How did the Tang dynasty, which made scholars flock to it, reward the heroes?

It is the highest form of affirmation and praise from the supreme ruler of ancient society to the ministers who have made outstanding contributions to China and have excellent morals and career.

According to the existing historical data, there was a system of sharing heroes in Shang Dynasty at the latest, and the system of sharing heroes with the former king was established and created. The Zhou Dynasty also had a hero-sharing system, which followed the Shang Dynasty's hero-sharing system and was innovated and improved on this basis. Since the Han and Wei Dynasties, this system has been used in successive dynasties, in the Northern Zhou and Northern Qi Dynasties, and in the Sui Dynasty, it was developed by the equal merit system.

The Tang Dynasty was no exception. It followed the old system of past dynasties, realized the system of worshipping the ancestral temple by the heroes, further sharpened the sacrifice and selection of the heroes, and showed China's feudal monarch thought incisively and vividly in this system, with some new changes and characteristics. This paper analyzes and thinks about the hero sharing system in Tang Dynasty, and makes a further discussion.

1. The relationship between heroes and sacrificial system in Tang Dynasty.

(1) Ways of praising heroes in Tang Dynasty

The so-called ceremony, according to the "Zhou Li", is a ceremony to worship the current emperor and the ancestors of the royal family. It is a national ceremony hosted by the Emperor of Heaven, so it is a very important sacrificial activity. There are many ways to reward meritorious deeds in the Tang Dynasty, such as adding officials to the ranks, giving property, etc. The more special ones are Lingyan Pavilion with graphics, giving iron scrolls, burying the mausoleum of Emperor, sharing ancestral halls, etc. Among them, the number of heroes who deserve to enjoy the ancestral temple is the least, and the selection is also very strict.

In the ancestral hall of the Tang Dynasty, * * * once had 48 deserved heroes, except for three who were suspended, in fact, * * * had 45. They are recorded in detail in official history and canon history books. The plan of the Tang Dynasty changed twice before and after the big sacrifice. During the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, according to the relevant records of Zhenguan Li, the official etiquette of the Tang Dynasty, it was shown that the hero who earned money should enjoy the ancestral temple, but the money was not.

(2) Heroes should enjoy the position of sacrifice.

In the handling and preparation of etiquette, it has also caused great controversy, mainly because there are great differences on the scale and scale of sacrifice after the death of courtiers. One school advocates that the sacrifice of the hero (the sacrifice of the emperor's ancestral temple) can be taken into account when offering sacrifices, indicating the affirmation of the hero's achievements. Inheriting and carrying forward the etiquette of the ancients and adhering to the theories of Zheng Xuan and other sages have been the consistent style since Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.

Another school of thought is completely opposite, thinking that in feudal society, the emperor is the core and main figure of feudal society. As the supreme ruler, he must have the authority and sacrifice method above all else. How can he sacrifice to the heroes of the dynasty in the emperor's ancestral temple sacrifice?

In this way, how to embody the supreme authority of the ruler, besides, it is contrary to the completion of the basic thought of Confucianism, "the outline of monarch and minister" Judging from the division of the basic structure of feudal social thought, the ideological structure of China's feudal society is in the form of "Confucianism outside and law inside", which is consistent with the basic thought of Legalists.

The monarch mainly has supreme authority, and national politics must be a centralized social form, and this confusion between the sacrifice of the royal ancestral hall and the sharing of the ancestral hall with the heroes is a great challenge to the feudal social system. The ultimate ruler's choice is that the deserved hero must enjoy the sacrifice with his emperor's god.

(3) Heroes share the political influence of sacrificial ceremonies.

The grand sacrifice of ancestral temple is an official national sacrifice activity held only once every few years, with high specifications, large scale and large number of participants, which has very important political and social significance. During Xuanzong period, heroes were eligible to participate in sacrifices, which was definitely a breakthrough in heroic sacrifices.

Both festivals have heroes to share, which can better show the broad mind of the dynasty and reflect the courtesy and love of the king to his courtiers.

On the other hand, the breakthrough of hero sharing system can be completed in this period, which is not unrelated to the exultation of Tang Xuanzong and his enthusiasm for etiquette and enjoyment. After Xuanzong's reform, this system became the customization of the hero sharing system in the Tang Dynasty, and was written in Li Kaiyuan, which was highly praised by later generations in the Tang Dynasty.

2. The political considerations of the rulers of the Tang Dynasty on sharing heroes.

(1) Examination on the Candidates' Achievements of Heroes in the Tang Dynasty

Because it is the highest honor for courtiers and heroes to worship the ancestral temple in feudal society in the ancient history of China, its political and social significance is very significant. Therefore, we must carefully choose people who are worthy of praise. Not only should he have a great political influence on the society at that time, but his political career should also be spotless.

. Otherwise, it may become the target of public criticism, because the ancestral temple sacrifice is a major political event at the national level, with a huge scale. Not only must you have certain sharing qualifications, but you also have very strict restrictions on the number, so you need it.

For example, during the period of Emperor Taizong, there were seven people, including Fang, Gao Shilian, Qu Tutong, Wuji, Li Jing and Du Ruhui. First of all, from the official position, these seven people played a very important role in consolidating the political power in the early Tang Dynasty. They all won the trust and dependence of the rulers, were close ministers around the emperor, and were closely related to the emperor himself.

(2) Strict hero screening procedures.

They have a very close relationship with the emperor himself. They assisted the emperor in handling state affairs and formulating laws and regulations, and belonged to the emperor's lineal courtiers. And the emperor himself is even more intimate, such as Sun Chang Wuji, Wei Zhi, Du Ruhui, Fang Lingxuan and others in Taizong Hall. Most of them were in the political embryonic stage of Emperor Taizong and had followed him.

They all made great contributions to the emperor himself, helping him to fight against the rebels and safeguard national unity. These outstanding heroes naturally become the first choice to enter the temple. Secondly, from the point of view of title, the status of people who can enjoy this honor goes without saying, and most of them are kings or princes.

This shows that a shared hero in the Tang Dynasty must not only have excellent political achievements and the emperor's clique, but also have or at least hold one of the official positions and titles before he can be elected.

3. Moral consideration for the hero who deserves praise.

(1) A candidate worthy of praise from a moral point of view.

From the point of view of merit: if we separate the merits of these people, we will find that some of them are not without merit, nor have both ability and political integrity. Although some of them have great advantages, they are morally tainted and may have made a big mistake. So once this happens, even if you have made great achievements, you will not be able to enter the ancestral temple smoothly and enjoy the honor that the hero is worthy of the ancestral temple.

For example, in the Tang Taizong period, Chu Suiliang was involved in the "post-abolition dispute" in his later years, and his life in his later years was very miserable, which eventually led to his failure to be selected as a hero to enjoy the ancestral temple.

(2) Consideration of courtier loyalty when sharing hero candidates.

Generally speaking, the selection criteria for candidates worthy of heroes have always been the selection criteria for valuing merit over morality. Their contributions and deeds are exactly what the rulers of later generations need and value most, and the changes of national form and political situation may need people like them.

Although the former dynasty may still be worried about some of its past mistakes, after a long time, it can only be remembered by the world as a great feat of the country, and a little bit of personal quality and cultivation has long since passed without anyone knowing.

Future generations of rulers can safely include it in the ancestral temple, as an example for all subjects in the world, and can also show the royal family's mind of letting bygones be bygones and not forgetting meritorious deeds. For example, Pei Ji, Sun Chang Wuji, Chu Suiliang and others all made mistakes in the previous dynasties, and some even did not come to a good end. In the Xuanzong period, it was also included in the ancestral hall one by one.

4. Why do all the literati flock to the family because of the influence of heroes?

(1) The influence of the policy of sharing heroes on scholars

Being able to enter the ancestral temple and enjoy the big sacrifice just left a dazzling name for the dead hero, which has no practical significance. However, for their families and future generations, they can not only enjoy the reputation of the home of heroes, but also gain economic and political benefits. When an official title is given to the descendants of a valuable hero, the descendants of a valuable hero are often given the highest priority.

Hiring and inheriting the title of ancestors for the descendants worthy of the hero not only made the court enjoy the reputation of survival and success, but also inspired the ministers of civil and military affairs to make contributions and make them more dedicated to the court until their death.

(2) Enjoy the status of hero in the minds of literati.

Sharing ancestral temple sacrifices is the highest form of praise for literati. For example, the policy of sharing ancestral temples has played a certain role in the great achievements of Zhenguan in civil and military affairs.

The frequency of sharing heroes plays a great role in the prosperity and stability of the political form during the ruler's rule, including the frequency of such sacrificial activities, which reflects the stability of the political form in the Tang Dynasty to some extent.

5. Conclusion

In a word, the ancestral hall is an important system to praise heroes in the Tang Dynasty. Due to the high specifications of the sacrifices in the Temple, there are very strict standards for the selection of heroes who deserve it, and there are also very strict restrictions on the number of people.

However, the scope of choosing to share heroes is relatively wide, basically taking care of all the components of the ruling group. Sacrificing the ancestral temple with the heroes is an important measure for the Tang Dynasty to cope with the changes in the national situation and maintain political stability.

Hero sharing is an important part of the big sacrifice, and all heroes can share it. The choice of heroes in the Tang Dynasty was very strict, giving priority to high officials and dignitaries, and giving priority to people who paid attention to meritorious service and made extraordinary achievements. The sharing of merits and demerits has played an important role in expressing the wishes of the royal family, encouraging the corps commander to make meritorious deeds, changing the current situation and cooperating with government policies.