The Tang Dynasty allowed his courtiers to refute the emperor to the Tang Dynasty, and the system of unifying counties and counties experienced many setbacks after more than 800 years of development, absorbing the political tradition of the Wei and Jin clans and the emperor's co-rule.

The Tang Dynasty allowed courtiers to refute the emperor

In the Tang Dynasty, after more than 800 years of development, the unified county system experienced many setbacks, absorbed the political tradition of co-rule between the Wei and Jin clans and the emperor, and finally ushered in a benign institutional achievement: the system of sealing and refutation. The so-called "rebuttal system" is the emperor's instructions, which must be reviewed by the government departments to "give things", and give things that they think are no problems before they can be issued. If the emperor's idea is considered unreasonable, it is not given a signature. The New Book of Tang and the Hundred Officials' Chronicles says: "Those who are inconvenient to edict, tu and play back, called 'tu gui'." "There is a problem with the emperor's holy will, so simply modify it directly in the matter, return it to the emperor, and let the emperor reconsider." This is a great historical progress. We know that in the past, the emperor's will had to be carried out, whether the courtiers understood it or not. But the Tang Dynasty was different, and the emperor's ideas had to be reviewed by the ministers, so that the probability of the emperor making mistakes was greatly reduced.

This is a major revision of the "Qin system" and completely breaks through the political principles of the legalists. We know that the only principle of the Dharma in the relationship between kings and subjects is "the monarch is the subject", which holds that "the monarch must be above all criticism". The "Pipe" says: "The common way of kings and subjects is chaotic, and the exclusive teaching is lost." However, the theory of the refutation system is "co-rule between kings and subjects", everyone will make mistakes, and only by pooling wisdom can policies be reasonable, so ministers cannot obey the emperor in everything, and must dare to raise objections when necessary. Emperor Taizong of Tang encouraged his ministers to oppose him. He said, "Everyone's opinions are different or different", and everyone can maintain their own different views, "do not be the same from top to bottom", and do not have to unify their thinking. Therefore, he demanded that the officials must scrupulously perform their duties, and in the major policies of the relevant countries, they must help the emperor to check well, and if the emperor's words are inappropriate, they must be rejected.

This system was seriously implemented in the Tang Dynasty. In the third year of Zhenguan (629), Emperor Taizong of Tang expanded his army, and because of the shortage of troops, he planned to lower the age of enlistment and recruit those who had reached the age of eighteen as soldiers. At that time, Wei Zheng was appointed to the matter and resolutely opposed it. Emperor Taizong of Tang was furious and wrote a will to forcibly issue it, with the result that "he did not follow the sign and refused to sign the edict." In the end, Tang Taizong conceded defeat, believing that Wei Zheng was right, and canceled the order. During the reign of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, "Princess Anle aspired to empress dowagership and asked to be made the empress dowager", and in the imperial court, Lu Cang insisted on refuting the book twice until it was approved.

Another progress in the political civilization of the Tang Dynasty was the improvement of the system of advisors. Although the advisors have existed in ancient times, before the Tang Dynasty, not only were the advisors uncertain, but also the establishment was not fixed. In the Tang Dynasty, the system of advisors was perfect, and the number of advisors was large. "Zuo San rode a regular waiter for two people, and was under the three pins." Give four people in the matter, zheng wu pin shang, four counselor doctors, zheng wu pin shang, left fill que two people, from the seven pins. Left to pick up the two people from the eight pins. ”

The rulers of the Tang Dynasty took the initiative to cultivate the spirit of slander. Tang Taizong said: "If a man speaks as a son of heaven, he will have self-respect and fearlessness." He thought that he was self-respecting and humble, and he was often afraid. "Some people say that when you have power, you must be a little willful, a little dashing, and do whatever you want. But I think it is best to always have a reverential heart in order to be a good emperor. Once, Tang Taizong got a very beautiful little falcon and was playing with it in his hand, and Wei Zheng came to discuss things with the emperor. Tang Taizong was afraid that Wei Zheng would criticize him for not doing his job, so he quickly carried this little falcon in his arms. Wei Zheng took a look at how Tang Taizong's clothes bulged underneath, there must be something wrong with it, so he deliberately spoke a little longer, wanting to see what was going on. As a result, when Wei Zheng finally finished speaking and left, Tang Taizong untied his clothes and looked at it, and the little falcon was already suffocating in his arms.

Therefore, the Tang Dynasty counselors were extremely powerful, and there were no taboos, and they could even openly talk about the emperor's sexual life in the middle of the recital. For example, Zhu Jing directly criticized Wu Hou for getting too many "internal pets" in the compromise, saying that you have the desire in this regard, everyone can understand, it is not impossible to find one or two "male pets", but the problem is that it is too much now, lack of moderation. "Lust, foolishness and wisdom are the same, and the wise men can not be excessive, then the former holy motto is also."

Some scholars have calculated that the success rate of tang dynasty counselors entering the court is 68% based on the two "Books of Tang". Moreover, "although the Tang Dynasty refused to give advice from time to time, it was extremely rare for them to die as a result of entering the court." The Tang Dynasty's system of refutation and the system of consultation played a great role in restraining power from being too centralized and the emperor's wrong decision-making, which was an important reason for the emergence of the rule of Zhenguan. The relaxed political environment of the Tang Dynasty was also an important reason for the prosperity of Tang Dynasty literature and art. We know that Bai Juyi, a famous great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote many poems satirizing the emperor, such as the famous "Long Hate Song", which satirized Tang Xuanzong. If this were in other dynasties, it would be easy to be arrested, and as a result, Tang Xianzong read it and felt that the writing was too good, too talented, "see and be pleased, summoned to hanlin bachelor." Not only did he not pursue the crime of satirizing his ancestors, but he also let him enter the palace as an official.