Chapter 11 3. The burning pit business needs to be discussed

As a monarch who has enjoyed the country for a long time, made great achievements and made great achievements, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che is often regarded as one of the representative figures with epoch-making significance in history, that is, the so-called "Emperor of Qin and Wu of Han, Emperor of Tang and Song Zu".It was he who laid the foundation for centralization internally, "governed by eagle strikes" externally, pacified South Vietnam, conquered North Korea, conquered the Huns, and communicated with the Western Regions, making the Han prestige spread far and wide overseas, and the dynasty reached its peak. It deserves to be a historical coordinate.

In all fairness, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's martial arts and martial arts were basically nothing more than using the foundation laid by the predecessors to complete the unfinished business of the predecessors.Long-sleeved and good at dancing, rich and good at business.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty showed his talents and made great achievements, all relying on the political resources and national wealth accumulated over decades from Emperor Hui, Gao Hou, Emperor Wen, and Emperor Jing.Even the strategy of governing the country, which is both soft and hard, was left by his ancestors, but he used it to his advantage.

So, didn't Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "create"?Have.For example, "revere Confucianism alone". According to "Hanshu·Dong Zhongshu's Biography", this incident was originally caused by Dong Zhongshu's countermeasure - "All those who are not in the six arts of Confucius's art, all have their own way, and don't let them advance in parallel."This is the so-called "discard all schools of thought in Guizhou and respect only Confucianism".But such an important decision was by no means a casual suggestion by Dong Zhongshu, nor was it a random decision made by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. It was the most successful and only successful transaction between the ruling class and folk thought in Chinese history.We know that the validity period of this transaction is as long as more than two thousand years.Therefore, it can only be the result of long-term exploration and deliberation by both parties.

Dong Zhongshu is the representative of Party B, he represents a theory and a class.This kind of doctrine is Confucianism, and this class is "scholar".Scholars were originally the lowest level of nobles in the Bangguo era, followed by doctors, princes and emperors in turn.The emperor has the world, the princes have the country, and the doctor has a family. They are all "lords".Scholars have no territory, at most they have a piece of land without sovereignty and governance (shishitian).There is no territory, so there is no family property.Because he is an aristocrat, he does not do production.If there is no family property and no production, there is only "parasitism".Therefore, scholars are extremely dependent.They are "hair" and must be attached to a "skin".In fact, the foundation of a scholar's life is nothing more than Xiu Qi Zhiping.Xiu means self-cultivation;The first thing is for the scholar himself, and the last three things are for the doctor, the prince and the emperor respectively, but they need the help of the scholar.That is to say, scholars should first manage themselves well, strengthen their moral cultivation, and learn literary and martial arts. This is self-cultivation; To stabilize the world, this is the peace of the world.In short, a scholar must make a difference and must be attached to something.Therefore, scribes attached themselves to the princes and officials, advising them (also serving as secretaries); warriors attached themselves to the overlord Yuxiong, giving birth and death for them (also serving as assassins).Moreover, since scholars have no real estate, they are very mobile; and because they have skills, they are very popular.Therefore, the scholars went to Qin Muchu, came out to be generals, and wandered among the countries, claiming that "entering Chu Chu is heavy, leaving Qi Qi is light, for Zhao Zhaowan, side (rebellion) Wei Wei hurt" (Wang Chong "Lunheng·Efficacy" 》), became a very active force in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

This is not surprising either.Because although a scholar has no territory, no sovereignty and ruling power, he has the identity of a free person and his own abilities.Moreover, just because they have no territory, they have no restraints. On the contrary, they are freer than emperors, princes, and doctors. Of course, they can attach themselves to one today and help another tomorrow.However, after the disintegration of the state system and the unification of the world, this active force has become a factor of instability in the empire.At this time, the scribes who were secretaries had become Confucianists, and the warriors who were assassins had become chivalrous.Confucianism uses literature to disrupt the law, and chivalry uses martial arts to violate laws. They are all tolerated by the centralized system, so Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty exterminated martial arts, and Qin Shihuang burned books to bury Confucianism.It's a pity that whether you are a chivalrous man or a Confucian, you can't be suppressed.They are like the "grass from the original", really "one year old and one dry and prosperous".As long as there is any trouble, they will jump out to destroy and make trouble, including the lawlessness of Xia and the nonsense of Confucianism.

What's more, martial arts can be wiped out, but Confucian scholars cannot be wiped out.Because the tasks of martial arts can be undertaken by the army, but the work of Confucian scholars cannot be completed by officials, unless the officials are originally Confucian scholars (civilian officials).We know that the empire, as a society of power, is essentially "rule by culture" (that is, relying on atypical violence such as power to maintain rule).Since it is essentially "civilian rule", civil officials and Confucian scholars are the main objects to rely on in governing the country.So Confucian scholars not only can't "suppress", but also have to "use".The problem is that the Confucian scholars who came from the Bangguo era still retain the personality of being free and undisciplined and speaking out for justice.Therefore, how to use these Confucian scholars who are used to "liberalization" is a problem that the empire must consider.

On the other hand, Confucian scholars are also looking for a way out, and the best way out is to serve the empire.Most of them can figure it out.First, Confucian scholars, as "hair", must be attached to a piece of "skin".Attaching to the princes is attachment, and attachment to the emperor is also attachment, it is no different, and it is more dignified to attach to the emperor, besides, there is no one else to attach to except the emperor.Second, Confucian scholars have read poetry and books, and they originally wanted to serve politics, which is the so-called "learning literary and martial arts, and goods and the emperor's family".Wouldn't it be a waste if not to serve the empire?Third, the ambition of Confucian scholars, as mentioned earlier, has always been to "cultivate Qi and rule peace."Now that the body has been repaired and there is nothing left to do with the family, if not "rule the world", how can we display our ambitions?And if you don't take refuge in the empire, how can you manage the world and help the people?Besides, if such people who are well-educated and well-versed in the way of the kings do not govern the country, but let the stupid officials and warriors do mischief, what will happen to the people in the world?I can't bear it!

With such "justifiable reasons", Confucian scholars believe that they should actively throw themselves into their arms as much as possible.Therefore, when Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty first decided the world, Uncle Sun Tong rushed to serve; when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked about strategies in the Golden Palace, Dong Zhongshu answered fluently.One party is about to recruit security, and the other party is also about to sell themselves to seek refuge. Both parties have their own needs, so naturally they hit it off. It can't be said that no one had this idea before, and the empire should have seen the duality of independence and dependence of the soldiers, which is the fundamental reason why they were able to reach a deal.However, Dong Zhongshu and Emperor Wu of the Han hit it off because of a more important consensus, that is: a unified empire should have a unified thinking.According to "The Biography of Dong Zhongshu in the Book of Han", Dong Zhongshu said to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty: Confucius wrote "Spring and Autumn" and talked about the unification of the world.This is the eternal law of the universe (the regular scriptures of heaven and earth), and the fundamental principle of the world (communication between ancient and modern).But now, the theories are not unified (teachers have different ways), the opinions are not unified (different opinions), each person has his own doctrine (a hundred different schools of thought), and each faction has his own line (different meanings), the emperor cannot Unify the world (the top cannot maintain unity), the country cannot formulate policies (the legal system changes frequently), and the people are at a loss (the bottom does not know what to do), how can we achieve the "great unification" proposed by Confucius?The implication is also very clear: Without a unified thought, how can there be a unified empire?

This is a question that Qin Shihuang also considered, but he chose the wrong target (admired Legalism), found the wrong helper (using officials as teachers), and used the wrong means (burning books and burying Confucianism).Legalism is a kind of political strategy. It can be used to arm the emperor, but it is too inappropriate to be used to educate the people.Officials trained by Legalism can only deal with some technical problems, but are unable to educate the people.It is even more wrong to use violence like Shang Yang. How can violence solve ideological problems?The Huang-Lao school advocated in the early Han Dynasty was not good either.That kind of thinking is gentle, but it can only create peace and inaction and a state of disunity, it cannot create great unity, and it cannot help a king who is very happy to achieve hegemony and imperial career.But now it's all right, Dong Zhongshu helped the empire solve this problem.Dong Zhongshu told Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty: A unified empire requires a unified thought, which is Confucianism.Or to be more precise, it is Confucianism transformed by Dong Zhongshu.

Confucianism is a political and ethical philosophy that contains social ideals.According to Confucianism, an ideal society should be both orderly and harmonious, both hierarchical and poetic.This is actually the ideal of the empire - the world is unified, orderly, stable and peaceful.Of course, Confucian scholars may value the poetic flavor of "benevolence, love and comity," while empires value the order of "monarch and ministers," but this does not prevent them from jointly taking Confucianism as a banner and signboard.What's more, after Dong Zhongshu's transformation of the original Confucianism in the pre-Qin period, things like yin and yang and five elements have been mixed in, forming a system of "unity of man and nature".According to this system, the way of humanity is the way of heaven.The sky is superior to the earth, so the emperor is superior to ministers, officials are inferior to the people, fathers are superior to sons, husbands are inferior to wives, and the emperor naturally occupies the highest position in the cosmic order. This is of course very much in the appetite of the empire.

Another advantage of Confucianism is its simplicity.For example, "If you go out, you must report, and if you go (return), you must face to face" (tell your parents when you go out, and say hello when you come back), it is not difficult to do.This is conducive to the rule of the common people who do not have much culture, and it is conducive to the popularization of imperial thought.It can not only respect the emperor, but also fool the people, and is also easy to operate. Is there any reason why it should not be officially designated as an official ideology?However, from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, Confucianism almost dominated the Chinese ideological and academic circles; and the Confucianism, which originally stood out from the contention of a hundred schools of thought, has changed from the folk thought of one family to the supreme official philosophy.Rulers can be used to govern the country, and they can also be used to kill people. Of course, they are more used to murder various ideas. Dong Zhongshu deserves to be called an "imperial thinker", and he has indeed found a good strategy for the long-term stability of the empire.In the following two thousand years, although the replacement of dynasties was inevitable, the imperial system remained as stable as Mount Tai.This cannot but be "attributed" to the influence of Confucianism on people, especially on the intellectual class.Even in the last years of the dynasty, scholars (scholars) seldom participated in the rebellion, at most a few "lost candidates" mixed in.Another fact that can be used as evidence is that it was never Confucianism that united the rebels, but non-Confucian or even anti-Confucian folk religious beliefs, from the red eyebrows, yellow scarves, and five buckets of rice religion in the Han Dynasty to Later, the White Lotus Sect and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were like this. This is also a very cost-effective transaction for both parties.Confucian scholars dedicated their knowledge and loyalty to the empire, and the empire opened their official positions and salaries to Confucian scholars; Confucian scholars sought living space from the empire, and the empire turned Confucian scholars from potential opponents into pillars of the country; Confucian knowledge gave the emperor's supremacy a legal cloak, and the empire used its own power to make Confucianism the only one among many theories; Confucian scholars gained a monopoly on ideology, and the empire turned it into its own ruling tool.One is exclusive, one is supreme, one is monopoly, and one is toy, of course they will make a deal. This is another unequal deal.Although the empire promised to govern the country in accordance with Confucianism, in fact, Confucian scholars had no control over whether the empire was kingly or hegemonic.When the king's way is easy to use and enough, it is natural to be gentle and elegant, singing and dancing to promote peace, but if it is not enough, he will turn his face and deny people, fight violently, and even kill people like hemp.In short, the empire can refuse to perform the contract as it pleases, and no one can do anything about it.On the contrary, Confucian scholars have to fulfill the "devil's agreement"-from then on, they surrender their souls and no longer have free thoughts and freedom of thought.Moreover, due to this collective betrayal by Dong Zhongshu on behalf of Confucian scholars, the Chinese intellectuals will suffer countless hardships and devastation in the long years to come. But for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, this move can be called "the most brilliant".Fundamentally speaking, he advocated the same unification of thought as Qin Shihuang.His "exclusive respect for Confucianism" is actually the continuation of Qin Shihuang's "burning pit career".But he knew that in order to unify the mind, it is not enough to rely on killing people, but to rely on killing one's heart.Han Fei said: "The law of prohibiting adultery is to prohibit one's heart, secondly to prohibit one's words, and secondly to prohibit one's deeds." ("Han Feizi Shuoyi") Then, killing the person is the last thing.On the contrary, buying people's hearts is the method with the lowest cost and the best effect.Of course, it is still necessary to act both hard and soft.Respecting only Confucianism is soft, and dismissing all kinds of schools is hard.Obviously, there is only a difference in means, not in essence.As Mr. Gu Lingang said in "The Alchemists and Confucian Scholars of the Qin and Han Dynasties": "Qin Shihuang's unified thinking is not to allow people to read books, and his method is punishment; The method is the lure of Li Lu. As a result, Shi Huang failed, and Emperor Wu succeeded." Winning or losing does not matter.The imperial system survived by relying solely on Confucianism, but it will also lose its vitality due to the dismissal of all the schools in Guizhou. "After a hundred schools of thought are gone, there will be no outstanding scholars, and they will always be a disaster for China" (Yu Youren's words), sincerely!It's just that this account will not be settled until a long time later, and the Qing Empire has to pay the bill.