Chapter 22 4. Major Mistakes

The sons of nobles who can't be doctors should be "scholars". The emergence of the scholar class is the inevitable result of the patriarchal system and feudal system.Because according to the patriarchal system, the second son and the concubine cannot inherit the title; according to the feudal system, if you are a doctor, you cannot be granted another title.Therefore, if the son of a doctor has no inheritance rights, he only has the status of nobility and no title of nobility. Therefore, the sons of these noble officials, including the sons and grandsons of the poor family, as well as the royal family and the distant relatives of the royal family, constitute the lowest level of nobles, called "scholars".

are extremely important in history. The importance is gradually revealed.If the Western Zhou Dynasty was the era of kings, the Eastern Zhou Dynasty was the era of princes, and the Spring and Autumn Period was the era of officials, then the Warring States Period was the era of scholars.At that time, the taxis traveled around the world, dynasties of Qin and Mu, formed cliques and joined forces, performing scenes of thrilling live dramas one after another. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, our nation entered the "imperial stage", the feudal system was abolished, and the two levels of nobles, the county, the princes and the doctors, were all eliminated.Except for the royal family, everyone is a commoner.As a result, scholars became the head of the common people, and they were collectively called "scholars, peasants, businessmen and commerce" together with other classes.From the Han Empire to the Qing Empire, the bureaucratic group was mainly composed of scholars, and even once formed the so-called "gentry clan".Scholars eventually became the masters of Chinese history, especially the masters of Chinese political history, intellectual history and cultural history.

This is not without reason. First of all, taxis in the Zhou Dynasty were nobles, and they also had the rights and treatment of nobles.The rights include the right to sacrifice, participate in the right and join the army, and the treatment is lower than that of princes and officials, but higher than that of civilians.For example, in marriage, one wife and one concubine; in sacrifice, three tripods and two gui; But as aristocrats, scholars "have rights, but no power", and most importantly, they have no governance power.Because the emperor, princes, and officials all have territories, for example, princes have feudal states, and officials have fiefs.These territories have gone through the three major procedures of conferring land, conferring people, and conferring titles, so the lord not only has financial power, but also governing power.

A scholar has no territory, only "food field", that is, the tax of a certain field belongs to him, but he cannot rule the peasants in the field.Moreover, he must hold a certain position in order to have a food field, which is not his private property.Those who have "shizhi" (hereditary positions) and "shitian" (hereditary fields) are a minority. More and more taxis can only "work part-time". This requires skill.In fact, all ordinary people are more or less capable.They either have martial arts and can be warriors, bodyguards, and assassins; or they are educated and can be historians, think tanks, and secretaries; or they know business and can be housekeepers, accountants, and brokers; , dispensing aphrodisiacs, and teaching intercourse techniques.No matter how bad it is, it can also "chicken and dog steal".

Obviously, taxis in the Zhou Dynasty were the "intellectuals" and "white-collar workers" at that time.Their status is neither high nor low, their number is not too many, and their energy is not too big or small, so they are most suitable for training as "middle class".If this is the case, a "backbone force" can be formed to consolidate political power at all levels and maintain social stability. However, Zhou Ren's biggest mistake was here. From the beginning of the great feudalism in the Western Zhou Dynasty, it was the princes and doctors who really gained real power and benefits.It is also these "middle and upper nobles" who are fattened up in the end.This is actually not good for the "center".Because the stronger the princes and officials are, the weaker the emperor will be.As a result of strong branches and weak branches, the Zhou royal family became a "leather bag company", Zhou Tianzi became a "polished commander", and in the end he couldn't even be a "rubber stamp".

Also withdrawing from the stage of history, there is also the "feudal order".Because the princes may be stronger than the emperor, and the doctor may be stronger than the princes.How can there be chaos if the subsidiary surpasses the head office?However, in the Spring and Autumn Period, the princes emptied the emperor, such as "five princes contend for hegemony"; in the Warring States period, the officials destroyed the princes, such as "three families divided Jin".But no matter what kind, scholars are accomplices. But at the same time, it is also a scholar who stands up and hopes to save the world.This is the "pre-Qin scholars".Among them, Confucianism represents scholars, Mohism represents warriors, Taoism represents hermits, and Legalism represents counselors, all of which are representatives of scholars.It's just that their plans are different, and they even think that the world is hopeless.

The same scholars, why are some "helping the tyrant" and some "rescuing the suffering" so different? Because there are "gentlemen" and "villains".