History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 837 Chai Rong Governs the Country 3
4. Zhang Zhao’s Advice

The reform of the civil service system was a powerful weapon for the rulers to break the old power system. Wu Zetian vigorously promoted the imperial examination and cultivated "protégés of the crown prince" to fight against the entrenched aristocratic families; Tang Zhaozong also cultivated his own civil service group by "recruiting talents regardless of their background" to resist the power of local vassal states.

Chai Rong did both things well. On the one hand, he recruited scholars through the imperial examination, and on the other hand, he opened up the channels for people to express their opinions and organized "crash courses". His only purpose was to quickly cultivate his own direct lineage in the civil service group.

The above mentioned person named Zhao Shouwei, who held the position of Right Picker of Remnants, was beaten with a hundred sticks and then exiled to Shamen Island.

This person is a typical example of Chai Rong's "recruiting talents regardless of their background". Zhao Shouwei was originally just a country bumpkin who could read a few words and had a rough understanding of literature. He had a low level of education and behaved in a vulgar manner. However, he enjoyed the policy dividends and wrote a nonsense letter to Chai Rong, complaining about all kinds of injustice in society, just like today's keyboard warriors.

Zhao Shouwei may have just wanted to post a complaint, but unexpectedly Chai Rong admired his spirit of speaking out and summoned him to the central government, granting him the title of Right Picker of Relics. He used this as a typical example to promote the public to actively speak out.

If Zhao Shouwei reformed himself and acted more decently, he might have changed his fate. The Book of Changes says that a person of great virtue can carry all things. This huge change was obviously beyond the scope of Zhao Shouwei's virtue. He was stunned by the pie in the sky.

Soon after, Zhao Shouwei's father-in-law filed a lawsuit and brought him to court, "exposing his ugly behavior." Zhao Shouwei was then beaten with a hundred sticks and exiled to Shamen Island. As for what the "ugly behavior" was, historical records do not explain.

Zhang Zhao, the Minister of War, advised Chai Rong, saying that Emperor Taizong of Tang had made an exception and promoted commoners Liu Ji and Ma Zhou to be prime ministers, and Emperor Zhaozong of Tang also promoted Zhu Pu and Liu Can. However, the country prospered when Taizong used them before, but perished when Zhaozong used them after. I hope Your Majesty will keep the old rules and employ people, take Liu and Ma as a warning, and take Zhu and Liu as a caution.

Chai Rong listened to Zhang Zhao's advice and stopped being impulsive and blind in employing people.

5. Ideological and moral construction
During the Battle of Gaoping, the wait-and-see attitude of civil and military officials troubled Chai Rong greatly, which showed that they did not fully recognize Chai Rong's rule and were not closely united in the power system with Comrade Chai Rong as the core. To this end, Chai Rong made efforts in many aspects, such as the purge of the army and the reform of the official system, and the daily ideological and moral construction work.

5.1 Essay Writing
In April of the second year of Xian De (955) after the "Battle of Gaoping", Chai Rong gave out two essay topics: "On the Difficulty of Being a King and the Difficulty of Being a Minister" and "Strategies for Pacificating the Border" to unify thoughts.

5.2 Xiande Qintian Calendar

In August of the third year of Xian De (956), Wang Pu compiled a new calendar and named it "Xian De Qin Tian Calendar". Chai Rong personally wrote a preface for it and handed it over to the Si Tian Jian for use. As mentioned above, in the feudal period, the calendar was not just a wall calendar. It had a strong political color and was a symbol of the legitimacy and orthodoxy of a regime. It was also an important tool for guiding farming time and helping production.

5.3 History Compilation in the Previous Dynasty
Compiling history for the previous dynasty also reflects the purity of the orthodoxy and legal inheritance of the current regime. In December of the third year of Xiande (956), Chai Rong issued an edict to collect books across the country to fill the gaps in the National History Museum. Anyone who donated the missing books to the National History Museum would be given material rewards as appropriate.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the country was in chaos and the work of the History Museum was almost abandoned, so much so that several emperors at the end of the Tang Dynasty did not even have any "Veritable Records" left. Normally, only when the situation was stable and the government was harmonious, would the rulers collect books and materials from the public, and then the staff of the Royal History Museum would sort, examine and include them.

In the first month of the following year, Zhang Zhao, the Minister of War, submitted a memorial, saying that I was ordered to compile the Records of Taizu (Guo Wei), but... "The author of the Book of Han first wrote Xiang Yu, and the author of the Records of Shu first wrote Liu Zhang." This means that if you want to write about the history of the Han Dynasty, you must first talk about Xiang Yu, and if you want to write about the history of Shu Han, you must first talk about Liu Zhang. As the saying goes, water has a source and trees have roots. Things must have a context. Therefore... if you want to write about Guo Wei, you must first write about Liu Chengyou, the Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty. Zhang Zhao requested, "Please compile the Records of Emperor Yin first to complete the story of Taizu." Without Liu Chengyou killing Guo Wei's entire family, how could there be the Chanzhou Mutiny? Without the Chanzhou Mutiny, where would the Great Zhou Dynasty come from? Without the Great Zhou Dynasty, where would Your Majesty come from?
In addition, Zhang Zhao also pointed out that before Emperor Zhu Youzhen of Liang, there was a Prince of Ying, Zhu Yougui, who usurped the throne and murdered his father, but there is no record of him. Moreover, he was demoted to a commoner by Zhu Youzhen and had no temple name. Therefore, Zhang Zhao requested to follow the old practice and write him as "Yuan Cun Yougui" and complete his record.

Before Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Congke), there was Emperor Yingshun (Emperor Min Li Conghou), who reigned for four months. Please write him as the "Former Deposed Emperor" and Emperor Qingtai (Li Congke) as the "Later Deposed Emperor".

This is another product of the chaotic times. An emperor has many titles, which brings some troubles to historical research. For example, Comrade Li Congke, some history books write him as "Qingtai Emperor" or "Qingtai Lord" because his reign title is "Qingtai", some write him as "Tang Fei Emperor", "Tang Mo Emperor", "Tang Mo Lord", and some write him as "Lu Wang". For example, Zhang Zhao invented this "Hou Fei Emperor"...

Many of these names are mixed with political stances.

By the time of Chai Rong, the "Jin-Bian Struggle for Supremacy" had long passed, and the relevant interest groups had almost ceased to exist. Therefore, the history of the Five Dynasties compiled during the Later Zhou Dynasty was relatively objective and fair, and gave true records to Zhu Yougui, Li Conghou, and Li Congke.

5.4 The Criminal System of the Great Zhou Dynasty
In May of the fourth year of Xian De (957), because the current laws, decrees, formats and styles were complicated and inconsistent, an imperial decree was issued to explain and elaborate them into the "Criminal Code". It was completed in July of the following year (5) and named "The Criminal Code of the Great Zhou Dynasty".

The Criminal Code of the Great Zhou was used until the end of the Song Dynasty.

5.5 Tongli Zhengle
In September of the fourth year of Xian De (957), Zhongshu Sheren Dou Yan (Dou Yi's younger brother) submitted a memorial suggesting that relevant departments study ancient and modern rituals, compile "Da Zhou Tong Li", examine and correct the bell music, and compile "Da Zhou Zheng Yue".

As mentioned above, the rituals, music, calendar and clothing and hair accessories of the feudal period were extremely political, showing the integrity of the family, and were beliefs that the rulers could not ignore and the ruled were willing to sacrifice their lives for.

In December of the fifth year of Xian De (958), Chai Rong, who had accomplished the feat of "Three Expeditions to Huainan", wanted to celebrate a grand Spring Festival. However, he found that the relevant departments had arranged the scene in a mess without any order. He also saw that most of the bells and chimes were just decorations. When he questioned the Royal Military Band, he found that even they didn't know how to use them... Chai Rong lamented (Emperor Shizong felt pity for him), so he ordered Dou Yan, Wang Pu and others to hurry up and correct the sound.

According to the "Old History of the Five Dynasties", since the war in the late Tang Dynasty, classical music has been on the verge of collapse. During this period, Zhu Wen of Later Liang tried to remedy it, but it was already incomplete at that time. Li Cunxu of Later Tang and others were all foreign generals and had no understanding of Central Plains classical music, so it was almost completely lost. In order to show off the purity of his orthodoxy, Shi Jingtang of Later Jin ordered a restoration, which achieved certain results, but soon the Central Plains fell into chaos again. The Later Han Dynasty lasted only four years and had no time to repair it until the time of Chai Rong today.

During the reign of Chai Rong, Dou Yan, Wang Pu and others "set up thirteen strings to determine the six tones, and the six lüs rotated to form the meaning of the palace", which was then promulgated throughout the country. I'm sorry that I don't understand music and dare not translate it.

In short, starting from Chai Rong, the emperor of Central Plains once again enjoyed his own BGM.

(End of this chapter)