1. Caution and modesty
When Chen Ping and Frequency uprooted Lv Hou, they were ready to let Liu Heng, who was still king at that time, be emperor. Liu Heng is very cautious and humble. He sent people to Beijing many times to explore the reality, and he abdicated many times before he became king.
After Emperor Liu Heng ascended the throne, the minister suggested that a prince should be established as soon as possible to ensure the continuation of the ancestral temple. However, Emperor Wendi refused again and again, because he thought his virtue was not enough to satisfy the whole world. Therefore, he should choose the heir to the throne among the king of Chu, the king of Wu, the king of Huainan or the sages of the world, instead of just thinking about his own son.
Later, at the repeated request of ministers, Emperor Wen of Han agreed to make his son a prince, and at the same time gave all the people in the country a first-class title to follow in his father's footsteps. These people can be said to have hitched a ride with Han Jing as a prince and were moved by Han Jing as a prince.
2. Serve the people wholeheartedly.
Emperor Wen of Han paid attention to people's livelihood all his life, and thought that agriculture was the foundation of people's livelihood, so he attached great importance to the development of agriculture. He not only greatly exempted farmers from taxes, but also personally took the lead in farming, imitating Zhou Li's "Li Lei" and creating a precedent for the emperor's "pro-agriculture". Later emperors' "driving farming" or "performing farming" all originated from this.
At the beginning of the reign, most governors lived in Chang 'an, the capital, and the fiefs were far away. It is wasteful and laborious to rely on officials and foot soldiers to supply transportation materials, and these princes can't teach and manage the people in the fief. Therefore, in the second year of his accession to the throne, Emperor Wendi ordered the vassals to return to China to reduce the burden on the people.
Emperor Wen of Han originally planned to build a high platform, but as a result, the craftsman calculated that the cost would be several hundred kilograms of gold. Wendi said that 100 Jin of gold is equivalent to the industry of ten middle-class families. I already have a palace left by my late emperor to live in, so why build a high platform? So forget it right away.
Wendi himself usually wears thick silk clothes and is very strict with his beloved wife Shen. She is not allowed to get dressed as long as she mops the floor, and there are colorful patterns on the curtains that she uses to show frugality and set an example for everyone.
In his later years, the relevant departments built a mausoleum for Wendi. Emperor Wen advised him to build the mausoleum with pottery utensils, not to decorate it with gold, silver, copper, tin and other metals, and not to build a tall mausoleum. Be frugal and don't bother with everything.
Even before coming to Korea, Wendi still paid attention to people's livelihood and did not forget to think for the people. He wrote a letter saying that people would cry for three days after his death and take off their mourning clothes. Don't forbid marrying, having daughters, offering sacrifices, drinking and eating meat; People who should attend funerals and mourn should not go barefoot. The width of the mourning linen belt shall not exceed three inches, train drivers and weapons shall not be used, and folk men and women shall not be mobilized to come to the palace for mourning and sacrifice.
In a word, Wendi came to Chang 'an, the capital of China, and he reigned for twenty-three years. The number of palaces, gardens, dogs and horses, clothes and drivers has not increased. Anything that brings inconvenience to the people will be abolished; As long as it is convenient and beneficial to the people, we will do our best.
Generosity and kindness
Emperor Wen's generosity and kindness are also rare.
After Liu Chang was captured, all the ministers said that he should be beheaded in public. However, Emperor Wen of Han couldn't bear to deal with the king of Huainan with his heart, and he was exempted from the death penalty. He just abolished the throne and was exiled to Shu County.
However, Deng Wendi's generosity and kindness are not unprincipled. Xin Yuanping, a native of Zhao, came to see Wendi because he was good at observing clouds, and persuaded Wendi to build Wudi Temple in Weicheng, and predicted that this would lead to Baoding and rare treasures in the Zhou Dynasty.
At first, Emperor Wen believed it and went to the periphery of the Five Emperors Temple in Weiyang to offer sacrifices. Sure enough, he got a jade cup. But this jade cup was actually given by Xin Yuanping to deceive Emperor Wen. At that time, Xin Yuanping's deception was discovered, and Wendi immediately ordered the annihilation of Xin Yuanping's three families.
All these are enough to show that Emperor Wen of Han is indeed a rare and good emperor. Then, why can't the Emperor Wen of Han be called "the Emperor through the ages" by later generations like Qin Shihuang or his grandson Han Wudi?
This problem actually involves the criterion of "one emperor through the ages". We say that Qin Shihuang, Han Wudi or Kangxi are emperors through the ages. The fundamental reason is that these emperors made pioneering innovations or expanded their territory in their respective times.
Although Emperor Wendi expressed his willingness to personally lead the troops against Xiongnu, he didn't make it. What's more, his achievements mainly lie in perseverance, not in pioneering. Therefore, even if Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty is recognized as a good emperor, he can only be called a monarch, not an "eternal emperor".
If this is the case, shouldn't the world's standards for judging emperors of past dynasties be changed?