What was the prosperous situation under Emperor Taizong?

[Historical reasons]

1。 During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the population decreased by more than 20 million during the war. At the end of the war, fewer people and more people were the most important reason for Zhenguan's rule.

2。 Sui initiated the Grand Canal and Imperial Examination, and the labor in the Grand Canal led to the demise of Sui, but all these contributed to the emergence of Zhenguan rule. The creation of the Grand Canal had its disadvantages at that time, but its merits were in the future.

3。 Li Shimin learned the lessons of the failure in the early Sui Dynasty, just as he learned the lessons of the demise of the Qin Dynasty in the early Han Dynasty, and let the people recuperate. Li Shimin himself can basically give advice with an open mind. However, the late Li Shimin has changed, and it is no longer so open-minded and disciplined. Instead of letting the people recuperate, they triumphed and failed to conquer North Korea. These are the reasons why the rule of chastity can't last long.

[prosperous times]

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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, and the prison is often empty, and the cattle and horses are wild, and the people outside are not closed. It also frequently leads to bumper harvests, and rice competes for three or four dollars. 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 in the local area, 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, and made itself leap for hundreds of years again, stepping on the former teacher and creating two terrible massacres in the teacher's "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. Many countries with high civilization have basically eliminated corruption on the earth. 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.

[Related evaluation]

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This is the "rule of chastity" described by feudal historians. During the Zhenguan period, it seemed that the world was really prosperous and peaceful, and the people really lived a happy and prosperous life. What a touching social picture this is! Is that really the case? A little, but it's too exaggerated. During the Zhenguan period, the life of farmers was still very bitter. During the reign of Yang Di, people injured their limbs in order to escape the heavy corvee, which was called "blessing hands" and "blessing feet". During the Zhenguan period, this "legacy still exists". It shows that in feudal society, the burden of the people is still very heavy and life is very difficult. The Tang Dynasty, especially Li Shimin, was exaggerated and beautified by historians of past dynasties. Zhenguan period is certainly better than troubled times and stronger than ordinary peacetime, but it is far from being as beautiful as it is usually touted now.

Looking back at the glorious civilization history of Zhenguan Dynasty, we can easily draw a conclusion that the Chinese nation was once the best nation in the world, and China people were once the best citizens! What attitude should we take when China people today look back on the glorious past of their ancestors? It is clinging to the "four great inventions" and "ancient civilization" and deceiving yourself with the halo of drifting away; Or should we reflect on ourselves and transform ourselves? It is up to everyone in China to make a choice to regain the rationality and self-confidence of the Chinese nation!