Xihan Jiayi's "Public Security Policy"

"Like the body to make the arm, like the arm to make the finger", describe the command smoothly, the government order smooth, the organization is tight, from top to bottom in the same pace, there is no constraint in the middle. This code was originally from Jia Yi's "Public Security Policy". Jia Yi was a famous thinker in the Western Han Dynasty, and when he was serving as the Prince of Liang,during his distant tenure as The Prince of Liang, he was mindful of the government of the dynasty, thinking of danger in times of peace, and many times he went to Chen to play political affairs, and these omissions were concentrated with the theme of "how to rule for a long time", which formed the first Xiongwen of the Western Han Dynasty, "Public Security Policy", also known as "Chen Zhengshi Shu".

(i)

Jia Yi's era is full of dangers, and "Public Security Policy" fully demonstrates the author's deep sense of distress and sincere loyalty. At the beginning of the article, it is deafening and deafening: "The subject steals only the situation, and can be one who weeps bitterly, two who can run a runny nose, and six who can be a long-term rester." In response to the argument that "all the speakers know that the world has been safe and governed", the author believes that the situation is urgent and dangerous, and has reached the point of "sleeping under the accumulated salary of the fire house". "If we do not step up our governance, we will immediately cause great chaos in the world.

The greatest hidden danger of chaos lies in the princes. The contradiction between the Son of Heaven and the princes has existed since the Zhou Dynasty. The abolition of feudalism in Qin and the establishment of counties and counties is undoubtedly a historical progress. However, after the Han Dynasty, due to the strong demands of the clan relatives and heroes to cut off the land and honor and the public opinion inducement of reprimanding the abolition of the feudal title as a "greedy act", the early Han Dynasty implemented a dual-track system of "parallel counties and states"—that is, at the local level, there were both counties under the central jurisdiction and feudal states controlled by the princes. The area that the imperial court could directly control with the county system was probably only the territory of the Qin state in the late Warring States period, and the land of the original Six Kingdoms was sealed as a princely state. The princes and kings possessed the people of the vast land, held strong weapons, and reaped the wealth of a land. Its state system is similar to that of the Jingshi, with a perfect bureaucratic system, except for the feudal state Taifu and the chancellor who are appointed by the central government, other officials are appointed by the princes. The princes' thrones have been hereditary from generation to generation, and the courtiers only recognize their masters, but do not know the imperial court, forming a personal attachment to the princes. The central government's control over the princely states was extremely limited, and the princes actively installed cronies in the court, bribed ministers, spied on the central government, and spied on intelligence. In the long run, once the princes decided to raise troops to disobey, there would soon be turmoil and even great division.

From the time of Han Gaozu, the rebellions of the princes have been one after another. By the time of Emperor Wen of Han, the contradictions between the princes and the central government had become more and more acute, such as Liu Chang, the king of Huainan, who was "arrogant, did not use Han law, went in and out of the police, called the system, and made his own decree, and was intended to be the son of heaven." The arrogance and arrogance of the princes undoubtedly contained ambitions to covet the throne. Jia Yi believes that at present, most of the princes and kings are still in their infancy, and they are still eager to move, and once the feathers are full, there will definitely be a situation of division in the world, and the strong will rebel first, while the weak will rebel later; those who are neglected will be in danger, and those who are close will be chaotic.

(ii)

Jia Yi was deeply worried, believing that the upside-down relationship between the weak and the strong was a serious problem for Han's confidants, which was like a person suffering from a disease of limb puffiness: the calves were thicker than the waist, and the fingers were swollen like thighs. If you do not make a decision and treat it immediately, I am afraid that you will die soon. It is necessary to establish the absolute superiority of the central government over the localities in order to ensure absolute authority, and the princes and princes can not be dissenting and keep to themselves. The specific method he proposed was to subdivide and decompose -- "build up the princes and reduce their strength", and the imperial court divided those large princely states that crossed states and counties and connected dozens of cities into several small countries and distributed them to the descendants of the princes. In this way, the descendants of the clan are "not worried about the king", and the small country that is divided is weak and weak. The princes "have little strength and are easy to make righteousness, and if the country is small, it is necessary to die (without) evil heart", and finally realize "the heart of no double (betrayal) under the river, and the will to be condemned from above". Jia Yi advocated the establishment of a strict political order, in which the central authorities must have supreme and absolute authority over the localities, and the localities must completely obey the orders of the central authorities. "Let the situation in the sea be like the arm of the body, the arm of the arm, and the restraint of the subordinate", so as to maintain the unity and stability of the country.

Jia Yi's thinking was summarized by the later Dong Zhongshu as "strong cadres and weak branches, big roots and small ends", which had a major impact on solving the problem of the power of the princes in the early Western Han Dynasty. Four years after Jia Yi's death, Emperor Wen of Han tried his strategy, dividing the State of Qi into six and the State of Huainan into three, effectively alleviating the threat of the Qiang domain to the central government. After that, the Han Jing Emperor implemented the "strategy of cutting the domain" and the Han Emperor Wudi implemented the "Tui En Order", all of which were continued practices of inheriting this idea. The theory of "strong cadres and weak branches" actually solves the problem of power distribution. Whether power belongs to the central government or the localities is related to whether the country is unified or divided, whether the world is peaceful or turbulent, and whether the people live and work in peace and contentment or precariously. Jia Yi's position is clearly biased toward the former, and he advocates that all power be vested in the central authorities.

In the feudal period, the relationship between the king and the subject, the central government and the localities, the central dynasty and the border tribes, in the final analysis, was the power relationship between the king and the subject. "Strong cadres and weak branches" means to strengthen the power of "stems" and weaken or decompose the power of "branches", so as to achieve the concentration and unification of power. Such a theory is in line with China's actual needs: from the perspective of geographical form, China is vast, the terrain is complex, and there are many ethnic groups. Three miles of different sounds, five miles of different customs. If we do not rely on the powerful management of the central power, it is extremely easy to produce separatist forces that rely on the dangers of the mountains and rivers and sit on the ground as the king, and drag society into an endless scuffle; from the perspective of natural form, China's land is vast and rich, and at the same time there are many disasters and difficulties, and it is precisely because of the supreme authority of the central authority that it is possible to ensure the unconditional obedience of all localities to the order of "one side has difficulties, and the eight parties support" Order. Non-central authorities cannot organize a strong army, and non-powerful armies cannot defend the country. Later history also silently proved this point: "Strong branches and weak branches" are stable and peaceful; "strong branches and weak branches" are turbulent in the world. In the case of the downward shift of power, the attachment of the fierce generals to local power replaced the loyalty to the state power, and the people's hearts were uneven and each was its own master, thus pushing the society into great division, great turmoil, and great destruction. The Tang Dynasty's feudal power increased, thus breaking out the Anshi Rebellion, dragging the civilization of a heyday into the abyss, and the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline. Facts have proved that if the tail is too large, it will raise tigers, and if the side branches are too strong, the main branches will not grow and must be pruned as soon as possible.

(iii)

In addition to proposing the idea of weakening the princes, the "Public Security Policy" also carefully analyzed the social problems and solutions of the time. Jia Yi pointed out that the reason why the country seems to be safe and unstable, in addition to the threat of local princes, the confusion of social order is also a major chronic disease. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, huang laozhi ruled the world, ruling by doing nothing, and losing it to the wide. This free and loose management model can stimulate rapid economic growth in the short term, but the consequence of growth is to sacrifice social order and moral ethos. In the absence of government intervention, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The rich have accumulated slaves and wives, skillfully plundered, and gradually formed a powerful force that dominates one side, extravagantly, running rampant in the townships, and even daring to harbor important criminals, forming a powerful force that is almost out of the control of the government, in an attempt to compete with the government. The "nouveau riche" produced by this "inaction" politics threatens economic stability with their powerful financial resources and poses a hidden danger that challenges the authority of the state. The disparity between the rich and the poor will naturally stimulate strong social contradictions and confrontations, and this kind of resentment and dissatisfaction, if it cannot be effectively resolved, is easy to endanger the hard-won social stability. One man cultivates it, and ten people gather to eat it, and if he desires the world to perish (without) hunger, he cannot get it. Hunger and cold cut to the skin of the people, and they want to die (nothing) as adultery and evil, and they cannot get it. "The disparity between the rich and the poor, not suffering from widowhood but suffering from inequality, and hoping that those who are poor do not hate society under the strong contrast between rich and poor, how can this be possible?"

The decline of the world is the second ill brought about by the politics of "inaction". The world is getting worse and worse, even to the point of killing his father and brother for the sake of profit. In view of such a bad atmosphere, those in power must vigorously rectify the "promising" politics. Changing the customs of the world with ritual law, "the ceremonial one is forbidden before the general, and the legal person is forbidden after the already", relying on the law to ensure the lower limit of morality, relying on indoctrination to enhance the moral realm. "Fixing the scripture system", advocating etiquette and righteousness, condensing the people's hearts and minds with the core concept of the country, creating a social consensus, and shaping the common discourse of communication with common values. In this way, the people have faith and each has its own right, "the group of ministers believe but do not doubt", the wind is clean, and the haiyan river is clear.

In the article "Public Security Policy", the first part talks about how to "govern" the princes, the latter part talks about how to "stabilize" the society, in short, it talks about how to make the country and the country long-term peace and stability. However, "those who are safe are not safe for a day, and those who are in danger are not in danger for a day, all of which are gradually accumulated and must not be unaware." It is necessary not only to think of danger in times of peace and guard against microaggressions, but also to establish rules and regulations and make achievements for a long time. The "Public Security Policy" is one of the most important political treatises in Chinese history, especially its resolute maintenance of the authority of the central government and the idea of opposing the division of the princes, which has played an important role in consolidating the social order and even extending the state of Later Generations.