Preface
Kuang Heng, the name of an ancient legend, was famous for "stealing light from the wall" when he was young, however, as time went by, he became a big corrupt official. Such a change is really incredible, and it has triggered all kinds of conjectures and discussions about him.
So, what led to this change? What is the story of his life, and what is the turning point from the brilliant wit of his youth to the depravity of adulthood?
Kuang Heng's background and early experience
Kuang Heng was born into a poor farming family, and his family was poor, and he has been farming for generations. Since he was a child, he has been grateful for the hard work of his parents and is determined to change his fate by studying. Because his family was so poor that he didn't even have the money to buy books, Kuang Heng could only earn pocket money by doing odd jobs for others, or working part-time for the landlord's family during the busy farming season, not asking for wages, just asking people to lend him books to read.
This difficult living environment not only sharpened Kuang Heng's will, but also cultivated his thirst for knowledge. At that time, books were a scarce luxury, and the opportunity to read was undoubtedly a rare opportunity for a child from a poor family. Kuang Heng cherished this hard-won learning opportunity, and whenever he had time, he immersed himself in hard study and never slackened.
As he grew up, Kuang Heng became the main laborer in the family, working in the fields all day to support his family. But even with such fatigue, he still worked tirelessly, hiding in his room every night to read. But the family was too poor to even afford the oil money to light the lamp, so Kuang Heng simply used a knife to dig the cracks in the wall of the room bigger, and read with the help of the light from the neighbor's house.
This story of "chiseling the wall and stealing the light" has undoubtedly become the epitome of Kuang Heng's inspirational struggle. In that poor and backward era, it was not easy to grow from a peasant child to a learned person by his own efforts.
Kuang Heng's tenacity and perseverance have also become a model and inspiration for future generations of students. The hard work paid off, and with unremitting efforts, Kuang Heng finally made a breakthrough in his studies and was able to study the Book of Songs with the famous doctor at that time.
Under the long-term painstaking research, Kuang Heng was quite accomplished in the "Book of Songs", so much so that it was rumored in the Confucian circles at that time: "There is no such thing as "Poetry", Kuang Ding comes. Kuang said "Poetry", which is empathetic. This means that no one can interpret the Book of Songs except Kuang Heng, and Kuang Heng's interpretation can make people feel refreshed.
This kind of in-depth study of the classics also paved the way for Kuang Heng's future career. In that era, the mastery of Confucian classics not only represented the height of knowledge, but also meant the advantage of official career. Kuang Heng's knowledge not only made him stand out among his peers, but also laid the foundation for his future success.
The road to prosperity
According to the regulations of the Han Dynasty, a doctoral disciple who mastered one of the six classics could pass an examination to obtain an official position. Kuang Heng has such a high attainment, so he naturally wants to try his skills. However, his career was bumpy, and he took the exam nine times before he barely passed the C department and became a literary scholar in Taiyuan County.
This kind of repeated examination tested Kuang Heng's willpower and tenacity. In that era, it was undoubtedly a difficult and tortuous road to enter the official career through the imperial examination. But Kuang Heng was not defeated by setbacks, but adjusted his strategy again and again and persevered in taking the exam. This dedication also laid the foundation for his future achievements.
According to this trajectory, Kuang Heng will most likely work in obscurity until retirement. But the gears of fate turned at this time. In 48 BC, Liu Zheng succeeded to the throne as Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty liked to believe in Confucianism when he was the crown prince, and he appreciated Kuang Heng's talent and learning. After he inherited the unification, he successively promoted Kuang Heng to Langzhong and Shizhong, and since then Kuang Heng has become the central minister of Emperor Yuan.
This sudden opportunity also surprised and excited Kuang Heng. From an obscure literary history to becoming an important minister by the side of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, this is also a major turning point in Kuang Heng's life. He realized that his knowledge and talents had finally been duly recognized and reused. This sense of accomplishment inspired his ambition to serve the country.
At the beginning, Kuang Heng had the ambition to serve the country, and often advised Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty to be loyal and upright, and to be clever from afar, to reduce the use of the court, and to promote the style of courtesy. Because Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty loved the Book of Songs, he personally listened to Kuang Heng's lectures many times, and praised his talents, and Kuang Heng also rose all the way, and was successively promoted to important positions such as Guanglu Doctor, Prince Young Master, and Imperial History Doctor.
This kind of ascension made Kuang Heng feel that his value had been fully affirmed. Under the appreciation and promotion of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, he was able to ascend to the pinnacle of power step by step, becoming the first person in the history of the Western Han Dynasty to become a typical minister who relied on the knowledge of the Ming Dynasty.
The temptation of power and status
Sitting high in the temple and accompanying you, Kuang Heng knows that everything today is not easy to come by, and the harder it is to get, the more afraid of losing. At that time, the Western Han Dynasty was already in decline, the government was becoming more and more corrupt, and the eunuch Shi Xian and his relatives Shi Gao were in power. In order to maintain his power and status, Kuang Heng gradually deviated from his original intention and embarked on a road of no return.
He colluded with Shi Xian and jointly framed Xiao Wangzhi, the representative of Confucian scholars. In the first 46 years, under their slander and slander, Xiao Wangzhi was humiliated and finally committed suicide by poisoning. Kuang Heng thus replaced Xiao Wangzhi as the new leader of the Confucian group.
This method was despicable, but it was a common one in the power struggles of the time. In order to maintain his position, Kuang Heng did not hesitate to sacrifice his colleagues, which is undoubtedly despicable. But in those days, the temptation of power was so great that many people could not resist.
In 36 B.C., Kuang Heng was appointed prime minister, and was awarded the title of Marquis of Le'an, prime minister of national government affairs, and became the first person in the history of the Western Han Dynasty to rely on the Ming Jing and become a typical minister. But he did not have outstanding political skills, and would only blindly quote scriptures and classics to please the preferences of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty. During his tenure as prime minister, he continued to rely on Shi Xian, formed a party for personal gain, and was a traitor.
Kuang Heng turned a blind eye to Shi Xian's behavior of exploiting the people and increasing taxes and servitude, and even flattered Ah Fu, praising Shi Xian as "the first capable minister of this dynasty". The government of the Western Han Dynasty became increasingly corrupt, and the officials ruled in darkness, and eventually declined, and Kuang Heng also aided in the abuse.
This practice is undoubtedly a betrayal of oneself. From a Confucian minister with the ambition to serve the country, to a slave of power and status, Kuang Heng's life trajectory has undergone a fundamental change. He no longer cares about the interests of the country and the people, but only cares about his own power and position.
Frame the famous general Chen Tang
During his tenure as prime minister, Kuang Heng was also extremely vicious to the famous general Chen Tang, who had made great achievements. At that time, Chen Tang killed Zhi Zhishan Yu, and issued a triumphant word of "those who commit strong men will be punished even if they are far away", but after returning to the dynasty, they were framed by Kuang Heng.
Kuang Heng believes that Chen Tang is sleek and bold, unbound by etiquette and religion, and seriously deviates from Confucianism, which is unforgivable. And he was also afraid that Chen Tang's prestige would affect his status in the heart of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty. So, with Shi Xian's support, he impeached Chen Tang's father for failing to return, sending troops to the army, and capturing property and distributing it to soldiers.
Although many ministers defended Chen Tang, and even Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty exonerated him, Kuang Heng's henchmen still refused to give up, and simply slandered that Chen Tang was not killed by Zhi Zhishan Yu at all. In the end, Chen Tang only received a Guan Neihou and a meager reward, and his exploits were seriously belittled.
This practice is also a typical example of Kuang Heng not hesitating to slander and frame others in order to maintain his power and status. In those days, power struggles were brutal, and many people did not hesitate to resort to some less honorable means in order to maintain their position. Kuang Heng is a typical representative of this. Not only did he turn his back on his original intentions, but he also hurt others.
The downfall of the great embezzlers
In 33 BC, Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty succeeded to the throne. In order to keep the phase, Kuang Heng repeated his old tricks, this time he aimed his gun at his old ally Shi Xian, impeached him for various crimes, and corrected his henchmen. Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty was dissatisfied with Shi Xian for a long time, and he was seriously investigated and punished, and soon dismissed him and demoted him to a concubine.
This practice is also Kuang Heng's willingness to betray his former allies in order to maintain his position. In power struggles, the lines between friend and foe are often blurred, and it's all about who can use it for themselves. Kuang Heng is obviously a person who is good at scheming, and he can accurately grasp the opportunity and transfer the contradiction in time to maintain his position.
Kuang Heng thought that everything was stable, so he relaxed, embezzled and took bribes, and indulged his family to endanger the township. Soon, Zhang Tan, the imperial historian, reported him for privately occupying and embezzling more than 40,000 acres of land. It turned out that when Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty named him the Marquis of Le'an, his food seal was 310,000 mu, but Kuang Heng took advantage of the mistake of the county map to illegally expand the area of the food seal.
This kind of greedy behavior is undoubtedly the final result of Kuang Heng's betrayal of his original intention. From a Confucian minister with the ambition to serve the country, to finally becoming a big embezzler, Kuang Heng's life trajectory can be described as degenerate step by step.
He not only used the power in his hands for personal gain, but also indulged his family to act recklessly, which is undoubtedly outrageous. Kuang Heng's son Kuang Chang was arrested and imprisoned for murder after being drunk, and his younger brother was rescued from prison.
The courtiers who were not accustomed to Kuang Heng were impeached one after another, and Emperor Han Cheng immediately issued an edict to dismiss him, demote him to a concubine, and rush back to his hometown. Soon, Kuang Heng died of depression, and a generation of ministers came to an end.
epilogue
Kuang Heng transformed from an inspirational idol to a big embezzler, which was not only due to personal subjective reasons, but also related to the feudal autocracy at that time.
This is not only Kuang Heng's personal tragedy, but also reflects the difficult situation and helpless choice of the children of the poor family who want to get ahead under the feudal society.
The trajectory of a person's life is often determined by both personal efforts and the environment of the times. Kuang Heng's life is like this, we should be vigilant.