Chapter 16 Chapter Four: Taoism in the Early Han Dynasty

In ancient Chinese society, after hundreds of years of turmoil in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the people longed for stability.The unification of the Qin Dynasty was in line with the wishes of the people.However, the too cruel rule and unrestrained profligacy of the Qin Dynasty finally led to a peasant uprising led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang.The war lasted for more than three years and overthrew the Qin Dynasty.After that, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu fought for the world, and fought for more than four years. Finally, Liu Bang won and established the Han Dynasty. For social progress and for a better living condition, the people paid a heavy price.At the beginning of the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, the economy was broken, and the emperor could not find four horse-drawn carts of the same color.The lessons of the Qin Dynasty and the reality of the situation have forced the rulers to reduce their desires and let the people recuperate. Lao Tzu's philosophy of "doing nothing" has reached its golden age.

Liu Bang (256 BC-195 BC), the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty, had no culture. He also looked down on Confucian scholars, insulted them, and even took off the hats of Confucian scholars and used them as urinals.A man named Lu Jia (about 240 BC-about 170 BC) often praised the Confucian classics to Liu Bang, and Liu Bang scolded him: "I won the world by riding a horse and fighting, and I don't need any poems!" Lu Jia retorted : "If you win the world by riding a horse, can you rule the world by riding a horse?" Liu Bang came to his senses and asked Lu Jia to write down his principles.Every time Lu Jia finished writing an article, everyone cheered "Long live" in unison.According to the research of later generations, the people of the Han Dynasty did not attribute "Long Live" to the emperor only.So everyone's cheers were probably mainly to say that Lu Jia's book made sense and to express their praise.Lu Jia said: "There is nothing greater than doing nothing" ("Xinyu · Wuwei"), that is to say, doing nothing is the highest principle of governing the country.

Lu Jia cited both positive and negative examples to illustrate the benefits of inaction.The positive ones are Yu Shun and Zhou Gong. Lu Jia said that they played the zither and sang songs, as if they didn't care about anything, but the world was governed very well.The opposite is Qin Shihuang.He enacted many laws, and his punishments were cruel.However, the more laws there are, the more mischief and troubles there will be.He built the Great Wall to guard against the enemy; he continued to raise troops to conquer the small nations around him; the more things he did, the more chaotic the world became.It's not that he doesn't want to heal the country, but the result is that the family is ruined and the country is ruined.So Lu Jia came to the conclusion: inaction is the best principle for governing the country.

Govern the country with the principle of inaction, the country seems to care about nothing, the government seems to be empty, the people can sleep peacefully, and no one will conscript him to fight or serve in corvee at night.In this way, the upper and lower are harmonious and orderly. Lu Jia is a Confucianist. When he said inaction, he meant Confucian inaction.Confucianism does have something similar.However, it is Lao Tzu and Taoism who take inaction as the highest principle of doing things and repeatedly emphasize it.Now Lu Jia also talks about inaction, explaining that the rule of inaction is the common wish of everyone.Lu Jia said this, and as soon as everyone supported it, the idea of ​​doing nothing became popular.Talking about inaction naturally makes people think of Lao Tzu and Taoism.

But when Liu Bang was alive, the world had not completely quieted down.The princes and kings he entrusted continued to make troubles, and he had to flatten them, and the principle of inaction was difficult to implement.After Liu Bang's death, his most powerful assistant, Prime Minister Xiao He (?—193 BC), also died shortly thereafter.Liu Ying was the emperor (Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty), and Cao Shen was the prime minister. The principle of inaction was truly implemented. Cao Shen (? 190 BC) was a general of Liu Bang, and many people believed that his contribution was greater than that of Xiao He.When Xiao He was the prime minister, he was the prime minister of the king of Qi. He asked Mr. Gai, who was proficient in Huang Laoxue, for advice. Mr. Gai told him that to govern the country should be quiet and inactive, and the people will naturally be stable.He accepted this opinion, listened to Mr. Gai's words, and governed Qi very well.

The "Huang" in the "Huang-Lao School" refers to the Yellow Emperor, but the Yellow Emperor is only a legendary figure, so the "Huang-Lao School" at that time, in terms of philosophy, was mainly the philosophy of Laozi and Taoism. When Cao Shen became the prime minister, he didn't care about anything. He drank and had fun all day long, and chose honest people with clumsy tongues to be his assistants.Seeing that he didn't care about anything, the ministers wanted to give him advice.He sees who wants to make an opinion, so he will let him drink, and if he wants to talk after drinking, he will continue to drink until the person is too drunk to speak.Some officials also drink all day long and shout when they are happy.Their subordinates reported to Cao Shen, hoping that Cao Shen would take care of them and punish them.Unexpectedly, Cao Shen not only ignored them, but also sang with them, yelling.

Liu Ying, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty, saw Cao Shen's behavior, so he asked Cao Shen's son Cao Yu (zhuo zhuo) to persuade him.Cao Shen was furious, and beat Cao Yu 200 whips, saying: "Don't worry about my affairs!" Helpless, Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty had no choice but to go out in person.Cao Shen said: "How do you think you are compared with Emperor Gao (referring to Liu Bang)?" Emperor Hui said: "Not as good." Cao Shen asked again: "Then how am I compared to Prime Minister Xiao?" Cao Shen said: "That's right! Emperor Gao and Prime Minister Xiao have established a perfect system. Isn't it good for us to implement it!" Cao Shen served as prime minister for three years. After his death, the people all praised him.

A few years after the death of Emperor Hui of Han, Liu Heng became emperor, that is, Emperor Wen of Han (202 BC-157 BC).Sima Qian said that Emperor Wen and Empress Dou liked Huang Lao's learning, so both Emperor Wen and the prince had to read the books of Huang Di and Lao Zi, and used them as guiding ideology for governing the country.Emperor Wen of Han was a famous frugal emperor.He once wanted to build a "terrace", but once he settled the account, he needed "hundreds of gold". "Hundred gold" is equivalent to the property of 10 middle-level families, so it was decided not to build it.Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty wore clothes made of inferior silk, and his Ai Ji's clothes could not drag the floor, and the curtains in the house were not allowed to be embroidered.Only pottery can be placed in the tomb built for him, and gold and silver utensils are not allowed.The emperor took the lead in frugality, which greatly reduced the burden on the people.He also reduced taxes and only collected 1/30 of his income.Emperor Han Jing (188 BC-141 BC) inherited the policy of Emperor Han Wen and was quiet and inactive.In the past few decades, production has developed greatly. The grain in the warehouse has been piled up in the open air, there are too many copper coins, and the ropes that wear the money are rotten. The criminal law is looser and the society is relatively stable.

The policy of quietness and inaction has developed the economy, but it has also accumulated social conflicts.Jia Yi described the situation at that time: people did not pay attention to the order of superiority and inferiority, princes and kings expanded their power, people competed for extravagance, and crimes against superiors frequently occurred.Jia Yi warned: If there is no rectification, a major turmoil like the Qin Dynasty will happen.He asked to use Confucianism to educate the people, and to establish a necessary system in accordance with Confucianism, so that people can be nurtured bit by bit in daily life from the beginning of understanding, all the time and everywhere, and develop the habit of docile obedience, and become Good law-abiding citizens.Those who disobey will be punished by criminal law.Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty thought that he spoke well and was talented, so he promoted him three times a year, from a lower-level official to a central level. Jia Yi was only in his 20s at that time.Zhou Bo, Guan Ying and other senior ministers with outstanding military exploits said: Young people like to make troubles. According to his advice, they are afraid that troubles will happen.So Emperor Wenwen had to order Jia Yi to leave the central government and go to a remote vassal state to be a prime minister.Confucianism suffered another setback, and Emperor Wen of Han continued the policy of quiet and inaction.

During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Empress Dou became the Empress Dowager Dou, and she liked to read Laozi's books.One day, Empress Dowager Dou asked a Confucian scholar named Yuan Gu: "How about Lao Tzu's book?" Give him a good knife so he won't be killed by a wild boar.After the death of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che became the emperor. This is the famous Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (156-87 BC). He was only 16 years old at that time.Empress Dowager Dou became the empress dowager. Prime Minister Tian Fu (fenfen) and others liked Confucianism, and planned to establish a system of distinguishing superiority and inferiority, and let those who were conferred kings and marquises leave the capital and return to their fiefdoms.How can their fiefdom be as good as the capital?So they went to the old lady Dou to speak ill of Tian Fu and others.Coincidentally, Zhao Wan [Wan Wan], the doctor of imperial history, suggested that the emperor should not ask the old queen for instructions and report to the old lady because the old lady Dou liked Lao Tzu.The old queen was furious again, Zhao Wan was forced to commit suicide, and Tian Fu and others were dismissed from office. The 17-year-old Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty dared not disobey his grandmother.Four years later, the old woman passed away.In the second year, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty appointed Gongsun Hong, a poor Confucian scholar, as prime minister.Later, it adopted the suggestion of Dong Zhongshu (179-104 BC): "Depose all schools of thought and respect Confucianism alone."

It took about 50 years from when Cao Shen became prime minister to when Gongsun Hong became prime minister.It is the golden age of Lao Tzu's philosophy.His idea of ​​quietness and inaction became the guiding ideology of national politics, and his books were widely circulated.The nobles died and used his books as funeral objects. However, to govern a country, the short five thousand words of "Laozi" alone is not enough, so people created some books, which are said to be the works of the Yellow Emperor.Therefore, the ruling thought of this period is called "Huang Lao Shu" or "Huang Lao Xue".However, what are the books named Huangdi?There is only one "Huangdi Neijing", but it is a medical book. In 1973, in the Mawangdui Han tomb in Changsha, two books of "Laozi" were unearthed, and four articles of "Jingfa", "Sixteen Classics", "Said" and "Daoyuan" were also unearthed.Scholars believe that these four articles are relatively consistent in thought, and should be a book, and they are called "The Four Classics of the Yellow Emperor" or "Huanglao Silk Book".This book reflects a bit of the situation of "Huang Lao's learning" at that time.