In addition to going on patrols, did ancient emperors and civil and military officials of the previous dynasties have similar weekly, monthly or annual holidays?

Yes

The situation in each dynasty is different

Xia, Shang and Zhou all have a system for officials to become officials when they are seventy years old. You can retire, which is the so-called "retiring to politics at seventy". After officials retire, they can go to schools at all levels to spread knowledge. "Book of Rites: Kingship" records: "The Xia family raised their old people in Dongxu, and raised their concubines in Xixu; the Yin people raised their country's elders in Youchao, and raised their concubines in Zuoxue; the Zhou people raised their country's elders in Laojiao, and raised their common people Older than Yu Xiang."

In the Qin Dynasty, officials took leave and said they were "returning".

In the Han Dynasty, they implemented a five-day-one-day-off system, that is, they worked for five days and had one day off, not Saturday or Sunday. , but it's your turn to take a day off. This day is also called "holiday". On this day, officials can go home and wash their hands.

There are solar terms such as winter solstice and summer solstice. Take this as an example. There are two types of leave, which are divided into temporary leave and grant leave. A formal notice is a leave granted by the state in accordance with the law for meritorious service (those who are top-notch in exams), while a formal notice is a leave granted due to illness (in the Chinese system, those who ask for leave for three months are exempted from official duties, and those who are approved can extend their leave without being exempted from official duties). There is bereavement leave, according to the mourning system, the longer is 3 years, the shorter is 36 days. Senior officials in the Han Dynasty had a "retirement system", and the conditions for becoming an official were old age or illness. After retirement, ministers receive preferential treatment, usually one-third of their original salary. A few officials with outstanding merits can even enjoy their original salary. In addition, there will be one-time rewards upon retirement, such as money, gold, food, houses, carriages and horses, etc.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, this system was relaxed again. "Historical Records·Biography of Millions of Lords" records: "Officials take baths and visit relatives every five days." It stipulates that officials can not only take a bath and change clothes, but also go home to visit the elderly and children, and reunite with couples.

In the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, officials still had a vacation system. You can take leave due to illness or other reasons. For example, the Western Jin Dynasty gives three years of bereavement leave and 100 days of sick leave. Officials can retire when they are old, usually at the age of seventy.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was changed to a ten-day break, which was called "ten days off". It seemed that the treatment was much worse than that of the Han Dynasty. In fact, this was not the case. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there was already today's gold According to the concept of week, they rest for seven days every New Year and Winter Solstice. These seven days are paid holidays. In addition, you can also take a vacation for any reason you can think of. In addition to our daily Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Double Ninth Festival, there is also the emperor's birthday (since the emperor often changes, this holiday also changes frequently), which is surprising Even Tathagata Buddha's birthday, Lao Tzu's birthday, and Confucius' birthday are all holidays. It is estimated that if Christianity had spread widely in those days, God's birthday would also be included in it. In addition, there are various seasonal leaves (such as seven days of Spring Festival leave), provincial holidays (visiting parents once every three years, ***35 days), wedding leave (nine days), and bereavement leave (the length depends on the relationship with the deceased). ), sick leave (the longest period shall not exceed 100 days, and the employee will be dismissed if the period exceeds 100 days). Officials who are in poor health or are over seventy years old can retire and are called official officials. The retirement of officials above the fifth rank is approved by the emperor, and the retirement of officials below the sixth rank is approved by the Shangshu Province. Officials of fifth rank and above enjoy half salary upon retirement, while meritorious ministers with special favor from the emperor can receive full salary.

The official vacation and retirement system of the Song Dynasty basically followed the development of the Tang Dynasty. Officials in the Song Dynasty had more vacation days than the Tang Dynasty, the vacation system was more relaxed, and there were various festivals that did not exist before. Their actual vacation throughout the year reached 98 days. . In addition, a day off will be granted for the minister's private memorial day (the day of death of a parent or grandparent). In order to encourage officials to retire on time, officials were allowed to take up their posts after Shenzong, and retired officials were given various courtesies and preferential treatment. At one time, they were allowed to receive full salaries, and a large number of palaces were set up to accommodate retired officials. Despite this, many officials still do not want to serve even though they are over seventy.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the situation changed. In the view of the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, life lies in movement, and work is rest. There are no such things as ten-day breaks and major breaks. Everyone puts work first and only has ten days of rest a year.

By the time of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Some officials proposed to restore the vacation system of the previous dynasty, but Zhu Yuanzhang rejected it. Then Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated the vacation system, which is really simple and easy to implement, with three days of rest a year! They are the Chinese New Year, the Winter Solstice, and Zhu Yuanzhang’s birthday respectively. However, many problems arose after the actual implementation, so the winter vacation was later stipulated to start in December and last for one month, which solved some of the problems. After Zhu Yuanzhang's death, the number of holidays gradually increased. The monthly leave is 3 days. Including New Year's Day, Lantern Festival, Ghost Festival, Winter Solstice and other festivals, the number of holidays can be 18 days, and there are more than 50 days of leave every year.

The Qing Dynasty inherited the system of the Ming Dynasty and began to change in the later period. After the Opium War, a large number of Westerners entered China. They took one day off every week. Over time, the Chinese people developed a sense of identity. By 1910, the Qing government basically implemented Sunday as a public holiday at the upper levels.