The people are precious, the society is second, and the king is light. - "Mencius"
Although the idea of the light of the people and nobles was put forward by Mencius, the person who really implemented it in reality was Tang Taizong Li Shimin. During his reign, the politics were clear and the culture was prosperous, with agriculture as the foundation, rest and recuperation, and even the constant wars with foreigners ended in peace, and the two sides lived in harmony and prospered in the world.
The Tang Dynasty under the rule of Emperor Taizong of Tang was not only known as the rare "rule of Zhenguan" in history, but also laid the foundation for the later Wuzhou legacy and the Kaiyuan era, and became the driving force for the great integration of ethnic groups and economic development in the mainland.
Today, let's talk about Tang Taizong's idea of "the people and nobles are light".
First, water can carry boats and capsize boats
Everyone in the world knows that "Han inherits the Qin system", but they do not know that the Tang Dynasty is also a continuation of the Sui Dynasty from a certain point of view, which not only inherits many policies of the Sui Dynasty in terms of system, but even many ideas are also derived from the chaotic times of the Sui Dynasty, and the same is true of "the people and nobles are light".
For example, Li Yuan launched an uprising to attack Chang'an, the capital of the Sui Dynasty, and the chaotic times for more than a decade left the Central Plains in ruins. After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin launched the Xuanwu Gate Rebellion, took away Li Jiancheng's position as crown prince by force, and then became the de facto ruler of Li Tang.
Whether it was the peasant uprising at the end of the Sui Dynasty or the change of Xuanwu Gate in the early Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of Tang personally witnessed the role of peasants in these wars, and those who won the hearts of the people could win the world, and those who lost the hearts of the people would inevitably go to the world.
Many people say that the world was in chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and the people were not happy, in fact, according to real historical records, the Sui Dynasty accumulated enough grain during the opening of the emperor, and even after Li Yuan established the Tang Dynasty, there was still enough grain in the granary of the Sui Dynasty.
From this point of view, how strong was the Sui Dynasty at its peak, but such a unified and powerful dynasty eventually perished, why did such a problem arise? The reason is that the people have been exploited and bullied, and the world has suffered for a long time.
In the context of the peasant uprising, even though the Sui Dynasty had enough logistical materials, there was no one to work for him, and even the Sui Emperor Yang Guang died in the hands of his trusted ministers and culture.
Taking history as a mirror, we can know that Tang Taizong Li Shimin saw these things in the last years of the Sui Dynasty, and only after his heart experienced did he understand the truth that "the people, nobles and kings are light", and at no time can we ignore the strength of the people.
In the book "Zhenguan Politicians", Li Shimin read a group of books to study the problem of the fall of the Sui Dynasty, and also discussed this issue with many ministers, which shows that he attached great importance to this matter and the people's hearts.
"Tyrants and their people even kill their country; The saying that the king is not always on top of the earth, only by clearly understanding the relationship between himself and the common people can he truly achieve long-term peace and stability in the country.
Li Shimin was afraid that he would end up in the same fate as the Sui Emperor, so he would say the phrase "water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn a boat", only when an emperor puts the interests of the people first in his heart can he get the support of the people and make the world rule and imperial power stable.
The reason for the demise of the Sui Dynasty was actually very simple, politically laboring the people and losing money, military Zhang consuming national strength, and the king himself was unscrupulous, Lü Buwei's "Lü's Spring and Autumn" once proposed that if the king could not solve their problems for the common people, then he was not qualified to be a king.
At all times, the king must understand the primary tenet of governing the world, governing the country is to govern the people's livelihood and govern the people, and "the people are noble and the king is light" gradually became Li Shimin's governing philosophy, which was implemented in the second half of his life.
In general, the lessons of the demise of the Sui Dynasty gave Emperor Taizong of Tang a great wake-up call, and when governing the world, he always looked for a way to develop and stabilize people's livelihood, laying the ideological foundation for the prosperity and glory of Zhenguan's rule.
Second, take Confucian culture as the guiding ideology
During the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui, the method of selecting talents based on examinations was established, and on this basis, Emperor Jiao of Sui created the imperial examination system, and after "deposing hundreds of schools and respecting Confucianism", Confucianism once again became the mainstream of society, and the imperial examination was mainly based on Confucian ideology and culture.
During the Tang Dynasty, although the Sui Dynasty perished, the imperial examination system did not disappear, and Confucian culture also became the guiding ideology of the Tang Dynasty and Emperor Taizong of Tang to govern the world, and even built a new ideological system with Confucianism.
It was precisely under the influence of Confucian culture that Li Shimin proposed the general policy of "ruling the country with culture", which was also very consistent with the social background at that time. The last years of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and Sui Dynasties were all famous troubled times in the history of the mainland, and troubled times would inevitably lead to serious martial arts.
Immediately can fight the world, but immediately can not govern the world, establish Confucian humanism, with benevolence and benevolence as the core, not only can educate the people and make the people simple, but also the improvement of the status of the civil servants can also suppress the military generals, and the military generals will be suppressed and the troubled times will be solved accordingly.
While governing the country, Li Shimin also paid more attention to his own morality, diligently managed the government, and promoted moralization. Against this background, he further put forward the idea that "the king depends on the country, and the country depends on the people", and regarded this idea as the foundation of the king and the country.
The king's governance must be integrated with the lives of the people, only then can the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the country can be stable for a long time, and the feedback of such a result is that the final benefit belongs to the king himself.
Looking back at the history of the Zhenguan period, it is not difficult to find that the classics of Confucian culture were listed as the main learning content of Guozijian and prefecture and county students, which was also an idea that Li Shimin often used, and books such as "Analects" and "Xunzi" with education and etiquette as the core were widely developed.
During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, a series of policies were formulated to benefit the country and the people, lightly reducing the burden of the people, understanding the people's feelings, and implementing the wealth of the people, so that the lives of the people could be greatly improved.
As the saying goes, "the economic base determines the superstructure" and "only with enough food and clothing can we know honor and disgrace", the living standards of the people were greatly improved during the Zhenguan period, so that there was a scene of social harmony where the road was not left behind and the house was not closed at night, and this positive social atmosphere indirectly promoted economic development.
Mencius once said that "born of trouble, died of happiness", Li Shimin did not forget to stabilize the national defense externally while developing the economy internally, and in the face of the invasion of the northern Turks and the threat of the northwestern Tubo and Tuyuhun, he counterattacked with thunderous means, and then gave grace and repair.
Such a very tolerant mentality made the surrounding regimes come to worship Li Shimin, and the Tang Dynasty appeared a prosperous era of all nations coming to the dynasty, and Li Shimin himself was also honored as the "Heavenly Khan", not only the people of the Tang Dynasty returned to their hearts, but even the people abroad were captivated by his character.
3. Be strict with yourself and good at advice
What is a Ming Lord, and what is a Dark Lord? Wei Zheng used the example of Yao Shunyu and the examples of Qin II and Zhao Gao to explain that the end of being deceived by partial listening and partial belief is death, and the king who listens to the wise will gain the support of the common people.
Regarding Wei Zheng's words, Li Shimin considered Wei Yan, he was not only good at listening to the suggestions of his courtiers, but also good at selectively adopting the suggestions of his courtiers, and gradually formed a situation of co-rule and political harmony between monarchs and subjects over time.
Li Shimin's foundation has two points, one is self-denial, and the other is people-oriented, whether it is self-denial or people-oriented, we must be good at listening and good at advice.
In addition, Li Shimin also paid attention to his own cultivation of virtue under the constant reminders of his courtiers, stressed honesty and humility, and truly achieved the degree of the same virtue and brotherhood of the monarch and the courtier, which also made the king and the courtier progress together, thus creating the glory of the rule of zhenguan.
The prosperous era of Zhenguan is not only an economic and political prosperity, but also a prosperous era of culture and ideology, and can be seen everywhere such as the etiquette of the monarchy, respect for the teacher, and the stability of people's livelihood, laying a solid ideological and political foundation for national governance.
Li Shimin's ideology and culture are also reflected in the fact that literature must be beneficial to politics and religion, that is, the purpose of literature cannot be separated from reality itself, and any theory must be based on practice, otherwise it will be flashy and chaotic.
Under the leadership and influence of such ideas, the Tang Dynasty not only could not achieve long-term stability, but also had a crisis like the late Sui Dynasty, considering such a political gain and loss, Li Shimin formulated the relevant policies more inclined to "think of danger in peace".
In general, the Tang Dynasty's idea of "the people and nobles are light" has always been implemented in the Zhenguan Dynasty, although it was summed up on the basis of the demise of the Sui Dynasty, but it had its own development and connotation in the later period.
A wise king must be of the same heart and the ability of the king, and under such circumstances, the courtier will have the courage to give advice and dare to give advice, and if he listens to the clear, and if he listens, he must understand a truth.
While being strict with oneself, we should also pay attention to the development and improvement of people's livelihood, land was the foundation of the common people during the feudal dynasty, and the development of the average field system and lease modulation during the Zhenguan period well solved the problems of land annexation and heavy conscription.
In the year of the catastrophe, the people have the surplus to survive the drought year and stabilize the people's hearts, and under the prosperous era, the people can exchange enough money for enough space to enjoy life and feel the glory and splendor of the prosperous era.
Emperor Taizong of Tang was a majestic emperor who did not forget external threats after managing domestic politics and people's livelihood, and his means of dealing with ethnic groups were different from those of the previous dynasty, and military deterrence was accompanied by gentle means of exchanges, which promoted the development of trade and national culture between the two sides.
"People-oriented, attach importance to people's feelings, and policies benefit the people", these three points have been most reflected in the Zhenguan dynasty, and there are corresponding policies in politics, economy, culture and other aspects, which finally created a prosperous Zhenguan era and promoted the development of society, and "the people are noble and gentle" is the embodiment of Li Shimin's wisdom.
What do you think differently about this?
References: "Old Book of Tang", "Zizhi Tongjian"