When we watch costume film and television dramas, we can often see that there are ministers holding artifacts that can "fight the emperor up and the traitor", including but not limited to: hitting the king whip, beating the king, beating the dragon, the dragon head crutch, and the king's life flag, the most famous of which is the Shangfang sword. Many people regard the Shangfang Sword as the embodiment of justice, but looking at history, the Shangfang Sword really exists, not made up by people out of thin air. However, the efficacy is rumored to be more than practical, and it is more used when using the front line to supervise the front.
The historical development of the Shang Fang Sword
First of all, let's find out how the Shang fang sword came from.
Shangfang is the name of the ancient official office, set up during the Qin Dynasty, specifically for the manufacture of utensils for the court. Therefore, the sword made by Shang Fang has its own aura, which is a royal object, and of course civilian and military officials cannot use it.
The famous Cai Lun not only made paper, but also served as a Shang Fang Ling, supervising the production of the sword, because of its excellent quality, it became a famous product that future martial artists competed for.
From a practical sword, transformed into a symbolic artifact, the earliest blessing was in the Hancheng Emperor period, when it was called "Shangfang Chopping Horse Sword", from the name you can feel the sharpness of this sword, but there are not many opportunities to appear.
The Former Book of Han and the Biography of Zhu Yun records that Zhu Yun wrote to Emperor Hancheng that "the subject wishes to give Shang Fang a sword to cut off the horse, and cut off one of the ministers to force the rest." This was Zhu Yun's hated Hancheng Emperor's teacher Zhang Yu, a courtier who held a high position and did not do anything, and wanted to behead him to wake up the imperial court.
Of course, Emperor Hancheng failed to agree to Zhu Yun's request, so angry that he ordered Zhu Yun to be dragged out and beheaded, but he did not expect that Zhu Yun had a strong hand, holding the large threshold and not letting go, and as a result, he broke the threshold hard. Fortunately, the left general Xin Qingji prostrated his head and fought for his death, saving Zhu Yun's life. Afterwards, the people in the palace came to repair it, and after the qi dissipated, Emperor Hancheng did not let it be replaced, and left it as an example for the outspoken courtiers.
Since then, the Sword of Shang Fang has taken on a special meaning, and has become the ideal sustenance for loyal subjects to kill traitors. However, before the Song Dynasty, the Shangfang sword was more of a royal gift, and did not have the power of life and death.
In the Song Dynasty, the Shangfang Sword had the power to kill exclusively, and there was no need to have special restrictions on its use.
In the "Preparation of the Martial Classics", it is said: In the system of this dynasty, every time the generals go out of their way, they give the royal sword to themselves, and those who violate the order are allowed to kill them.
In the Yuan Dynasty, the fashion square sword had arbitrary power and would also carry out a solemn sword ceremony.
Kublai Khan's Daoist priest Zhang Liusun cured the empress of her illness, so he was given the sword of Shangfang, which could only be used for sacrifice.
As for the Song Dynasty's pre-battle killing power, it was taken over to the imperial court, and the generals were not allowed to dispose of it at will on the front line.
The shangfang sword was reactivated again to kill power, and the formation of the system was in the Ming Dynasty. After the Ming Dynasty, the appearance of the Shangfang Sword was more frequent, which was related to the increase in wars during the Ming Dynasty.
During the Battle of Ningxia during the Three Great Expeditions of Wanli, the Wanli Emperor heeded the advice of Shangshu Shixing of the Military Department and gave the viceroy of Shaanxi, Yan, Ning, and Gansu the Sword of Wei Xuezeng Shangfang to supervise the battle, and the Ming army won the battle. From then on, it became customary for the governor to accept the Shang Fang Sword, and the successive governors and inspectors of the Nine Sides were given the Shang Fang Sword.
During the Qing Dynasty, there was no such thing at all. In "Nine Pin Sesame Officials", Bao Longxing's mother can only take out the Shangfang Sword of the previous dynasty that has been passed down from the ancestors in the family.
The Qing Dynasty used the method of increasing the authority of the generals on the front line, and it was similar, with the practice of giving the imperial sword, but not many times, the most famous of which was the Shubilong sword that was given to the front-line officers several times for special killing.
Instructions for the use of the Sword of Shangfang
The two most important privileges of the Sword of Shang Fang are the right to kill first and then play later, and the right to act freely and cheaply.
First: validity period.
During the Song and Ming dynasties, the imperial sword of Shangfang was more of a supervisor, and its scope of use was limited to the military to increase its prestige. The use time is limited, and the class teacher has to hand it over and take it back after returning to the dynasty.
Second: the right to kill.
Although the Shang Fang Sword is used to represent the privilege of the general to kill at the front, as a sword bearer, he must also act according to the law, not to act arbitrarily, let alone do whatever he wants. After all, this thing is too powerful, and even if the person who was killed proved to be killed by mistake afterwards, it will not help.
The "Biography of Song Shi Chen Zhizhong" records that the 100,000-strong army was controlled by Qing alone. Those who do not obey the orders of the vice admiral below may be cut first and played later.
From this, we can learn that only those below the vice general can use the Shang Fang Sword to slash first and play later.
In the Ming Dynasty, the use of the Shangfang Sword was more explicit.
In the Ming Dynasty, Yang Sichang asked Shang Fangjian to write the original text: Inspector Fu does not need to die, disarm his military handle, and Jian Yi supervises the division to replace him; The commander-in-chief does not need to die, and immediately seizes his marshal's seal, and Jane will replace it; Supervisors and deputy generals below are engaged in Shang Fangjian.
His Shang Fang Sword Slash could not cross the level one, and the second could not cross the boundary. Local officers such as inspectors and general soldiers could not be killed, and could only be dismissed.
Third: side effects.
Indiscriminate use of shangfang sword to kill people, the consequences are serious.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Inspector Yuan used the Shangfang sword given by the Chongzhen Emperor to behead another Mao Zongbing (that is, the level mentioned above that holding the Shangfang sword could only be removed from his post and could not be killed arbitrarily), which aroused the suspicion of the Chongzhen Emperor, and the last major crime was "the special marshal".
Finally the Historian says:
Although the true Shangfang Sword cannot behead the emperor and the traitor, it represents people's sustenance and expectations for justice, and it is indeed the most real, just as we hope to rely on laws and systems today to maintain social fairness and justice, so that power cannot be abused.