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This article was written by Prof. Liu Zhiyuan of Shaanxi Radio and Television University

It is well known that Han Wendi, the brilliant ruler of the Western Han Dynasty during the "Rule of Wen and Jing" period, was a famous filial son. Liu Heng, the third son of Emperor Gaozu of Han, was the only son of Liu Bang and his concubine Bo Ji. After Emperor Wen succeeded to the throne, his mother Bo Ji was honored as Empress Dowager Bo, and the allusion to "tasting the medicine" originated from Emperor Wen's virtues and conduct towards his mother. It is said that once his mother was seriously ill, which made Liu Heng very anxious. His mother was sick for three years and was bedridden. Liu Heng personally for his mother to decoct medicinal soup, and day and night guard in front of his mother's bed, every time to see his mother sleep, only lying on the side of his mother's bed to sleep for a while.

Liu Heng decocted medicine for his mother every day, and after each decoction, he always tasted it to see if it was bitter or not, and if it was hot or not, and he felt that it was almost hot, and then he gave it to his mother to drink. Liu Heng's filial piety to his mother was widely rumored in the dynasty and the countryside. People praised him as a son of benevolence and filial piety. A poem praised him: "His benevolence and filial piety are known all over the world, and he is the most powerful king in the world. When his mother was sick for three years, the soup and medicine must be tasted first." In order to commemorate the greatness and benevolence of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty and his filial piety, he was listed as the second filial piety of the "twenty-four filial piety".

Empress Dowager 薄太后 has a life of non-controversy, tolerance in all matters, loyalty and generosity, motherhood. She advocates Taoism, advocating the idea of nothing since the quiet, let nature take its course. It is this kind of thinking is the realization of the Western Han Dynasty, a generation of Mingjun - Liu Heng, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty.

1. Subtlety, lead by example. According to the historical records, Liu Bang Na Bo Ji in the palace, for Bo Ji in the North Python Hill, 50 miles north of Xuzhang Village, (Shaanxi Province, Liquan County, Fenghu Town) to build a palace, said "red Jue Yuan", rumor has it that Liu Heng, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, was born in this place. In Xuzhang Village, Bo Ji brought the techniques of cotton and hemp cultivation from the southeast coast of her birthplace, and taught the villagers how to do cotton work in the fields during the day and how to weave and embroider textiles to the village women and girls at night. In winter, when the wind is bitterly cold, Bo Ji teaches the villagers to dye cloth in the pond in front of the palace.

Empress Dowager Bo in the village of Xuzhang (self-identified as his second home, that is, his mother's home), not only to teach the villagers cotton, textile, but also to teach his son Liu Heng reading, Empress Dowager Bo taught his son well, known far and wide. Empress Dowager Bo got sick, the villagers scrambled in the fields to pick medicine to send, the villagers want to decoct the medicine, touched the six or seven-year-old Liu Heng, he shed tears from the hands of his uncle, brothers took the medicine to boil. After boiling, Liu Heng also personally taste the medicine hot and cold. This had a great influence on the villagers, and this is the famous story of "Emperor Wen's Taste of Soup" in history. Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, due to the influence of his mother, reigned for 24 years, emphasizing the rule of morality, etiquette, pay attention to the development of agriculture, so that the Western Han Dynasty social stability, prosperity, economic recovery and development, he and Emperor Jing of Han Dynasty's reign is known as the "rule of Wenjing".

2. Be kind to people and live in harmony. After the death of Han Gaozu Liu Bang, the power fell into the hands of Empress Lu Piang, Empress Lu was authoritarian, and successively murdered six of Liu Bang's eight sons, of which Emperor Hui Liu Ying was her own son, in addition to Liu Fei, King Liu Ruyi of Zhao, King Liu Chou of Liang, King Liu You of Huaiyang, and King Liu Jian of Yan. The main reason why Liu Heng and her mother Bo Ji were spared was that Bo Ji did not have any grudge against Empress Lu and did not compete with her. Therefore, Bo Ji, under the arrangement of Empress Lu, finally left the palace of Chang'an, in the front and back of the ceremonial battles, came to her son's fiefdom - Jinyang (now Shanxi).

From then on, Bo Ji's life was over the past of the thin life as paper, the scenery and glory began to surround her. Jin Yang, a city with beautiful scenery and mountains, Bo Ji has been a widow for many years, and has long been used to the days without a husband. Now, although she is still a widow, she enjoys the richness of her son's feudal state, and is overjoyed. She only took care of her son's food and living every day. At the same time, under the influence of Bo Ji, Liu Heng does not have much thought about the throne.

After 15 years of tyranny, Empress Lu died, and the power of the Lu family was overthrown by the old ministers of Han Gaozu. The final result of Empress Lu's tireless "seedling removal" efforts was that among Liu Bang's sons, Liu Heng, the king of Dai, and Liu Chang, the king of Huainan, were left. The relatives of Liu Chang's mother's family were strict and somewhat feared by the ministers at that time, while the Bo family, the mother of King Liu Heng, had always been known for their self-restraint and prudence. In contrast, the ministers centered on Zhou Bo immediately took the idea of sending people to the Dai Kingdom to welcome Liu Heng into the capital as the emperor.

In the ninth month of the leap year of 189 BC, the envoys came to the state of Dai to welcome Liu Heng to the capital as the emperor. At that time, Liu Heng had already been a prince for 17 years and was 24 years old. He couldn't believe that there was such a good thing in the world. He and his subordinates (except for one named Song Chang) thought that it was a conspiracy and couldn't be believed, but his mother Bo Ji thought that it was the will of heaven.

To be on the safe side, Bo Ji asked Liu Heng to use her own deep belief in divination, to divine the stars to decide. The result of the divination was a great good fortune. So Liu Heng let half of his heart, let his uncle Bo Zhao accompany the messenger to the capital, until he got his uncle's affirmative answer, he then light car to Chang'an. Liu Heng's heart was not yet fully put down, and when he came to fifty miles outside of Chang'an, he again sent people to find out the news, and only after he was sure that there was no doubt about it did he go to Weiqiao to meet with the ministers who greeted him. When the crowd escorted him into the Weiyang Palace, he became the fifth emperor of the Han Dynasty. After Liu Heng succeeded to the throne, he named his mother Bo Ji as the Empress Dowager.

3. Honor the old and love the young, and put filial piety first. It is said that after Bo became the empress dowager, Han Wendi, as the emperor, remained filial to his mother as before. Empress Dowager Bo was once seriously ill for three years. During the three years, he had to visit his mother every day, often accompanied by her without sleep and without clothes. All the tonics sent by the imperial physician, Liu Heng had to taste them himself and confirm that they were correct before he would feel free to feed them to his mother. For this reason, he became the second filial piety among the Twenty-four Filial Piety, which has been praised by the Chinese people to this day. The emperor's reign lasted 23 years, and he was always a good son to Bo Ji.

In 157 BC, Emperor Wen died before Empress Dowager Bo. On his deathbed, he y regretted his mother's "unfiliality", and repeatedly told his wife, Empress Dou, and his children to be filial to Empress Dowager Bo. In order to make up for this shortcoming, Liu Heng asked for his own tomb to be placed according to the way of "top wife and mother". Two years later, when Empress Dowager Bo died, Empress Dowager Dou honored her husband's wish and buried her mother-in-law in the south of Liu Heng's mausoleum, as if Liu Heng was carrying her mother on her back. That's right, among the "Twenty-Four Filial Piety Stories" in Chinese history, Liu Heng, Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, ranked second after Yao Chonghua, Emperor Shun. The emperor reigned for 23 years and was always a good son to his mother.

4. He practiced frugality and was a role model for others. History shows that Liu Heng, the emperor of the Han dynasty, first came to the world in view of the current situation to take a series of effective policies and his mother, Empress Dowager Bo, life and death and the formation of the character is closely related. Externally pacify the South Vietnam, North and Xiong Nu, through the Guanliang, not different from the far side, internally and the people live in peace and frugality, the development of agriculture, to the virtue of the people. In particular, Emperor Wen removed the slander, go to the meat punishment, reward the elders, collect and appease the lonely, in order to educate the group of life, reduce the appetite, not to sacrifice, do not selfishly its profit, the sinner is not money, not to punish the innocent.

As a result of the effective implementation of this series of policies and implementation, so that in the Chu-Han war trauma society gradually to restore, the world suffered from the suffering of the people of the war to live in peace and quiet. The people of the world were able to live in peace and prosperity. So much so that by the time of Emperor Jingdi, "all the government grants were full, and the government treasury was full of goods and materials. The money in the capital was tens of thousands of dollars, which was rotten and could not be schooled, and the corn in the Taicang was overflowing and exposed to the outside world. To corruption is not edible, all the streets and lanes have horses, between the road into the herd. The world is at peace, everyone loves to violate the law, the first line of righteousness and after the dwarf humiliation," the governance of the world situation, for the Han family four hundred years of the world has accumulated a thick foundation. All of this is due to the pioneering work of Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty.

Emperor Wen Di reigned 23 years, bowing to frugality, diligence and thrift, for the world first, its reign during the palace court dog and horse clothing Royal no gain. Inconvenient to relax to benefit the people. Tried to make a terrace, called the craftsman, to the cost of a hundred gold and made a stop. Fortunately, Mrs. Shen made clothes shall not drag the ground, the tent shall not be embroidered. To show the rate of simplicity for the world first. And rule the mausoleum are tile, not to gold, silver, copper and tin for decoration, not to rule the tomb, want to save, do not bother the people. Han Wendi is also a successive emperors advocate thrift, against waste, and strongly opposed to the customs of burial of the example. His posthumous edict clearly pointed out that the aftermath of their own, the specifications of the funeral dress, the mourning period of the ritual system, can be a model for future generations.

5. Treating people with tolerance and gratitude. Bo Ji lived in the village of Xu Zhang, Queen Lu often sent close friends, nephew Lu Lu and other pursuit. And Chen Pingping reported to Liu Bang, Liu Bang also specially ordered his close friends to carefully protect, Queen Lu failed to kill. Although for most people, Lu Pheasant was a vicious woman, for Bo Ji, however, Lu Pheasant was her benefactor and confidant. Therefore, the one who could be buried with Liu Bang was always Lu Pheasant, and Bo Ji not only did not move Lu Pheasant's coffin out of Liu Bang's tomb after she became powerful, but also did not squeeze herself into Liu Bang's tomb as the "birth mother of Emperor Wen". She always believed that she was her husband's real wife.

Bo Ji Mausoleum, as Bo Ji did in her lifetime, is a place where she kept her status as a concubine, guarding her son Liu Heng, and looking across the river to see her husband's mausoleum, where he was buried with Pheasants. To this day there are old legendary stories about the Han Mausoleum, with Emperor Wen carrying his mother over his wife, the phoenix bird holding the mausoleum, and the temple of Mo Ling mesmerizing the listener. Empress Dowager Bo's view of social cognition still has a significant impact on his second hometown, Xuzhang Village. Over the years, Xuzhang Village (now Liujia Village, Fenghuang Town, Liquan County) has not ceased the aunt commemorative activities, people through a variety of forms to commemorate the noble virtues of Empress Dowager Bo, to commemorate her for this unusual village to bring the beautiful legend.

The tower of Empress Dowager Bo, which stands in Beacon Middle School in Liujia Village, Beacon Town, Liquan County, Shaanxi Province, is the only tower built in memory of her mother among the emperors of China. In order to honor the reputation of the folk "Empress Dowager", the village is also known as "Bo Empress Dowager" village. Legend has it that the tower was built by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty in honor of his mother. When Emperor Wen succeeded to the throne, he named his mother "Empress Dowager" and invited her to return to the palace many times. Empress Dowager because of lifelong displacement, through all the trials and tribulations, on the palace fights are y bored, coupled with the residence of this countryside for a long time, and learn from the local people's simplicity, the people's loyalty, they do not take the identity of the royal family as a self-proclaimed, charitable and charitable, to bear the hunger to save the crisis, the relationship with the people, decided to live in the people forever. And the residence around the "three villages, five societies" of the villagers, recognized as "maternal" relatives. The people heard, all of them are grateful for it, and called the Queen Mother as "auntie".

Emperor Wen had no choice but to build a tall wooden tower at the Queen Mother's residence. If you miss the Queen Mother, that is to climb the Royal high, looking north, see the tower as see the mother. Looking at the mother tower, is carrying the Chinese nation's traditional ethical symbols of goodness and beauty, but also a monument to the witness of human affection. Therefore, we say that the reflection brought to us by "Wangmu Pagoda" is not only a historical legend, but also a living subject of tutelage. For the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, "etiquette" is the center. But the realization of this "ritual" is not verbal language, nor written language, but a more noble goal - the development of character and behavioral practice.

Today, as the Party and the government are vigorously building a harmonious society, the concept of teaching children by Empress Dowager Bo of the Western Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago has laid a solid foundation for promoting social harmony, transmitting virtues, and carrying forward the spirit of the nation, and is still of great practical significance to the composition of interpersonal social relationships and the scientific education of the children of the family.