Martial arts is used to stabilize the country, and literature is used to stabilize the state.
As the saying goes: Martial arts can control the world, but literature can govern the country's security.
Wen, to a large extent, must be attributed to etiquette.
Etiquette is extremely important to ancient Chinese society. It is the sum of people's behavioral norms. Etiquette plays a role in stabilizing the country.
Etiquette is the foundation of Confucianism, and Confucian scholars also regard the realization of the country's operation according to etiquette as their primary responsibility. Confucius was born in troubled times, and he said that the chaos in the world was caused by the collapse of rituals and the destruction of music. He lobbied everywhere to restore rituals, but he failed. Shusun Tong also suffered from troubled times and was also displaced throughout his life. However, he did not call for restoration of rites. In the end, he realized the dream that Confucius could not realize in his life and became a "Han Confucian".
Why did Confucius, the eternal teacher, fail to succeed, but Shusun Tong, a man with no respectable reputation in history, succeeded? What's so clever about this?
History books say that Shusun Tong was a man who knew everything and was quick to change. I am afraid this is the secret of his success.
As mentioned earlier, Liu Bang first ascended to the throne and was ranked ninth and fifth, but internal and external troubles came one after another. Maodun's army came to Jinyang City, which was indeed a major foreign invasion. However, the differences between civil servants and military generals in North Korea and China are also a troublesome and embarrassing matter. The military generals galloped on their horses and fought in all directions. They were the most brave and arrogant at the time. The civil servants did not have the merit to kill generals, but they cared about courtier etiquette and were quite dissatisfied with the careless generals.
On this day, Liu Bang held a banquet for his ministers again. At first, the generals were respectful and polite, speaking and talking about the emperor coming and going. Liu Bang was also very happy in his heart. However, after a few glasses of wine, the generals started to speak foul language and their true colors were revealed, just like the gangsters in the market. After a few more drinks, the generals started howling.
Let's rock it!
They stepped on the bench, squatted on the table and punched, and even drew their swords and hit the table, singing pornographic songs. A few people who didn't know the importance of good and bad actually climbed onto Liu Bang's throne and started talking about Liu Bang's past scandals. In this situation, Liu Bang's face became more and more solemn, and after thinking about it, his heart was restless and uneasy.
Then Liu Bang looked around and saw a Confucian scholar from Eguan University looking at him seriously. Looking again, Liu Bang was shocked and saw that all the civil servants were well behaved and behaved like ministers.
The Confucian scholar's surname was Shusun Mingtong, and all the generals were annoyed by his tact and disloyalty, but Liu Bang was quite fond of him. Shusun Tong was a native of Xue County, Lu State, which was the hometown of Confucius. Shusun Tong was also a Confucian scholar. Etiquette was his specialty. Besides, he was a doctor waiting for an imperial edict from the Qin Dynasty. In today's terms, he was a doctor waiting for him, and he had experience in etiquette. This Shusuntong is talented and has the ability to observe other people's faces and figure out other people's thoughts. The following incident is a good example:
"Everyone, tell me, what is going on with this quarrel between Chen Sheng and Wu Guangda?" the second emperor of Qin in the past asked the Confucian scholars.
More than thirty Confucian scholars all said in unison: "They are rebelling. Your Majesty, please send troops to suppress them."
When Shusun Tong saw Qin II's face, he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, after the First Emperor unified the six countries, the world has become one family, and weapons have been destroyed long ago. Besides, with a wise sage like you, everyone abides by the law, how can What kind of rebels are there? Chen Sheng and others are just sneaky thieves, they are just a little bit more powerful, just leave it to the county magistrate to deal with, why should you bother."
Those who did not know how to adapt and still insisted on the theory of rebelling against thieves were all beheaded; those who agreed with Shusun Tong's theory were rewarded.
When Shusun Tong returned home, the Confucian scholars asked, "Why are you so misguided and flattering?"
"Don't you know? I almost couldn't escape from the tiger's mouth!" As soon as he finished speaking, Shusuntong ran away. He fled to Xue County and followed Xiang Liang. Xiang Liang was defeated and followed King Huai of Chu. King Chu Huai went to Changsha and stayed to serve Xiang Yu. Later, he surrendered to Liu Bang in Pengcheng. He never changed his master after surrendering to Liu Bang. After going back and forth like this, Shusun Tong followed all the masters, big and small, and followed nearly ten masters in total. It can be imagined that he knows the power and is flexible.
At first, Shusun Tong wore Confucian clothes, which Liu Bang hated, so he changed to short clothes, just like Liu Bang. Liu Bang was very happy, made him a doctor, and gave him the title Ji Sijun. Shusun Tong did not bring his students to surrender. The students were a little resentful and blamed Shusun Tong for not recommending them to become officials in the court. Shusun Tong told them to be safe and don't be impatient. Sooner or later, he will find a way to make these students prosperous.
Later, Shusun Tong recommended his students to Liu Bang and suggested that Liu Bang develop etiquette to calm the world. But Liu Bang felt that the etiquette of the Qin Dynasty was too troublesome, so he abolished it. If Shusun Tong's etiquette also followed the same set of etiquette, it would be better not to use it.
But Shusun Tong said: "Etiquette is all based on the circumstances of the world. Therefore, the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors all have different etiquette. The etiquette of Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties were also derived from gains and losses on this basis. Don't worry, I don't It is complicated and only adopts the essence of past dynasties, all of which will be in line with Your Majesty’s wishes.”
So Shusun Tong led his disciples to practice etiquette all day long in the suburbs of the city. After more than a month, he invited Liu Bang to watch. Liu Bang tried it out and found it good, so he ordered his ministers to learn it.
In October of the seventh year of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty (200 BC), all the courtiers of the Han Dynasty gathered in Changle Palace to perform court rituals that will continue from now on. The scale, pomp and momentum are truly extraordinary.
At dawn, the ceremonial officers led the chariots, cavalry, garrison soldiers, and guards in one by one, lined up the ceremonial soldiers, and planted the flags. With the sound of "qu" (hurriedly walking), hundreds of people stood in the hall, everyone was silent and the team was neat. The generals stand in the west, facing east; the civil servants stand in the east, facing west. Liu Bang came out in the emperor's chariot, the alarm sounded loudly, and the officials congratulated him in order of rank. After the worship, the ministers returned to their seats and toasted to the emperor one by one. After nine lines of drinking, the ceremony is over. From worshiping to toasting, no one dared to make loud noises or even speak loudly. Liu Bang was extremely satisfied and said solemnly: "I didn't know how to be an emperor's dignitary until today." Then he promoted his uncle Sun Tong to a general servant and rewarded him with five hundred catties of gold.
Shusun Tong said: "My students have been following me for a long time. They practice etiquette with me and hope that the emperor will give them an official position." Liu Bangquan appointed Shusun Tong's students as doctors. Shusun Tong distributed all the gold rewarded by the emperor to his students. His students were very happy and said that Shusun Tong was a saint in the world who knew the most about the affairs of the world.
Sima Qian once said: "A fur coat of a thousand pieces of gold is not the armpit of a fox; a tree in a pavilion is not a branch of a tree; and the wisdom of three generations is not the wisdom of a single scholar." The implication is that Shu Suntong's influence on the Han Dynasty The room has great merit. Although Shusun Tong had many victims and was cunning in words and deeds, his status as a "Han Confucian" was still determined by history.
As the saying goes, those who understand current affairs are heroes. In this regard, Shusun Tong can be said to be a hero at that time. His behavior was not just as simple as formulating etiquette. The formulation of etiquette also eliminated the long-standing prejudice and discrimination between civil servants and military generals, especially the contempt of civil servants by military generals.
After Shusun Tong's etiquette improvement, the Han Dynasty court began to see order, which relieved Liu Bang's worries and allowed him to concentrate on dealing with the powerful enemy generals in the north. Maodun's ambition is not small, and he has been working hard for many years. He is determined to win Jinyang City. Liu Bang has also experienced countless life and death tests, will he give in easily? The battle between Mao Dun and Liu Bang is bound to be extraordinary!
It is a pity that this ending still makes us today feel very regretful!
