The Wuzhou period was an important period in Chinese history, during which not only many important political events appeared, but also a special group of political figures, namely the Ku Gong group. Cool officials refer to bureaucrats who are known for their cruelty and tyranny, who use extreme means to achieve political goals, often unscrupulously, even at the expense of a large number of people's lives and rights. During the Wu Zhou period, the rise and activity of the Ku officials had a profound impact on the politics, society and culture of the time.
A group of cool officials during the Wu and Zhou dynasties
The Wu Zhou period was a special period of the Tang Dynasty, and Wu Zetian, as a female emperor of the Tang Dynasty, seized the power of the country and implemented a series of reforms and innovations. Her reforms in the "First Year of Zhengsheng" (695) broke the old political pattern and created the conditions for the rise of the cool officials. Wu Zetian also vigorously selected talents, eclectically, especially reusing those cool officials with talent and means, who were appreciated and trusted by Wu Zetian and became important figures in the political arena at that time.
The rise of the group of cool officials is closely related to Wu Zetian's policy of governing the world. As a female emperor, Wu Zetian knew the importance of power, and she used extreme means to achieve her political goals in order to consolidate her position. She uses cool officials to gather intelligence, fight dissidents, and deter enemies in order to maintain political stability. Through cruel means, these ruthless officials eliminated political dissidents and consolidated Wu Zetian's rule, forming a political tacit understanding.
The formation of the cool official group is also related to the social environment at that time. During the Tang Dynasty, the society prospered, the population grew, and the economy continued to develop, but there were also various social contradictions, such as class contradictions and ethnic contradictions. The cool officials took advantage of these contradictions to expand their power and improve their political status. In the process of attacking the enemy and collecting intelligence, they unscrupulously use extreme means to achieve their goals. Its representative figures are:
Lai Junchen: He was a famous cool official during the Wuzhou Dynasty, and served as prime minister and attendant. He used to frame and murder to achieve political goals. He framed a large number of dissidents, including Di Renjie, a famous minister of the Tang Dynasty.
Cui Xiang: He was an official during the Wuzhou Dynasty, and held positions such as supervising imperial history and serving imperial history. He used brutal methods to deal with political cases, including roasting people to death and stabbing words.
Zhou Xing: He was a cool official during the Wuzhou Dynasty, and he once held the positions of Imperial Attendant and Imperial History Daifu. He used to use false accusations and murders to deal with political cases, and once framed a large number of dissidents.
Suo Yuanli: He was a cool official during the Wuzhou Dynasty, and once held positions such as Imperial Attendant and Imperial History Daifu. He used brutal methods to handle political cases, including chopping people into bolognese.
The main duties and crimes of the ruthless group during the Wu and Zhou Dynasties
Interrogation: The Ku group was mainly responsible for interrogating and interrogating prisoners, using extreme means to obtain confessions in order to consolidate Wu Zetian's rule.
Reconnaissance: The Cool Officials are responsible for detecting the activities of political dissidents and opponents, gathering intelligence and evidence on them in order to crack down on and persecute them.
Executions: Cool officials are responsible for carrying out the death penalty and other extreme punishments to deter political dissidents and opposition.
Propaganda: Cool officials used propaganda to assert Wu Zetian's authority and strengthen her rule while cracking down on political dissidents and opposition.
Repression: The Ku Officials were responsible for suppressing revolts and uprisings by political dissidents and opponents, and maintained Wu Zetian's rule through violent means.
There are two main aspects to the crimes of the cool officials, one is the abuse of power, and the other is cruel methods. They are appointed to deal with political enemies and other criminals, but they do not care about the truth of the case, but only deal with things as they wish. They often use torture to force prisoners to submit in order to achieve their ends. Cool officials also often manipulated others politically, causing great harm to others, and even some people were innocently executed.
In short, the crimes of the cool officials are extremely serious, and their abuse of power and cruel methods in politics have brought great instability and harm to society. Their crimes have left an extremely ugly name in Chinese history and have become a lesson in Chinese history.
The collapse of the cool herd
Although the rise and activity of the Ku officials in the Wuzhou period had a positive impact on the political stability and development of the time, their extreme methods also aroused people's disgust and dissatisfaction. At the same time, the behavior of the cool officials also violated the moral and legal norms of the time, which led to social unrest and unrest. Therefore, the rise of the cool officials was not long-lasting, and their demise was inevitable.
During Wu Zetian's reign, although he reused cool officials, their actions also caused some people's dissatisfaction and opposition. In Wu Zetian's later years, there was already some political turmoil and unrest under her rule, and at this time, the opponents who had been attacked by the ruling officials began to rally and launch a campaign against Wu Zetian. Among these opponents, some were ordinary people who had been suppressed by the Ku officials, and they were very disgusted with the cruelty and tyranny of the Ku officials, so they united against Wu Zetian's rule.
In addition, the collapse of the cool group of officials was also related to the moral and legal norms of the society at that time. During the Tang Dynasty, society advocated morality, and people were very disgusted by the tyrannical behavior of cool officials, so the behavior of cool officials also violated the moral code of the time. At the same time, the laws of the Tang Dynasty were also very strict, and the actions of the cool officials also violated the legal norms of the time, so they were eventually brought to justice and duly punished.
The rise and influence of the cool officials in the Wu Zetian period caused disgust and criticism from later generations. As Wu Zetian's rule gradually consolidated, she also realized the negative effects of the policies of the Ku officials, so she began to gradually weaken the influence and power of the Ku officials.
In 705, Wu Zetian died and her successor, Li Xian, took office. After Li Xian's restoration, he began to gradually weaken the influence and power of the Ku officials and bring them to justice. For example, Lai Junchen was sentenced to death after being charged with treason, and Cui Xiang and Zhou Xing, among others, were also sentenced.
In addition, Li Xian took a series of measures to limit the abuse of the policy of cool officials, such as the promulgation of the Anti-Torture Order and the Prohibition of False Accusations Order, which prohibit officials from abusing punishment and falsely accusing and framing. Although these measures limited the bad influence of the cool officials to a certain extent, they also made Tang politics more corrupt and society more unstable.
The influence of the cool group
The rise and activity of the Ku Gong group during the Wuzhou period had a profound impact on the politics, society and culture of the time. First of all, the extreme measures of the cool officials not only damaged political stability, but also seriously damaged people's lives and property safety, and played a negative role in the social development of the time. Secondly, the activity of the cool officials group injected a strong force into the political culture at that time and promoted the development of political culture. Finally, the rise of the cool official group also marked the transformation of the political culture of the Tang Dynasty from loose and liberal to strict and conservative, which had a far-reaching impact on the political and cultural development of the Tang Dynasty.
But it also has a series of bad effects
Abuse of criminal law: In order to pursue policies, cool officials do not hesitate to violate the criminal law, abuse the criminal law, and use intimidation and blackmail to achieve their political goals.
Arbitrary killing: Cool officials often hunt and kill innocent people arbitrarily, and even roast people to death, stab words, chop into meat sauce and other cruel methods, causing great harm and trauma to society.
Political persecution: Cool officials deliberately persecuted some people who opposed their political dissidents by means of framing and assassination, resulting in a large number of people being persecuted, linked, and even executed, seriously affecting social stability and development.
Implications for modern society
Although the activities of the Ku officials group during the Wuzhou period took place more than a thousand years ago, their behavior and methods are similar to the behavior of some politicians and officials in modern society. Therefore, the historical experience of the cool officials still has important enlightenment significance for modern society.
The rise and activity of the cool group was due to the political environment and social contradictions at that time. There are similar political environments and social contradictions in modern society, so politicians and officials should focus on people's livelihood and focus on solving the main problems of society.
Although the activities of the cool officials were supported by some people at the time, their behavior also caused many people to resent and discontent. Politicians and officials should respect the will and rights of the people and avoid excessive use of political means, so as not to cause social instability and dissatisfaction.
The demise of the cool officials was inevitable because their actions violated the moral and legal norms of the time. Politicians and officials in modern society should also abide by moral and legal norms, and must not abuse their power and infringe on citizens' rights and interests, so as not to be sanctioned by law and morally condemned.
The evaluation of the cool officials of this period in modern society is also divided into two sides, and they are considered to be the teachers of justice: the group of cool officials was used to attack political dissidents and opponents during the Wu Zetian period, and they used extreme means to achieve political goals, and were considered to be the masters of maintaining rule and justice.
Criticism of the abuse of the policy of cool officials: Some people believe that the abuse of the policy of cool officials seriously violates human rights and dignity, causes a large number of innocent deaths and injuries, and is irresponsible and destructive to society.
See this as a lesson of history: the rise and fall of the cool officials was an important manifestation of political corruption and social unrest in the Tang Dynasty. The abuse and extreme methods of the policy of cool officials have caused great damage and harm to society, and have become a lesson of history.
Think of it as Wu Zetian's ploy: Some believe that the emergence and abuse of the cool officials group is a means Wu Zetian used to consolidate his position and strengthen his control over politics. These cool officials are seen as her tools and spokespersons, and through them she fights political dissidents and opposition.