When it comes to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's 'deposing the Confucianism of a hundred schools', there has been a great controversy in later generations.
Some people believe that this was a means for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to carry out ideological unification. It is precisely because Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty unified his thoughts that he was able to continue the will of national unification, which was absolutely crucial for the long-term unification of the Central Plains later.
However, some people believe that the deposition of the hundred schools of thought has seriously imprisoned the development of ideas. Since then, Confucianism has been the standard answer. After that, all other ideas became so-called 'heretics'. This result directly led to the complete solidification of later thinking and the complete imprisonment of human nature.
We can only say that there is a truth to both of these views. Because Confucianism does have its drawbacks, it has indeed imprisoned human nature for a long time in the history of later generations. But at the same time, Confucianism is indeed more conducive to the rule of feudal dynasties and the long-term existence of a unified regime.
So if Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had not deposed the Hundred Schools, but insisted on continuing to govern the country with Huang Lao's thought!
If we want to understand this problem, we may start with the social state of the Han Dynasty before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty deposed the Hundred Schools.
Since the founding of the country, the Han Dynasty has always respected the way of Huang Lao, which is the so-called Taoist thought. From the founding of the Han Dynasty to the rule of Wenjing, the central government of the Han Dynasty during this period has always advocated the rule of inaction, and paid attention to a 'don't toss if you can't toss'.
This idea of 'rule by inaction' did benefit the Han Dynasty a lot for a long time. Because the government of the Han Dynasty did not toss around, the people could spend all their energy on production. Therefore, after the founding of the Han Dynasty, in a short period of time, the Han Dynasty gradually recovered its national strength and repaired the wounds caused by the chaotic war at the end of the Qin Dynasty. Then, there was the rule of Wenjing.
Therefore, many people in later generations believed that if the Han Dynasty could continue to implement the idea of 'rule by inaction', then the economy of the Han Dynasty would continue to develop. The people's lives will be richer, productivity and science and technology will continue to improve, and there may even be a direct industrial revolution.
All we can say about this is that this state of affairs is too idealistic.
In fact, before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, the Han Dynasty had already had many problems because of the implementation of the way of Huang Lao. At that time, the problems can be roughly divided into three categories.
The first type of problem is called the excessive liberalization of thought, and the gradual collapse of the social ethical and moral system.
Because in the early decades of the Western Han Dynasty, the Western Han government did nothing for a long time. In terms of the ideological field, it is completely let go. It not only abolished the law of coercion in the Qin Dynasty, but also allowed the various ideas of the hundred schools of thought to develop freely. In addition, there is an open policy examination for well-known scholars from all over the country.
These policies sound pretty good. But after decades of development, the situation has gradually gone off the rails. In the later period of the reign of Wenjing, the ideological circles of the Han Dynasty and various extreme ideas gradually rose. At the same time, because of the lack of recognized moral standards, all kinds of strange social events are not uncommon.
For human society, freedom is everyone's pursuit. But excessive freedom can often have a devastating impact on society.
The second type of problem is the rapid concentration of wealth.
Because in the first decades of the Western Han Dynasty, there were almost no restrictions on commercial development. After decades of development, the phenomenon of industry oligopoly has emerged in many places. Especially in the field of key civilian resources such as iron smelting, salt, and cloth, a bunch of 'predators' have appeared.
For example, the iron-smelting tycoon Zhuo Wangsun in Sichuan had 800 domestic slaves and countless family properties at his peak! You must know that at that time, the princes and kings of the old Liu family may not have so many servants and domestic slaves in their mansions. And such a huge rich man as Zhuo Wangsun, there were a lot of people in the Han Dynasty at that time! Almost everywhere, there were huge riches who were 'rich enough to rival the country'!
Taking Zhuo Wangsun as an example, his family property was definitely comparable to the total assets of some small vassal states of the Liu family in the Han Dynasty at that time.
It's actually a very scary thing.
Because of the excessive free commerce, the country's wealth was rapidly concentrated, and this top super-rich appeared. And the emergence of this kind of top super-rich often means that the 'Matthew effect' of wealth is rapidly intensifying. Behind the emergence of these top billionaires, in fact, there are countless low-level people who are gradually losing their wealth.
The third type of problem is the rapid increase in population, which leads to the gradual increase of contradictions within the country.
It may not sound nice to say, but it is. In the first few decades of the Han Dynasty, because of the rapid economic recovery of the Central Plains and the efforts of the common people in production, the population of the Central Plains increased dramatically at that time! Some historians once believed that before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, the total population of the Han Dynasty was approaching the 40 million mark!
That's a terrible number.
You must know that before the large-scale introduction of high-yield food crops such as potatoes and corn into the Central Plains, the upper limit of the total population that the Central Plains could carry was basically not more than 100 million! Or to be more precise, from the Qin and Han dynasties to the fall of the Tang Dynasty, the upper limit of the population that the Central Plains could carry during this period was at most about 60 million.
Until the time of the Song Dynasty, the total population of the Song Dynasty approached 100 million for the first time due to the introduction of 'Champa rice'. Of course, some people believe that the total population of the Northern Song Dynasty at its peak has slightly exceeded the 100 million mark. Before the Northern Song Dynasty, whether it was the Han Dynasty or the Tang Dynasty, the total population of each of them in their heyday did not exceed the 60 million mark.
And, once it exceeds fifty million, it approaches the sixty million mark. Whether it is the Han Dynasty or the Tang Dynasty, there will be huge social contradictions. After all, the total amount of cultivated land on the Central Plains map is so much, and under the condition that the average grain yield per mu remains unchanged, the annual grain output is so much.
And the middle and upper affluent classes, through commerce, occupy more food, and the people at the bottom will lack enough food rations. After that, the Han Dynasty was expected to break out in a peasant uprising.
The increase in population seems to have nothing to do with what kind of governing ideology the Han Dynasty promoted. Because no matter whether the old Liu family adopts the way of Huang Lao or adopts Confucianism to govern the country, as long as the country develops steadily for a long time, the population increase is certain.
But the key is that after Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty respected Confucianism, the overall war capability of the Han Dynasty was greatly improved. After that, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to wage war with the Xiongnu, and throughout the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty fought for a long time. Through the war, the Han Dynasty not only gained a large amount of new territory, but also greatly reduced the population.
By the end of the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the total population of the Han Dynasty was actually about to reach the threshold of 30 million.
The above three problems are the three major problems that existed in the Han Dynasty before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ascended the throne, or the three types of major problems that existed in the society of the Han Dynasty at that time. And then, along that line, we can continue to think.
If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had not deposed the hundred schools of thought and continued to implement the way of Huang Lao, how would these three types of problems develop next?
The answer is obvious. For the first type of problem, the situation of ideological liberalization will become more and more serious. Because the state has not supported mainstream ideas for a long time, there may be a situation in which a hundred schools of thought are contending in the short term. However, after a long time, different ideas will pose a fatal threat to the unity of the country.
And for the second type of problem, the situation of wealth concentration. If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had not deposed the Hundred Schools, it would have been difficult to redistribute the country's wealth in the future, and the 'Matthew Effect' could only be allowed to accelerate. After that, these wealthy merchants will have a great chance of forming their own armies in order to protect their property.
Combined with the first type of situation, next, these wealthy businessmen, after relying on wealth to have armed forces, will basically establish an independent state.
As for the third type of problem, that is, the population problem, it is actually the most deadly. If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had not deposed the Hundred Schools, it would have been difficult for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to wage war against the Xiongnu in the future. Because once the war started, the domestic thinking was not unified, and it was difficult for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to gather forces to go to war with the Xiongnu on a large scale.
After that, there are only two possibilities. The first possibility is that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty took the lead in the war without deposing the hundred schools. However, because there is no high degree of unification in the country, the border army will most likely be gradually defeated, and the Xiongnu will drive straight in, and it is very likely that there will be a situation of 'Jingkang's shame' in the late Northern Song Dynasty.
The second possibility is that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty forcibly went to war, which aroused the opposition of most people in the country. After that, many wealthy merchants, or local aristocrats, would take advantage of this opportunity to quickly form an army and then quickly become independent. After that, the unification of the Han Dynasty will collapse again. For details, see the later Sui Dynasty.
Of course, in addition to this, there is another situation. That is, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty continued to govern the country using the way of Huang Lao and did nothing.
If this happens, the population of the Han Dynasty will continue to increase continuously. After a maximum of one generation, the total population of the Han Dynasty will approach the 60 million mark. After that, the internal contradictions within the Han Dynasty would be too great to be resolved, and a peasant revolt would break out. After that, the local powers will gradually become independent again.
In this case, we can refer to the end of the Ming Dynasty.
Anyway, no matter what the situation is, we will deduce that in the end, there will be only one result, that is, the Han Dynasty will quickly fall to the country! As long as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty does nothing and continues to adopt the way of Huang Lao, the next result will definitely be even worse! The difference is only in which way the country will be destroyed!
As for the fact that many people in later generations believed that the Han Dynasty would continue to develop, the possibility is actually almost remote. Because in the case that the upper limit of science and technology and productivity has not been broken, the upper limit of a dynasty's national strength actually has a limit. After reaching this limit, it is almost inevitable that the boom and the bustle will occur.
It is probably precisely because of this situation that some historians in later generations have said such things: In fact, it was not Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who chose Confucianism, but history chose Confucianism. Under the social background and productivity conditions at that time, the set of ideological solutions proposed by Dong Zhongshu was already the optimal solution.
If you don't choose Confucianism, you will continue to choose the way of Huang Lao, or choose other ideas to govern the country. Then next, the situation of the Han Dynasty will most likely become worse.