Yao Chan let Yu Shun work hard
——Reading "Historical Records" from a New Perspective II
Text/Song Yushan
Yao, whose name is Fang Xun, is one of the "Five Emperors" in ancient China. "Historical Records" spoke highly of him, saying that he "is as benevolent as the sky, his wisdom is like a god, it is like the sun, and his hope is like a cloud." It means that he is as virtuous as heaven and wise as God, and he is as warm as the sun near him, and he looks at him as bright as a cloud. The greatness of Yao is that it created a precedent for the emperor to let Zen.
According to the "Historical Records", Yao inherited the throne of his father Emperor Yu, and after ascending the throne, he took the world as his own responsibility, worked hard to govern the country, selected talents and talents, and ruled the world. Although Yao was rich, he lived a simple life, ate coarse rice, drank wild vegetable porridge, and was loved by the people.
When Yao was old, he naturally had to consider the issue of heirs. Sixty years after his accession to the throne, he once called a meeting of tribal leaders and said, "I am old, who can inherit my cause?" The chiefs said, "Your son Danju is the heir and should inherit the throne." Yao snorted and said, "Danzhu is stupid and vicious, and he can't use it." The leaders were silent. Yao also said: "I know best what my son is like, if he occupies the throne, the world will suffer. Therefore, I must not do anything that harms the whole world and only benefits him. ”
Seeing Yao's resolute attitude, everyone began to recommend candidates. Someone recommended Gonggong, saying, "Gonggong can gather a wide range of people and make achievements, and can inherit the throne." Yao said: "Gonggong has improper intentions, loves to say beautiful things, seems to be respectful, and deceives God, such a person cannot be used." "At this meeting, no one was recommended, and no one proposed Shun.
Ten years later, Yao convened another meeting and said, "I have been reigning for seventy years, and the question of the heir must be resolved." Who of you, the tribal leaders, can obey the mandate of heaven and take my throne? ”
The leaders said with sincere fear: "Our virtues are shallow, and we dare not tarnish the throne." Yao said, "Then recommend it from the nobles with the same surname and those who are estranged and hidden." So, everyone recommended Shun one after another and introduced Shun's deeds.
Shun's father was blind and ignorant, his stepmother was stubborn and vicious, and his stepmother's son was arrogant and rude, but Shun was able to live in harmony with them, and did his filial piety to govern the family well. Yao was happy to hear this and said, "Yes, I've also heard about him, so let's investigate it and try it." "At this meeting, it was determined that Shun was the heir to the throne, but it needed to be carefully examined.
Yao knows that Zen concession is a major event, which is related to the world, and must not be rash. Therefore, Yao conducted a multifaceted investigation of Shun.
The first step is to marry his two daughters to him and investigate Shun's virtues at home; He also let his nine sons live with Shun and observe Shun's behavior outside. In this way, whether Shun is at home or outside, his words and deeds are under Yao's control.
Since then, Shun has been more cautious in doing things, and has fully demonstrated his benevolence and talent. He cultivated in Lishan, and the people of Lishan were able to push each other to cede the land; He fishes in Razor, and the people of Razor can give way to the fishing position; He made pottery on the banks of the Yellow River, where there were no defective products. People admired Shun's virtue and chose him as a neighbor, and in one year, the place where Shun lived became a village, two years to form a town, and three years to become a metropolis.
Yao's two daughters were virtuous and obedient to the way of being a woman, and Yao's nine sons were sincere and loyal, and they were all of great help to Shun. Seeing this, Yao was very satisfied, and gave Shun clothes, pianos, cattle and sheep.
In the second step, Yao asked Shun to be responsible for receiving guests at the fourth gate of the Ming Hall to examine his ability to behave in the world. As a result, the four doors were harmonious, and the guests who came from afar praised Shun for being polite and decent.
In the third step, Yao asked Shun to participate in the affairs of the hundred officials and examine his coordination ability, and as a result, the affairs of the hundred officials became orderly.
In the fourth step, Yao asked Shun to try out the position of Situ to test his administrative leadership ability. Shun prudently obeyed the five ethics and morals of fatherhood, motherhood, brotherhood, brotherhood, and filial piety, and people obeyed them, and the social atmosphere changed greatly.
In the fifth step, Yao Pai Shun went into the mountains and jungles and the grass of the river alone to test his ability to deal with the harsh environment. As a result, Shun overcame difficulties such as storms and thunderstorms and getting lost in these treacherous places, defeated wolves, insects, tigers and leopards, and finally returned safely.
In this way, after years of all-round investigation, Shun handed in a qualified answer sheet and completely won Yao's trust. So, on the first day of the first lunar month, Yao solemnly ceded the imperial throne to Shun in the Wenzu Temple.
At this time, Yao was already old, so he asked Shun to act as the agent of the Son of Heaven in political affairs, so as to examine whether he was in line with the will of Heaven as the Son of Heaven. Shun was conscientious and conscientious, and successively inspected the east, west, south, and north, telling the leaders of various tribes about the way to govern the people, and inspecting their achievements. Shun also formulated penalties and promoted moral education. Shun's political achievements are very outstanding, and the people have praised them.
Shun acted as a political minister for eight years, and Yao died. Shun mourned for Yao for three years, and after the mourning, he gave up the throne to Yao's son Danzhu, and hid on the south bank of the Nanhe River. Judging from Shun's move, hereditary inheritance has become a habit at that time, and if Danzhu is not unscrupulous, it is natural for him to inherit the throne.
However, the tribal leaders did not go to worship Danzhu, but went to worship Shun; The common people did not go to Danzhu when they went to court, but to Shun. With everyone's support, Shuncai returned to Kyoto and officially ascended to the throne of the Son of Heaven.
After Yao's death, the common people grieved and grieved, as if their biological parents had died, and within three years, no one sang and played music in the four directions. The reason why the common people sincerely miss Emperor Yao, in addition to his own merits, an important reason is that he took the world as the public and gave the imperial throne to the virtuous people, bringing happiness and well-being to the people of the world.
It can be seen that as long as you care about the world and sincerely seek the interests of the people, the people of the world will never forget.
【About author】Song Yushan, a native of Yinan, Shandong, born in 1956, graduated from the Chinese Department of Qufu Normal University, a member of the Communist Party of China, and a member of the Shandong Writers Association. He has successively served as the Information Officer of the Propaganda Department of the Chiping County Party Committee, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Industry, the Head of Wanglaoxiang Township, the Deputy Director of the Office of the County Party Committee, the Section Chief of the Organization Department of the Liaocheng Municipal Party Committee, the Section Chief of the Office of the Liaocheng Municipal Party Committee, the Member of the Standing Committee of the Chiping County Party Committee, the Director of the Organization Department, the Deputy Secretary of the County Party Committee, the Director of the Liaocheng Municipal Bureau of Statistics, the Director of the Liaocheng Education Bureau, the Deputy Director of the Political Research Office of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee, the Director of the Research Office of the National Academy of Administration, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee, the Director of the Political Research Office, the Spokesperson of the Provincial Party Committee, and the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial People's Congress. He was awarded the honorary titles of Outstanding Communist Party Member of Shandong Province, Shandong May Day Labor Medal, and Distinguished Professor of Universities. After retiring in 2019, he wrote the "Reading Twenty-six History Series from a New Perspective", a total of 13 volumes and 3 million words, which was published and distributed by the China Culture and History Publishing House. The Himalayan platform broadcast the book under the title of "Intensive Reading of Chinese History", and has reached 210 million listeners.