Comrade | Guevara
Since the ancient eunuch gate is as deep as the sea, how to maintain a high-ranking official Houlu for a long time is actually a very high and profound and mysterious art, which can only be done by people who are well versed in the way of moderation and are rarely confused, and such people are often called "tumblers". There were many "tumblers" in ancient Chinese politics, and as far as the Han Dynasty is concerned, the most important is Hu Guang, who has experienced 6 emperors and 7 worshippers. So, what are Hu Guang's secrets to being an official, so that he can be in the political arena for a long time?
01 Step by step
Hu Guang , a native of Huarong County, Nan County , was born into a family of eunuchs , and his father , Hu Gong , served as a lieutenant , but died in middle age. Hu Guang lost his mother at an early age, lost his life within a few years, and fell into loneliness and poverty at a young age, and his life can be described as extremely difficult. Fortunately, Hu Guang was not knocked down by adversity, and while working hard to earn a living, he studied hard, and was later promoted by his father's former friend, and after becoming an adult, he served as a scattered official under the taishou faxiong of Nan County. However, although Hu Guang was full of talent, he was always difficult to get promoted, and after several years of suffering in sorrow and boredom, he ushered in a turning point in fate.
Portrait of Hu Guang
It turned out that Fa Xiong's son Fa Zhen had studied xiangshu quite a bit, and had a reputation as a confidant at that time. Coincidentally, when Fa Zhen went from his hometown of Yu County to visit his father in Nan County one day, just when the age was at the end of the year, he carefully observed the county officials behind the window, only to find that Hu Guang looked extraordinary and would definitely be able to achieve a great cause in the future. To this end, Fa Zhen strongly recommended Hu Guang to his father, and Fa Xiong, who was convinced of his son's xiangshu, really promoted Hu Guang as filial piety, so that the latter could get the opportunity to participate in the palace examination in Luoyang, the capital.
Although he did not receive the careful guidance of the famous Confucians, Hu Guang, who was extremely perceptive, had a very deep understanding of the Confucian classics, so he won the first place in the examination presided over by Emperor Han Andi himself, which was equivalent to winning the title of the later generation. Hu Guang's talents were greatly appreciated by Emperor An of Han, and he was appointed Shang Shulang only 1 month after the end of the temple examination. Due to his outstanding performance, Hu Guang was promoted five times in a row, and by the time Emperor An of Han died, he had been promoted to Shangshu Servant (Note: After Emperor Han'an's death, Liu Yi, the Marquis of Beixiang, briefly became emperor and was succeeded by Emperor Shun of Han after his death).
Portrait of Emperor Shun of Han
Since the Rise of the Han Dynasty, the power of the three dukes (Taiwei, Situ, and Sikong), who also played the role of prime minister, has been suspended, and Shang Shutai has taken charge of the military state and become the de facto central organ, while its chief Shang Shuling has become the de facto prime minister. As the deputy governor of Shang Shutai, Hu Guang was in charge of cardinal affairs for 10 years, during which time he participated in the han shun emperor's appointment of Liang Fei as empress and the revision of the inspection system, which was deeply valued by the emperor. After stepping down from Shang Shutai, Hu Guang successively held the posts of Jiyin Taishou, Runan Taishou, and Dasi Nong.
02 Five Qing Seven Phases
After the death of Emperor Shun of Han, Emperor Chong, Emperor Qian, and Emperor Huan ascended the throne one after another, but because they were very young, the government was controlled by the general Liang Ji. As the most powerful figure in the empire, Liang Ji was not only ugly and ruthless, unlearned and unskilled, but also tyrannical and jealous of his ability, and during his 20 years of reign, he deceived the Son of Heaven and suppressed his subjects, and all those who did not agree with himself would be eliminated, which can be described as a lot of evil deeds. For Liang Ji's arbitrariness, the 9-year-old Emperor of Han was poisoned to death because he was called "General of the Imperial Guard" in the court, which was really outrageous.
Liang Ji, a powerful minister
Even the emperor had no sense of security, and the other public secretaries and officials except the Liang family were in danger of "Shunchang's rebellion", either choosing to cooperate with Liang Ji or pretending to be deaf and dumb, otherwise there would be no good fruit to eat. For Hu Guang, his strategy was to maintain a seamless cooperative relationship with Liang Ji, so as not to give the impression that he was a lackey of power. For Hu Guang's approach, Liang Ji did not feel jealous, but in the 20 years of his reign, he successively promoted him to be 1 Situ, 3 Taiwei and 1 Sikong.
However, even if Hu Guang is smooth and sophisticated, it is inevitable that there will be times when he will memorize the words. In the second year of YanXi (159), Emperor Huan of Han, who was already dissatisfied with his powerful subjects, made a desperate bet, and with the help of Zhongchang Shi Shan Chao, Gu Yan, Tang Heng, Zuo Yi, Xu Huang, and others, he sent troops to surround Liang Ji's mansion and force him to commit suicide, thus eliminating the greatest harm to the empire. After Liang Ji committed suicide, his henchmen were purged, and Hu Guang was deposed from his post and stripped of his title because he was a vassal of power and did not defend the imperial palace, which was the only time in his eunuch career that he was kicked out of the official field.
Portrait of Emperor Huan of Han
However, Hu Guang's protégés were all over the court, and in addition to his cultivation and understanding of things, he was soon forgiven by Emperor Huan of Han, and was appointed as taizhong dafu and taichang, and was promoted to situ again in the ninth year of Yanxi (166). In the first year of Jianning (168), Taifu Chen Fan was killed due to a failed plot against eunuchs, and Hu Guang took over as Taifu and General Lu Shangshushi (equivalent to Chancellor). At this time, although Hu Guang was old, he still had more than enough effort, and was familiar with the rules and regulations of the former dynasty and the rules of the contemporary imperial court, so there was a proverb in Luoyang that said: "Everything is ignored, and there is Hu Gong in the middle of the world." ”
03 Times the Great Sorrow
On the eighth day of March in the first year of Xiping (172), the elderly and frail Hu Guang died of illness at the age of 82. Upon learning of Hu Guang's death, Emperor Hanling was overwhelmed with grief and ordered The Five Senses Zhonglang to hold the Book of Festivals and give him the title of Taifu and Marquis of Anle Township with the courtesy name of Wen Gong and his descendant 1 as Langzhong. At the same time, emperor Ling of Han also gave Hu Guangdongyuan zi nan coffin, sent a gurudwara to supervise the funeral, and built a cemetery for him at the original tomb (the mausoleum of Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu). Since the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, no one has surpassed Hu Guang in terms of the special gifts he enjoyed after death.
The mausoleum of emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty - the original mausoleum
Two years later, the Han Ling Emperor, because he was grateful for Hu Guang's merits and kindness during his lifetime, ordered the painter to paint a portrait of the latter and hang it in the palace, and to pay homage to and pay tribute to him from time to time. At the same time as Hu Guang, there was also Huang Qiong, a famous minister who had served as a lieutenant. In addition to hanging the portraits of Hu Guang and Huang Qiong in the palace, the Han Ling Emperor also ordered Cai Yong to write a "Ode to Hu Guang Huang Qiong", which was also hung in the palace, which showed the importance of the two in the emperor's mind.
The emperor respected Hu Guang so much that the courtiers would naturally follow suit. According to the Zhengshi records, Chen Fan, Li Xian, and others who had held the position of Three Dukes had previously been Subordinates of Hu Guang, so whenever the old superior Shangchao was in the Dynasty, they would say that they were sick and worked at home to show that they did not dare to play with Hu Guang in the same temple ("with the former officials Chen Fan and Li Xian and the Three Divisions.") Every dynasty will be known as the disease and avoid the wide, and the people will be honored. See Book of the Later Han Dynasty, vol. 44). Although this kind of behavior has a strong showmanship, it was praised by the world at that time.
Stills of eunuchs of the Han Dynasty
However, although Hu Guang had served as the 6th emperor and held the position of Zaifu for more than 30 years, he was meticulous and irresponsible every day, never angered the emperor or his courtiers, and only took the preservation of glory and wealth as his priority, and did not rest assured of the safety of the empire and the people. Not only that, in order to keep the position of Lu, Hu Guang also desperately tried to seduce the eunuchs and deposed Zuo Feng Yitengfu, who had distinguished himself but was deeply hated by the eunuchs. Because of this, Hu Guangbei was despised by the people of the world, and the wind evaluation was very bad ("Often inferior to the words of courtesy to flatter the times, there is no loyal and upright wind, the world is thin."). See Zizhi Tongjian, Vol. 57).
epilogue
Although Hu Guang's historical image was very poor, his "secret" of official fortune and prosperity was regarded as the standard by his latecomers, and in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, it was finally summed up in six words by Cao Zhenyong, the number one "tumbler" in the political arena, in an extremely incisive way - "prostrate more and talk less" (the source is found in the notebook history book "The Second Knowledge of The Temple" written by the famous scholar Zhu Kejing in the late Qing Dynasty). From this point of view, Hu Guang is undoubtedly the "grandfather" of the philistine official group in later generations, and his spirit is so deep that even during the years of the Republic of China, it has not been eliminated.
bibliography
Fan Ye (Liu Song): Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Zhonghua Bookstore, 2000.
Sima Guang (Northern Song Dynasty): Zizhi Tongjian, Zhonghua Bookstore, 2015.