In the "Collection of Zhanran Residents", Cai Shiyuan commented on Yelü Chucai: Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, talents have emerged, and then they look at each other first, and they have summarized it slightly... As a founding hero and a member of the Ji Gang Baidu, Xiao, Cao, Fang, Du, and Yelü Chucai also.
Yelü Chucai, a politician during the Mongol Empire. Yerushalayim himself was born into a Mongol aristocratic family and later followed Genghis Khan to assist him. He assisted Genghis Khan's father and son, and put forward the concept of learning Confucian ideas of governance, formulating a series of reform measures for the Mongol Empire, laying the foundation for the development of the Mongol Empire and the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty.
Born into an aristocratic family, he was well versed in literature
According to historical records, Yelü Chucai was born into a Khitan aristocratic family. His family has a long history, and can even follow the Liao Taizu Yelü Abaoji period. With such a family background, the family situation is naturally better.
At the time of his birth, his father had reached the age of flower armor, so his father often said that he would be able to achieve great things and serve the country in the future. Yelü Chucai was tall and burly, and at first glance he had the wind of a great general. With the help of a good family situation, coupled with his father's son Jackie Chan, he received a strict education from an early age.
When he was two years old, his father died, and he could only live with his mother, who also attached great importance to his teachings and often demanded him strictly. By the time he was twelve, he had already entered the academy. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, this Yelü Chucai family all lived in the Yanjing area, and this Yanjing originally had a strong Han cultural atmosphere.
Therefore, Yelü Chucai grew up under the influence of Confucian thought and culture from a young age, and he devoted his enthusiasm to serving the country, reading books from an early age, and especially liked to study Han knowledge, which also laid the foundation for him to assist Genghis Khan in creating the Han system.
Assisted Genghis Khan's father and son to rule the country with Confucianism
Ten years after Genghis Khan, Genghis Khan led the Mongol army to capture Yanjing, and unexpectedly, Genghis Khan learned that Yelü Chucai was quite talented and could assist him at his side, so he sent someone to invite him to the mountains to assist. And this Yelü Chucai was originally willing to support the rule of the Mongols, coupled with the conversation with Genghis Khan, which was highly valued by Genghis Khan, and he was made an auxiliary vassal and followed Genghis Khan. At that time, Genghis Khan was still fighting in the world, and Yelü Chucai followed Genghis Khan to give him advice.
In addition to politics, Yelü Chucai was also quite talented in the military field, and he made many great achievements, and was deeply respected by Genghis Khan. After Wokoutai Khan succeeded to the throne, Yelü Chucai suggested that according to the han court's emphasis on etiquette, the princes and others at that time were advised to perform the courtesy of the khan as a vassal, thus expressing respect for the royal power.
His practice was deeply rooted in the khan's heart, and since then it has become even more important, and he is always asked for his opinion every time the government is important. At that time, he also gradually instilled in the emperor the plan of "ruling the country with Confucianism", advocating learning from the Han court, setting up governors in various states, and establishing a tax system to make up for the financial consumption caused by the war.
Follow the Great Khan and reform the country in an all-round way
In the face of royal power, Yelü Chucai did not dare to have two hearts, and wholeheartedly assisted the khan in developing the country. When the Mongol state was first established, faced with a series of problems, Yelü Chucai began to carry out reforms with the emperor.
At that time, the local government system of military and government integration was implemented, and the local government did not have a special management of the official chief, only the head of the commander-in-chief of the army, so local affairs could not be handled in a timely manner. In this regard, Yelü Chucai proposed the establishment of county chiefs, so that the military power and the political power were separated and contained each other. It was also suggested that the emperor establish Zhongshu Province, thereby decentralizing power and improving the administrative efficiency of officials, and yelü Chucai was naturally appointed Zhongshu Ling, that is, the prime minister.
In addition, he actively advised the emperor to use Confucianism to govern the country. At his suggestion, the Mongol Empire began to appoint Han Confucians to hold official positions in the imperial court, thus promoting the progress of the Mongol regime. At the time of Genghis Khan's reign, he was busy conquering the world and did not formulate a relatively perfect law, so Yelü Chucai began to sort out the previous materials, and finally built a "Cheap Eighteen Things" as the law of Mongolia. Under yelü Chucai's reforms, the power of Mongolia increased greatly, and some of the political systems he promoted also laid the foundation for the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty.
The Mongol Khan Boer Jin Wo Kuotai also trusted this humerus minister very much, and once commented on him: If he is not a secretary, then there is no today in the Central Plains. So the one who has the peace of mind, the power of the Qing dynasty is also.
As a Khitan person, Yelü Chucai was able to give up the grace and resentment of his ancestors and dedicate himself to the Lives of the Mongols, and I have to say that his heart and mind are very comparable. Some of his reform measures made the Mongol nobles gradually abandon the backward nomadic way and use Confucianism to govern the country, so that the agricultural civilization in the Central Plains continued to develop, and also laid the foundation for the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty by Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Later Yuan Dynasty.
Resources:
"Zhanran Jushi Collection"