Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty said: "Farming is the foundation of the world. Gold, pearls and jade cannot be eaten when hungry, and cannot be clothed when cold... He ordered the state to encourage f

Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty said: "Farming is the foundation of the world. Gold, pearls and jade cannot be eaten when hungry, and cannot be clothed when cold... He ordered the state to encourage farmers to grow mulberry trees."

Recuperation policy

Recuperation policy means that after great turmoil or long-term war, the rulers do not engage in rule that wastes people and money and imposes harsh punishments, but instead adopts a policy of lenient punishments and light taxes to maintain the people's strength. , increase the population to achieve the purpose of restoring and developing the economy and stabilizing rule. The policy of rest and recuperation began with Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and was implemented for sixty or seventy years through several generations of emperors (Emperor Hui, Empress Lu, Emperor Wen, and Emperor Jing). The result is "domestic prosperity and national strength." Ban Gu said: "The prosperity of the Han Dynasty was to eliminate troubles and rest with the people; as for filial piety, courtesy and frugality were added; and filial piety followed industry. Within fifty or sixty years, as for the change of customs, the people were mellow."

Emperor Han Wen (202 BC - 157 BC)

Emperor Han Wen was Liu Heng, the son of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, who was first named King of Dai. After Empress Lu died, Zhou Bo and others put down the rebellion among Lu, and he became the emperor. Reigned from 180 BC to 157 BC. He vigorously implemented the policy of rest and recuperation, attached great importance to agricultural production, and advocated light corvee and low taxation. In the second and twelfth years of Emperor Wen's reign, the land rent was twice reduced to thirty taxes per year. In the thirteenth year (167 BC), an edict was issued to exempt all land rent. It was not until the first year of Emperor Jing's reign (156 BC) that the thirty taxes were restored. One, and became custom made in the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wen also reduced the annual tax per person from 120 yuan to 40 yuan. The corvee service was also reduced accordingly. The original service of one month per year was changed to "one thing for three years." He also advocated lenient punishment. In the 13th year, he ordered the abolition of the law of joining relatives and some corporal punishments that damaged the body, such as tattooing (tattooing on the face), cutting off the nose, and mutilating the feet. Light corvee, low taxes and reduced penalties promoted the recovery and development of agricultural production. Emperor Wen paid attention to frugality (there is an example of stopping the construction of a terrace in the fine print of the text) and advocated clean government. Once someone presented a thousand-mile horse to Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen said: When the emperor goes out, there is a guard of honor in front of him and a chariot behind him. He walks 50 miles a day. Where can I go by myself on a thousand-mile horse? He returned the horse to the person who presented it. He also paid him travel expenses and asked him to go back. He also ordered: "I will not be sacrificed, and I ordered the four parties not to come to sacrifice." Emperor Wen's hard work and emphasis on frugality saved financial expenses, formed a clean government, and reduced the burden on the people. As a result, the "domestic wealth" at that time achieved relatively significant results.

Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty (188 BC - 141 BC)

Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty is Liu Qi, the eldest son of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. Reigned from 156 to 141 BC. Emperor Jing attached great importance to agriculture. He once persuaded farmers together with hundreds of officials, and ordered the queen to supervise matters such as mulberry planting, silkworm raising, and weaving. Emperor Jing issued an edict: "Farming is the foundation of the world. Gold, pearls, and jade cannot be eaten when hungry, and cannot be clothed when cold... He ordered the county and state affairs to encourage farmers to plant mulberry trees, so as to plant more trees and obtain clothing and food." Emperor Jing also reduced the burden of Emperor Wen. Flogging (after Emperor Wen abolished corporal punishment, it was changed to flogging. Flogging was a method of whipping the prisoner with a bamboo board). The punishment was lighter when the prison was terminated, so prison affairs were simple and simple. The oppression suffered by the people was significantly less than that of Qin Dynasty. At that time, the power of the kingdom expanded, and Emperor Jing used Chao Cuo's plan to cut down the vassal vassal. Later, he quelled the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms, weakened the power of the kingdom, and strengthened the central power. Emperors Wen and Jing reigned for forty years, which was known as the "Government of Wen and Jing" in history.

Lu Jia

Lu Jia, a native of Chu, ruled the world from the emperor of the Han Dynasty. He was often at the left and right of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, making plans or sending envoys to the princes. When he spoke in front of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, he often quoted words from Confucian classics such as "The Book of Songs" and "Shangshu". Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty scolded: "You can get it immediately from the public residence, and you can do "Poems" and "Books" in peace?" Lu Jia replied: "You can get it immediately, rather than cure it immediately?... Use both civil and military skills, and it is a long-lasting technique." Han Dynasty Emperor Gaozu said: Write me some articles to analyze why the Qin Dynasty lost the world and why I was able to win it. So Lu Jia wrote 12 articles and submitted them to Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, which was called "Xinyu". "Each time he played a piece of music, Emperor Gao always praised him for his good deeds" (see the "Biography of Lu Jia" in Volume 43 of "Hanshu" above). "Wuwei No. 4" in the volume of "Xinyu": "Qin Shihuang set up the punishment of chariot splitting to suppress (suppress) evil spirits. He built the Great Wall in the Rong territory to prepare for Hu Yue. He conquered the big and swallowed the small, and shocked the world. ...Things The more trouble there is, the more "chaos" the world will become (referring to peasant uprisings); the more laws will prevail, the more treachery will become (the more complicated the laws will be, the more people will break the law); the more troops and horses will be deployed, the more enemies Qin will not want to rule. However, those who fail are those who resort to violence (cruelty and harshness) and use Tai Chi (too much)." Also in "The Ninth Virtue", there are words such as "The strong man works in the fields", which advocates allowing farmers to cultivate the land. time.

Let the soldiers demobilize and produce, and be exempted from corvee service for several years...

According to the "Book of Han Gaozu's Benji": In May 202 BC, "all the soldiers returned home. The edict said: The sons of the princes in Guanzhong will be twelve years old again (those from Guandong who entered the Guanzhong to destroy Qin are willing to stay in Guanzhong will be exempted from corvee for 12 years), and those who return will be six years old (those who are willing to return to their original place will be exempted from corvee for 6 years). The people may gather in Baoshanze (those who fled during the war) and order them to return to their counties and restore their old titles, fields and houses... Those who sold themselves as slaves due to hunger will be exempted from the status of common people. Nobles...those who have no titles and those who are dissatisfied with the rank will be given the title of master. Therefore, officials above the rank of seventh rank will be given the title of rank. All officials above the rank of seventh rank will be given the title of official. The main historical achievements of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty are as follows: First, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty implemented some policies to strengthen centralization. system, which consolidated the unity and development of the Western Han Dynasty.

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty first ascended the throne, his grandmother, Queen Mother Dou, held the power.

In 135 BC, Empress Dowager Dou died, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty began to take all power into his own hands to realize his political ambitions. He first attacked Tian, ??his relative, Prime Minister, and then strengthened the status of Shangshu and Zhongshu who collected and transferred documents around him, making the prime minister a position in name only. Since then, Zhongshu and Shangshu have become the institutions issuing orders from the central government.

In order to strengthen the centralization of power and completely solve the problem of the vassal state, he ordered the vassal kings not to pass the fiefdom only to the eldest son who succeeded the throne, but also to allocate part of the fiefdom to several other sons, and they must not pass it on to each other. Belongs to all. As a result, the territory of the vassal state became smaller and smaller, and its power became weaker and weaker. Later, it was unable to confront the central government. This was a smart move by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also strengthened the original supervision system and established a new system for selecting officials. He adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion and ordered each county and state to recommend one person each for filial piety and integrity every year, and used the method of "public petition" so that officials and people could submit memorials to the emperor to advise on state affairs. Special talents are awarded to officials.

Second, in order to strengthen and consolidate his rule, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted Dong Zhongshu's suggestion of "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", which consolidated the unity and centralization of the country and had a profound impact on subsequent history. Long lasting effects.

Dong Zhongshu believed that the emperor governed the people according to the will of God. God gave him the power to rule the people and he must not violate it. This statement just catered to the wishes of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who adopted this idea as a tool for ruling thought and maintaining the feudal system. When holding the test, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty did not accept anyone from other schools of thought, but only Confucian scholars. Therefore, if you want to be an official, you must accept Confucianism, and scholars have become Confucian scholars.

Third, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to fight against the Xiongnu, which consolidated the regime of the Western Han Dynasty and unified the country, creating extremely favorable conditions for the economic and cultural development of the Western Han Dynasty.

From 133 BC to 119 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent troops to conduct many large-scale battles with the Xiongnu, and finally achieved an overall victory against the Xiongnu, which fully demonstrated his talent and outstanding strategy. Military command ability. In the process of fighting against the Xiongnu, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also used a large number of immigrants to strengthen border defense and develop production.

Fourth, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian on two missions to the Western Regions, which strengthened the economic and cultural exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the West.

In 138 BC, Zhang Qian, a famous explorer in Chinese history, was ordered by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to go to the Western Regions as an envoy. The purpose was to unite the Yueshi people to jointly defend and attack the Xiongnu forces. In 119 BC, Zhang Qian was ordered to make his second mission to the Western Regions. Subsequently, countries in Central Asia and the Western Regions often visited Chang'an for visits and trade in the name of paying tribute. The personnel and trade exchanges between China and various countries in the Western Regions began in the Western Han Dynasty, passed through the Eastern Han Dynasty, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and continued until the Tang Dynasty for more than 1,000 years.

Fifth, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened up the southern and southwest territories, allowing the Yue people, various ethnic minorities in the southwest, and the Han people to better integrate together.

After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty made the three Yue tribes belong to the Han Dynasty, he moved them to the Yangtze River, Huaihe River, Nanhai and other places, and lived with the Han people for a long time. They gradually integrated with each other and formed a There is no completed "grand unification" situation. In the process of opening up the southwest region, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty introduced iron production tools and higher Han culture to these areas, which more or less eliminated the isolation of these areas and promoted the development of local economy and culture.

Sixth, vigorously build water conservancy and develop agricultural production.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Cao Canal, Bai Canal, and Longshou Canal were built. Six auxiliary canals were also opened next to the Zhengguo Canal built in the Qin Dynasty to irrigate the highlands. In 109 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty conscripted tens of thousands of soldiers to block the breach of the Yellow River. After this treatment, there have been no major floods in the lower reaches of the Yellow River for about 80 years.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also vigorously promoted major measures to develop agriculture such as settlement and reclamation. He also vigorously promoted the farming method and new agricultural tools, which greatly promoted the development of agriculture.