Master Kong Zhongni

Chapter 69 On posthumous posthumous titles

The students arrived one after another. Confucius looked around, smiled slightly, and finally started teaching.

"Once upon a time, I remember that Ah Yu once asked me: Is Zichan really a gentleman.

I answered him: Zichan met the standards of a gentleman in four aspects: he was serious in his words and deeds, he served the monarch respectfully, he was kind to the people in protecting them, and he recruited and used the people fairly and reasonably.

But looking back now, it seems too redundant. Originally, I could have answered more concisely! "

After hearing this, Zaiyu cooperated with his master in a sensible way: "Then how concise do you want to be?"

Confucius said with a smile: "Everyone knows that the death of the emperor is called collapse. The death of a prince is called death. The death of a scholar-bureaucrat is called death. If the death of ordinary officials and palace people is called death.

Zichan died in the 22nd year of King Zhou Jing, and his posthumous title was 'Cheng'.

The posthumous title is a pertinent evaluation of a person's achievements and mistakes in his life after his death.

At the beginning, Zhou Gongdan and Tai Gongwang created the foundation of the dynasty.Because King Wu made an indelible contribution in the Battle of Muye, when he was about to be buried after his death, he planned to make a posthumous title for him, so he stipulated the rules for making posthumous posthumous titles.

Among the posthumous posthumous laws, Anmin Lizheng said "Success".

To secure the people and establish the government, these four words could not be more apt to describe Zichan's life.

As far as the people are concerned, he does not destroy the township schools, opens up the way of speech, allows the common people to discuss politics, saves money, reconciles the relationship between the Qing and the clan in the country, and avoids the outbreak of civil strife.

In terms of politics, it is Tian Wei: it clearly stipulates the land boundary of the public, officials, scholars and common people, so as to prevent the big clan from embezzling and harming the people.

Bian Shiwu: Incorporate private land into state management, uniformly tax it, and prevent rich families from concealing the newly reclaimed land.

Zuoqiu Fu: Pay the military tax according to the amount of land and population, which not only brings income to the country, but also balances the wealth gap between ordinary people and big families.

Casting punishment books: engrave Zheng's laws and regulations on the punishment tripod, and hand them over to the common supervision of the people of the country.

In the first three years of Zichan's administration, the voice of opposition was as turbulent as the waves, and he even made plans to go into exile in Jin.

But even so, Zichan still did not change his opinion.From the third year, when Zheng people mentioned his name, they all praised him loudly.

His posthumous title is 'Cheng', which is well deserved! "

Speaking of this, some students raised their hands and asked: "Master, why is Duke Huan of Qi's posthumous title 'Huan'?"

Confucius nodded slightly and replied: "In the posthumous posthumous law, those who open up territories and make distant countries submit to them can be posthumously named "Huan". Those who can act prudently and encourage the people can be posthumously named "Huan". "Huan".

Duke Huan of Qi and the nine princes achieved hegemony, and all the Xias in the Central Plains respected him. He was awarded the posthumous title of "Huan" precisely because he satisfied the requirement of opening up territories and making distant countries submit to him! "

Another student asked: "Then Qin Mugong, why can he posthumously 'Mu'?"

Confucius replied: "Duke Mu of Qin treated the common people with generosity and benevolence, and always practiced justice.

When Duke Xiangong of Jin died, civil strife broke out in the state of Jin. After the internal strife subsided, the officials of the state of Jin planned to welcome son Yiwu back to the country to inherit the throne.

Yiwu was worried that there would be accidents if he returned to the parliament without the support of a strong country, so he asked someone to bring a gift to Duke Mu of Qin for help, and promised to Duke Mu: If I can return to the country and inherit the throne of Jin, I would like to give the Hexi area to Qin. .

Qin Mugong was very happy after hearing this, so he sent troops to escort his son Yiwu back to the country.

After Yiwu returned to his country, he successfully succeeded to the throne as Duke Hui of Jin.

Unexpectedly, after Yiwu gained a firm foothold in the country, he suddenly repented and was unwilling to cede Hexi to Qin.

He also sent someone to apologize to Duke Mu and said: "It's not that I don't want to give you Hexi. The doctors in our country say that the land belongs to the ancestors. You were in exile at that time. What right do you have to cede Hexi to Jin?"

A few years later, the state of Jin suffered from severe drought, and Duke Hui of Jin sent someone to borrow food from Duke Mu of Qin.Many courtiers of Qin State expressed their opposition one after another, and threatened to attack them while taking advantage of the severe drought in Jin State to avenge Hexi.

But Bailixi said: Yiwu offended you, what crime did the people of Jin have?

Duke Mu followed his advice and donated a large amount of grain to the state of Jin.

Two years later, Qin State also suffered from famine. Duke Mu sent people to borrow food from Jin State, but Yiwu not only refused to borrow food, but also sent troops to attack Qin State.

When Duke Mu heard about it, he was furious, and personally led the army to fight Yiwu in Hanyuan. The Qin army fought against the enemy, defeated the Jin army in Hanyuan, and captured Yiwu.

However, Mu Gong did not kill Yiwu, but let him go back to the country after making an alliance with him.

According to posthumous posthumous titles, a posthumous title that promotes morality and upholds justice can be called "Mu", and a posthumous title that often expresses one's inner thoughts on appearance can also be called "Mu".

The reason why Qin Mugong was able to posthumously be Mu is precisely because he satisfied the first rule! "

When Master said this, Zaiyu couldn't help but winked at Zigong.

Zigong smiled knowingly, stood up and asked, "I have no doubt that Duke Mu can be given the posthumous title of 'Mu'. But the student would like to ask you, why Chu Zishen (King of the Communist Party of Chu) was given the posthumous posthumous title of 'Communist'?"

During his reign, civil strife broke out in Chu.

The whole family of Duke Shen and Wuchen were killed, and he himself was forced to go into exile in the states of Jin and Wu.

Using troops against the Jin State, the Jin and Chu armies fought in Yanling. Not only was the Chu army defeated by the Jin army, even Chu Zishen himself was shot blind in one eye by the Jin general Wei Qi.

From then on, the hegemony left by his father no longer existed, and the state of Chu was no longer able to compete with the state of Jin for hegemony.

After that, he sent Zizhong to use troops against Wu, but Zizhong underestimated the enemy's carelessness. He was ambushed and attacked by Wu army, and the elite of Chu army was completely destroyed.

Chu Zishen's repeated battles and defeats have caused Chu's hegemony to fall to the sidelines. Why can he still get the beautiful posthumous title of "Communist"? "

Confucius shook his head slightly and said: "'Gong' means 'Gong', and in posthumous posthumous law, Gong has many meanings.

The posthumous title is "Gong" for those who work hard and respect the Lord, respect talents and uphold propriety and righteousness, the posthumous title is "Gong", respect the virtuous and be respectful and modest, the posthumous title can also be "Gong"...

When Chu Zi was seriously ill, he told the doctors of Chu State: "I have no virtue, and I became the leader of a country when I was young."

When the late King Zhuang of Chu passed away, I had not had time to learn the lessons of the Shi family and the Bao family. I had suffered too much blessings, and because of my lack of virtue, I lost my army in Yanling. This shamed the country and worried the officials. .

If I am blessed by all of you, I can preserve the throne of Chu and die well, and I can be enshrined in the ancestral temple to follow the ancestors of Chu. I can only ask for the posthumous posthumous title of 'Ling' or 'Li', please choose from among them one.

Chu Zi asked five times in a row, but none of the courtiers of Chu State answered.

It was not until the fifth order that they reluctantly agreed.

Soon after, Chu Zi passed away, and the doctor Zi Nang discussed the posthumous name with everyone.

The other doctors said: The monarch has already given orders.

Zi Nang said: "The monarch is with us to discuss orders together. How can we not use the word 'together'?"
In the prestigious state of Chu, the monarch ruled from above, pacified the barbarians, conquered the South China Sea, and made them subordinate to the countries of the Central Plains, and the monarch knew his fault. Isn't this attitude enough to be called respectful?Please customize the posthumous title of the monarch as 'Common'! "

Zigong asked, "Do you agree with this view?"

Confucius nodded and said: "Those who respect the virtuous, courteous and friendly can be given the posthumous title of "Gong", and those who have made mistakes that can be corrected can be given the posthumous title of "Gong". Chu Zi can probably be regarded as both of these two. Although he can't be called a Benevolence, but it can already be regarded as respectful."

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PS: Brothers, today’s editor’s notice, it’s going to be on the shelves this Friday, and I’ll give you a whole lot of ruthlessness on the day of the release~!

　Nothing, just subscribe you.

　　——Excerpt from "Zaiyu's Diary"

　　
　
(End of this chapter)