In the later period of the Shu Han Dynasty, what was the reason for the lack of talents?

There are many reasons for the lack of talents in the late Shu Han period, mainly including the following aspects:

1. Small population base: Shu Han has a relatively small population, which directly affects the number of talents produced. The population of Shu is less than 1 million, resulting in a limited number of talents to choose from and cultivate.
2. Political and military instability: Due to political and military instability, many talented people left Shu Han and went to other places to seek development, resulting in a relatively small number of talents in the late Shu Han period, especially military talents.
3. Geographical location and economic development: Shuhan is located in the southwest, although it was not harmed by the war, but due to Liu Zhang's improper governance, the economic development was slow and the talent gradually withered.
4. Impact of the Battle of Yiling: In the Battle of Yiling initiated by Liu Bei, Shu Han lost a large number of elites, directly weakening the country's talent pool.
5. Bureaucratic problems: The political system of the Shu Han Dynasty gradually took shape under the rule of Liu Bei and Liu Chan and his sons, and its relatively loose political structure led to political corruption and internal strife, and the imperfect bureaucratic system and the inefficiency and corruption of officials made it difficult for the state to effectively deal with various internal and external challenges, and ultimately weakened the state's dominance.
6. Zhuge Liang's dictatorship: Zhuge Liang's dictatorship makes it difficult for emerging talents to rise, and the inheritance mechanism is not perfect, which further exacerbates the problem of talent shortage.
7. Internal division: There were multiple factions within Shu Han, and the struggle between them consumed a lot of national strength, affecting the overall strength of the country and the cultivation of talents.

In summary, there are many reasons for the lack of talent in the late Shu Han period, including the combination of factors such as a small population base, political and military instability, geographical location and economic development, the impact of the Battle of Yiling, bureaucratic problems, Zhuge Liang's dictatorship, and internal divisions.

What is the population base of Shu Han and how does it compare with other countries in the same period?

The population base of Shu Han varies in different historical sources. According to the Book of Jin and the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, the total population of Shu Han at the time of its fall (263) was 940,000. However, some scholars believe that the peak population of Shuhan may reach about 5.29 million, and the peak number of households is about 1.12 million. This discrepancy may be due to omission of historical records or differences in statistical methods.

Compared with other countries in the same period, the population of Shu Han was significantly smaller. Cao Wei had a population of about 4 million and an army of 600,000; Sun Wu had a population of about 2 million and an army of 200,000. In contrast, Shu Han has a smaller population base, but it has a higher ratio of soldiers to civilians at about 10.6%. This shows that although the population of Shu Han was small, it needed to support a large number of soldiers and officials.

In addition, some scholars have pointed out that the population data of Shu Han may be underestimated. For example, Ge Jianxiong's research suggests that the total population of the Three Kingdoms period should be around 35 million, while that of Shu Han should be between 3 million and 4 million. If this view is true, then the population base of Shu Han may be higher than traditionally recorded.

What are the specific improprieties in the governance of Liu Bei and Liu Chan that lead to the slow economic development?

Liu Bei and Liu Chan, father and son, had some specific improprieties in governance, which led to slow economic development.

When Liu Bei was governing Xuzhou, due to his lack of local governance experience, nepotism, and improper employment, the political situation was unstable, and he was finally taken advantage of by Lu Bu. In addition, Liu Bei also faced major challenges in governing prefectures and counties, as he only had experience in governing county-level regions and lacked experience in higher-level governance.

During Liu Chan's reign, although he paid attention to the rule of law and the rule of virtue, promoted the development of culture and education, and implemented a policy of tolerance, which made the society stable and developed, he himself was mediocre and incompetent, and mainly relied on Zhuge Liang to govern the country. After Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Wan and Fei Yi assisted the government and continued to implement Zhuge Liang's established policy, but due to Liu Chan's incompetence, these measures failed to effectively promote economic development.

What elites did Shu Han lose in the Battle of Yiling, and what impact did these elites have on Shu Han's talent pool?

In the Battle of Yiling, Shu Han lost a large number of elite generals and soldiers. According to evidence, Liu Bei lost nearly 80,000 soldiers and many famous generals in the Battle of Yiling. The deaths of these elites not only weakened Shu Han's military strength, but also had a profound impact on Shu Han's talent pool.

After the Battle of Yiling, Shu Han's elite generals were almost lost, which made Shu Han lose an important supporting force in the ensuing political and military struggles. Specifically, Shu Han lost important generals such as Guan Yu, Guan Ping, and Zhou Cang, and the death of these figures directly led to the fault line of military and political talents in Shu Han. In addition, a large number of young generals died in Yiling, which directly cut off the talent pool of Shu Han.

This kind of talent fault makes it difficult for Shu Han to replenish and cultivate new talents in a timely manner, resulting in a lack of talents in the later period of Shu Han. Although Zhuge Liang barely recovered a certain amount of strength through several years of hard work in the later period, the overall strength of Shu Han was not as good as before. Therefore, the fiasco of the Battle of Yiling directly led to the fault line of Shu Han talents, making it impossible for Shu Han to even have the strength of a battle in the later period.

How does Zhuge Liang's dictatorship affect the rise and inheritance mechanism of emerging talents?

Zhuge Liang's autocracy has had a profound impact on the rise and inheritance mechanism of emerging talents. First of all, Zhuge Liang attaches great importance to the selection and training of talents, he regards talents as the foundation of governing the country, and believes that the way to govern the country lies in promoting talents. He was very cautious in the selection of talents, emphasizing both ability and political integrity, and created a "participation agency" to give full play to the effectiveness of talents.

However, Zhuge Liang's autocracy also brought some negative effects. Although he has the conditions to train talents, in practice, some of his employment decisions are not always successful. For example, he used the wrong four talents, which eventually led to the demise of Shu Han. This shows that although Zhuge Liang attaches great importance to the selection and cultivation of talents in theory, there may be mistakes in practice, which affects the rise of emerging talents and the effective implementation of the inheritance mechanism.

In addition, Zhuge Liang improved the country's talent echelon construction in accordance with the system of the previous dynasty, and selected talents who are deeply familiar with Confucianism and law. This institutionalized selection approach contributes to the rise of emerging talent, but it may also limit the development opportunities of other potential talents.

What exactly are the struggles between the factions within the Shu Han Dynasty, and how do these struggles consume national strength and affect talent training?

The factional struggle within Shu Han mainly involved four different factions: the Yuan Lao faction, the Jingzhou faction, the Dongzhou faction, and the Yizhou faction. The struggle between these factions not only depleted the country's strength, but also had a negative impact on the cultivation of human resources.

The patriarchal faction consisted of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and other former henchmen who had followed Liu Bei in the early days, and they continued to support Liu Bei after he occupied Yizhou. The Jingzhou faction was represented by Zhuge Liang, Huang Zhong, and Wei Yan, who were originally forces in the Jingzhou region and joined the Shu Han regime after Liu Bei entered Yizhou. The Dongzhou faction was composed of Li Yan, Fa Zheng and others, who were originally local families in Yizhou. The Yizhou faction is represented by Huang Quan and Ma Zhong, who are also local forces in Yizhou.

The struggle between these factions led to a struggle for political power and a clash of ideas, which filled the Shu Han regime with contradictions and disharmony. For example, after Liu Bei accepted Zhuge Liang, he discussed work with him every day, which caused the dissatisfaction of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and finally settled the dispute through Liu Bei's mediation. Such frequent political struggles not only consume a lot of resources and energy, but also affect the stability and development of the country.

In addition, Shu Han's Northern Expedition policy also exacerbated the consumption of national strength. Frequent military operations not only consume a lot of materials and manpower, but also lead to the withering and withering of talents. The later lord Liu Chan favored the eunuch Huang Hao, greedy for pleasure and ignored the government, which further weakened the country's strength.

The factional struggles within the Shu Han Dynasty eventually led to the decline and demise of the state by depleting national strength and influencing talent training.