and asking questions and shaping his personality, Wei Zheng not only showed the imprints of "loyalty and filial piety and benevolence" and "knowledge and strong knowledge", but also revealed the imprints of "migrating with the times" and "responding to changes in things", reflecting the characteristics of "standing on a Confucian basis and being knowledgeable and good at literature".
Faithful and virtuous, practical through the ages
Different from Wang Tong's position of hiding and not being reclusive in the chaotic era of the late Sui Dynasty, Wei Zheng adhered to the Confucian view of "learning and excellence", and implemented the Confucian concept of "moralizing people" and "prudent punishment with virtue" in the process of governing the government. According to the Zhenguan Politicians, in the ninth year of WuDe, Wei Zheng clearly expressed the idea of "rule by virtue" and started a dispute with Feng Deyi and others. Feng Deyi and others believed that "people are gradually pouring blackmail, so Qin is in charge of the law, Han is overbearing, and gai wants to be transformed but cannot be", advocating "heavy law to prohibit it". Wei Zheng proposed, "The people of long peace are arrogant, and the proud are difficult to teach; the people who are troubled are sad, and the sorrows are easy to dissolve", and "the hungry are easy to eat, and the thirsty are easy to drink." In addition, he further summed up the lessons of the demise of the Sui Dynasty, "The Sui clan was defeated by being rich and strong, and I was also moved; I was peaceful with poverty and quiet." Therefore, we insist on "Mingde and the people" and "govern the country with tranquility". Under the admonition of Wei Zheng, Tang Taizong changed the idea of "fear that it will be difficult to govern after the great chaos" and turned to the governing strategy of "Yan Ge Xingwen" and "recuperation and recuperation".
According to the "Annals of The Dukes of Wenzhen of Tang Wei" compiled by the Qing Dynasty scholar Wang Xiangong, in the 18 years from the ninth year of WuDe to Wei Zheng's death, Wei Zheng neglected 105 political theories to Tang Taizong around many political themes such as loyalty, faith, religion, benevolence, jundao, abstinence from arrogance, abstinence from greed, people's benefactory, renxian, advice, etiquette, rule of law, and prudent soldiers, and nearly 80 were endorsed and adopted by Emperor Taizong. Among them, the more famous ones mainly include: In the first year of Zhenguan, Wei Zheng entered the first year of Zhenguan to advise Tang Taizong to give favors, did not send a single soldier to recruit An Lingnan, and realized the self-submission of distant people; in the sixth year of Zhenguan, Wei Zheng expounded the harm of "sealing Zen" from the perspective of laboring the people and hurting the wealth and shaking the foundation of the country, and dissuaded Taizong's "sealing Zen" initiative; after the death of Empress Changsun, Wei Zheng successively went to Tang Taizong with 8 political treatises, such as "Listening to Counsel in Prison", "On The Neglect of The Times and Politics", and "Ten Thoughts of Emperor Taizong", advising him to take into account the overall situation and be cautious in the end. Therefore, looking at Wei Zheng's political practice, it reflects the principle of "applying to the world" and "doing work and seeking business".
Huge works have been passed down to the world to feed future generations
In order to further demonstrate the correctness of the concept of "virtue and good governance", Wei Zheng, Yu Shinan, Chu Liang, Xiao Deyan, and others deleted the complicated and refined from the vast sea of classics and compiled and compiled a series of books on senior administration that have been learned from the past- "The Governance of Qunshu Zhijiao", realizing that the concept of governing the country has been passed down in writing and endured for a long time. The scope of excerpts, compilation principles, contents of the compilation, and service targets of the "Governance of the Qunshu" all indicate that this book knows the basis of the weather and sees the source of political reasoning.
In terms of content, Wei Zheng bluntly said in the "Preface to the Governance of Qunshu": "Using it today is enough to examine the past; it can be passed down to the leaves, and it can be used to defeat Sun Mou." Moreover, the original intention of the compilation and revision of this book was that Tang Chuwen Confucian recommended Tang Taizong to implement the strategy of "Yanwu Xiuwen", which shows that this book advocates "taking history as a mirror" and "integrating political ethics". In terms of the scope of excerpts, "Group Books" can be described as "collecting group books, cutting and cutting and putting them away". According to statistics, "Qunshu Zhijiao" is the result of Wei Zheng and others selecting more than 14,000 and 89,000 ancient books, and finally determined that 66 classics are excerpted and compiled from the "Qunshu Zhijiao". In terms of codification principles, the "Qunshu Zhizhi" follows the principle of "taking Confucianism as the guideline and mutual reference between history and history". Taking the four-part method of "subsets of jingshi" divided into "sui shu and jingshu zhizhi" as a reference, the 66 classics collected in the "Qunshu Zhijiao" can be characterized as 12 scriptures, 6 historical books, and 48 sub-books. Among them, the Jingbu has a total of nearly 100,000 words, accounting for nearly 1/5 of the total number of "Qunshu Zhijiao"; at the same time, the sub-departments are also in the forefront of the original excerpts of Confucian classics compared with other classics; in addition, the 6 history books also record the positive and negative experiences of history, corresponding to the proverbs and views of the Jingbu Emperor tian has no relatives, only virtue is auxiliary, love for the people and peace, and good soldiers and glory. In terms of service targets, the "Qunshu Zhizhi" insists on "doing political work and exhorting". Wei Zheng himself had the characteristics of being used through the ages and accomplishing things, and the "Qunshu Zhizhi" was a work of his interpretation of the political concept. Therefore, this book accurately takes the theme of governing the country and the government, and selects representative contents related to self-cultivation, qi family, governance, and peace in the world from 66 classics, and the excerpts of the ideas of various schools are also based on this standard. For example, "Qunshu Zhiyao Shenzi" only retains the "General Body" chapter in "Shenzi", and the works of jurists such as "Qunshu Zhiyao And Corpse" and "Qunshu Zhiyao Cui Yizheng" also only excerpt the political theory of ruling the country with virtue. On the basis of the joint compilation of Wei Zheng and others, an imperial study textbook "Qunshu Zhizhi" (群書治要) that "served the political skills and exhorted the precepts" was published in the fifth year of Zhenguan (631). After receiving this book, Tang Taizong did not release the scroll and made a very high evaluation in the "Reply to Wei Zhengshang 'Qun Shu Zhi Zhi Zhi At the same time, he specially ordered the compilation of more than 10 parts of the "Qunshu Zhizhi" and distributed them to the princes and princes for political reference. Later, this book was re-published after being scattered, republished, and republished, and was re-published as a political treatise for posterity.
Wei Zheng's way of governing the school embodies the characteristics of "establishing oneself with Confucianism," "applying it to the generations," and "standing up to the world," and embodies the practical concerns of a traditional Confucian courtier who worries about the country and the people, and has an enduring utility.
Source: Learning Times
Reviewer: Pan Qiwen
Editor: Min Sun