Officials in the early Western Han Dynasty were generally composed of two parts: one was legalist bureaucrats and their children, who could be called literati; The other is an intellectual group who studied Confucian classics and entered the official career, which can be called Confucian scholars. Most of the former are not well educated and have not received systematic six classics study, but they are proficient in political conventions, legal affairs and technical business. In the eyes of the owners, they are regarded as "ministers who have made meritorious deeds by force". Their administration adopted the pragmatism theory of Legalists, directly adhered to the supreme will, and severely punished thieves and all forces that were not conducive to imperial rule. Later generations called them "cruel officials". The latter usually comes from ordinary people, knows well the sufferings of the people at the bottom of society, and believes in ethics such as benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust. They believe that the essence of governing the country lies in being kind to the people, but they can't handle government affairs and can't adapt to the rules of officialdom. Their management resolutely follows Confucianism, develops production, practices enlightenment, and is committed to social stability and good manners. Later people called it "official". [1] The dispute between literati and Confucian scholars is not only a political disagreement, but also a private life, especially in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Zhang Tang was a famous generation of cruel officials in the period of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty.
Zhang Tang, a native of Ling Du in the Western Han Dynasty (now southeast of Xi, Shaanxi Province), was born in an ominous year, about the middle of Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty, and was a typical legalist bureaucrat. Modern psychological theory holds that the living environment of a person's childhood has a great influence on the growth and development of his life, and the stimulation in the subconscious usually profoundly changes his personality in silence, and his personality determines his fate to some extent. There is also a folk proverb in China, "When you are three, you look down on the small, and when you are five, you look down on the big". Sima Qian in Historical Records? There is such a small incident that happened in Zhang Tang's childhood in The Story of the Corrupt Official, which reflects a lot of information and helps us to know more about Zhang Tang and the mentality of the cruel official he represents.
"The father is Chang 'an, and the soup is the son. Also, the mouse stole meat, and my father was angry and made soup. Dig soup to smoke rat meat, prey on it, send a book to inform, take rat meat and go to prison. When my father saw it, he took it for an old jailer. He was so scared that he sent the book to prison. " 〔2〕
Zhang's father managed his family in a professional way, lost his temper because the mouse stole meat, and punished his son with bamboo boards and Vitex negundo soup. Please note that flogging was one of the common formal punishments in ancient China. [3] Xiao Zhangtang was wronged and stubborn. He dug three feet to catch the stolen mouse. Instead of killing it with evil spirits, he solemnly set up his own court, disseminated documents, convicted him by torture, and finally read the verdict, executed the mouse and dismembered him. Please note again that execution is one of the cruel weekly punishments in ancient times, which is also called "dismembering five horses" in modern times. [4] My father, who has been in public office for many years, was "stunned" when he witnessed this scene. From then on, he discovered Zhang Tang's talent and asked his assistant to write judicial documents. (There are few documents about the litigation trial system in the Han Dynasty, which are mainly described in the biography of the cruel officials and Zhang Tang's trial of rats. Through the analysis of the above events, we can draw the following conclusions: firstly, the influence of family environment, Zhang Tang's own interests and talents, and his father's professional training all make him very suitable for the post of "knife and pen official" and engage in judicial work, which has a great relationship with his later ranking in the three fairs and his becoming an ancient scholar; Secondly, Zhang Tang's cruel and cold-blooded side has begun to appear since he was a child, and he has a strong tendency to violence. Later, it became more and more fierce, until it became a generation of cruel officials, "making the world look askance", [6] but it also laid the groundwork for his tragic ending.
Third, from a small county magistrate to an ancient scholar.
After Zhang Fu's death, Zhang Tang worked as an official in Chang 'an for many years. His political rise, first of all, was because he helped Xing Xinghou to be born and introduced to the nobility of North Korea. He was in Ningcheng, a famous cruel official at that time. Later, he made friends with his younger brother, Prime Minister Tian Fen, was recommended to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and was promoted to the rank of suggestion. Zhang Tang's emergence in official career began with the witchcraft case of Empress Chen in BC 135. Chen Ajiao (the heroine of the idiom "A golden house hides a charming woman") summoned witches to cast spells and recite spells in the harem in order to compete with the beautiful woman Wei Zifu. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty ordered a thorough investigation of the matter. Zhang Tang took the opportunity to play a cruel official and snare the innocent. "Tang Shen has contact with the party, involving more than 300 people, and his father was beheaded in the city." [7] Thousands of people have been implicated. Later, Chen Ajiao was abolished, and Wei Zifu made a new move. Zhang Tang was promoted to be a loyal doctor because of his meritorious service in handling cases, and was appreciated by Emperor Wu from then on.
When Dr. Taizhong took office, Zhang Tang cooperated with Zhao Yu (the protagonist of the idiom "going his own way"), a ruthless official, and had a good personal relationship. * * According to the actual political needs of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, various national laws and regulations were formulated and revised. Its main actions are: to restore the harsh laws such as the law of sharing seats, clan punishment and libel, which were abolished in the early Han Dynasty; Formulate the law of knowing the past, that is, officials must report the case when they know it, and sentenced criminals must strictly enforce it, and local unrest must be severely suppressed, otherwise it will be treated as a felony; Gong Yue Law Collection of Article 27 (now lost). Guard system is an important part of Sixty Articles of Han Law. Its laws and regulations are characterized by "doing things in depth and keeping official duties", [8] that is, making laws strict and meticulous, especially for officials in office. This reversed the trend of lenient legislation since the prosperity of the literary field, and the development of China's law was harsh and rigorous.
At this time, in order to strengthen the feudal unification, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty no longer respected Confucianism, but instead respected Dong Zhongshu's neo-Confucianism. Zhang Tang is just speculating. He wrote a letter requesting the appointment of Dr. Ru as Tingweishi to assist him in handling the case. At the same time, on behalf of the emperor and court officials, he consulted Dong Zhongshu, who had retired from his hometown, and took his opinions as an important trial basis. Since then, prison officials have judged cases according to the will of the imperial court, with the intention of the ancients, and said that it must be a "ram" of the Six Classics, which is called "Spring and Autumn Prison" in history, which not only promoted the process of canonization of legal Confucianism, but also opened the precedent of Confucian classics in Han Dynasty.
In BC 123, Liu An, the king of Huainan (the author of the ancient book Huainanzi, the protagonist of the idiom "Chicken and dog ascend to heaven") and Liu Ci, the king of Hengshan, rebelled and lost their lives. Tingwei Zhang Tang presided over this major political case, trying to figure out Liang Wudi's mind, and took the opportunity to eradicate the feud. "Huainan, Hengshan each prison, headed by Hou, two thousand stone, hero, etc. , killing tens of thousands of people. " [9] In the second year, that is, the second year of Yuan Di's enthronement ceremony, Zhang Tang became a knight, which was a great success and began the most brilliant seven-year career in his life.
The main reason for Zhang Tang's success in his career lies in his humility. Before his success, he made a wide range of friends and laid a solid class foundation. Historical records? "Biography of Corrupt Officials" said: "Soup is a lie, dancing with wisdom to control people ... Although it is not in my heart, I am eager." Although there are opinions, on the surface, we should do enough work, create an atmosphere, admire and respect the rich and powerful senior officials. "Make friends with Fu Jia in Chang 'an, and make friends with world-famous literati ... As for provincial officials, they are experts; Send a gentleman, don't avoid cold and heat. " Therefore, "although the usage is not professional, it has gained this reputation. "Although the problem is not small, it has been praised by powerful people and gained a good reputation. Secondly, and most importantly, Zhang Tang won the trust of the emperor. From the perspective of Emperor Wu, Zhang Tang's words and deeds are obedient and absolutely loyal to the emperor, without any selfishness. Emperor Wu naturally thought that he was a rare talent, so he naturally reused him and gave him power. In fact, it is "a person who wants to commit a crime ideologically and is deeply troubled by the history of supervision; "In other words, those who want to explain what they want, and those who are indifferent to prison history ... the ministers in prison are responsible for themselves." In other words, most of Zhang Tang's cases are met by Liang Wudi, and his punishment will be aggravated when he falls into the rain; If Emperor Wu likes it, he will find an excuse to be merciful outside the law; If Emperor Wu doesn't care and is estranged from himself, he will be ruthless in the first instance, taking crowding out the enemy as his political achievements and expanding his desires to the maximum extent under the guise of safeguarding imperial power. Although "Wen Zhi Fa, Shang Cai Cha, often interprets the words of the Tang Dynasty", the emperor ruled nominally, but the final decision-making power was completely guided by Zhang Tang's personal will. It is worth noting that Zhang Tang's success depends on these two factors, which is also the reason for his failure.
Zhang Tang, who was ranked after Sangong, boasted that he had the emperor's favor and held many positions. His power far exceeds that of the prime minister, and he decides everything in the world. He talked about state affairs in the court until sunset, and Emperor Wu forgot that the waste food could not go out at night, and all the ministers were not allowed to return; When Liang Wudi was unable to go to court due to illness, he made a special trip to visit Zhang Fu, which made him spend so much money. The large-scale war between Han and Hungary for many years led to the emptiness of the national treasury and the poverty of the people. In order to solve the financial crisis, Liang Wudi ordered Zhang Tang to take charge of economic reform, plan the state to compete for profits with the people, manufacture platinum currency and five baht, implement monopoly law on salt and iron materials, post wanted orders everywhere, severely punish the powerful and the rich, and oppress the weak and weak civilians with cool methods. Inflation is rampant throughout the country.
At this time, with the acquiescence of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Tang personally created one of the most serious unjust prison cases in the history of ancient cultural thought and legal system in China-the case of bending prison. Yan Yi, a farmer who is famous for his honesty, offended Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty by opposing Zhang Tang's economic bill of replacing 400,000 yuan with a piece of white deerskin. Zhang Tang, who presided over the political reform plan and was good at observing political trends, had a feud with Yan Yi, so he sued Yan Yi for "condescending, saying nothing, and saying dead words" (saying nothing, slandering in his heart, and should be sentenced to death) on the pretext of "not responding slightly" when his subordinates criticized state affairs. With the consent of Emperor Wu, Yan Yi was executed. The case of superiority can be said to be a strange injustice throughout the ages, and political prisoners are subjectively judged by speculation. This bad precedent is thousands of years earlier than Yue Fei's "self-evident" and money's "lust for sin" in the Southern Song Dynasty. The direct consequence of this is that the autocratic power of imperial power is extremely powerful, and everyone in the ruling and opposition circles is frightened. "Naturally, there is a legal condescension ratio. Most officials are flattering and taking capacity." Condescension has been openly made into an analogy crime, and all ministers have to flatter themselves. As for the reform plan, when you go into politics and don't listen to the consequences, the damage is too wide, which will inevitably cause serious harm to society. "Since the advent of platinum and five baht, hundreds of thousands of people have died because of stolen currency. There are so many offenders that officials cannot do their best to punish them. " As a result, people's grievances are boiling, and complaints abound. As for Shu Ren, salty means soup. [12] At this point, the controllable economic crisis has been artificially deteriorated into a serious political and social crisis, just like the glory of injustice can not escape a bleak ending, and Zhang Tang's apprentice will come to an end.
Embattled, there is no way out.
The most fatal reason for Zhang Tang's failure lies in his dual personality, being too indifferent to the law and making too many enemies, and finally being abandoned by Emperor Wu. In 1 15 BC, in the second year of Ding Yuan, salt and iron were monopolized by the central government, which greatly harmed the interests of the vassal States with the same surname. In addition to previous personal grievances, Wang Zhaoliu and Peng Zu took the lead in accusing Zhang Tang and his subordinate Lu Qiaoju of conspiring to harm the country. Lu Qiaoju, Zhang Tang's confidant, deliberately fabricated unjust cases to frame Zhang Tang's feud, remonstrance and literary achievements. Shortly after Wang Zhao appealed to Lu Qiaoju, Lu Qiaoju died and was sent to prison. Lu Qiaoju's younger brother, who was involved in the incident, thought that Zhang Tang would not be defeated, so he exposed the shady situation of his brother and Zhang Tang in prison. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Tingwei to investigate Li Wenwen, and Jian Xuan, the same brutal official, was also an old enemy of Zhang Tang. He wanted to kill Zhang Tang, so he acted secretly against Luo Zhi. At this critical moment, a thief stole the money buried in Wendi cemetery. As usual, Prime Minister Zhuang and Zhang Tang made an appointment to apologize to Liang Wudi. Zhang Tang temporarily changed his mind, unilaterally passed the buck, and prepared to impeach Zhuang first, putting all the charges on the Prime Minister. And (the protagonist of the idiom "water under the bridge"), Wang Chao and Bian Tong, three officials of the Prime Minister's Office, also have deep grievances with Zhang Tang. After learning of Zhang Tang's plan, they jointly launched a pre-emptive action to defend the innocence of the Prime Minister, and at the same time denounced Zhang Tang's various illegal acts on weekdays, linking several things one by one. Emperor Wu was furious and decided that Zhang Tang had been cheating you, so he rushed up and sent messengers with the indictment to denounce Zhang Tang's eight sins.
"Son of heaven fruit with Tang Huai cheat face deceives, make eight generations of book soup. Soup has its own way, and it cannot be done. Therefore, Special Envoy Zhao Yu accused Tang. When Yu arrived, Tang said, "Why don't you know the difference between them? What kind of people are you ruling? Today, people say that you have a shape and the son of heaven has returned to your prison. If you want to make your own plans, why do you want to look up books? " Tang Nai thanked the book and said, "Tang has no merit, big or small, but your majesty's three officials are lucky, so you can't shirk it." "However, those who make soup have a long history." Suicide. After the death of Tang, the family property was only 500 gold, all of which were given away, and there was no other business. Kundi's sons want to give Tang a heavy funeral. Mother Tang said, "Tang was the minister of the son of heaven and died of foul language. What a heavy burial! " Carried by ox cart, there are coffins without coffins. The son of heaven listened and said, "Without this mother, this child can't be born." This is a three-person murder case with a long history. Prime Minister Zhai Qing committed suicide. Serve precious soup. Let his son live a quiet life. "〔 13〕
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also sent a cruel official, Zhao Yu, to question him. He and Zhang Tang were brothers. [14] Zhang Tang met his friends and thought that things would get better eventually. He was about to give a long explanation, but Zhao Yu took the lead in lambasting: "You feel wronged today. Don't you think so many people who have been killed by you are wronged? Now people are suing you with hard evidence. The emperor put you in prison because he wanted you to kill yourself. Why fight? " This is similar to the idiom "Please go into the urn". ) After all this, Zhang Tang finally woke up, recalled his past actions and his understanding of Emperor Wu. Although he was unwilling, he had to die. Under the attack of governors, subordinates, cruel officials and colleagues, the emperor also abandoned him. Zhang Tang committed suicide. Facing the burial, mother Zhang said some strange words that we didn't understand. I think it's probably because in her eyes, her son has always been upright and upright.
In fact, Zhang Tang's death was the cruel result of political struggle and self-mutilation. It is a reaffirmation of the old saying that "many wrongs will kill you", not to mention any vicious framing. First of all, after Zhang Tang came to power, he turned against each other mercilessly and made a wide range of enemies, which led to the siege of his ministers, and no one spoke for him again, losing the solid foundation of officialdom before. Zhu Maichen, the three ministers of the Prime Minister's Office, and others are all civilian scribes, and their status was once above that of Zhang Tang. "Tang is a small official, kneeling to keep the minister waiting." When they were convicted and demoted, the situation reversed. "(Zhu Maichen) saw the soup, and the soup sat on the bed ... The soup was a few lines for the Prime Minister. Knowing that these three officials are expensive, they often fold it." Enemies are already easy to knot and difficult to solve. Secondly, what is the world without talents? Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty refused to use all the talents, just like no talents, he didn't kill anything. [15] The theory of talent tools is moody, arbitrary, and often reckless in doing things to rule the country and level the world. Once he breaks his word, he will go to extremes. When dealing with Zhang Tang's case, one was merciless, unable to explain, and committed to the death penalty. When I finally got my wish, I suddenly heard that Zhang Tang's family was poor and poorly buried, so I immediately turned around. I killed three long collectors in one breath, forced the Prime Minister Zhuang to death, and praised him, and then promoted Zhang Tang's son Zhang Anshi to rehabilitate Zhang Tang. Who knows that this is probably a political case that has not been clarified, and then it has created an unexplained unjust, false and wrong case. Based on Emperor Wu's consistent political words and deeds and later historical views, his "trust" and so-called "regret" for Zhang Tang are unreliable at critical moments, and will be abandoned as victims when necessary in other major political struggles.
Historical records? "Ping Huai Shu" records "Zhang Tang's death, people don't think about it". Zhang Tang didn't do much good for the people, and I'm afraid all he left for the people was the eternal physical and mental pain brought by harsh laws. I'm afraid the crimes he committed against the law and discipline will be severely punished according to the Han law formulated by himself, and the whole nation should not be neglected. The most commendable thing about the whole incident is that although Zhang Tang spent all his money on public expenses and once controlled the state's financial power politically for decades, he was able to avoid corruption and bribery, so that his family was penniless. This is really commendable and a model of integrity. Perhaps this is the source of Zhang's son's honest image in her mind.
Throughout this high-level infighting, it can be said that there is almost no right or wrong. While trying to figure out the emperor's intentions, North Korean ministers are bending the law to varying degrees. When Zhang Tang was bent on framing others, others took revenge with a camera. At the first opportunity, both sides took the opportunity to attack wantonly, and a new political storm fell out of thin air. As a result, he not only ruined his life, but also implicated innocent people and the lower class. This is not only the darkness and ruthlessness of feudal politics, but also the ugliness and helplessness under the monarchy.
Five historical lessons of Zhang Tang and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
After the death of Zhang Tang, Emperor Wu continued to reuse the judges, "Historical Records? Among the eleven cruel officials listed in Biography of Cruel Officials, nine were from the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. , Wang, Jian Xuan, Du Zhou and others have served as Ting Wei. , leading to unjust imprisonment in the world, civil unrest in all directions, unprecedented intensification of class contradictions, and the country plunged into blood shed. Hanshu? "Criminal Law Annals" records that "(Zhang Tang's death) was followed by cunning and ingenious means, in contrast, it was forbidden to sleep secretly on the Internet. There are 359 chapters, 499 chapters, 1882 chapters, and more than 33,472 death sentences. There are more than a few pavilions in the document, and the code can't be read all over. Sima Qian also commented that although Zhang Tang is "profound", in contrast, "his treatment is still broad, and he uses law to help him", and he can also "know Yin and Yang, and people often support each other and the country depends on it. "Since the death of Zhang Tang, contacts are dense, and official duties are ruined. Jiuqing has been an official and saved his life. Why not talk about it? "If the water is good, it will be very bad. Cool politics has become a common practice, and cruel officials are all over the world, and Zhang Tang's successors will only be unhelpful to the country and the people." How many feet! How many feet! "Zhang Tang's life ended in tragedy, which is his inevitable fate under the rule of Emperor Wu. Liu Che, the emperor of Han Dynasty, was a very talented, ambitious, arrogant and murderous feudal emperor. During his 50 years in power, he has made great achievements and established China's 3,000-year-old "political system of Qin Huang and Wu Han". At the same time, he launched wars at will, created large-scale unjust cases at will, maintained the rule with severe punishment and severe laws, and squandered the social wealth of his grandfather and father for more than 40 years, which led to national turmoil and people's suffering. " Domestic consumption is wasted, and the registered permanent residence is halved. [6509.10000000605] Sima Guang concluded in Zi Jian: "Filial piety is extravagant and extravagant, complicated punishment is heavy, the palace is extravagant, foreign affairs are four foreigners, gods and monsters are confused, and the parade is excessive, which makes the people tired and thieves. There are few people who are different from Qin Shihuang. "[18] Liang Wudi was thirteen prime ministers, nine of whom died of natural causes. In the end, the "Witchcraft" case went its own way, listened to rumors, and forced the queen (Wei Zifu), the prince and the grandson of the emperor to death. Only then did they suddenly realize that they had done great harm to the country and people. In their later years, they have been punished for the sin of "thinking about their son on the wheel" and decided to be frivolous and generous, share the interest with the people and appoint a virtuous person to save themselves.
Throughout history, we can find that tyrants will inevitably create cruel officials, and the two use each other and depend on each other. Cruel officials help each other and create tyranny while fighting for love; What is not cool is alienated into a public enemy of officialdom. Take Zhang Tang as an example. He studied under the cruel official Ningcheng, made friends with the cruel official Zhao Yu, and was finally besieged by the cruel official. Brutal officials, Du Zhou and Wang were all subordinates of Zhang Tang. Zhang Tang was very appreciative of them, praising Yin Ji for "practicing martial arts" for many times, suggesting that Du Zhou was "harmless" several times, and [19] vigorously promoted Wang and others. As a result, these three people were highly valued after Zhang Tang's death, "shine on you is better than blue", and their administration was extremely cruel. It can be said that they aroused people's anger, of course, they all deserved it like Zhang Tang, and they could not escape the tragic end of political victims.
While cruel officials cultivate a large number of cruel officials, the struggle between them has never stopped. When Xiongnu came to ask for relatives, Dr. Di Shan, a Confucian scholar, opposed the war and rebuked Zhang Tang and other cruel officials for "cheating loyalty". As a result, he was publicly killed by the Huns. "Naturally, after that, the officials were shocked, and no one dared to mind the soup." [20] The only person who dared to oppose Zhang Tang's criticism of Emperor Wu was the minister Ji An (the protagonist of the idiom "coming from behind"). Ji An was upright and outspoken, and was once praised as an "ancient minister" by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. When Zhang Tanggang was appointed Tingwei, Ji An decided that this would be a disaster in the world. He denounced Zhang Tang many times in front of the emperor and often argued with Zhang Tang about state affairs in the court. Zhang Tang's debate pays attention to speaking like a book and repeatedly entangles in nuances; Ji An, despite his righteous words and his adherence to principles, could not refute the other side. Therefore, Zhang Tang was "deeply troubled and wanted to punish him with something", and Emperor Wu was tired of Ji An forcing him to move. Before he left, Ji An told the big banks Li Xi's suggestion:
"One abandoned in the county, not with the court. Zhang, an ancient literati, was enough to refuse remonstrance, cheat and falsify, be clever enough to argue a few words, but refused to speak for the world and specialize in thought. The idea is not what you want, so it is destroyed; The idea is what it wants, so it is praised. He likes to fan the flames and dance grammar. He cheats inside to control his master's heart, while thieves and officials outside take it seriously. If you don't say it early, you must accept it. " 〔2 1〕
Facts have proved that Ji An's political foresight is extremely strong, and his analysis of Zhang Tang and the cruel officials is deeply in place. But Li Xi was afraid of soup, but he was afraid to speak. After Zhang lost. "Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, who gradually realized the true face of Zhang Tang, heard this statement and thought that Zhang Tang was rampant because people like him were cowardly and indulgent. He was severely punished for" paying interest "and promoted Ji 'an's official position as a recognition.
It is worth mentioning that after Zhang Tang's death, Yu Zhao, a cruel official, changed his previous style of "calmness and urgency" and called it "peace" in his later years. In the killing and punishment of cruel officials, he has a good reputation of "maintaining law and order" and has to enjoy his old age in his native land. [22] Zhang Tang's son Zhang Anshi, an official is also very different from his father. Zhao Xuaner is an important official, but he is wise and cautious, generous in administration and kind to others. His family life is clean and simple, his family is well-off, and he is wearing clothes knitted by his wife (some historians have commented that he is suspected of being a sophisticated show). Finally, "An Shi's descendants have been one after another. During the first year of Xuanzi, more than ten people worked in nave, worked in nave and rode horses everywhere, and were listed as a captain. In the world of heroes, only Jin and Zhang are the closest, and they are more precious than their consorts. " [23] They have developed into a prominent family. I think this is actually a lesson, blood and history. The fact that the Zhang family served as a judge from generation to generation was the beginning of the inheritance of the ancient legal family in China.
Historical records? At the beginning of the biography of the cruel officials, Confucius said, "Guide its politics, punish it, and avoid public shame." Guide it with morality and be ashamed of courtesy. "Historical records? The foreword of Official Biography also said: "Tai Shigong said: Law guides the people, and rape is prohibited by punishment. Civil and military affairs are not prepared, good citizens dare not do it, and officials are not chaotic. If you obey the rules, you can also rule. Why should we have dignity? "As we all know, opposing tyranny and praising benevolence and righteousness are the core guiding ideology of Historical Records, and Biography of Officials appeared as a foil to Biography of Cool Officials. Corrupt officials in the Western Han Dynasty combined modern public security, procuratorial and court functions, and their power went directly to the supreme ruler, almost without any restriction. Cruel officials played an important and positive role in cracking down on strong thieves in the process of controlling chaos, but its essence determined that as a private ruling tool of feudal imperial power, it would do more harm than good to the country and society after all. The theory of ancient legalists blindly favoring and punishing the people has great defects. It should be noted that absolute power will only lead to absolute corruption, which is an inherent weakness of human nature. The way to govern the country is to strengthen moral construction, improve the legal system at the same time, and everyone is equal before good laws, so as to create a harmonious society smoothly, which is also the place where modern rule of law is far better than rule of man. Take people as a mirror, you can know the gains and losses; Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall. There are many places in the history of Zhang Tang's era that deserve our future generations to ponder.
Attachment: News "Zhang Tang's Tomb, a Famous Minister of the Western Han Dynasty, Found in Nanjiao of Xi 'an" [24]
Source: Xi Evening News Time: 2004- 1-6
Archaeologists recently discovered a Han tomb in Chang 'an District, Xi 'an. The unearthed bronze seal proves that the owner of the tomb is Zhang Tang, a famous minister of the Western Han Dynasty. This is the first time that our city has discovered and excavated the tombs of celebrities clearly recorded in Hanshu. The tomb was found in the capital construction site of Guodu northwest university of politics and law New Campus in Chang 'an District. The tomb is a long slope mound-tunnel type, east-west, roughly in the shape of "A" on the plane, and there is a tunnel connected with the tomb behind the mound. Although the tomb was once invaded by thieves, cultural relics with obvious characteristics, such as the bronze mirror with nebula pattern in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty and the five baht money of Emperor Wu, were unearthed. The most rare thing is that there are two exquisite double-sided perforated seals in the unearthed objects, one is "Zhang Tomson Soup" and the other is "Zhang Junxin Seal". The diameter of the seal surface is 1.8 cm, which was called "seal of square inch" in ancient times. The excavation of these two seals, combined with the unearthed artifacts and tombs, shows that the owner of the tomb should be Zhang Tang
Archaeologists concluded that this tomb was in the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty. Zhang Tang was a famous minister in the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. According to Hanshu, he started as a scribe, worked as an official in Chang 'an, as a commander in Maoling, as an imperial envoy, and later moved to the position of an imperial envoy. He is from Chang 'an, Ling Du. When he was a child, he was famous for interrogating mice that stole food through judicial procedures. When he grew up, he was promoted to an important official He can handle cases and manage prisons, and he can make suggestions and opinions. Once favored by Emperor Xian of Han Dynasty, he finally died of framed suicide. The jurisdiction of Ling Du in the Western Han Dynasty includes the present Chang 'an District, that is, Zhang Tang's tomb is within the scope of Ling Du in the Western Han Dynasty, and the discovery of this tomb is consistent with the ancient book Zhang Tang's tomb. At the same time, the coffin traces in this tomb are manifested as coffin burial, which is different from that of Han Shu? "Zhang Tang Biography" in the "coffins without coffins to carry ox carts" records, kissing each other. Most of the objects buried in the tomb are gadgets in daily life, but the common valuables such as pottery are not found in Han tombs. This is also the same as the record in Hanshu that "when Tang died, his family property did not exceed 500 gold, so he gave it all, and there was no income" and "When he was buried". Based on the above analysis, Sun Fuxi of the Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau and others come to the conclusion that this tomb is the tomb of Zhang Tang in the Western Han Dynasty. This discovery verifies the correctness of the records in Hanshu to some extent. According to historical records, Zhang Tang died in the second year of Emperor Ding Yuan, so his burial time should be about two years in Ding Yuan. The accurate determination of the age of tombs provides an accurate scale for determining the relative age of Han tombs by stages according to the combination of utensils, and also provides an accurate scale for the in-depth study of Han tombs in Guanzhong area.