There was once a man named Wang Mang, who was called a usurper by some, a reformer by some, and a time-traveler by others. There are many unsolved mysteries waiting to be unearthed about Wang Mang, the most curious of which is his head, which has been preserved for 272 years. What is the mystery of this skull that has been so cherished by the royal family of the past generations? Once upon a time there was a man named Wang Mang, who was quite capable, but his ambition for power was just as strong. He lived in an era known as "the politics of foreign relatives", and his family had a lot of influence in politics.
However, Wang Mang's father died prematurely, leaving him with a young son to take on the responsibilities of the family. Therefore, Wang Mang has no status since he was a child, and he has to take his mother and widowed sister-in-law to relatives' houses to beg for a living. However, Wang Mang was not dissatisfied with this, on the contrary, he was diligent, studious, modest and courteous, and treated his elders with filial piety. His uncles and uncles were very satisfied with his performance, especially Wang Feng, who regarded Wang Mang as the hope of his family and personally cultivated his abilities. Before Wang Feng died, he also recommended Wang Mang to Wang Zhengjun and let him officially enter the official career.
Wang Mang's career was very smooth, and he was promoted all the way from Huangmenlang to Da Sima. After the death of Emperor Han Ai, he assisted the nine-year-old Emperor Ping of Han with Wang Zhengjun, and in order to expand his power, Wang Mang even let his daughter marry Emperor Ping of Han as empress. Subsequently, he seized power alone, usurped the throne, and established a new dynasty. Wang Mang was 54 years old when he took the throne, but he was not worried about it, but launched a series of reforms.
He abolished the slave trade and made everyone equal; Agrarian reform was carried out, and the landlords' land was nationalized and distributed to the common people for cultivation; He also carried out market reforms, set the price of goods, and provided loans to make it easier for the people to do business. In addition, Wang Mang also invented a measuring tool similar to a modern vernier caliper, which greatly facilitated people's lives. Wang Mang's reforms and inventions, from a modern point of view, are definitely very advanced and innovative. In particular, the abolition of slavery shows his humane thinking.
However, any reforms must be in line with the needs of the times, which are not anachronistic in those times. For example, the abolition of slavery, although it is correct from the present point of view, left the rich without work at that time, and the poor people had no way to live, and their lives were even more difficult. These reforms may have spelled disaster for the people. As time passed, Wang's reforms exposed more and more problems. At the same time, uprisings broke out across the country, and the people were complaining. Eventually, the rebel armies from both the north and the south launched an attack on Chang'an, and Wang Mang was killed.
The rebels hung his head in the downtown area and let it be spurned. However, one day, it was discovered that his head was missing, and some even suspected that it had been taken by an animal. It wasn't until later that the news came out that Liu Xiu had collected Wang Mang's head that the people stopped speculating. Liu Xiu's purpose in doing this was to declare his victory and tell the world that his throne was brought down for Tianxingdao, not usurped. At the same time, he also wanted to warn Wang Mang's descendants to keep this humiliating history in mind at all times, so as to prevent the recurrence of foreign relatives politics.
Although Wang Mang was regarded as a usurper, his reforms and admiration for Confucianism still had an impact on the situation. His story teaches us that any reform must take into account the needs of the times and cannot ignore the stability of society. At the same time, we should also be vigilant against the shortcomings of the politics of foreign relatives and remain vigilant. We can interpret the act of Wang Mang's head being collected from different angles, but in any case, we should pay attention to the lessons of history to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past. Finally, we can't help but ask, is Wang Mang's head collection appropriate? What are your thoughts on this?
Similar incidents have happened before. For example, there was a collection of ashes from a well-known criminal, which caused a lot of controversy. Some see it as a memorial to the offender, while others see it as disrespectful to the victim and society. Therefore, there will be different opinions on Wang Mang's head collection. Netizen A believes that Wang Mang's head collection is a respect and commemoration of history, and it reminds people not to forget that dark history, so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past again.
Netizen B disagreed, believing that hiding Wang Mang's head was a mockery and insult to him, which was meaningless and would only provoke unnecessary disputes. Netizen C is more neutral, believing that collecting Wang Mang's head can be used as part of education to let people understand history and learn from it. Overall, Wang Mang's collection of skulls is a complex issue. It is both historical and controversial. Individual opinions may vary from person to person, but we should respect history as well as different points of view. In any case, this question is worth pondering.
Question: Do you think it is appropriate to collect Wang Mang's head? Why?