Yucai Daily History Weekly, No.29, Senior Two, Answers to Battlefield Training (Reform of Emperor Xiaowen in Northern Wei Dynasty)

The reform of Emperor Xiaowen in the Northern Wei Dynasty, commonly known as the localization of filial piety, refers to the political reform carried out by Emperor Xiaowen in the Northern Wei Dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Its main content is the Sinicization Movement, including the implementation of land equalization system and household modulation, the reform of official system and laws, the relocation of the capital to Luoyang, the change of Chinese customs and other reform measures

editing politics

rectifying official management

In 472 AD (the second year of extension), the government was promoted to the first level after one year; Those with poor performance will be punished or even demoted even if they take office soon.

Changing the tax system

In 475 AD (the fifth year of the reign of Yan Xing), in order to change the chaotic situation in which states, counties and counties competed for rent collection and adjustment, the government decided that it could only be collected at the county level, and it was forbidden to use big buckets, long rulers and heavy scales when collecting rent.

salary system

In 484 AD (the eighth year of Taihe), the salary system was promulgated, stating that a horse full of silk cloth was put to death for taking bribes besides salary. In the Land Equalization Order issued the following year, it was also stipulated that local guards could give a certain amount of farmland according to their official positions. The public land granted is not allowed to be bought, and it will be handed over to the next one when leaving office.

reforming the official system

during the Taihe period, it was agreed that the rank of officials was divided into nine categories, and each category was divided into positive and subordinate categories. Subordinate products are the first in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Nineteen years later, according to the standards of family background and official rank, the Xianbei nobles since the generation of the North were designated as surnames, clans, and the surnames were Gao, followed by clans, among which Mu, Lu, He, Liu, Lou, Yu, Ji and Wei were eight surnames. "All the ancestors have fallen, and they are honored by the present, and they are all princes, and they are burning and knowable, and they are the next state. The so-called four surnames are Cui, Lu, Li and Zheng, the Han people in the Central Plains, and four county surnames, A, B, C and D, which seems to be true. Ban Ding's family name enabled Xianbei nobles to further combine with Han clan.

Move the capital to Luoyang

In order to learn and accept the advanced culture of the Han nationality and further strengthen the rule of the Yellow River Basin, TaBaHong decided to move the capital from Pingcheng (now Datong City, Shanxi Province) to Luoyang. For this reason, he was afraid that ministers would oppose the idea of moving the capital, and first proposed to attack Nanqi on a large scale. Once in court, he proposed this plan, and ministers opposed it one after another. The most intense one was Ren Chengwang Tuoba Cheng. Emperor Xiaowen was very angry and said, "The country is my country. Do you want to stop me from using troops?" Tuoba Cheng retorted: "Although the country belongs to your Majesty, I am the minister of the country, knowing the danger of using troops, how can I not talk about it?" After thinking for a moment, Emperor Xiaowen announced his retirement from the DPRK and returned to the palace. He summoned Tuoba Cheng alone and said to him, "To tell you the truth, I was angry with you just now to scare everyone. What I really mean is that I think Pingcheng is not a place to use force and is not suitable for political reform. Now I want to change the customs, but I have to move the capital. This time I sent troops to cut Qi, in fact, I wanted to take this opportunity to lead civil and military officials to move the capital to the Central Plains. What do you think? " TaBaCheng suddenly enlighted, and immediately agreed with Wei Xiaowen's proposition.

in 493 (the seventeenth year of Taihe), Emperor Xiaowen of Wei personally led more than 3, infantry and cavalry to the south, starting from Pingcheng and arriving in Luoyang. It happened that the autumn rain continued for a whole month, and the roads were muddy everywhere, making it difficult to March. However, Emperor Xiaowen still rode out of the city wearing a helmet and armor and ordered to continue to March. Ministers didn't want to send troops to cut Qi, so they took advantage of the heavy rain and came out to stop it. Emperor Xiaowen said seriously: "This time, if we choose to arouse the masses, if we give up halfway, it will be a joke for future generations. If you can't go south, move the capital here. What do you think? " Everyone looked at each other and said nothing. Emperor Xiaowen said: "We can't hesitate. Those who agree to move the capital stand to the left, and those who disagree stand on the right. " A nobleman said, "As long as your majesty agrees to stop the southern expedition, then we are willing to move the capital to Luoyang." Although many civil and military officials disapprove of moving the capital, they have heard that the southern expedition can be stopped, and they have to express their support for moving the capital. Emperor Xiaowen arranged one end of Luoyang, and sent Ren Chengwang Tuoba Cheng back to Pingcheng to publicize the benefits of moving the capital to the princes and nobles there. Later, he went to Pingcheng in person, called the nobles and old ministers to discuss the relocation of the capital. There is still a lot of opposition among the nobles in the city of peace. They moved out one reason after another, which was refuted by Emperor Xiaowen. In the end, those people really couldn't make sense, so they had to say, "Moving the capital is a big deal. Whether it's bad luck or bad luck, let's make a divination."

emperor xiaowen said, "divination is to solve difficult things. There is no doubt about moving the capital, and there is nothing to worry about. If you want to govern the world, you should take the four seas as your home. If you go south today and go north tomorrow, there is no fixed truth. Besides, we moved several times in the last generation, so why can't I move? " Noble ministers were speechless, and the move to Luoyang was a beautiful thing to imitate our ancestors, so it was decided.

Economic

Land equalization system

In 485 AD (the ninth year of Taihe), the Land Equalization Order was promulgated, which made detailed regulations for adult people of different sexes, handmaiden and cattle. Granted fields are different from open fields and mulberry fields. Grain planted in the open field shall not be bought or sold, and shall be returned to the state at the age of 7. Mulberry, elm and jujube trees planted in mulberry fields do not need to be returned to the state, and the surplus can be sold and the insufficient can be bought. When land is also granted, appropriate care should be given to the elderly, the disabled and widows.

Three-length system was established

In 486 AD (the tenth year of Taihe), the three-length system was used to replace the patriarch's supervision and protection system, and the township officials' organizations of neighbors, Li and the party were adopted to curb the local strongmen from sheltering a large number of accounts.

reforming the rent system

In 486 AD (the tenth year of Taihe), Emperor Xiaowen also reformed the rent adjustment system accordingly. The new rent adjustment stipulates that one husband and one wife are the collection units, and one silk horse and two millet stones are paid every year. Unmarried men and women over the age of 15, every eight handmaiden engaged in farming and weaving, and every twenty oxen are rented, which is equivalent to the number of monogamous women respectively.

culture

forbidding nonsense

Emperor Xiaowen carried out the most important policy in sinicization, that is, changing the language, stipulating that Xianbei compound language should no longer be spoken, but monosyllabic Chinese should be spoken instead. The biography of Wang Xi in Xianyang records Emperor Xiaowen's words: "Now I want to break the northern languages, and I will listen to the correct pronunciation. It is thirty years old and has a long habit, so it can't be changed. It's thirty, and when I see people in the imperial court, I still don't listen to the voice; If there is a reason, it should be increased. "

change the surname of Han

Emperor Xiaowen ordered the surname of Xianbei people (usually a compound surname) to be changed to a single surname. Here are some examples:

Tuoba (royal family) → Yuan surname

Dugu → Liu surname

Qiu Muling → Mu surname

Bu Liugu → Lu surname

He Lai → He surname

He Lou → Lou surname [5]

Respect Confucius

Emperor Xiaowen moved to Luoyi. He also gave the descendants of Confucius land and money so that they could continue to sacrifice to this ancestor.

Influence

The reform measures of Sinicization promoted by Emperor Xiaowen are conducive to easing class contradictions and have played a positive role in the recovery and development of social economy.

The Jiupin Zhengzhi system, which was founded in Cao Wei's time, has become a situation of selecting officials from aristocratic families in the Western Jin Dynasty, and has evolved into two social classes, namely, the gentry and commoners, and the famous saying that "the top grade has no poverty, and the bottom grade has no gentry" stems from this.

Because Xianbei people themselves have not acquired profound cultural attainments and independent political reform ideas, they have blindly copied the previous policies of the Han regime, and thus inherited this gate system that has seriously affected social development. Wei Shu? Official Records records: "There are three officials who are in charge of giving things, and the state secretariat, town generals, and those who are crowned princes are surnames ... and there are three who are in the middle of the school, have been in prison, and are satrap, son, and son." The gate system was further extended from Wei and Jin Dynasties to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and it was not abolished until the Sui Dynasty established the imperial examination system.

One of the reasons for the success of Emperor Xiaowen's reform was that most Hu people were able to speak Chinese and wear Chinese clothes at that time, but they could still speak Hu language and wear Hu clothes. This reform only accelerated the process of changing customs.

evaluation

1. The social economy in the north has developed obviously: agricultural production tools have been improved, water conservancy projects have been built, wasteland has been reclaimed, grain output has increased, and animal husbandry has been developed. Handicraft production is becoming increasingly active, and business activities are also becoming increasingly active.

2. Accelerated feudalization of political power: After moving the capital to Luoyang, Xianbei rulers accepted the advanced cultural system of the Han nationality, which greatly accelerated the feudalization process of the Northern Wei regime and had a far-reaching impact on the social and political life of the Northern Wei Dynasty and even the whole history of China.

3. Promoted ethnic exchanges and integration: Emperor Xiaowen's reform in the Northern Wei Dynasty not only eased ethnic contradictions, consolidated feudal rule, but also promoted great ethnic integration, laying the foundation for ending the long-term division and moving towards national reunification again. It has promoted national integration.

Emperor Xiaowen's reform was the inevitable result of the political and economic development in the Northern Wei Dynasty and the further feudalization of Xianbei people. But on the other hand, Emperor Xiaowen's reform also promoted the political and economic development of the Northern Wei Dynasty, which reflected the great role of national integration. Xianbei people conquered the Han nationality and other ethnic minorities by force, but they had to be conquered by the higher culture of the Han nationality, and absorbed the essence of the Han culture from it, which further promoted their own development and consolidated feudal rule. At the same time, the Han nationality also absorbed the excellent parts of Xianbei culture, making its own development more perfect.

Emperor Xiaowen's reform embodies the great promotion of national integration. The civilization of the whole Chinese nation is produced by the continuous communication and integration of all ethnic groups. The Chinese nation is a big family, and we should have a high degree of national cohesion and national emotion, and understand the respect and friendship between ethnic groups. However, Emperor Xiaowen's reform also met with strong opposition from the old nobles in Xianbei. Only under the resolute suppression of Emperor Xiaowen can the policy of localization be carried out and the achievements of reform be consolidated, which shows the courage and determination of Emperor Xiaowen's reform and his far-sighted vision of reform.