Liu Xiu (6-57 BC), Han nationality, was born in Caiyang, Nanyang (now Zaoyang, Hubei). The founding emperor of the Later Han Dynasty (also commonly known as the Eastern Han Dynasty). In the last years of Xinmang, the country fell apart and the world was in chaos. As a commoner but with the blood of the previous dynasty, Liu Xiu and his brother took advantage of the situation to raise troops in their hometown and annihilated the main force of the Xinmang dynasty in one fell swoop in the Battle of Kunyang. In 25 AD, Liu Xiu openly broke with the Green Forest Army, ascended the throne in Hebei and proclaimed himself emperor, establishing the Later Han Dynasty. After more than ten years of unification war, Liu Xiu annihilated many separatist regimes such as Gengshi, Jianshi, Long, and Shu, and unified China again after more than 20 years of strife and war since the end of Xinmang. . After the world was settled, Liu Xiu implemented the national policy of "eating martial arts and cultivating literature", developed production, and promoted Confucianism, thus laying the foundation for the nearly two hundred years of the Later Han Dynasty.

Story and Legend

Invisible Grass

Wang Mang stared at Liu Xiu and chased him closely. Seeing that Liu Xiu was about to be overtaken, Liu Xiu quickly climbed to a Climb a big tree to take shelter. Because this old tree has thick bark and sparse leaves, it is difficult to become invisible. He sighed and said: "Big tree, big tree, how nice would it be if you could send out some invisible grass?" As soon as he finished speaking, a cluster of invisible grass as big as a bucket basket grew on the big branches, covering Liu Xiu, and Wang Mang chased after her. After going under the big tree, I turned around several times but couldn't find Liu Xiu, so I had to walk away. From then on, invisible grass grew on the big trees in this area every year.

Hancheng canned radish

What is Hancheng canned radish? The radish in Dongguan Village of Hancheng got its name because it is thin at both ends and large in the middle, shaped like a small can. This kind of radish is sweet when eaten raw and delicious when cooked. It is fragrant and sticky. It has great nutritional value and high yield. It is really a treasure among vegetables. There is also a legend about this specialty. According to legend, before Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu of the Eastern Han Dynasty ascended the throne, he was driven around by Wang Mang's army. One evening, Liu Xiu ran to Dongguan, Hancheng, and it was already dark. Not daring to go into the village to stay, he suddenly saw a short thatched hut in the vegetable garden not far away. He hurriedly ran over and got into the hut to take shelter from the wind and cold. The owner of this vegetable garden, whose surname is Chen Minglaiyun, is not a local. He fled here with his wife a few years ago and asked someone to rent two acres of land from a large family to make a living by growing and selling vegetables. After having dinner at home that day, I took my bedding and went to the nunnery to see the food. When he walked to the door of the nunnery, he threw the quilt into the nunnery and said "Oops". Lai Yun was startled and shouted: "Who is it?" Liu Xiu vaguely felt that something was pressing on him. , and then heard the old man’s question again, he understood that he was someone coming to see the vegetable garden, and his beating heart calmed down, and he said kindly: "Uncle, I am a passer-by. I don’t have money to stay in a hotel." , I have to stay here for one night and leave tomorrow morning." When Lai Yun heard that he was a poor man passing by, he felt pity for his own life experience, and said with concern: "What should we do here in the cold weather? It's better to go to the village and live in our house to avoid suffering here." "Liu Xiu refused. Seeing that the old man was an honest and reliable person, he told the old man his actual situation and asked the old man to keep it secret and save himself. When Lai Yun heard the legend of Wang Mang's misdeeds in court, he told Liu Xiu. Show more sympathy. Then he said, "Don't worry, I will never do anything bad to you. I'll see you off tomorrow morning." Lai Yun handed the quilt to Liu Xiu and returned home. When Lai Yun returned home, he told his wife what he saw in the field. His wife was also very happy and said distressedly: "You didn't even ask if someone had eaten?" The old man said regretfully: "Oh, I really forgot. ”. His wife asked him to deliver steamed buns to Liu Xiu, but Lai Yun said, "Don't go there again. If others find out, it will cause trouble." After his wife nagged a few words, the old couple fell asleep. Before dawn the next day, my wife got up and baked pancakes, cooked millet soup, and called for delivery to the fields as soon as it was still dark. Lai Yun was afraid that delivering meals before dawn would arouse suspicion, so he came up with a good idea. Hollow out the largest radish, put the rice soup into the radish, cover it with a basket cloth and hold it in his arms, and put the pancakes in his pocket. , hurriedly came to the vegetable garden. As soon as Liu Xiu woke up, he saw that it was already dawn. He hurriedly packed the quilt and was about to leave. At this time, the meal delivery had arrived. Liu Xiu, who was hungry and thirsty, ate and drank whatever he could. After eating and drinking, he suddenly saw that the can containing millet soup was a big radish. He couldn't help but laugh. Lai Yun asked quickly: "What are you laughing at?" Pointing at the big radish, he said, "You are really knowledgeable." Lai Yun had no choice but to explain, and Liu Xiu suddenly realized: "Okay, what a can of radish." After Liu Xiu left, Lai Yun threw the radish that was used as a rice can into the ground. That winter, the northwest wind was very strong, and the dust blown up buried the radish that was used for rice. The next spring was windy and rainy, and the radishes buried in the rice jar sprouted, grew, bloomed, and set seeds. The old man collects seeds and sows them. When the harvest season comes, he sees the radishes around the nunnery. They all look like small pots, and there is a very thin water core in the middle. They are crispy and sweet when eaten raw, and delicious when cooked. They are sold on the market. Grab and sell out. The income of the elderly people in Laiyun has increased, and their lives have improved year by year since then, and their lives are getting better and better. Therefore, it is said that "the can of radish in Hancheng was granted by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu." With Yin Lihua, there is a famous saying that has been passed down through the ages that must be mentioned, that is: "The official should be the king, and the wife should be Yin Lihua." However, later generations often misunderstand the meaning of this famous saying.

The key reason why it is easy to be misunderstood is that later generations extracted this sentence from the context of "Book of the Later Han" and looked at this sentence alone without the context. Naturally, it is easy to misread it. . From this point of view, this famous saying is the same as Cao Cao's "I would rather betray others than others betray me", which has been misunderstood. Zhijinwu, with the same position as Jiuqing, serves the Northern Army who guards the capital, especially the imperial city. supreme commander. To put it more generally, it is basically similar to the commander of the Central Garrison Forces in modern times. However, misunderstanding often occurs here. Looking at this sentence alone, many people in later generations will think: Liu Xiu wanted to be the commander of the Central Guards and wanted to marry a beauty like Yin Lihua. If you put this famous saying back into the history books, you can understand the true meaning it expresses. Liu Xiu's emotion comes from "The Book of the Later Han Dynasty·Queen's Chronicle·Queen Guanglieyin": Guangwu is suitable for new fields, and after hearing about it, it is beautiful and my heart is happy. Later, when I arrived in Chang'an, I saw that Zhijinwu's chariots and horses were very popular, so he sighed and said: "The official should be Zhijinwu, and the wife should be Yinlihua." Only with the context can we truly understand why Liu Xiu made such a sigh! The reason why Guangwu of the Han Dynasty lamented when he was young that "officials are regarded as Zhi Jinwu" was entirely because he saw Zhi Jinwu "very prosperous in chariots and horses", not because of the size of Zhi Jinwu's official position. Therefore, discussing the size of the official position of "Zhi Jinwu" is not only meaningless for understanding Liu Xiu's words, but also completely deviates from the original meaning of historical records. Liu Xiu's exclamation has become a famous saying throughout the ages, triggering the cries of many "heroes in troubled times". According to the "Beimeng Suoyan" annotated in "History of the Old Five Dynasties: Biography of Empress Yuanzhen": "When Wen Shi heard about Zhang's beauty, he admired her selfishly and sighed for her beauty." "Wen" refers to Zhu Wen, the number one hero in the late Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties, and "Zhang" refers to Zhu Wen's beloved wife Zhang Hui. Zhu Wen, the tycoon who was the end of the Tang Dynasty, once saw the beauty of Zhang Hui, the daughter of the governor of Songzhou, when he was not yet prosperous, and he let out a "sigh of Lihua". The latter two eventually got married, and Zhang's family The female assistant Zhu Wen achieved great success and became a legend in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. According to the essay "Gu Shen" cited in the Qing Dynasty's "Wu Sangui Kao": General Yanling is beautiful and good at riding and shooting... He is quite fond of enjoying himself; when he meets a beautiful woman, he often falls in love with her, but there is no sense of it. who. I often read "Han Ji" and came to the point where "an official should be the ruler of Jinwu, and a wife should be Yin Lihua", and I sighed with emotion: "I also fulfill this wish, it is enough!". "General Yanling" refers to Wu Sangui, the great tycoon in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. Wu Sangui's family is a descendant of the Wu family in Yanling. At that time, people liked to call him "General Yanling". Wu Sangui was quite elegant and elegant in his youth, and he paid a lot of attention to "beauties", but he never got the one he wanted. When reading history books, when I saw the sentence "The official should be the king, and the wife should be the Yin Lihua", I couldn't help but sigh: "I have fulfilled this wish, it is enough!". An Zhifei is not a servant

The allusion of "An Zhifei is not a servant" comes from "Dongguan Hanji". That is to say, Liu Xiu once said: "How do you know that the person who is the emperor is not me?" Volume 391 of "Taiping Yulan" quoted "East View of the Han Dynasty" records: Guangwu observed the prophecy with Deng Chen when he was young, saying "Liu Xiu should be the emperor." Or it is said that "Liu Xiu, the Grand Master of the country, is in charge." Guangwu said: "How can I know that I am not a servant?" In the third year of Jianwu, Xin Le talked about his old life. Chen calmly said to the emperor: "My servant can handle it." The emperor laughed! Note: When Emperor Guangwu was still an ordinary citizen, he and his brother-in-law Deng Chen visited other people's homes. At that time, everyone saw the prophecy saying: "Liu Xiu will be the emperor." Some people nearby said: The Liu Xiu mentioned in the prophecy must be the Grand Master Liu Xiu (at that time, the Grand Master Liu Xin of the new dynasty had just changed his name to Liu Xiu). But Liu Xiu (later Emperor Guangwu) who was present at the time said: "How do you know that the Liu Xiu who is mentioned in this prophecy as the emperor is not referring to me?", which caused everyone to burst into laughter! In the third year after Liu Xiu ascended the throne, he and Deng Chen talked about the past together. Deng Chen calmly said to Emperor Guangwu: "I actually did it." Emperor Guangwu laughed after hearing this! At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, prophecies were extremely popular. Wang Mang used the words in the prophecies as his theoretical basis during the Han Dynasty. In fact, the prophecies were just a tool used by the feudal ruling class to deceive the people of the world. They were absurd and without any basis. . In the last years of the new dynasty, natural disasters continued and people were confused. Liu Xin, the Grand Master of the New Dynasty and a master of ancient classics, was proficient in prophecies and had just changed his name to Liu Xiu. Therefore, everyone speculated that the "Liu Xiu" mentioned in the prophecy book was Liu Xin, the Grand Master of the State. Liu Xin was a great Confucian in the late Western Han Dynasty. He was knowledgeable and highly respected, and he made great contributions to Wang Mang's replacement of the Han Dynasty. Liu Xiu's laughter all reflected his pride at the fact that his wild words "I know I am not a servant" have come true.

Historical achievements:

Yanwu cultivated literature and worked hard to govern

From the chaos in the late New Year to the reunification of the world, it took nearly 20 years, and the people here suffered heavy casualties. Countless people died in battle, disease and starvation. After Liu Xiu unified the world again, the world's population was already "two out of ten". In order to restore and develop the war-torn Central Plains as quickly as possible, Liu Xiuze "knows that the world is exhausted, and rests his mind on happiness. Since the Long and Shuping years, he has not been cautious and has not talked about the military again." At the same time, Liu Xiu issued six consecutive orders to release slaves, which greatly improved the problem of a large number of farmers who had lost their land and became slaves since the end of the Western Han Dynasty. It also solved the problem of a large amount of land being deserted and insufficient population after the war. solve. At the same time, Liu Xiu also vigorously abolished officials and merged counties and counties. Emperor Guangwu issued an edict: "More than 400 counties were merged into the province, the official posts were reduced, and one out of ten was replaced." This greatly reduced the people's burden.

By the end of Liu Xiu's reign, the population had more than doubled to more than 20 million, and the economy had also developed greatly.

Centralize power at the Chancellery

In the name of preferential treatment to meritorious officials and noble relatives, Guangwu granted them titles, lands, houses, and high-ranking officials with generous salaries, but removed their military and political power. In view of the weight of the Three Dukes in the early Western Han Dynasty, Guangwu shifted his authority downwards. Although he established the position of the Three Dukes, he attributed all administrative power to the Shangshutai, which was located in China and under the direct command of the emperor. There is a Shangshu Ling with a rank of 1,000 shi, a Servant with a rank of 1,600 shi each, and one Shangshu each with a rank of 600 shi, who are responsible for various government affairs. There are officials such as Cheng, Lang, Lingshi, etc. below. All political orders are directly reported to the Emperor Chen from the Shangshutai, and are decided by the Emperor. From then on, "all affairs in the world were submitted to the minister, who participated in the decision-making with the master, and then went to the three (gong) mansions." However, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, more powerful ministers were given the title of "recording affairs of the minister", so the authority once again shifted downwards, and the minister's desk transformed into a tool for the dictatorship of powerful ministers.

Pay attention to people's livelihood and rest with the people

First, free slaves and prisoners. Since the late Western Han Dynasty, the number of peasants becoming slaves and prisoners has been increasing day by day, which has become an important issue in the increasingly acute class conflicts in the late Western Han Dynasty. In Wang Mang's last years, many slaves and prisoners participated in the uprising; at the same time, there were also many slaves and prisoners in the armies of some separatist forces. When Guangwu was rebuilding the feudal regime of Liu Han, in order to disintegrate the enemy's army and strengthen his own power, as well as to stabilize social order and ease class conflicts, he issued many edicts to release slaves and stipulated that anyone who abused, killed or injured slaves would be punished. The scope of the imperial edict to free slaves and maidservants as common people mainly includes: officials and people who were illegally confiscated as slaves during Wang Mang's reign in the Han Dynasty; those who married their wives and children and were sold into servitude because of poverty; those who were sold into servitude as slaves due to famine or war in the last years of Wang Mang's reign ; Those who were plundered as wives during the war. In addition, it was also stipulated that arbitrarily killing and wounding slaves was not allowed and the "law of a slave who shot someone and abandoned the market" was abolished, which showed that the status of slaves had improved compared with the past. At the same time, in the provincial edict commuting penalties, it was also announced many times that prisoners would be released, that is, "the prisoners will be exempted from becoming common people." Second, rectify the administration of officials and promote frugality. In view of the corruption of official administration and the corruption of bureaucratic extravagance in the late Western Han Dynasty, Guangwu paid attention to rectifying official administration after taking the throne, practiced frugality, rewarded integrity, and selected talented people as local officials; he also had strict requirements for local officials and strict rewards and punishments. Therefore, after the rectification, the official atmosphere changed. Therefore, the "Book of the Later Han·Biography of Xunli" has the reputation of "the internal and external bandits are relaxed, and the people are relaxed." Third, we should reduce taxes and restraint, save the criminal law, practice martial arts and cultivate literature, do not pay attention to side merits, and share the same interests with the people. In the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, in view of the decline in production and the sharp decline in population after the war, Guangwu paid attention to implementing the policy of recuperating and recuperating the people, and first of all, he reduced taxes and reduced taxes. In the sixth year of Jianwu (AD 30), an edict was issued to restore the tax system of thirty to one tax in the early Western Han Dynasty. Next is the Provincial Criminal Code. The next step is to practice martial arts and cultivate literature, which is not about side merit. Guangwu "knows that the world is tired, and his thoughts and music are resting on his shoulders. Since the Longshu peace, he has not talked about the military again." In the 21st year of Jianwu (AD 45), the 16 countries including Shanshan and Dongshi in the Western Regions "all sent their sons to serve as servants and to ask for their protection. ... The emperor initially settled on China, and did not neglect foreign affairs, but returned it Waiter, give me a generous reward." In the twenty-seventh year of Jianwu (AD 51), the heroes Langlinghou Zanggong and Yangxuhou Mawu wrote a letter: Please take advantage of the split of the Huns and the weakening of the Northern Huns to send troops to destroy them, and achieve "the merit of carving stones for eternity". Guangwu issued an edict: "There is no good governance in the country today, disasters are endless, people cannot protect themselves, and they want to go far and far away!...It is better to calm the people." Fourth, in order to restrain the powerful forces, implement the policy of concentrating land. The Eastern Han Dynasty was originally established with the support of powerful forces. However, the development of powerful forces and the gradual seriousness of land annexation not only threatened the imperial power, but also affected the lives of the people. In order to strengthen the court's control over the country's cultivated land and labor manpower, the burden of taxes and corvees was averaged. In the fifteenth year of Jianwu (39 AD) ) issued an edict: "The prefectures and counties inspected the acres of cultivated land and the age of the household registration, and also inspected the two thousand stone chief officials who were in vain." This means that each county and county was ordered to measure the land and verify the household registration as the basis for correcting the land reclamation, population and taxation. . After the edict was issued, it encountered resistance from powerful forces. Guangwu ordered the execution of Henan Yin Zhangji and more than ten prefects from other counties who had falsely transferred land, expressing his intention to pursue the investigation severely. As a result, powerful families in various places resisted, and armed rebellions even broke out in some areas, "especially in the four prefectures of Qing, Xu, You, and Ji." Guangwu had no choice but to let it go. As a result, the land cultivation ended in failure. Various policies and measures were implemented to varying degrees, creating favorable conditions for the restoration and development of social production, resulting in a substantial increase in cultivated land and population, thus laying the foundation for the eighty years of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The country’s strong material foundation.

Simplify the organization and cut redundant staff

In the sixth year of Jianwu (AD 30), an edict was issued to subordinate the prefectural and animal husbandry departments to all the actual offices. Those who can be combined can go to the two mansions of Da Situ and Da Sikong. So "there were more than 400 counties in Tiaozuo, and the official posts were reduced and one of ten was replaced." At the same time, the local military system of the Western Han Dynasty was abolished, local soldiers in various inland counties were abolished, the post of county captain was abolished, and the annual military recruitment and training examination in the county was also abolished. Local defense was replaced by recruited professional troops. However, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the provincial governors gradually gained more power and had military, political and financial power, and local military forces gradually rose again.

Promote Confucianism and commend integrity

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Imperial Academy was built in Luoyang, the Five Classics Doctors were established, and the Fourteen Doctors' School of the Western Han Dynasty was restored. He often visited Taixue and talked with students.

Under his advocacy, schools were established in many counties and counties, and many private schools also appeared among the people. Guangwu inherited the tradition of only respecting Confucianism during the Western Han Dynasty. After the establishment of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he immediately established the Imperial Academy and set up doctors, each of whom taught the classics according to their family methods. When Guangwu visited Lu, he sent Da Sikong to worship Confucius. Later, he named Kong Zhi, a descendant of Confucius, as a Marquis of Bocheng to show his respect for Confucius and Confucianism. In particular, they worship the prophecy superstition created by the Confucian Jinwen school. At the same time, in view of the fact that some bureaucrats and celebrities in the late Western Han Dynasty were obsessed with wealth and wealth and attached themselves to Wang Mang, Guangwu commended and appointed officials and celebrities who had lived in seclusion during Wang Mang's Han Dynasty and did not serve in official positions, praising them for being loyal to the Han Dynasty and not serving as officials. High moral integrity."