Sima Qian recorded: "The great ancestor was a man... benevolent and loving." [6] This kind of benevolent and loving expression can be found everywhere in historical materials: it was first reflected in the imprisonment of prisoners on the way to Xianyang for the government. . Then it showed that he was unwilling to accept the position of Pei Ling when he first came to Pei. Liu Ji said: "The world is in turmoil, and the princes have risen together. It is not good to appoint generals now, and everything will be defeated. If I don't dare to love myself, I am afraid that I will be weak and unable to fulfill my father, brother and children. For this important matter, I hope to choose the best one." [ 7] Note that Liu Bang's speech as the leader is different from Cao Shen and Xiao He's speech as the leader. Xiao and Cao's speech was out of fear that things would not work out, and the Qin Dynasty was racially related to his family, while Liu Bang's speech did not include personal factors. The most typical one is to enter the pass to destroy Qin, and make a three-part agreement with the Qin people to remove all Qin laws and not be rewarded by the Qin people. Furthermore, in the seventh year of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang attacked Han Wangxin and returned to Xianyang. "Seeing that the palace was very strong, he was angry and said to Xiao He, "The Hungarians in the world have been fighting hard for several years, and the success or failure is unknown. How can the palace be over-controlled?" [8] Finally, after the twelfth year of the Han Dynasty, his father stayed for a drink, and Liu Bang said: "We have many people, and my father and brother can't give me anything." 9] He did not want to disturb the elders in his hometown too much, showing his deep sympathy for the people in his hometown. All of this is not a show, but comes from pure sincerity.
Speaking of Liu Bang's benevolence and love for others, it may be necessary to compare the evaluation of Xiang Yu by people at that time. Xiao He said: "The king has always been arrogant and rude, and now he pays homage to the general, as if he were calling a child's ears." [10] Han Xin said: "When King Xiang meets people, he is respectful and kind, and speaks vomitingly. When people are sick, he tears and shares food and drink." If someone has merit, he should be given a title, but he cannot bear to do so. This is what is called the kindness of a woman." [11] Chen Ping said: "King Xiang is a man of respect and love, and those who are honest and courteous will be rewarded. As for meritorious service and being awarded a title, the scholars will not attach it to it. Now the king is arrogant and lacks courtesy, and those who are upright and honest will not come. Return to the Han Dynasty. If you sincerely remove the two shortcomings and attack the two strong points, the world will be determined. However, the king will bully others and cannot get honest people." [12] Li Shiqi said: "The king of Han will take over the world. After setting up the feudal lords, he surrendered the city to his generals, and when they were bribed, he distributed his troops to share the benefits with the world. The heroes and talents were all happy to use them... King Xiang had the reputation of double the promise. The fault of the Righteous Emperor is that he will not remember his achievements and his crimes, but he will not be rewarded for his victory. He will not be awarded the title if he conquers the city. If you get bribes, you can't reward them. The talented people in the world are resentful, but they can't be used. Therefore, the people of the world belong to the king of Han, so they can sit down and make plans." [13] Gao Qi and Wang Ling said: "Your Majesty. He is arrogant and insults others, but Xiang Yu is benevolent and loves others. However, your majesty sent people to conquer the city, and those who surrendered will benefit from it." [14] The above statements are actually the way to treat others, not love. Despite this, we can still see the essential difference between Liu and Xiang. Liu Shi benefits from the world, while Xiang Ze is the only one to benefit from it. With this premise, Xiang's Love has no substantive content and is more of a performance; while Liu tries to benefit as many people as possible. In this way of treating others, its arrogance does no real harm to others, but its promotion of benefits brings great benefits to others. This also proves Liu Bang's benevolent heart. It is precisely because of this kind of benevolent heart that the world can be united and the final victory can be achieved. From historical records, we can see that Liu Bang’s heroes benefited more from being granted titles. In fact, the common people in the early Han Dynasty also benefited a lot. The Qin Dynasty was extravagant and extravagant, collecting more than half of the world's taxes. By the early Han Dynasty, everything was in ruins, but taxes did not increase, but decreased. "Song Dynasty Zhoumi's "Qidong Yeyu" says: The law of the well field was abolished, and the names became more and more numerous, and the two Han Dynasties were the lightest. Since Gao and Hui, the fifteen-year tax was one, and Emperor Wen issued another half-rent order. In the first year of Emperor Jing's reign, he also tried to grant Half rent; next year, the tax will be one, which is called half rent. In addition to the previous tax of fifteen, two will be levied on thirty, and now the tax will be one, which is the so-called half rent system. It was not easy to guard the rear, so Guangwu issued an edict: "The army has not been cleared yet, so the tithe is imposed. Today's grain reserves are poor, and the order is thirty tax per year, just like the old system. This is what the Han family often does." "[15] This situation that lasted for hundreds of years shows that the biggest beneficiary of Liu Bang's victory was not himself and his subordinates, but the broad masses of the people. This is in line with what Laozi said: "The people are hungry because of the large food tax." "Therefore, the sage said: I do nothing, but the people will change themselves; I like to be quiet, but the people will be upright; I have nothing to do. , and the people will become rich; I have no desires, and the people will be simple." Sima Qian's evaluation also has a foothold.
3. Dare to take responsibility, do not be proud of one's own merits, and have the courage to blame oneself
When the situation was unfavorable, Liu Bang certainly had to run for his own life and kick his children out of the car. A glorious record, but more importantly, he showed a courageous and responsible spirit in the face of great responsibilities. The aforementioned imprisonment and appointment as Pei Gong were of this nature. The real important responsibilities are to destroy Qin and resist Chu. After Xiang Liang was defeated, King Huai Xin of Chu took charge of the overall situation. At that time, the generals Mo Li entered the pass first. Under this situation, King Chu Huai ordered Liu Bang's general to lead an army of less than ten thousand people to attack Qin and open a way for Chu to aid Zhao's army. Liu Bang was not timid and completed the task well. Regarding this point, please refer to my work "Analysis of Liu Bang's War Route and Historical Achievements in the Westward Expedition to Destroy Qin", [16] and I won't go into details here. In the war against Chu, the most difficult thing was to confront Xiang Yu directly. Because Xiang Yu was the most talented at that time and unmatched by anyone, Liu Bang took on this important task himself. He faced off against Chu on the front line in Xingyang for three years. He was defeated repeatedly, injured many times, and almost captured several times.
"Historical Records Suoyin" quoted "The Story of Sanfu" and said: "There were six years between Chu and Han in Jingsuo. There were twelve major injuries, and four of them were hit by arrows." The authenticity of this record is difficult to verify, but It is also enough to prove that it is extremely dangerous to confront Xiang Yu. It was Liu Bang's effective containment of Xiang Yu that ensured the smooth progress of other battlefields. Liu Bang's courage to take on important responsibilities was not only shown before the world was uncertain. Even after he became emperor, when turmoil suddenly broke out, he worked hard and led troops personally to fight, whether it was to attack Han Wangxin, Chen, or Tingbu. This is true regardless of physical fitness.
When the princes and ministers established Liu Bang as emperor, they once said: "In the past, Qin was the way of destruction, and the world punished it. The king conquered the king of Qin first, established Guanzhong, and made the most contributions to the world. Survival or destruction determines the danger. , to save the defeated people, to bring peace to the people, and to benefit the princes and kings who have made great contributions, so that the land divisions have been determined, and the titles are divided into superior and inferior ones, and the merits of the king will not be announced to future generations. "Liu Bang's contribution was considered to be the ultimate at that time, and could not be higher. He still refused to be appointed emperor. He said: "There are only sages who have heard of the emperor. It is not true to make false claims." What should I do if all the princes and kings exalt others now?" [17] This record of not forgetting the merits of others is certainly a sign of benevolence. reflect. The most famous one is his dialogue with the officials after the world was settled. When talking about how he could conquer the world, he said: "My husband is planning and planning, and the victory is thousands of miles away. I am not as good as the ovary. To control the country, to care for the country." I am not as good as Xiao He, even if I have an army of millions, I will win every battle, and I will win every attack. I am not as good as Han Xin. These three are all outstanding people, and I can use them. This is why I conquer the world. Ye. Xiang Yu had a fan but couldn't use it, so he was captured by me." [18] Because Liu Bang commented like this, later generations often thought that Liu Bang got too much credit. Therefore, this issue needs to be discussed. Although the contributions of the above three people are not small, they were all achieved under the leadership of Liu Bang. For example, Zhang Liang received the help of Xiang Liang in his early years and led more than a thousand soldiers to conquer the Han Dynasty. Every city he gained was immediately taken away by the Qin army, and nothing was accomplished in the end. Of course, Zhang Liang must have his strengths. History records that Liu Bang benefited from several of his strategies. It is also certain that there will be some unsophisticated ideas that were not adopted by Liu Bang and have been omitted from historical records. Liu Bang was not good at the work Xiao He did. It should be said that Liu Bang's evaluation of Xiao He was fair. However, Sima Qian commented on Xiao He and said: "Xiao Xiangguo was a swordsman and pen official in the Qin Dynasty, and he did not have any extraordinary achievements. When the Han Dynasty came, At the end of the day and the moon, how could he guard the key? Because of the disease of the people, the Qin Dynasty followed the current and made changes." [19] This shows that Xiao He's achievements were achieved with Liu Bang's trust. Han Xin originally came to join the King of Han alone. Although his military exploits were great, he did not fight Xiang Yu head-on alone. Whether his combat ability is definitely higher than Liu Bang and then Xiang Yu cannot be simply concluded. It's just that Liu Bang is not famous in history for his combat skills. History has underestimated his ability. In fact, his ability is very strong. The rebellion of Chen and Yingbu could not be put down unless Liu Bang personally took action. When fighting Qin, Han Xin had not yet joined Liu Bang's camp, but Liu Bang was still able to win consecutive victories against Qin. Zhang Liang called the use of troops a gift from heaven, which shows that Liu Bang's military ability is quite high. Because Liu Bang did not care about his own merits, he praised the three heroes completely out of his heart. It was also consistent with people's evaluation of him: "He can spare others and give him titles" and "He can make people attack cities and seize territory. Those who surrender are rewarded, and he is the same as the world." "Profit" and "Submission of the city is to serve the generals, and when bribes are obtained, the soldiers are divided, which is consistent with the benefit of the world."
Evaluation of Liu Bang
Since Sima Qian, the personality and quality of Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, have not been favored by many people. Even when Liu Bang's achievements were highly praised, they only said that He saves people from fire and water without praising their entire character. The criticism of Liu Bang may have started when Ruan Ji went to the Guangwu battlefield and lamented that "there are no heroes in the world who made Zhuzi famous"[1]. After the popularity of "Houheixue", the word Liu Bang has become synonymous with bad character. There has been no change so far. These views that deny Liu Bang's character also come from "Historical Records" and should be said to be at least partly true. But this situation is contradictory. Because great achievements come from low character, it is not only unreasonable, but also extremely impossible in fact. If Liu Bang's achievements are certain to be great, his character must also be great. Sima Qian called him a great sage, which was not an empty talk, but was supported by a large number of facts. Liu Xiang and Ban Gu said that "Historical Records" "does not pretend to be beautiful and does not hide evil", [2] which is basically a conclusion drawn from Sima Qian's description of Liu Bang. Not falsely beautiful, that is, Sima Qian's praise of Liu Bang is based on facts; not hidden evil, that is, although Sima Qian praised Liu Bang's achievements, he did not avoid and conceal his shortcomings. As a result, later generations tend to ignore Sima Qian's true beauty, and pay special attention to his true evil, which caused the embarrassment of Liu Bang's evaluation. In fact, for a ruler like Liu Bang who established the first stable dynasty in Chinese history, it is difficult to simply evaluate his personal qualities as good or bad. We should look at the mainstream, that is, the overall performance. Sima Qian's conclusion is to look at the products of the mainstream. When we evaluate Liu Bang's character today, we should also evaluate it from a historical perspective, that is, from the perspective of Sima Qian, in order to draw a true conclusion about the quality of his character.
1. Basis of Sima Qian’s evaluation
What is Sima Qian’s perspective? This is what he said in "The Book of Praise to the Great Ancestor": "The Xia government was loyal to the emperor, and the villains were loyal to the emperor, so the Yin people inherited it with respect. The emperor respected the emperor, and the villains were ghosts, so the Zhou people inherited it with literature. The literature was the emperor's fault. , villains, it is better to be loyal. The way of the three kings is like a cycle, and it can be said that between Zhou and Qin, the Qin Dynasty did not change, and the anti-torture law was not changed. Change makes people tireless, and they will be unified by heaven." This conclusion of Sima Qian seems to have too much fatalistic flavor, and it seems outdated today after more than two thousand years. There are no people who object to it or disagree with it. few. However, as a serious historian, Sima Qian’s conclusions reached through thousands of years of historical investigation will not lose their reasonable content because they are not in line with today’s people or lack a sense of the times. In a sense, , Sima Qian’s profound understanding of the inherent laws of history is much better than most of us today. In Sima Qian's view, what Liu Bang did was "loyalty", as "Historical Records of Justice" said: "The Han people inherited the harsh laws of Qin and made three chapters of the law. On the contrary, they were loyal to the government, made the people tireless, and won the rule of heaven. Therefore, Tai Shigong quoted the etiquette as This praise means that the great emperor can change Qin Dynasty and make the people peaceful." If you refer to the "Preface to the Moon Table between Qin and Chu", Sima Qian's meaning will become clearer. He said: "In the past, during the rise of Yu and Xia, they accumulated good deeds for decades. They were virtuous and friendly to the people, took charge of administrative affairs, and tested them with heaven. Then they came to the throne. The kings of Tang and Wu followed Qi and Houji and cultivated benevolent conduct. After more than ten generations of Yi, he unexpectedly met with the eight hundred princes of Mengjin, but he thought it was not possible. After that, Qin started to kill Duke Xiang. As for the first emperor, he was able to achieve the same level of virtue as others, so it was difficult to unify him. Since Qin was proclaimed emperor, it was suffering from endless wars, so there were no feudal lords, and the famous city was ruined. , sold Fengdi, a hero, and maintained peace for all ages. However, the rise of the king's traces began in Luxiang, and he joined forces to conquer the country. To be a hero in the world, there is no king in the world. This is the so-called great sage. Isn't it heaven? Who can be appointed as the emperor? "It turns out that Liu Bang's merits are from Zhou Dynasty. The social life that had been turbulent for hundreds of years after the dynasty moved eastward returned to normal. Such achievements can of course only be described as a great sage.
In fact, Sima Qian's conclusion was not his own, but was made overall based on the absorption of previous summaries. After Liu Bang's death, all the officials said: "The Emperor Gaozu set things right, brought peace to the world, and he was the Taizu of the Han Dynasty. He had the greatest merit." Liu Bang. Why do you say this? Because Qin ended the war and established a dynasty, it had the conditions to do so, that is, it was Qin who should restart the cycle of the Three Kings since Xia. Just as Jia Yi said when commenting on the death of Qin: "Now that the second generation of Qin has been established, everyone in the world will take the lead and observe its politics. If the husband is cold, he will benefit from brown, but if he is hungry, he will eat chaff. The world's moaning is the capital of the new master. This statement To work the people is to be benevolent.” [4] However, the foundation of Qin’s country was not generosity, but more untimely harshness, which made the Three Kings unsustainable. This historical situation of bringing order out of chaos was only possible through Liu Bang's success. Therefore, "Lu Sheng said: The emperor rose from power, suppressed the Qin Dynasty, punished the powerful Chu, brought benefit and eliminated harm to the world, inherited the legacy of the Five Emperors and Three Sovereigns, and ruled China. There are hundreds of millions of people in China, and the country is thousands of miles away. It is the most prosperous place in the world. "There are many people and vehicles, all things are prosperous, and government is governed by one family. Since the beginning of time, the world has been divided." [5] It can be seen that Sima Qian's evaluation of Liu Bang was based on his contribution to the people, and was based on the Zhou Dynasty's eastward movement. In the following hundreds of years, wars continued throughout the world and people were displaced. Finally, stability was achieved due to the rise of the Han Dynasty. So, did Liu Bang intentionally make this contribution or this situation, or did he get it unintentionally? Judging from historical records, it should be a deliberate move from his heart.
2. Be benevolent and have the heart of the people in the world
When talking about Liu Bang's success, his three advantages are always mentioned: 1. Talented and broad-minded; 2. Ability to employ people, especially the ability to control people; 3. Flexibility, intelligence, and adaptability to a superb level; but Liu Bang did not mention the benevolent heart that the times needed. And, in fact, this is Liu Bang's greatest advantage, his handsomeness among his advantages, and other advantages are just subordinate to this.