How to view the ancient respect for the elderly pension?

China, as a state of etiquette, has the traditional virtue of honoring the elderly, which has a long history in our Chinese nation. As early as in the Zhou Wen Wang Ji Chang era, its ruling region there is no old people suffering from hunger and cold, and later people will be the attitude of the vassals to treat the elderly, and the state of the country's major events associated with the Naxian Xingbang, that respect for the elderly, respect for the wise, the country will be celebrated. On the contrary, the country will have disaster. Two Han Dynasty, this etiquette evolved into a system. It is written in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, "For those who are seventy years of age or older, the state grants them a staff and ensures that they are able to live out their twilight years in peace."

So, why should the elderly be given a hatchet staff? It has to start with Liu Bang, the Gaozu of Han Dynasty. Legend has it that during the Chu-Han conflict, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu faced each other, and because of the disparity in strength, Liu Bang was defeated and surrounded by Xiang Yu's pursuers. In his haste, Liu Bang hid in a dense forest with many turtledoves and birds. When Xiang Yu and his pursuers arrived, they could not see Liu Bang's figure, but they saw the doves and birds falling steadily on the branches and chirping continuously, without being frightened at all. Xiang Yu concluded that Liu Bang would not hide here and ordered his troops to retreat, and Liu Bang escaped. After he was crowned emperor and founded the state, Liu Bang remembered the bird's saving grace and sent people to look for the bird in the dense forest, but he never saw the bird again. In order to show his respect for the elderly, Liu Bang ordered a skilled craftsman to carve the bird and place it on the top of the king's staff, and gave it to the elderly who had reached the age of seventy, in the hope that they would have a normal diet and be in good health. Later, this system of giving turtledoves was continued.

In 1981, Wuwei Mazuizi Han Tomb unearthed the "king's staff edict order book", more fully proved that the existence of the system of the hatchet stick. The total **** unearthed 26 simple documents, each about 23 centimeters long and 1 centimeter wide. It records five edicts issued by the Emperor of the Western Han Dynasty on old age and respect for the elderly, which mainly contain the following contents:

First, the Emperor gave the elderly a hatchet stick. Elderly people who possessed the hatchet staff could go in and out of the government offices and walk on the bypass of the Tienzi Road, and if anyone beat or insulted an elderly person with a staff, he or she would be punished by death.

Secondly, an old man over seventy years of age who committed a crime was exempted from prosecution if he was not the first offender.

Finally, widows, widowers, orphans and disabled old people were not allowed to be enlisted by the government without authorization, and no rent was collected for farming and no tax was paid for trading. At the time, wine was a government monopoly, but old men over seventy were allowed to open stores and sell wine.

In order to warn others, the brief text also cited several cases to explain. For example, the twenty-second simple record: Ru Nan County, Wang Shian, because of beating the old man with a staff, and break the emperor's gift of the hatchet staff, was killed and abandoned. It shows that the system of the king's staff was seriously implemented in the whole country at that time. Regarding the regulations on honoring the elderly, three decrees were issued during the Western Han Dynasty, indicating that this system of favoring the elderly was also constantly revised and improved at that time, but there is a lack of records in the historical books. The unearthing of the Book of Edicts and Decrees of the King's Staff has filled the gap in history.

The Book of Songs celebrates "longevity and tranquility", the Zhou Rites advocates "filial piety to parents", Confucius looks forward to "old age", and Mencius even advocates The first is the "old man's old age", which is the same as the old man's old age.

The honoring of the elderly, as described in the Book of the King's Sceptre, is impressive. Who in the world has no old man? Who in the world is not old? If the ancients are still like this, the present generation should set an example.