What is the outstanding achievement of Emperor Taizong during his reign?

Later generations called Li Shimin's rule "the rule of chastity"

Zhenguan is the title of Li Shimin of Emperor Taizong, and the rule of Zhenguan refers to the peaceful and prosperous times in the early Tang Dynasty. Because Emperor Taizong can be virtuous, he knows people and makes good use of them. Open the way, modestly coachable, reuse Wei Zhi, etc. And adopted the agriculture-oriented, tax reduction, rest and recuperation, strict economy, improve the imperial examination system and other policies to stabilize the society. At that time, the national title was Zhenguan (627-649), which was called Zhenguan Governance in history. This was the first prosperous period of the Tang Dynasty, which laid the foundation for the prosperity of Kaiyuan later.

Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, experienced great turmoil at the end of Sui Dynasty. Taking Yang Guang's national subjugation and extinction as a warning, he accepted the lessons of the peasant uprising at the end of Sui Dynasty, made great political efforts and implemented a series of enlightened policies and measures from the long-term interests of the landlord class, and achieved remarkable results. He once said, "Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. People are like water and people are like boats. " In order to consolidate our sovereignty, we can't be too hard on the people. Therefore, he paid great attention to listening to different opinions, encouraged ministers to criticize directly, and paid attention to selecting talents with both ability and political integrity as officials, regardless of their status and personal relationship, and implemented the policy of "appointing people on their merits".

First of all, he dismissed Pei Ji and other conservative bureaucrats, and used representatives of civilian landlords, such as Wei Zhi, Dai Zhou, Ma Zhou, etc. Most of them are intellectuals, familiar with the historical facts of the rise and fall of past dynasties and the truth of feudal thinkers governing the country. In particular, many people have participated in the peasant army, have some understanding of the great power of the peasant revolution, and are closer to reality in handling government affairs. Li Shimin can also select a large number of politicians from civilian landlords to join the supreme ruling clique, and restrain the influence of gentry landlords by revising genealogy and developing imperial examination system, so as to adapt to the historical trend of landlords developing into civilians. Li Shimin also learned Yang Di's attitude of refusing to remonstrate and accepted advice with an open mind. Wei Zhi, Liu Yue, Cen Wenben, Ma Zhou and other admonishers were full of court debates and put forward many pertinent opinions and criticisms. Therefore, the emperor can better implement the "Jundao" and avoid and correct many mistakes. Emperor Taizong was good at distinguishing gentlemen from villains. According to the principle of Ren Xian's appointment, he used sages and retired his henchmen. Therefore, he is loyal to the sage and brilliant. Rufang and Du Ruhui were both famous sages in Zhenguan period, while Yu Shinan was a famous minister who held several positions. Tang Taizong's political life was very normal, because he was able to appoint a virtuous man without avoiding the enemy, treat others honestly, reward and punish them, and mobilize the enthusiasm of his deputies. He further tightened the system of three provinces and six departments, and stipulated that the governors of the three provinces, Shangshu, Zhongshu, Shangshu and Xiamen were in charge of the functions and powers of the prime minister. In addition, some officials were appointed as prime ministers with the titles of "participating in politics", "making peace with Chinese books" and "making three products with Chinese books" to participate in the proceedings of the government affairs hall. When the number of prime ministers increases, we can concentrate the opinions of the majority and avoid the monopoly of one or two prime ministers. Moreover, the prime minister's taste is not high, and he can advance and retreat freely, so that Emperor Taizong can promote the cloth landlord to be the prime minister, resulting in the dominant position of the cloth landlord in the central organization.

Secondly, we should legislate in the spirit of "valuing things over people" and "keeping things simple", and select law enforcement personnel to avoid extravagance and waste as much as possible; The monarch takes the lead in observing the legal system and does not shy away from pro-expensive law enforcement. Pay attention to local politics, carefully choose the secretariat, and the official management is relatively clear. Release ladies-in-waiting, set free eagles and dogs, advocate thrift, avoid unnecessary wars, implement frivolous tax policies, develop production and ease class contradictions. He insisted on the system of land equalization and rent adjustment, recuperated and rewarded farming, which enabled the economy to recover and develop rapidly. Emperor Taizong's principle of "valuing the crown of the present" led Gao Shilian and others to compile Zhenguan genealogy, forbidding Shandong clansmen to sell their marriages for wealth, thus restraining the influence of the old gentry. Due to the implementation of the above policies and measures, as well as the hard work of the working people, the scene of cattle and horses, low food prices and social peace appeared in Zhenguan period.

Li Shimin also attaches importance to the relations among ethnic groups and promotes economic and cultural exchanges among ethnic groups. The rule of Zhenguan is a prosperous time in the history of China, which can be compared with the rule of Wenjing in the Han Dynasty.

Although the policies and measures promoted by Emperor Taizong were progressive, they all served the fundamental interests of the landlord class. During the Zhenguan period, the working people were still in a position of exploitation and oppression. In the later period of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong gradually became extravagant, sometimes wasting people's money, and coachable, employing people and enforcing the law were not as good as before; The crusade against Korea brought suffering to the Chinese and Korean people. This shows that the rule of chastity has certain limitations.

The remarkable characteristics of "Zhenguan rule" are "innovation", "harmony" and "restraint".

"Innovation" is the source of vitality of "Zhenguan Governance"

Political vitality

Originated from pioneering and innovation. "Zhenguan Governance" is essentially an innovative process and an innovative achievement. The spirit of "innovation" is the fundamental symbol that "the rule of Zhenguan" can surpass other historical periods and walk in the forefront.

The "innovation" characteristics of Zhenguan governance are embodied in system innovation, cultural innovation and thinking innovation. For example, the "Zhenguan" period did not start the three provinces and six departments system. However, Emperor Taizong reformed and developed it, which greatly improved the operating mechanism and efficiency of the system. It carried out the principle of separation of powers under the feudal political system to the maximum extent, and played a complementary and mutually restrictive role among the central decision-making, deliberation and execution agencies: the Central Secretariat issued decrees, the subordinate provinces audited them, and the Shangshu Province implemented them. The "innovation" of this system makes the links of decision-making, examination and implementation organically connected, which not only improves the administrative efficiency, but also reduces the possible mistakes in political life to a lower level. Undoubtedly, it was this kind of institutional innovation that provided an important guarantee for the comprehensive promotion and universal implementation of various policies during the Zhenguan period. For another example, although genealogy compilation is not a particularly eye-catching program in the Rule of Zhenguan, it also contains a profound soul of "innovation", and to some extent it can even be said to be an important link that determines the success or failure of the Rule of Zhenguan. There is a simple reason. Although Tang Taizong organized the compilation of Genealogy, although there were private songs in the middle to improve the status of Li's royal family, it objectively suppressed the landlord forces of the gentry, cleared the way for the benign development of the imperial examination system, and conformed to the historical trend of the rapid rise of the civilian landlord forces, thus ensuring that a large number of civilian landlord politicians with both ability and loyalty to the court entered the power center and expanded the ruling foundation. This practice of keeping pace with the times and strengthening the foundation is of course a major innovation in political and cultural construction. For another example, the formulation and implementation of the progressive ethnic policy in Zhenguan period was also rooted in the "innovation" of Tang Taizong's ethnic concept. For a long time, the orthodox ideas in the Central Plains have been "distinguishing foreign summers" and strictly "preventing foreign summers". This kind of thought has a feeling of national estrangement and national tearing in the depths of consciousness, which has played a negative role in national integration since Qin, Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties. During the Zhenguan period, Emperor Taizong clearly declared: "Since ancient times, China has been the most important, and I love him as always." Under the guidance of this concept, Emperor Taizong adhered to the policy of "China is safe, and four foreigners are safe", which realized the innovation and breakthrough of national concept, greatly eased national contradictions in practice and injected vitality into the great integration of the Chinese nation. Obviously, without the "innovation" in national concept, there would be no historical scene in which Emperor Taizong was honored as "Tiankhan" by all ethnic groups in the north, and there would be no grand occasion of "opening the palace in nine days and many foreign countries bowing to the Pearl Crown".

"Harmony" is the ideal realm of "Zhenguan rule"

The ideal state of social and political life is harmony. The so-called "harmony" is embodied in three aspects, namely, inclusiveness, complementarity and balance. Examining the history of "the rule of Zhenguan", it is not difficult to find that the reason why this period reached the extreme of "ruling the world" in feudal society was that it permeated with "harmony" from top to bottom and its blood inside and outside.

As far as inclusiveness is concerned, when Emperor Taizong ruled the country, he could be inclusive, open-minded and tolerant. Don't take the wisdom of one person as wisdom, but the wisdom of all people as wisdom. Because of his tolerance, Emperor Taizong dared to ask for advice, was good at coachable, tolerated and accepted the criticism of Wei Zhi and other ministers, listened to all kinds of opinions with an open mind, chose the good and followed, and made decisions on the basis of brainstorming. Because of his tolerance, Emperor Taizong was able to appoint people on their merits, even including Wei Zhi, Wang Jue, Xue Wanche and other people who had been hostile to the camp, giving them a broad political stage to display their talents and contribute their wisdom. In short, because of tolerance, Zhenguan's social and political life once presented a peaceful and stable atmosphere, creating a "harmonious" situation with clear politics, abundant talents and unity from top to bottom.

As far as complementarity is concerned, The Rule of Chastity embodies the spirit of ruling the country and keeping the country safe by combining civil and military affairs and combining leniency with severity. The premise of "harmony" is to admit differences, and the means is to control differences, which requires political wisdom in the choice of ruling thinking and the application of management art, so as to achieve both rigidity and softness, kindness and prestige, two-pronged approach and complementary opposites. This point has been fully demonstrated in the practice of governing the country by Emperor Taizong. In other words, achieving "harmony" in a complementary way is a remarkable feature of "Zhenguan rule". For example, in the aspect of employing people, Emperor Taizong knew the truth that "the ruler is short, the inch is long", and he could accurately locate and properly appoint people according to the different characteristics of subordinate ministers, so that all kinds of talents could be used. The well-known "compartmentalization" is an image portrayal of the complementary success of this talent appointment. For another example, in academic culture, it not only respects and establishes the dominant position of Confucianism in the ideological and cultural field, but also "the prosperity of Confucianism is beyond the ancients"; At the same time, it recognizes and encourages the spread of Buddhism and the development of Taoism. An obvious example is that the royal family in Li Tang regarded Laozi as their ancestor and subsidized Xuanzang's translation of Buddhist scriptures.

As far as balance is concerned, the rule of chastity is also unique. On the premise of safeguarding the fundamental interests of feudal rule, Emperor Taizong and his ministers also paid attention to social fairness and justice and tried their best to control the danger of social conflicts to the lowest level. First of all, Emperor Taizong practiced the principle of "serving the government as righteousness", "being upright and obeying orders" all his life, and took the lead in advocating frugality, releasing ladies-in-waiting, benefiting the people, "getting rid of extravagance and thrift, neglecting taxes", recuperating and paying attention to agriculture, and turning the principle of "taking from the people and using it for the people" advocated by Confucianism into a program of action. Secondly, Emperor Taizong imposed many restrictions on the royal family to prevent them from doing evil and increase social opposition. At the same time, according to the principle of "knowing officials is not for the people", we should carefully choose local officials and put an end to corruption. Thirdly, Emperor Taizong made important improvements to the system of selecting scholars in imperial examinations, so that talented scholars could change their identities and join the ranks of officials with their own efforts, thus expanding the ruling foundation and achieving a relative dynamic balance on this basis.

"Modesty" is the successful link of "Zhenguan Governance"

"Reason, benefit and control" is great wisdom in political operation. Political cleverness, to some extent, is reflected in the clever control of "degree". A truly excellent politician is always very rational when making strategic goals. He will not hesitate in the face of difficulties, nor will he be hot-headed in the face of victory. On the contrary, he can keep a sense of proportion, leave room, and stop when it is good. The operational characteristics of "restraint" and "moderation" were also reflected in the political practice in Zhenguan period. As a generation of Ming emperors, Emperor Taizong's calm restraint in governing the country and the army is a vivid portrayal of his superb political wisdom.

The arrangement and disposal of the old officials of Wude is a typical example of Tang Taizong's great political wisdom of "restraint" and "moderation" in dealing with affairs. After the change of Xuanwumen, Emperor Taizong completely controlled the whole state machine, killed it and took it away, and devoted himself wholeheartedly. However, in employing people, he didn't let his feelings blind him, didn't come to a complete shift change, and didn't kick all the old ministers of Wude out of the court. On the contrary, based on the fact that the gentry was still powerful, and considering the objective need to stabilize the political situation, he still appointed the main old ministers of Wude as representatives of vested interests, such as Pei Ji, Yu, Feng Deyi, Xiao Yu and others. But he gradually marginalized his cronies and new figures in political life by giving them real power. In this way, it not only ensures the effective implementation of the correct political line of Zhenguan, but also avoids the political turmoil that may be caused by the drastic change of the official team, and skillfully completes the adjustment of the power pattern in a stable way. This artful art of controlling political operation can be called "cutting the bottom of the barrel", which is far superior to other superficial but clumsy ideas of "raising soup to stop boiling", such as capturing Jie Li Khan alive without slaughtering him, setting up a satrap in the newly occupied border areas without implementing the county system, cherishing Wang Wei and Lee Tae and finally giving up the idea of spreading to him, all of which reflect Tang Taizong's proper grasp of strategy.

Rule of Zhenguan —— Scenes of Prosperity

First, the social order is unprecedentedly stable.

The social order in Zhenguan Dynasty was unbelievable, and only 29 prisoners were sentenced to death. In 632, the number of death row inmates increased to 290. At the end of this year, Li Shimin allowed them to go home and deal with their affairs, and they will die when they come back next autumn (Guqiu execution). In September of the following year, all 290 prisoners were put back, and none escaped. At that time, China's political civilization, officials performed their duties, people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and there were few unfair phenomena, and there were not many grievances in the hearts of Chinese people. People who have plenty of food and clothing will not take risks to survive; People with a peaceful mind are not easy to go to extremes, so the probability of committing a crime is very small.

History:

During the Zhenguan period, "many officials were conscious." The most common name for ruling the house of concubines is Howard Wu, who is afraid of prestige and dare not invade others. When traveling in the wild, there are no thieves, the prison is often empty, there are no cattle and horses, and the family outside is not closed. It also frequently leads to bumper harvests, with a rice bucket of three or four yuan. From Shi Jing to Lingbiao, from Shandong to the seaside, everything is not food, so it gives way. When entering a village in Shandong, passing passengers will be treated kindly, or they will get a gift when they send it. This has never happened before.

Second, open national borders.

The Tang Empire was the most civilized and powerful country in the world at that time, and Chang 'an, the capital, was a cosmopolitan metropolis, just like new york in the United States today. At that time, the Tang Empire was the "sunshine zone" in the eyes of people with lofty ideals all over the world, and outstanding talents from all over the world risked their lives to rush to the Tang Empire. After seeing the high prosperity and civilization of the Tang Dynasty empire, the envoys of various countries felt that their country was almost like an uncivilized "virgin forest", and they did not want to return to China and tried their best to stay. China's highly developed culture makes most people from all countries who come to China proud that they are from China (which reminds people of the green card of the United States today). Not only the capital Chang 'an, but also "expatriates" from all over the country have settled here, especially the emerging commercial cities. There are more than 200,000 western expatriates in Guangzhou alone. Zhenguan Dynasty is a rare open dynasty in the history of China. There are no strict restrictions on the entry of foreigners and the exit of China people, that is, they are not worried that China people will forget their roots after going out; I'm not worried about foreigners coming in and usurping the role of master. This alone shows the high self-confidence of Zhenguan dynasty, which is convinced that its country is the most civilized and prosperous land in the world and is not worried that foreign culture will drown it. The national quality of Zhenguan Dynasty was so high that it did not discriminate against or cater to foreigners, nor did it blindly exclude foreigners or "take out food", showing a supercilious national temperament and kingly demeanor. Foreigners in China enjoy the same civil rights as people in China, just like people in China are at home. They can not only make a fortune, but also be an official in politics. Many expatriates from the Arab Empire and Japan hold official posts in China, and some of them also hold senior ministerial positions.

In addition to accepting a large number of foreign immigrants, the Tang Empire also received a batch of foreign students to study advanced culture in China. Only Japanese students at public expense received seven batches, each with hundreds of students. Private self-funded international students far exceed this figure. After returning to China, these Japanese students carried out Japan's first modernization movement-the modernization to innovation, that is, the China Movement, which imitated the Zhenguan dynasty at that time and made the Japanese nation in the primitive tribal state leap forward for a thousand years.

1200 years later, the Japanese Empire carried out the second modernization movement, fully accepted western culture, made itself leap for hundreds of years, trampled on the former teachers, and created two terrible massacres in the teachers' "yard".

The Japanese nation is not smart, it is just good at learning. This nation, which is half a beat slower than others, has one of the greatest advantages ―― backwardness but not stubbornness. When foreign civilizations invade, they always take the initiative to accept cultures that are more advanced than themselves, and accept the advanced achievements of human civilization in the fastest and most convenient way, thus quickly jumping into the ranks of advanced nations.

It is not terrible for a nation to lag behind, but stubbornness is the most terrible!

Third, the only dynasty without corruption.

China officialdom corruption germs are pervasive, so that most people in China think that corruption is an incurable disease of human society, and as long as there are "officials", corruption cannot be avoided. When international students returning from Britain, America and other countries tell their relatives and friends that corruption has been basically eliminated in these countries, few people don't think he is talking nonsense. In fact, corruption is not a common phenomenon in human society, and many countries with high civilization have basically eliminated corruption. Not only the United States, Britain and other modern powers, but also Singapore with China as the main body has basically put an end to corruption.

Basically putting an end to corruption here does not mean completely putting an end to corruption, but it means that corruption is a very rare phenomenon in the whole officialdom. The amount of corruption is not large (the amount of corruption in one year generally does not exceed this person's salary in one year), and it will not last long (few people commit crimes for more than three years in a row), and it will be exposed soon, hell to pay. The Clinton incident is the biggest scandal in American politics, but a China man said: A village head in our country is many times more romantic than Clinton, and the American president is really a coward. ...

Zhenguan Dynasty is the only dynasty in China history without corruption, which is perhaps Li Shimin's most noteworthy achievement. In Li Shimin's China, the emperor took the lead in setting an example, and officials were dedicated to the public, and they did their jobs. Abuse of power and corruption and dereliction of duty have fallen to an all-time low. What is commendable is that Li Shimin did not use harsh laws to warn corruption, but mainly set an example and set up a political system as scientific as possible to prevent corruption. In the face of a shrewd and self-disciplined ruler, officials have little motivation for corruption, and it is not easy for corrupt officials to find hiding places. Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty punished corruption the most severely, and all corrupt officials were punished by peeling, but the number of corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty was rare in history. It can be seen that the prevention of corruption mainly depends on the scientific and civilized political system, and the attack afterwards can only be effective for a while, and the social soil where corruption breeds cannot be eradicated from its roots.

Fourth, the preliminary attempt of decentralization system.

China's feudal system is characterized by a high degree of centralization of power, with local governments obeying the central government and the central government only obeying the emperor. This highly centralized political system greatly limits people's creativity, initiative and flexibility, which can easily lead to tyranny.

The central government agencies in China feudal society implemented the system of "three provinces and six departments", but the decentralization among the three provinces in Zhenguan period initially reflected the modern political characteristics ―― the principle of decentralization. Zhongshu Province issued an order, Xiamen Province reviewed the order, and Shangshu Province executed the order. The formation of the decree, first of all, the prime minister held a meeting in the government affairs hall in Zhongshu Province, and then reported the resolution to the emperor for approval, and then Zhongshu Province issued an imperial decree in the name of the emperor. Before the imperial edict is issued, it must be submitted to the provincial government for examination and approval. If the provincial government considers it inappropriate, it may refuse to sign. If the imperial edict lacks countersignature, it cannot be promulgated according to law. Only after the "countersignature" of the provincial government, the imperial edict became the official decree of the country and was handed over to Shangshu Province for implementation. This political operation is very similar to the "separation of powers" system in modern democratic countries. The theory of separation of powers, which arose in the west17th century, was applied to China's political system by Li Shimin as early as 1000 years ago, which showed how high the civilization level of Zhenguan dynasty was. Most commendable of all, Li Shimin stipulated that his letters must be countersigned by the provincial government before they can take effect, thus effectively preventing him from making hasty decisions that would damage his reputation on a whim and in a bad mood. There are 853 emperors in the history of China, and only Li Shimin has such outstanding wisdom and mind (the founding president of the United States is a bit like his students).

5. Highly developed business.

The economic characteristics of the feudal dynasty in China were "emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce". The proportion of commerce in the national economy was quite low, and the status of businessmen was several times lower than that of farmers. This is also the main reason why China's feudal economy has not been substantially developed.

Zhenguan dynasty is the only feudal dynasty that does not discriminate against business. Not only is there no discrimination, but it also provides many convenient conditions for business development, which further reflects Li Shimin's foresight. Under the advocacy of Li Shimin government, the commercial economy in Zhenguan period has made great progress, and new commercial cities have mushroomed. At that time, more than half of the world-famous commercial cities were concentrated in China. In addition to JIAOZHOU, Guangzhou, Mingzhou and Fuzhou along the coast, there are also Hongzhou (Nanchang, Jiangxi), Yangzhou and Yizhou (Chengdu) inland, and Shazhou (Dunhuang, Gansu) and Liangzhou (Wuwei, Gansu) in the northwest. The capitals Chang 'an and Luoyang are both international metropolises.

The "Silk Road" of world civilization is the link between the eastern and western material civilizations, but this commercial passage reached its highest use value in the Tang Dynasty.

The territory of the Tang Dynasty was unprecedented. Four military towns (four towns in Anxi) have been established in the western regions, and the western border directly reaches the stone country in Central Asia (now Kazakhstan), which provides a stable social order and effective guarantee for business travel between the East and the West. As a result, commercial travel on the Silk Road emerges one after another, and all kinds of commodities pass between the East and the West, making the Silk Road a golden corridor for the whole world.