Chapter 2 Section 2 "Mouthpiece Officials" in the Era of Abdication

Communication in ancient my country has a long history.According to the ancient book "Gu Jin Zhu", Yao once "set up a tree of slander".This kind of wooden product is similar to the Huabiao of later generations. It can not only write opinions on the government, but also serve as road signs.It is a cross-bar crossed on the column head, "shaped like an orange tree, and the roads and intersections are well-known", and they are installed at the traffic intersections of all roads.This is probably one of the earliest ways of expressing opinions upward in the written records of our country, and it can also be regarded as the original form of letter communication in ancient times.

During the Yao Dynasty, he paid great attention to the maintenance of roads.For the sake of smooth traffic, he built a thoroughfare avenue in the capital Pingyang (now Linfen, Shanxi), which was called "Kangqu", and later changed the place to "Kangzhuang".The "Kangzhuang Avenue" we often say now comes from this.The wideness of the road shows that the transmission of information was relatively fast and convenient at that time. By the time of Shun, this method of adopting opinions with the "tree of slander" had formed a political system.Shun has an official in charge of communication.According to Sima Qian's "Historical Records", Shun once set up 22 "Nayan" officials, who "clearly understand the four directions".These officials "go in and out at night", go to various places to listen to the opinions of the people, and pass on Shun's intentions to everyone.They were called "Mouthpiece Officials", and they were actually communication officials who played the role of communication officials at that time.Nayan system, that is, organized communication activities to exchange opinions from top to bottom.

In ancient times, what kind of communication method was used?There are no detailed records left in the history books.However, the materials of folklore tell us that the residents of the primitive society have indeed been carrying out all kinds of very interesting communication activities.The Wa people in Yunnan still carried out primitive woodcut communication until before liberation: if there was a dispute between villages A and B, village A would order someone to send a wooden stick to village B, and two notches were carved on the top of the stick to represent village A and village B. Two villages, three gaps are engraved on the bottom, indicating that village B will go to village Jia to reconcile within three days, and an oblique angle is carved on the front, indicating that the matter is urgent and cannot be delayed.This primitive form of communication has also been discovered by archaeologists in Liuwan, Ledu, Qinghai.The record bone carvings unearthed from the original site there are very similar to those of the Wa people.It shows that the primitive residents of our country in the matrilineal clan era thousands of years ago already had simple communication activities.

During the Xia Dynasty in the 21st century BC, the Central Plains of China entered a slavery society.At that time, the means of transportation were more developed than the previous generation.An ancient book says, "Xiahou's twenty people and the chariot (nian mill)" refers to the use of 20 slaves to pull the big cart.If there is no wide road, a car pulled by 20 people cannot pass. "Zuo Zhuan" quoted the ancient document "Yuren Zhizhi" and said: "The traces of Mangmang Yu are painted as Kyushu, and the nine roads are enlightened." avenue.Later, the rulers of the Xia Dynasty stipulated a system of regular renovation and clearing of the avenues. In "Xia Xiaoling", it is called "clearing roads in September and building beams in October", which means that there is a task of sweeping roads in the whole country in autumn and September every year, and repairing bridges in October.This shows that the Xia Dynasty attached great importance to traffic management.It was precisely because of the unobstructed roads that Xia Dynasty's orders were issued quickly and effectively. "Historical Records Xia Benji" says that the ruled area of ​​the Xia Dynasty extends from the sea in the east to the desert in the west, and "sounds and teachings spread all over the world."

At this time, people's communication activities are more complicated than before.The "Book of Xia" handed down says that there is a way for the government to promulgate orders. In the spring and March every year, the order officials called "Qiu (qiu) people" hold wooden dolls and go to the main roads. Announce the orders of the government.This is the way our country issued official documents in the early days.The country organizes people to control floods, and it needs a complete notification organization system; the government implements effective management of the local area, and it also needs a relatively tight communication network.Therefore, the Xia Dynasty established officials such as "Muzheng", "Pazheng" and "Chezheng".Mu Zheng is in charge of animal husbandry, Pao is in charge of meals, Che Zheng is the official in charge of the folk communication system, and is in charge of "car travel" in the world.Legend has it that when Xia Yu controlled the water, he "traveled on land by chariot, on water by boat, on mud by sledge, and on mountain by 檋 (juju)" ("Historical Records·Xia Benji").With so many means of transportation, communication at this time is more convenient than before.

According to ancient legends, Yao set up wooden drums in order to encourage the people to give their opinions.Anyone who has suggestions or dissatisfaction can drum a signal.This method is quite similar to the "drum mail" which is still popular in the African continent. Drummers can strike different sounds and rhythms on two or more drums to express different languages, and play the role of postal communication.It can be inferred that the use of drumming in my country to convey information was the earliest at the end of primitive society.