Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty Liu Heng, whose life trajectory spanned from 202 BC to 157 BC, was born in the prosperous city of Chang'an, as the fourth son of Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, and his mother was Bo Ji. During Liu Heng's reign, he stabilized the feudal ruling order in the early Han Dynasty, paved the way for economic recovery and development, and opened the prelude to the rule of Wenjing. Next, let's explore this historical Liu Heng together.
Since Confucius put forward the concept of "governing the country with benevolence and filial piety", later emperors have taken "filial piety" as the banner and sang the hymn of "the Holy Dynasty rules the world with filial piety". However, there are very few emperors who truly practice filial piety, and in China's more than 2,000 years of feudal history, only a few filial piety emperors can be called models. For example, Sun Quan in "Three Kingdoms", he obeyed Wu Guotai's words, and even destroyed Zhou Yu's "beauty plan" because of "filial piety", and finally ended up in a situation where he lost his wife and broke his army. In terms of true filial piety, Emperor Liu Heng of the Han Dynasty can undoubtedly be called a model of "filial piety" emperor.
Liu Heng's name of filial piety is not groundless, and he has practiced many unprecedented acts of filial piety.
[a]
Mother's illness and relatives serve decoction. Liu Heng's mother, Bo Shi, originally from the southern state of Wu, was prophesied as a noble life by the Xiangshi Xu when she was young. What is her extravagance? It lies in the fact that she gave birth to Liu Heng after a one-night stand with Liu Bang, although she has never been favored by Liu Bang since then. However, as the so-called "blessing and misfortune", it was precisely because of her fall from grace that she was able to escape the persecution of Empress Lü, who had killed Liu Bang's other sons. As a result, Liu Heng's mother and son stayed away from the imperial city, were sealed to the Daidi, and lived a poor but stable life. Bo was a virtuous and virtuous mother, just like Meng's mother, she educated her children well, and Liu Heng's knowledge and cultivation were deeply influenced by her. After Liu Heng ascended the throne as emperor, Bo was bedridden for three years. During this period, Liu Heng ignored the respect of the emperor, waited day and night, did not untie his clothes, and served his mother in person. He always tastes the decoction his mother takes, making sure that the heat and cold are suitable before letting his mother take it. As the emperor, he could have ordered countless eunuchs and palace maids to come and serve, but he chose to take care of it himself to show the sincerity of his filial piety. As the saying goes, "everyone respects the loyal ministers and filial sons, and the traitors of the party leave an infamy", Liu Heng's filial piety won the heartfelt support of many courtiers, and jointly assisted him to create a glorious era of "the rule of Wenjing".
[two]
Great filial piety benefits the people. Liu Heng's filial piety is not limited to his mother, as the lord of all peoples, he has filial piety to the old people in the world. His charity won the joy of all the nations. His first edict upon his accession to the throne was "amnesty for the whole world", which was no different from that of other emperors. However, his second edict, "to provide relief to the poor and provide for the elderly" and "to make sacrifices from all sides", demonstrated his unique benevolence, which many emperors could not do. This holy decree reflects Liu Heng's care for the people, compassion for the people, and respect for the elderly. He stipulated that for the elderly over 80 years old, they should be given one stone of rice, 20 catties of meat, and 5 buckets of wine every month, and for those over 90 years old, they would be given two horses of silk and three catties of silk. These rewards must be delivered personally by the county governor or county lieutenant as a sign of respect for the elderly. As the emperor, Liu Heng personally represented the country to practice filial piety to the elderly, which can be said to have created a precedent. Such a benevolent emperor is naturally deeply loved by the people.
[three]
The abolition of torture is a manifestation of filial piety. Liu Heng himself is a person of great filial piety, and he naturally has a feeling of pity for his filial sons and grandchildren. More than 2,000 years ago, there was a famous story of "Ti Ying saving his father", which was closely related to Liu Heng. During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, there was a scholar named Chun Yuyi, who had a straightforward personality and did not want to be associated with corrupt bureaucrats, so he resigned from the official position of Taicang Ling and became a doctor to help the world. Chun Yuyi has superb medical skills and is a disciple of the famous physician Yang Qing. However, during one of his medical treatments, he offended a powerful man and was accused of misdiagnosis and death. According to the law of the time, Chun Yuyi was to be sentenced to brutal "corporal punishment," a form of extreme cruelty that included tattooing on his face, cutting off his nose, or cutting off his hands and feet. Chun Yuyi was deeply desperate, and at this time, his youngest daughter Chun Yutiying stepped forward and decided to avenge her father's grievances. She came to Chang'an with her father and asked someone to write a letter and submit it to the gatekeeper at the gate of the palace. When Emperor Wen of Han learned that the piece was written by a little girl, he attached great importance to it. The recital wrote: "My name is Ti Ying, and I am the youngest daughter of Taicang Ling Chun. When my father was an official, the people of Qi praised him as a clean official. Now he has committed a crime and is sentenced to corporal punishment. I am not only saddened by my father, but also by all those who have been physically tortured. If a person's hands and feet are cut off, he becomes a cripple, and if his nose is cut off, he will never be able to return to his original state, and even if he wants to reform himself, he will have no chance to reform himself. I am willing to go to the palace as a slave to atone for my father's sins and give him a chance to mend his ways. Liu Heng was moved by the filial piety of this brave little girl, so he convened the ministers to discuss, and finally abolished the cruel corporal punishment. Ti Ying's reputation for saving his father spread all over the world, and Liu Heng's benevolence was also widely known because of this.
There are famous "twenty-four filial pieties" in Chinese history, and it is not easy for Emperor Liu Heng of the Han Dynasty to be selected as the emperor. The performance of the leader is crucial in the formation of a national ethos. As the king of the people, Liu Heng governed the world with filial piety, and advocated policies such as lightly dispensing with the people, resting with the people, being frugal and simple, and raising and burying the people, which won the support of the people. He led by example and created the first prosperous era in Chinese history through the exemplary role of benevolence and filial piety - "the rule of Wenjing", realized the first take-off of Chinese culture, and laid a solid foundation for the development of Chinese culture. Liu Heng, as one of the most filial emperors in Chinese history, his deeds have been recorded in history and become a model for future generations.