Text | Xiaofeng talks about history
Edit | Xiaofeng talks about history
In a feudal dynasty, a single decree was enough to change the fate of a person or even a family.
After all, the decree represents the order of the supreme ruler, and no one in the world dares to disobey it.
But since it is enough to "turn things around", then why no one secretly fabricates it to change his life destiny, after all, Emperor Shangao is far from being fake, and no one can debunk it.
But is it really that simple? I can only say that you still underestimate the wisdom of our ancestors!
1. The Evolution of the Divine Decree
As the supreme ruler of feudal society, the emperor's orders were honored as "holy decrees".
But did you know that the title hasn't always existed?
As a feudal monarch in the pre-Qin period, the emperor's directives were often referred to as "orders" or "orders". These edicts were inherently coercive and required unconditional obedience from their subjects.
After Qin Shi Huang unified China in 221 BC, he abolished the original title and called the order "making books" and "edicts". Among them, "making books" is used to promulgate systems and policies, while "edicts" are used to issue announcements and orders to the people of the world.
In the Han Dynasty, the emperor still followed the Qin system, so that the use of edicts remained basically unchanged, and eventually this tradition continued into the Sui and Tang dynasties.
However, the continuation was not static, especially during the Tang Dynasty, with the implementation of the system of three provinces and six ministries, which made the issuance of edicts more complicated.
During this period, the drafting of edicts was usually carried out by the Ministry of Zhongshu, and then reviewed and stamped by the Emperor after being reviewed by the Emperor and stamped by the Ministry of Menxia.
During the Song dynasty, the official title "shengzhi" was used to refer to the emperor's orders, and eventually the use of this title was gradually confirmed in the Yuan dynasty.
At that time, most of the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty were Mongol rulers, and they often used Mongolian to write their decrees to solve the language problem, so that the will could be expressed directly without translation.
The founders of the Yuan Dynasty and their successors, such as Kublai Khan, also read the holy decree on important occasions such as the accession to the throne to maintain the majesty of imperial power.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the holy decree became an important symbol of verifying imperial power. The production of the decree became more and more luxurious, and the style also had strict hierarchical differences.
The jade shaft handle represents the first-rank official, the shaft handle made of rhinoceros horn is the second grade, the gold-plated shaft is the third grade, and the black horn shaft is used for the fifth rank and below.
In addition to the changes in appearance, the content of the decree has also changed. They are divided into different types, such as "decree", "edict", "system", "edict", and "edict".
Among them, "Zhi" represents the various orders and instructions issued by the emperor, empress dowager or empress to his subjects, while "Zhao" is an important order officially issued by the emperor.
As for the "system", it is a specific form of edict, and its main role is to promulgate various national rules and regulations.
The "edict" is used to announce the emperor's conferral of official titles, and the "edict" is flexible and can be conveyed either orally or in writing.
It can be said that the evolution of the Divine Decree witnessed the evolution of the ancient feudal autocratic society on the mainland.
It not only represents the majesty and power of the imperial power, but also becomes a tool for the implementation of monarchical feudal absolutism. Its appearance represents the incarnation of the Son of Heaven into the will of the state, and all the people obey their orders.
It not only embodies the essence of feudal autocratic society, but also demonstrates the supremacy of the monarch. So the question is, why is the decree so important that no one forges it?
It is said that the "paper" that can be added to the official and promoted to the knighthood, and the "paper" that changes its life against the sky, why does no one fight its idea?
2. "Divine Decree Manufacturing"
If you want to "forge" the decree, you might as well look at how complicated the whole process is. It is important to know that the material used for the Divine Decree is not just ordinary fabric, but a special material.
This material is rich in colors and can be combined with different colors to form a pattern on the holy decree, so as to show the rank of the official.
The decrees of officials above the fifth rank were made of three-colored, five-colored, or even seven-colored silk, while officials below the fifth rank were mainly made of pure white silk.
Moreover, the length of the decree is by no means easy to carry, in short, if you really want to forge the decree, you have to commit a crime.
In practice, the length of the decree can be as long as four or five meters. In order to ensure that the decree was respectable, the production process also required the cooperation of four or five court personnel.
This not only shows the supreme majesty of imperial power, but also increases the difficulty of forgery. Therefore, the picture you see in the movie of a person holding a holy decree is an unreliable existence.
Moreover, the pattern and handwriting of the holy decree imply great mysteries, which are mainly based on auspicious cloud patterns, and the first word must also be written on the position of the first auspicious cloud in the upper right corner.
This is actually a clever "secret mark", and the word for this position can be "Feng". It may also vary from dynasty to dynasty, but the same is the presence for encryption.
At the same time, the skill of making the dragon pattern and auspicious clouds on the holy decree is complicated, which makes it difficult for non-professionals to walk, and also eliminates any possibility of forging the holy decree.
Even the production needs to go through layers of inspection and signatures by many people, and once a problem is found in the production, the relevant personnel will be seriously held accountable, and the entire family may even be implicated.
With their lives at stake, everyone involved in the production of the decree maintained the utmost care to ensure that every step of the process was perfect
But it is precisely the complexity of the process of making the decree that makes it highly secure.
The materials required, the magnificent length, the richness of the motifs, and the practicality of the process without forgery all made the Decree a symbol of imperial power that no one dared to forge.
But while no one can forge a decree, there are those who are bold enough to falsely proclaim it.
3. The "big man" who falsely preached the holy decree
Zhao Gao of the Qin Dynasty can be regarded as the first person to fake the Holy Decree, he himself was originally the son of Zhao, but he became a eunuch because of the rule of Qin Shi Huang.
After the death of the First Emperor, Zhao Gao tampered with the decree and changed the edict originally designated Fusu as the successor to Hu Hai, thus successfully overthrowing the Qin Dynasty.
In the end, his actions indirectly led to the demise of the Qin Dynasty and made him a sinner for the ages.
But compared with Zhao Gao, Chen Tang's false decree can be regarded as a real "merit in the future".
As a general of the Han Dynasty, Chen Tang discovered the Xiongnu's rampant domineering in the Western Regions when he went to the Western Regions. Under these circumstances, he was a far-sighted believer that these horses, if left unchecked, would eventually become a major problem for the Han Dynasty.
Under these circumstances, he decided to pretend to proclaim the holy decree and mobilize his army to attack the Xiongnu. Although Chen Tang's actions violated the law, his feat undoubtedly earned honor for the Han Dynasty.
Chen Ju of the Ming Dynasty was the third person to falsely preach the holy decree, but his holy decree was not to seek wealth but to save lives.
At that time, after the rebels of the Ming Dynasty were put down, the emperor ordered all the rebels and their families to be beheaded. However, Chen Ju believed that the families of these rebels were innocent, and on the basis of kindness, he privately tampered with the holy decree, only executed the first evil, and saved the lives of more than 1,000 people.
Chen Ju's high-spirited behavior also made him one of the most respected figures in the history of the Ming Dynasty.
Even after his death, his funeral was presided over by the emperor himself.
It can be said that a eunuch can do this far, not what is his personality charm?
And the last person who pretended to pass the holy decree was also a person from the Ming Dynasty - the general Yuan Chonghuan. After seeing Mao Wenlong's greed for money and arrogant behavior, the other party was deeply dissatisfied, so he made a bold decision, and the difficulty was to remove it by false decree.
However, although the other party succeeded in beheading Mao Wenlong with a false holy decree, it also angered Emperor Chongzhen. Although the emperor endured this breath because he needed the other party to fight, only a year later, Emperor Chongzhen still executed Yuan Chonghuan Lingchi because of the counterplot of others.
I have to say that although General Yuan's actions were out of justice, his ending was indeed full of tragedy.
The author thinks
In fact, in the long course of history, there have been many people like them who have the audacity to falsely propagate the holy decree. Whether it was out of selfishness or out of righteousness, their choices changed the direction of historical development at that time.
But as we said, there are those who falsely preach the holy decree, and it is true that no one can do it if the falsification of the holy decree is true. Not even to the ancients, the complexity of the decree is difficult to achieve even with modern craftsmanship.