Why do you say, "The world has not been chaotic, and the world has ruled Shu without standing?"

This sentence specifically refers to the separatist forces in Shu during the Great Division of China-the first half of the sentence; When Shu was destroyed in the Northern Song Dynasty, soldiers looted and even left hatred in the hearts of Shu people. Although it only took 66 days to pacify, it took several months to suppress Shu people and stabilize Shu country. Later, the rule of the Northern Song Dynasty in Shu was still very reluctant. Although Shu has long been unified, as long as there is a little trouble, the people of Shu will rebel.

Sichuan, located in the southwest of China and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, has a vast territory and many ethnic groups. Since ancient times, it has been known as "the treasure of things and the talent of the earth". Although far away from the Central Plains, its historical evolution pace is generally consistent with that of the Central Plains. In most historical periods, Sichuan's political clarity, economic development and cultural prosperity have always been regarded as the strategic rear of the motherland. No dynasty did not attach importance to Sichuan, and no dynasty did not regard the governance of Sichuan as the top priority of the country. Therefore, it is undoubtedly of great academic value and practical significance to summarize the history of governing Sichuan and its experiences and lessons, and it is also the unshirkable responsibility of Sichuan historians. This paper briefly discusses this and teaches it to Fang Jia.

I. "Governing the world" and the rise and fall of Sichuan

Sichuan was called Shu in ancient times. Historians once said that "the world was chaotic before Shu, and the world was ruled before Shu." This statement was originally used by historians to refer to the chaos and suffering between Sichuan and Shaanxi during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Later, some scholars suggested that it should mean that Jin and Mongolia attacked Sichuan and Shaanxi many times during the Southern Song Dynasty, which led to the economic decline of Sichuan. Some scholars believe that the Zhang Rebellion in the late Ming Dynasty was also caused by Shaanxi and Sichuan, which led to the decline of Sichuan, and so on. These statements are all based on conclusive historical facts, but they are all based on a certain dynasty and a certain generation, and they have not jumped out of the short-term historical view. In the eyes of the world, "the world is chaotic before chaos, and the world is not governed before Shu" seems to be the iron law of Sichuan's chaos control from ancient times to the present. Did Sichuan history follow this "law" after all? This is related to how to correctly understand the problem of Sichuan governance and the rise and fall of Sichuan in history, which should attract enough attention and in-depth and meticulous thinking. From the long-term perspective of history, that is, the whole process of history, the so-called popular saying that "the world is chaotic first, and the world is the first to rule Sichuan" is actually not the rule of chaos in Sichuan history and should be denied. But at a certain period or stage in Sichuan history, it is in line with the actual situation. In fact, in terms of the history of various provinces and regions in China, this phenomenon of alternating chaos control has occurred to varying degrees, which is not a unique historical landscape of Sichuan Province, let alone the law of chaos control in Sichuan history.

This requires us to make a historical investigation.

Like all the regional history of China, the history of Sichuan has not developed linearly, but evolved in twists and turns. Generally speaking, in the past two decades, historians have basically agreed with the theory of "three sheng's Second Decline" in Sichuan's historical development [1]. It means that there are three peaks and two valleys in Sichuan's historical development, three peaks in Qin, Han, Tang, Song and Qing Dynasties, and two valleys in Wei, Jin, Yuan and Ming Dynasties. But now it seems that this statement is still not comprehensive enough, because it does not mention the chaos and rise and fall of Sichuan in Shang and Zhou Dynasties and the early Republic of China [2].

Sanxingdui culture and Jinsha site fully reveal the historical fact that the ancient Shu civilization in Shang and Zhou Dynasties made great achievements, which is one of the important origins of Chinese civilization and has a very important position in the history of Chinese civilization. The excellence and brilliance of Sanxingdui civilization is enough to show that Sichuan ancient civilization and Central Plains civilization developed in parallel and jointly created a great and brilliant Chinese civilization. In the late Qing Dynasty and the period of Xinhai, Sichuan launched a massive railway protection movement, which provided a strong guarantee for the success of Wuchang Uprising, became the fuse of Xinhai Revolution, and "caused the China Revolution to be the first" (Zhu Dede) [2], which took the lead in raising the banner of righteousness from the decadent Qing Dynasty and established the first county-level bourgeois military government "Rongxian Military Government". From the standpoint of the Qing Dynasty, there was indeed "chaos in the world before Shu", and 19 1 1 Sichuan Road Protection Movement and Rongxian Shouyi can be regarded as its typical examples. In the early years of the Republic of China, Sichuan warlords fought for more than 20 years, forming a "regional security system" in which warlords divided themselves, resulting in the darkest era in modern Sichuan history. From the point of view of the national government, it is true that "the world governs Shu first and then governs Shu", and the "protected zone system" of warlords in Sichuan in the early years of the Republic of China is also typical. However, 1935 After the reunification of the Sichuan government, Sichuan military orders and government decrees were unified to the central government. In the subsequent War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the people of Sichuan made great sacrifices and special contributions to the great victory of the people of China in the all-round war of resistance.

From a long-term historical point of view, a more comprehensive and objective statement should be: the development of Sichuan's history shows the characteristics of "four booms and three busts", with four peaks in the pre-Qin, Qin, Han, Tang, Song and Qing Dynasties and three lows in the Wei, Jin, Yuan and Ming Dynasties and the early Republic of China. However, peaks and valleys are relative. At its peak, Sichuan did not always rise in a straight line, but was full of ups and downs. At the same time, its ups and downs will inevitably be affected by the changes in the overall political and economic situation of the country.

The emergence of the four peak periods in Sichuan history is not accidental. They directly depend on several necessary conditions: First, the politics is relatively clear, the society is relatively stable, and the economy and culture can develop continuously. Secondly, the surrounding political environment and social environment are relatively stable. Of course, the stability of the overall situation of the country is the most important. The development and prosperity of Sichuan in pre-Qin, Qin and Han Dynasties, Tang and Song Dynasties and Qing Dynasty were all inseparable from these conditions.

On the contrary, the appearance of the three valleys in Sichuan history is closely related to the instability of surrounding relations, or it is directly caused by the situation of national war. During the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, many separatist regimes ruled Sichuan. The ownership of Sichuan is uncertain, the administrative system changes frequently, the organization of production is difficult, and the economy and culture are greatly retrogressed. During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, there was a long-term war in Sichuan, and cultural relics were completely destroyed, making it difficult to recover. In the early Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek's new warlords fought with warlords from other provinces for years, and Sichuan warlords fought for power and profit under this background. The warlord's "regional security system" seriously destroyed the economic order, made people's livelihood languish and society corrupt. Hard facts show that division, division and war are the enemies of development and progress, while unity, peace and stability are the basic conditions for development and progress.

Throughout history, it is not difficult to see that the historical trough in Sichuan was not caused by "chaos before Shu" or "chaos before Shu". The end of the two valleys of Sichuan ancient history was not after the national political pacification, nor was it "after the world ruled Sichuan". In the early years of the Republic of China, the formation of the warlord's "regional security system" in Sichuan was also closely related to the unstable national political situation and the warlord's melee in various provinces and factions in the 1920s and 1930s. Therefore, from the long-term perspective of diachronic and * * * timeliness, not just from the short-term perspective, the problem of the rise and fall of Sichuan's chaos should be relatively clear.

In fact, it is not difficult to know that in the long river of China's historical development, Sichuan has been in a period of relative peace and economic and cultural prosperity in most historical periods, which is also the fundamental reason why Sichuan is famous for its rich products and outstanding people.

Second, we should think deeply about the governance of Shu in the future.

What we have discussed above is mainly the external or necessary conditions for Sichuan to control the rise and fall of chaos, while the internal or sufficient conditions for Sichuan to control the rise and fall of chaos should be the principles, policies, measures, success or failure. In this respect, a couplet of Wuhou Temple in Chengdu has attracted the attention of Shu governors since modern times.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, juror Zhao Fan wrote in the couplets of Wuhou Temple in Chengdu that "we should think deeply about the future governance of Shu". This famous "attack on the heart" couplet has aroused great interest and thinking of many dignitaries and scholars in modern times. On reflection, combined with historical facts, the upper and lower couplets in Zhao Fan's Attack on the Heart actually contain two meanings: the first couplet is a layer, which talks about the way of using troops; The second part is the first floor, which talks about the way to govern the people. Soldiers and people are the source of victory. Therefore, combining the two meanings is the way to govern the country. I don't talk about the meaning of the previous layer here, but only express my humble opinion on the meaning of the latter layer.

The so-called "thinking deeply about governing Shu in the future" is obviously a warning to future generations. However, what he meant was not the relationship between ruling the chaos in the world and ruling the chaos in Sichuan, but that the chief executive of Sichuan should assess the situation, give full play to his political wisdom and talent, and formulate specific policies, strategies and measures to rule Sichuan according to the history and reality of Sichuan, that is, according to the specific situation of Sichuan.

The most striking feature of Zhuge Liang's rule of Shu is "sizing up the situation", that is, accurately grasping the situation in Sichuan. At the beginning of Liu Bei Group's entry into Shu, there was a heated debate about how to govern Shu. Fa Zheng, an important counselor of Liu Bei, said: "When Gao Zu entered Shanhaiguan, he made three chapters about the law, and Qin Min knew virtue. Today, under the guise of power, he crossed a state and had his own original country without paying tribute. And the righteousness of the guest host should be reduced, and I am willing to suspend my sentence to comfort his hope. " (3) In other words, only by giving benefits and relaxing punishment can we win people's hearts. However, Zhuge Liang got an opposite understanding of the law through an in-depth analysis of the situation in central Sichuan. He believes: "The Qin Dynasty has no way, the court is harsh on the people's grievances, and Shu Ren shouts, the world collapses, and Gaozu can benefit." Liu Zhang is weak, and since (Liu) Yan came, he has benefited from his life. He is restrained in grammar, committed to each other, does not advocate virtue and politics, and does not threaten punishment. Shu people are autocratic and arrogant, and the way of monarch and minister is gradually replaced by Ling. Coquetry is cheap, and obedience is slow. Therefore, the disadvantages are caused by this. I am proud of the law now, and I know my gratitude when I do it, and I know my honor when I limit it. Honor and grace are one, and there are knots from top to bottom. To cure, write in Si. "[4] Unlike Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu," suspended sentence is forbidden to comfort his hope ",but" threatened by law "and" limited by courtesy ". It is necessary to strictly administer Shu, strictly observe the law and discipline, and rectify the bureaucracy, so that punishment does not avoid relatives, rewards do not avoid enemies, rewards and punishments must be believed, and punishment is not imposed because of high position, not because of low position, and talents are selected. Before Liu Bei Group came to Shu, Liu Zhang took Shu as the pastoral of Yizhou successively. As the supreme rulers of Sichuan, they are lax in law and discipline, disbelieving in rewards and punishments, cronyism and even political corruption, which makes the weak soldiers tired and the people's livelihood languish. This is completely different from the overall situation of the whole country during the Chu-Han dispute at the end of Qin Dynasty. In this situation, if we imitate the "imprisonment" of Emperor Gaozu, it will inevitably lead to the further deterioration of Shu and Han politics. Therefore, not only can we not win people's hearts with the policy of "probation and prohibition", on the contrary, we must adopt the policy of strict law and discipline to clean up the mess left by Erliu Zhishu. Historical facts have proved that Zhuge Liang's principles, strategies and measures of strictly administering Shu are basically correct. This shows that the so-called sizing up the situation is to combine history with reality and consider it comprehensively. It is not necessary to "rule the king before the law" or "rule the king after the law", but to deal with the specific situation, from which we can have a correct understanding of the situation of governing the land.

However, Zhao Fan's so-called "thinking deeply about the future" is nothing more than that? I'm afraid there is a deeper meaning. Zhuge Liang has indeed made great achievements in governing Shu, and has also made great contributions to Shu. However, there are considerable defects in "managing officials", that is, establishing an effective and orderly administrative system. Among them, the most critical problem lies in the lack of institutional guarantee. The so-called "rule of law" is actually "rule of man", which has brought "rule of man" to the extreme. Pei Songzhi quoted Ji Shu in the reflection as saying that in Shu Han, it was decided by Zhuge Liang personally. Although there is a system on paper, it is just a dead letter. In this way, it not only blocks the opportunities and paths for most other officials to contribute their talents, but also makes the rulers lack successors. Sure enough, after Zhuge Liang's death, there was no successor. "There is no general in Shu, and Liao Huachong is the pioneer", and his death became the final foregone conclusion. Why is history like this? In Zhao Fan's couplet, it is said that "both leniency and severity are wrong", and its profound connotation is indeed an important topic of "ruling Shu after deep thinking".

Apart from Zhuge Liang's rule of Shu in the Three Kingdoms period, there are quite a few historical cases in other dynasties, such as Fan Chengda's rule of Shu in the Song Dynasty and Ding Baozhen's rule of Shu in the Qing Dynasty. The basic premise of their success in governing Sichuan is that they can accurately analyze and grasp the situation in Sichuan, which is inseparable from the word "assess the situation". In the Southern Song Dynasty, Fan Chengda ruled Shu. In view of the fact that the court did not reuse the imprisonment of Shu people in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, Qin Gui "deeply suppressed Shu people" and "Shu people never got rid of Shu Shuai" in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty [6]. As the ruler of Shu, Fan Chengda deeply realized that to manage Sichuan well, we must make full use of the wisdom and talents of Shu people. Therefore, he did two things in dealing with the relationship with Shu literati and winning their support. One is to commend celebrities, and the other is to recruit talents. The result is that "Shu scholars change their minds" [7], which has achieved the expected effect. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, as soon as Ding Baozhen took office, he consulted and inquired in many ways, and carefully observed the situation in Sichuan Province along the way, knowing that "Sichuan officials are greedy and the situation is in jeopardy" [8], in which official corruption is the core of the problem. "As far as the current situation is concerned, the image of Fuchuan Province has been seen by the people, but its poison is still planted on officials" [9]. Therefore, the corresponding measures were formulated to govern the Shu state, with the rectification of official administration as the top priority, which achieved considerable results and was praised as "the first good governor of Sichuan for hundreds of years" [10].

In fact, every dynasty in history had its own characteristics at that time, and there was no consistent policy, strategy and measures to govern Shu. However, there is a general similarity in the governance of Sichuan in the past dynasties, that is, the chief executives of Sichuan in the past dynasties, in addition to strictly implementing the central policies, mainly relied on their own political wisdom and intelligence, combined with the history and reality of Sichuan, formulated corresponding measures, made great efforts to govern Sichuan, and paid attention to official management, rule of law, economic and cultural development and other major aspects.