Chapter 16 4. Advertise Confucian political ideals

Zhu Di flaunted himself as the successor of Confucian political ideals, and wanted to remain in the annals of history as a prosperous and famous king. The best reflection of Zhu Di's thinking is the "Sage Learning and Mind Method" compiled by himself.One of the reasons why he "cultivated literature and competed in martial arts, exterminated captives and moved the capital, and dared not let himself go" was driven by this kind of thinking. "Shengxue Xinfa" was written in February of the seventh year of Yongle (1409), and it is a textbook for emperors.At that time, Zhu Di was about to inspect Beijing, and then he showed a book to Hu Guang, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, saying: "The ancients ruled the world in their own way. Although they are born with knowledge, they are also knowledgeable. From Tang and Han to Song, sages taught clearly , with scriptures. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, those who taught the crown prince mostly used the famous spells of Shen Han’s punishment, which is not the right way. Because of my leisure, I adopt the words of sages and sages. If I stick to the middle and build the pole, I focus on self-cultivation, family harmony, and national governance. The world has now been written. Qing and others have tried to observe it, and if there is something wrong, I will say more." Hu Guang and others "After reading it", they said: "The essentials of the emperor's morality are prepared in this book, and it is suitable to be compared with Dianmo Please publish and print it as a gift." Zhu Di said: "Yes." Then it was named "Shengxue Xinfa", and ordered the Lijian to publish it. This is the origin of the compilation of "Shengxue Xinfa" and its origin general content.

Among the emperors of all dynasties, Zhu Di praised Tang Taizong the most, and admired him for his meritorious deeds.He once said: "If the Emperor Wen of the Tang Dynasty advocated righteousness and peace, and made the world one. He bowed his armor and went to the Hongtang to ascend to the peak of wisdom. His thinking about troubles is not inconsiderate, and his thinking about the future is not so called. Not far away, I wrote twelve chapters of "Emperor Fan" to train his son, saying that the way of explaining government is in it. In detail, although what he said is not rooted in the accumulation of essence and persistence, it must be clearly understood so that his descendants can If you can keep it, you can keep it in order, and there will be no disasters in the boudoir." Therefore, it can also be said that "Shengxue Xinfa" is Zhu Di's imitation of Tang Taizong's "Di Fan".

Regarding the reason for writing the book, Zhu Di also said: "I often want to set up words to teach my descendants, but what I have heard is not beyond the way of the sages of the Six Classics. Jiayan, compiled into a book." Therefore, the book can be said to be the culmination of the quotations of the "sages" in the past dynasties.However, although this book is collected from the opinions of ancient people, it expresses Zhu Di's political ideas, especially the preface of more than 6,000 words at the beginning of the book, which is the master's own way.Zhu Di said: "If you don't look at my words, you can't see my intentions. If you don't know my intentions, you can't see the mystery of the sages. If you don't want the law to be based on my words, you really want to follow the words of the sages." Therefore, it It is a concentrated and representative material for studying Zhu Di's political ideal.

Judging from "Shengxue Xinfa", the Confucian political thought advertised by Zhu Di generally has the following aspects: (1) Worshiping Heaven and Dharma Patriarch Heaven, the concept of destiny, has been inseparable from politics since its inception, and is used by rulers as a tool to strengthen their own authority.In the following dynasties, although the concept of destiny has developed and changed repeatedly, it still stays in the circle of divine right of kings.They both respect and fear the sky, fearing that the fate will not protect them, and at the same time fear people by virtue of the fate.As the supreme ruler, Ming Chengzu Zhu Di inherited many contents of the concept of destiny since the Western Zhou Dynasty.

Due to the constraints of the times, it is impossible for Zhu Di to get rid of the mysterious concept of heaven.The sky is high above, silent and ignoring, and it is always supervised and guaranteed. Everything in the world cannot escape, and there is no other explanation except to deify it.Zhu Di inherited the theory of the connection between heaven and man, and his connection lies in the "respect" and "disrespect" of people.If you respect, you will be blessed by the destiny, otherwise you will be abandoned by the destiny.So Zhu Di said: "Is it good or bad? The bandit descends to Xitian, and people are really free." Who is respect? "Acting in accordance with the law of heaven, embodying the virtues of heaven", acting in accordance with the "way of heaven" is respect.And what is the way? "The way of heaven does not speak, it moves in four seasons and everything is born", "the way of heaven is sincere and without interest", "the way of heaven is impartial and selfless".Therefore, we must govern the country with natural inaction, subdue the world with enlightenment, and secure the world with "sincerity and selflessness" and "supreme selflessness".In this way, "God favors, the world is safe."If "what you do is wrong", it will create a situation where "destiny is forsaken, and people's hearts are against it", and it is impossible to prolong the rule for even a moment.

Zhu Di's "person" has two meanings.The former is "actually free from people", and this person mainly refers to the ruler of the world, that is, the ruler of the world.This "person" must act in accordance with the way of heaven in order to become a saint who enjoys the blessing of heaven, otherwise he will not be blessed by heaven.The latter "people's hearts go against them" refers to the people who are ruled by the ruler.This "person" is the foundation of peace and unrest in the world.Although it is said that "if the destiny is violated, the human heart will go away", it is actually "the human heart is against it" and thus "the destiny will go away".If the monarch acts in accordance with the impartial and selfless way of heaven, the people's hearts will obey smoothly, and the destiny will be blessed. If the behavior is not impartial and selfless, and it is not in line with the "heavenly way", people's hearts will violate or even resist, and the destiny will be abandoned.

Isn't the destiny mentioned here close to the heart?Although Zhu Di couldn't get rid of the superstition of the Mandate of Heaven, he couldn't get rid of the fallacy of the interaction between heaven and man, but he can regard the way of governing the country of the ruler and the obedience and disobedience of the hearts of the people as the foundation of the world's long-term peace and stability. evaluation of. But Zhu Di also hoped to use the words of the sages to deify the monarch to strengthen his own authority.He claimed: "Every movement and stillness of a human being is nothing but heaven. Where the heart is, heaven is there." However, this theory of destiny contains obvious logical contradictions.Since "a man's movement and stillness are nothing but heaven", and since the way of heaven is selfless, the heart of a man can only be selfless and nothing else, so there is no such thing as whether to serve the way of heaven or not.Conversely, if the heart of a human ruler may be fair or unfair, then when it is unfair, it is not in harmony with the sky, and the statement that "everything a human being moves and remains still is nothing but heaven" is not correct.This contradiction is fatal.Every monarch cannot escape this contradiction when claiming that he has the same heart with heaven and represents the destiny of heaven, so it is easy to see through the deception that the heart of the king is the heart of heaven.

The rise and fall of the dynasties taught the rulers a lesson. They have to admit that the destiny does not always favor all kings, so they must be vigilant against this and act cautiously.In Bingshen in August of the second year of Yongle, Zhu Di expressed this understanding when discussing the historical experience of the rise and fall of the Yuan Dynasty with his courtiers.He said: Although there is a pre-determined number of destiny, the Zhou family has counted it later, and Gai Zhou has accumulated a lot of virtues, and his descendants will not have the evil of Jie and Zhou.If Emperor Shun didn't care about the army and the people, ignored state affairs and indulged in excesses, he would live in peace!The abolishment and prosperity of the old country must be due to virtue, not just counting.

Therefore, the human ruler should not only respect the sky, but also fear the sky.Respecting and fearing the sky is actually to restrain the actions of the monarch.First of all, the sky cannot be deceived: "The people of the lower class are not to be deceived, but the gods above can be deceived!" Second, the sky is the only thing that can restrain the emperor: "The only thing that the emperor fears is heaven. If you are not afraid Heaven, what is there not to do? It is almost impossible to go to chaos and perish." Third, a king knows that he fears the sky, so he can always be vigilant and govern carefully; "The king knows that there is heaven and fears it. To be public, to use and give up must be done, to dethrone must be clear, and rewards and punishments must be done."

In short, Zhu Di hoped that he and his successors would become the lords of sages, follow the heavens, be selfless, be philanthropic, fear the heavens and act cautiously, in order to achieve supreme governance. Ancestor worship is an important content in traditional Chinese culture, and it has always been in harmony with respecting and obeying heaven.From the Chinese point of view, everything that people enjoy today is bestowed by their ancestors, and even the favor of destiny has a lot to do with the accumulated virtues of their ancestors.As a family of emperors with wealth all over the world, it is full of infinite worship for the ancestors who have established a business lineage.They firmly believe that since their ancestors could start a business, they must also keep their business by adhering to the laws of their ancestors.All practices that change the ancestral law and violate the ancestral system are dangerous.Therefore, abiding by the ancestral system has become an important content in "Shengxue Xinfa".He said:

The law of the ancestors, so it is also for future generations.It should be respected and kept, and should not be neglected. The king who succeeds the generation, abides by the law of the ancestors, and the world will prolong.If the master of the declining world loses his ancestral law, he will perish and the country will be cut. The reason why we say that ancestors, Fatian, and respecting heaven go hand in hand and have the same purpose is because they always regard the ancestors as models of Fatian.What exactly is Tiande and Tiandao?It's hard to tell.The words and deeds of the former kings are clear examples that can be seen, heard, and followed.Only by making it exactly like its ancestors can it be blessed by destiny for a long time. The respectability of the sky lies in its ability to bless the people; the awesomeness of the sky lies in the fact that it can abandon the people and even send punishments to punish the people.Destiny is so impermanent!Renjun is all worried about their fate of being abandoned.Facing the people, the monarchs are walking on thin ice, like walking through water and fire. They are alert to the disaster that may come at any time.In order to avoid the fate of being abandoned, the monarchs and politicians of the past dynasties have put forward many propositions that the monarch should be cautious about his likes and dislikes, restrain his words and deeds, and be diligent in his administration.Zhu Di also said: What the ruler likes is the same as the world, and what he hates is the same as the world.What the crowd loves, but oneself alone hates;Although you want not to be perilous, can you get it? Although the ruler is above all the people, he cannot do whatever he wants.The standard of choice is to share likes and dislikes with the people of the world.They dress up as one of the people in the world, try their best to restrain their desires, and show that they have the same likes and dislikes as the people. If they pursue to satisfy their selfish desires and "follow the principles of justice", the result will be extremely dangerous.This idea of ​​sharing happiness with the people is the same as the essence of the above-mentioned concept of destiny, that is, they see that whether they can hold the throne depends on whether they are loved by all people. The kings and thinkers of the past dynasties have come to a conclusion from their real political experience: "The king is the boat. The common people are the water. Water carries the boat, and it also capsizes the boat." Therefore, they are very afraid of the power of the people. "If you lose the hearts of the people, you will be an only husband. If you are alone, a fool and a foolish woman can defeat me." Once a monarch loses the hearts of the people, he is nothing more than a lonely husband, not even a fool and a foolish woman, let alone facing hundreds of millions of people.It is a very dire picture.Can the monarch always be vigilant?If you wait to cause disaster, it will be too late to regret. Trying to follow the law when people's grievances have not yet manifested is to be cautious about likes and dislikes and cultivate one's morality carefully.This contains three layers of meaning; (1) "A family that accumulates goodness must have more celebrations. A family that accumulates bad things will surely have disasters." Zhu Di, like politicians of past dynasties, regarded the royal family as the first family in the world.In the point that good is rewarded with good and evil is rewarded with evil, it is no different from ordinary people. (2) "If the king likes it, the ministers will follow it, and if the superiors follow it, the people will follow it." As the supreme ruler, what he does attracts the attention of the whole world, and it is related to the rise and fall of the country.At the same time, he also leads the ethos of a country: "If there is good at the top, there must be something bad at the bottom." "If the top is good at virtue, the people will use righteousness. If the top is good at sycophancy, the people will use evil." The monarch only has to work hard to cultivate himself and behave properly. Selfless character can lead to family harmony, state governance, and world peace. (3) "A gentleman works all day long, and he is not vigilant day and night. If he is strong, he will not be blamed." Then nothing will happen.Zhu Di himself was a diligent emperor.He has a deep understanding of this, and he said: Disasters and chaos are born of indolence, while health care is based on self-improvement.Use it with one heart, flow around the world.If you pause for a while, you are not diligent.Dayu worked hard, and his achievements overwhelmed the world.Wen Wang is diligent, and his descendants are blessed.There is nothing better than diligence to convince people with virtue.Able to work hard, can be active. …Diligence leads to unremitting, unremitting self-cultivation, family integrity, national governance and world peace. (2) Protect the people like a child In a class society, what should the relationship between different classes look like?Politicians and thinkers of all ages have been discussing this issue.Chinese Confucian politicians and thinkers have designed a harmonious and beautiful blueprint.The ruler and the ruled, the monarch and the people are described by them as a family relationship, the monarch is the head of the family, and the people become the people.This patriarch not only has the right to enslave his people and levy tribute, but also has the obligation to protect them.The ruling class neither oppresses and exploits endlessly, nor does the ruled class resist endlessly.They are cooperative and harmonious, and their actions are restrained.Zhu Di acknowledged and publicized this claim.He said: "The people are the root of the country. The root wants it to be stable, and it cannot be withered. Therefore, the sage king is among the people, and he always protects it like a child. Before eating, he thinks about his hunger first, and before he has clothes, he thinks about his life first." It’s cold. The people’s heart desires to live, and I use the way to do it. The people’s sentiments are evil, and I have a way to escape it.” “The tax is thin, but it must be used with restraint. In this way, the education is good, and the customs are beautiful. , the world works hard and the people return.” A wise ruler understands that the people are the foundation of the country, the backbone of the regime, and the source of wealth.Keeping them warm, relieving them of corvée, protecting and loving the people, the so-called benevolent government, is necessary to consolidate the rule.Judging from the speeches of past dynasties quoted by Zhu Di, the so-called benevolent government also includes the following meanings: (1) By benevolent government, people will win the hearts of the people, and if they win the hearts of the people, they will win the world. "Shengxue Xinfa" quoted Yu as saying: "When the people are at ease, it will benefit the people, and the people will cherish it." Quoted from "The Book of Rites of the Great Dai" Zeng Zi said: "A gentleman respects benevolence, and the world is rich. What is rich, benevolence is also rich. .What is precious in the world, and what is precious, is benevolence.” (2) If there is room for exploitation and extraction, the people will be happy to follow it. "Shengxue Xinfa" quotes Wangzhi from "Book of Rites": "The emperor does not encircle, and the princes do not cover up the group." It is said that there must be room for field hunting, and fishing must not be exhausted.The quote from "Mencius" regards benevolent government as a wonderful way to control the world: "People have a heart of intolerance. The previous kings had a heart of intolerance, and now there is a government of intolerance. With a heart of intolerance, you can't bear people's actions." The government can rule the world in the palm of your hand." Why can't you bear it?What is benevolent government? "Xunzi" has a more specific explanation: "Make the people drink in the summer, not freeze in the winter, and not hurt their strength when they are anxious, and when they are slow. If things succeed, everyone will be rich and the people will love it." Created the Tang Dynasty Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, who ruled Zhenguan, had a vivid metaphor for excessive exploitation. He said: "The way to be a king must first have the people. If you sacrifice the people to serve yourself, it is like cutting your butt to eat your belly. If you are full death." The only purpose of leaving room for the people is the overall social order: "Remove extravagance and save money, lightly pay and pay less, choose honest officials, so that the people have enough food and clothing, so that they will not be robbers." (3) The monarchs of the past dynasties pretended to be the masters of the world, and always regarded themselves as the saviors of the world.Therefore, he bears the responsibility of taking care of the people.This can be said to be a bit of tradition left by the primitive ancestors.In a primitive classless society, those who are capable are promoted as leaders.They are responsible for the management of the production and life of the tribe.Due to their achievements, the production and life of the clan and tribe can be organized and orderly.The Three Emperors and Five Emperors idealized by later generations are all such characters.The monarchs of later generations pretended to be sages and called themselves "the first kings of the law" at every turn. They were actually advertised as the best organizers and managers of social life. Hungry for the hungry, cold for the poor, and being unbearable is not the most important thing. The most important thing is to organize and manage the production activities of the country and the people.Without effective production activities, not only the hunger and coldness of the people cannot be solved, but it is also difficult for a country to maintain its existence.Therefore, the monarch is not only the supreme ruler of a country, but also the highest manager and organizer of national production and social life.They not only have the right to get money from the people, but also have the obligation to provide food and clothing for the people, maintain social reproduction, and thus enable the entire country to operate. Zhu Di once said: Those who manage the country are based on the use of money, but there must be a way to make money.If you have more money, you will use it more.The so-called people who make money in a proper way do not necessarily have to take it from the people.Love nourishing life, so that the people have more than enough power, and the system of quality and integrity, so that the use of things is inexhaustible. ... The people are the foundation of the state, and the wealth is the heart of the people.The heart injury is its original injury, and its original injury is the withered branches and the roots are uprooted. What Zhu Di said was to get money in a proper way, and not to be too restrictive, so as to hurt the hearts of the people.However, there is only one way for money to come from, and that is to develop production.Therefore, the rulers of all dynasties all put agriculture, water conservancy, industry and commerce as the top priority, otherwise, it would be impossible to establish a country. During the 22 years of Yongle, the Ming government devoted a lot of effort to the national economy and the people's livelihood, such as immigrating to farmland, developing military settlements, controlling floods, exempting taxation, and helping victims of disasters, etc., almost without stopping for a moment. (3) Rituals and Music Ming Xing Bijiao Ritual and music played an important role in ancient Chinese political culture.The rulers of all dynasties have attached great importance to the role of rites and music in social life, so they are committed to making rites and music.Zhu Di said in the preface to "Shengxue Xinfa": Husbands and rites are the discipline of governing the country; music is the rule of human affection.For this reason, the former kings made rites so that they were ordered up and down, and that is why they made music and folk customs.If there is no propriety, there is no way to stand, and if there is no joy, there is no way to restrain yourself.To teach the people to respect, there is nothing good at propriety; to teach the people to be harmonious, there is nothing good at joy. Rites wear the face of justice and maintain the order of inequality.It is indeed an excellent method to make the subjects settle in their places without using force or punishment.Music, in fact, has two functions.First, music contains elements of ritual.Different classes and strata use different pleasures.Different classes and strata should be content with the rules of etiquette and enjoy the music of this level.Second, the spirit of joy is harmony, which is opposite to disputes and chaos, and can cultivate people's disposition and make them peaceful and gentle. However, the binding force of rites and music is limited after all, so rites and music alone are not enough.If the ministers are not satisfied with the constraints of the ritual and music system, they may break through the code of conduct at any time and disrupt the existing order.Indoctrination is the most important means to make subjects settle within the current system.Zhu Di said in the preface to "Shengxue Xinfa": Morality, benevolence and righteousness are the source of enlightenment.Those who are good at governing the world take morality as their outline, benevolence and righteousness as their sarcophagus, accept the people in morality, and become the world without making a fuss.Like flowing water going to a ravine, nothing can resist it. The morality, benevolence and righteousness mentioned here are no longer completely a moral concept.The main meaning it contains should be understood as consciously maintaining the existing order from top to bottom and being content with the existing order.As long as enlightenment is popularized, the subjects of the world will "go to the gullies like flowing water, and nothing can resist them", and the king will sit safely in his seat. In "Shengxue Xinfa", there are also so-called distinctions between inside and outside, and rectification of names, which should also be regarded as the same concept as etiquette and morality.Regarding rectification of names, Zhu Di said: The sage-kings in the world also do not make the humble more than the honorable, the humble mausoleum is expensive, the small is large, the concubine is the first, the monarch, the minister, the minister, the father, the son and the son each have their own place, and they are established with propriety and righteousness.Confucius' theory of government must be preceded by the rectification of names, and the law of the king in the Spring and Autumn Period must be stricter than strict divisions.Those who rule the world must understand this, then the ruler and ministers are upright, father and son are close, husband and wife are separated, elder and younger are in order.If the top is to rule the bottom, the big is to be small, the humble is to be honored, and the lowly is to be valuable, then the justice of the court will be clear and the source of disaster will be blocked. "Shengxue Xinfa" was originally a textbook for the emperor, but in addition to "the way of the emperor", it also listed "the way of the father", "the way of the son", and "the way of the minister". Included in the norms of so-called ethics and moralization. However, morality alone is not enough to govern the country.For those who dare to exceed the rules of etiquette, violate morality and destroy the existing order, they should be punished by law.This was called by Zhu Di "Ming Punishment Yibi Teaching".He said: Punishers and sages make it to prevent evil, so that the people will see the punishment and violate the crime, and make good and change their mistakes.Therefore, although punishment is mainly about killing, there is actually a way of life.Why?Forbidding traitors and violence is based on the ultimate love, which is based on the ultimate benevolence.To control it with propriety, and to give it with righteousness, at the beginning, it is clear that punishment is based on teaching, and in the end, the period of punishment is no punishment. Since punishment is only used to teach, it is not the main means of governing the country. Therefore, the use of criminal law must be restrained, so that it can serve as a deterrent, so that people will not dare to break the law, and eventually the world will be ruled without criminal law. He witnessed the lessons of the tyrants who lost their lives and subjugated the country, and earnestly warned his children and grandchildren not to be too harsh: Even if the emperors of the Qin and Sui Dynasties used cruel methods, relied on harsh officials, enforced profound writings, added laws to laws, and imposed punishments in addition to punishments, how could they ever have the intention of loyalty, love and compassion?The more murders, the more rapes, the more troubled the prison, and the more chaotic the world.Lost the hearts of the whole world, attracted the resentment of the people, and died and the country was destroyed, and all descendants were left behind.It is all a warning. The rulers of all dynasties always like to dress themselves up as benevolent and wise monarchs.When using martial arts, it is said to stop the spear, to relieve people from hanging upside down, to save people from water and fire, and to kill people, it is said to have "the way of life".Even if there is indiscriminate punishment and murder, cruelty will never be recognized.However, historical facts have taught them that indiscriminate punishment will lose the hearts of the world, attract the resentment of the people, and thus lose the throne.The politicians who advocated the practice of benevolent government in the past dynasties in China have inherited this in the same strain. Fundamentally speaking, the rulers' introspection and punishment are not because of their deep feelings for the people. Their starting point is to maintain the stability of their throne. 4.Nurturing scholars, choosing talents, listening to advice and accepting advice The monarch is in charge of all the people in the world with one person, even though he is omniscient and omnipotent, it is impossible to do everything by himself.The ability of a monarch lies in employing people.Therefore, nurturing talents and selecting talents has become an issue that has been valued by successful monarchs and politicians in the past dynasties.Zhu Di said: The key to governance is to educate talents first. ... To desire to acquire virtuous men without nurturing men is like desiring to harvest autumn crops without plowing, and desiring to become tools without carving.Therefore, it is urgent to train scholars to acquire talents and establish schools and teachers. The way to appoint others is to choose talents, and to judge them is to use the essence,...to take the most public, to use the most appropriate, not to hinder the virtuous because of personal intimacy, not to dismiss the official because of non-virtuous.Therefore, those who make good use of talents are like tools for all kinds of craftsmen, each of which is made for its own use. ... Assistant governors must be outstanding talents.Knowing its fruit is virtuous, and listening to it without doubt, you can cultivate its loyalty.Teach them what to do, and you can hold them accountable for success.When a virtuous husband is in power, the virtuous are far away, all officials are competent, and ordinary affairs are in Xiankang. Here, Zhu Di made several propositions: 1.To achieve governance, talents must be recruited, and talents must be cultivated, so educating talents must start from the establishment of schools and teachers as an urgent task. 2.Any person should choose talents, and when choosing talents, he should take them from the public and use them properly. 3.There is no doubt about employing people who are worthy of their talents. But one more thing should be added, that is, the monarch wants to use the soldiers for his own use, and he must treat them with courtesy, otherwise he will not get the scholars.Zhu Di said: "When a king treats his ministers, he must treat them with courtesy and sincerity. If it is not the case, it will not be enough to win the hearts of sages. A husband does not rule alone, but must support his ministers. Respecting ministers is not the same as subservience. The Dao exists and the people wait and see. Therefore, if you treat your subordinates with courtesy, the people of the world will be encouraged and follow each other. If you treat your subordinates with disrespect, the people of the world will take their shoes and go away." In ancient China, scholars were an independent class. They could be used by the emperor or not, depending on what policies the emperor implemented.That is to say, in the early Ming Dynasty, most of the literati at that time were not in office.Zhao Yi, a native of the Qing Dynasty, said: "When it was time, the Ming ancestors punished Yuan Ji for slack, and used heavy codes for everything, so many old people were not happy to be an official." Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang even stipulated the law of "not for the emperor".Despite this, there are still many people who refuse to cooperate with Ming Ting.In view of this, the enlightened rulers and politicians of the past dynasties put forward the concept of ceremonial ministers.Courtesy ministers are not Zhu Di's invention. In a monarchy society, although the monarch is the protagonist in political life, most government affairs depend on his ministers to complete.The ruler and the minister are a pair of contradictions, not only in the sharing of power, but also in the similarities and differences in the strategies of governing the country, they often conflict.Whether it is out of public interest or to satisfy selfish desires, whether to base themselves on long-term stability or only care about immediate happiness, are often the focus of their conflicts.As a monarch, how to treat the opinions of his subordinates, and how to "assist" the monarch as a minister is another issue that politicians of all dynasties have paid attention to.According to the Chinese tradition, accepting advice and listening to advice are the virtues that the monarch is praised by the people.It is the duty of ministers and bureaucrats not to be afraid of power and violence, but to dare to remonstrate.In "Shengxue Xinfa", Zhu Di said: A human being manages all kinds of opportunities every day, and it is difficult to make decisions arbitrarily. He must accept words to broaden his wisdom, and do good to increase his inadequacy.Listen with an open mind and don't hate the straight words.Tolerant and tolerant, to make the most of the remonstrance.If one is not modest and courteous in order to accept the words of the crowd, the subordinates will not dare to enter even though they speak bluntly.Therefore, those who listen to the words are the great blessings of the country.If the public hears it every day, there will be no feelings of concealment, and there will be no hidden disasters in the middle, and the court will be clear and bright, and the world will be peaceful. The key to accepting words is to keep an open mind about yourself, if you want to use it for yourself, you must not say anything.In addition, the ruler of the people is condescending, and if he does not agree with the corporal Yan, then the people will have something to say and dare not enter.However, the purpose of the monarch's Nayan is still to eliminate disasters and achieve long-term peace and stability. So, who is amiable and what can be reprimanded?What words can be accepted, what words can be rejected?Zhu Di put forward the principle of justice: Husband's words are plausible and false, and there are plausible truths and false ones. You must distinguish them.A gentleman is just in his heart, and his appearance is the same, while a villain uses his feelings for selfishness and evil, and he is prone to danger. We should judge his evil and righteousness, and be cautious about his use and abandonment. ... However, since ancient times, loyalty and evil have been difficult to distinguish, but the wise king can recognize it. He criticized the actions of those "mediocre masters" and "faint masters", which will inevitably lead to defeat: If the husband is mediocre, it is not the case. He is fond of flattery but loves sycophants, rejects advice and pretends to be wrong, and does whatever he wants, and does what his heart desires.Those who enjoy a high salary will secure their honor and keep their position, while those who are in the lower ranks will fear crime and fear punishment.If you keep silent, your ears and eyes are blocked, and you are all lost, it is a pity to win! But it is not the case for the faint master. Those who gather are enough to call their desires, and those who are skillful and flattering are enough to please their hearts.The glue is solid but not moved, tangled but not released.If this is the case, the loyal and righteous will not be allowed to enter, and the villain will advance to the gentleman to retreat. If you want the country to be safe, how can you get it? It is a tradition in China to accept advice from relatives and sages. Zhu Di promised himself as a wise king, and he wanted to inherit and carry forward this tradition. We can see that Zhu Di's ideal of governing the country is based on Confucianism as the main body, abandoning the "Shen Han Xingmingshu", and fully inheriting the thought of "respecting the sky and protecting the people" of traditional Chinese political theory.At its core, it not only recognizes the mandate of heaven and advocates the relationship between heaven and man, but also values ​​people.A ruler must practice benevolent government, protect the people like a child, and take the likes and dislikes of the people of the world as the choice.The king treats his ministers with courtesy, and the ministers serve the king with loyalty.The monarch promotes the virtuous and accepts advice, and the rituals and music of the people and ministers are harmonious.The whole society should be an orderly society bound by morality and etiquette, where the monarch, the minister, the father, the son and the son.It can be said that Zhu Di's ideal of governing the country is the political ideal of Confucianism.