The culture of secrecy | the secrecy stories of ancient close attendant officials

In ancient China, the close attendant officials who were close to the emperor either spent time with the emperor, knew the emperor's joys and sorrows, or participated in core decision-making, understood the general policies and personnel trends, and did a good job of secrecy. "Zhou Yi" said that "if the king is not secret, he loses his subjects, and if the subjects are not secret, he loses his body", which can be described as to the point. During the reign of Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty, he promulgated the book "Subjects' Tracks" to regulate the behavior of his subjects. The chapter "Caution" is listed in the "Subject Track", quoting many famous sayings and cases about secrecy from the pre-Qin to the Southern and Northern Dynasties, which clearly points out that "those who are not careful with their subjects have lifelong regrets." In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the official compilation of the "YuanGui of the Book" set up a special "cautious secret" in the Zaifu section, which included 18 secret stories from the Western Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, and wrote a special article at the beginning to explain the importance of the secrecy of the courtiers. The "Integration of Ancient and Modern Books", edited during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, also set up a "prudent" course, which included relevant contents in ancient books such as "Subject Track".

Exemplary throughout the ages

　　Many of the officials of ancient China were strict with themselves in terms of secrecy, and there were examples of secrecy work throughout the ages. For example, in the middle of the Western Han Dynasty, Zhang Anshi "wrote a cardinal with prudence and thoughtfulness", participated in the resolution of major state events, and whenever there was a conclusion, he said that he was sick at home and rested, did not have contact with the outside world, and other ministers "did not know that he was discussing with him". Kong Guang, a minister in the late Western Han Dynasty, held secrets for the emperor in the imperial palace and never revealed the contents of his conversations with the emperor. Once, when his family gathered and chatted, they asked him what kind of tree was planted in front of the greenhouse hall of Changle Palace (where Kong Guang worked), and Kong patronized him left and right, but he never answered. The problem of Kong Guang's family is actually not a secret, but Kong Guang is not willing to reveal it at all, let alone outsiders or confidential matters. It can be seen that Kong Guang pays attention to confidentiality at all times and in all aspects, and does not leave half an opportunity for others to take advantage of.

　　During the Three Kingdoms period, every time Chen Qun, the chancellor of the State of Wei, played it, destroyed the draft and did not let others know about it, even if some people ridiculed him. Gu Yong of the State of Wu often went deep into the people, and when he found important problems, he returned to Beijing to secretly play The King of Wu, whether he adopted it or not, he did not leak out, so Sun Quan valued him very much. Xun Xun of the Western Jin Dynasty had long been in charge of secrets at the emperor's side, and although every major edict had been announced, it was not openly discussed, so that the outside world thought that he did not participate in decision-making at all.

　　Fang Xuanling, the famous minister of the Tang Dynasty, followed Li Shimin for decades and participated in almost all large and small decisions, including the change of XuanwuMen, but he was always cautious and cautious, "without catharsis". Dong Jin, who was the same period as Fang Xuanling, served as prime minister for 5 years and never told anyone about his conversation with Tang Taizong. The chancellor Ma Zhou, who was deeply respected by Emperor Taizong and his courtiers, personally burned all the manuscripts played before his death, and said with great indignation: "Guan Zhong and Yan Zi made their own manuscripts public, showing the faults of the king, and asked for the name of the queen. Yang Shidao, who succeeded Wei Zheng as a servant, claimed to have read the Book of Han when he was young, admired Kong Guang's afterglow of the greenhouse tree, and acted cautiously and carefully, and the history books commented that he "did not leak internal affairs, relatives and friends or asked about forbidden words, but more to him." During the Wu Zetian period, Lu Yuanfang, every time Wu Zetian appointed an official, he almost had to seek his opinion in advance, and Lu Yuanfang always "sealed it to advance, without revealing his private favor", and burned all the grass music before his death. He also had a box containing "secrets" that even his family was not allowed to see, and after his death his family learned that it contained all the edicts that the emperor had given him before and after.

　　Yan Shu, a famous official during the Zhenzong period of the Northern Song Dynasty, was good at writing lyrics and was loose and arrogant, but in secrecy, he "respected the beginning and cautiously ended". Late one night, Emperor Zhenzong of Song summoned Yan Shu into the palace to draft a confidential holy decree. After the drafting was completed, Yan Shu took the initiative to ask to spend a night in the Bachelor's College to avoid leaking wind and noise after leaving the palace. Song Zhenzong therefore appreciated Yan Shu even more. The manuscript played by Yan Shu was never revealed, until song Zhenzong died, and the posterity sorted out the Chinese pieces of the palace, only to find that Yan Shu's manuscript was eighty volumes, "in the forbidden of hiding, people can not see it." Sima Guang, who wrote the famous "Zizhi Tongjian", repeatedly told the emperor that he had established the crown prince early, and in order to protect the secret, not only did he play Chen through the secret performance every time, but also asked the emperor to "burn the ministers to play this music, and not to show it."

　　Xu Heng, a famous thinker of the Yuan Dynasty, was deeply trusted and valued by Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, and often discussed confidential state affairs together, but never revealed Kublai Khan's thoughts and thoughts. When Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was in charge, the imperial supervisor Du Andao was at the emperor's side for decades and knew almost all confidential decisions, but "sexual meticulousness was not leaked", zhu Yuanzhang was very relieved about him until his death. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Zeng Guofan, a scholar of the cabinet, paid special attention to the secrecy of documents such as the folding and the edict, and instructed his family to "collect these documents well and not to be scattered", and also Chen Played the Emperor, "Except for the fact that each member of the Cabinet is played separately by fuchen because of the case, the minister must have a secret guarantee."

Corresponding systems and accountability

　　"Loyal ministers do not show advice, and ministers should not leak things." In order to ensure that the close attendant officials were careful and confidential, some corresponding systems were also established in ancient China. For example, "Cao Cao Collection? The Election Decree stipulates: "The old law of the state, the selection of Shang Shulang, the year-end fifty, so that the writing is really grassy, and there are talents and prudence." "The old law is the law of the election of Shangshu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Book of the Later Han Dynasty? The Hundred Officials Chronicle said: "Than The Book of Shangshu, you are not allowed to enter and leave, and you are not allowed to enter or leave the guests." "Han Dynasty officials" and "wives do not go to the official house" almost became the common criterion of bureaucrats at all levels. In the Tang Dynasty, when selecting Zhongshushe people, priority was given to hiring "Jingmo Specialized And Sensitive People". After the middle of the Tang Dynasty, Hanlin scholars began to participate in confidentiality, and the imperial court stipulated that scholars were not allowed to interact with foreign ministers. The Song Dynasty established the lock-up system, which stipulated that Hanlin scholars should write edicts and documents in confidential places, completely cutting off external contact, thus achieving the effect of sealing off information. In the Wenyuan Pavilion, where the assistant ministers of the Cabinet of the Ming Dynasty worked, "foreign ministers cannot arrive without official affairs", so confidential and heavy matters are "no collectors". After the Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty ascended the throne, he vigorously promoted the secret music system, and the fold became an important means for the monarchs to discuss political affairs and make decisions, first, the range of people who knew the secret was greatly reduced, and second, so that the group of ministers could restrain each other and do things in a down-to-earth manner. When appointing Titang officials in the Qing Dynasty, it was required that they must be "honest and cautious." At the end of the Qing Dynasty, when the prime minister Yamen selected the secretaries, he only hired the children of commoners, and the children of high-ranking nobles were not recorded, so as to prevent leaking secrets to relatives and friends or even stealing secrets.

　　Successive criminal laws have generally punished close servant officials for leaking secrets. For example, during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, The Attendant Yansuke had a private discussion with the King of Huainan, and after the incident, he was sentenced to capital punishment of abandoning the city (referring to the punishment of executing prisoners in the crowded downtown and throwing their bodies on the street for public display). During the reign of emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, the great-grandson of the famous statesman Jia Yi, Jia Zhizhi of the Golden Horse Gate, and Chang'an ordered Yang Xing to "leak the provincial Chinese language", Jia was "abandoned", Yang "reduced the death penalty of the first class, and the tongs were chengdan" (referring to the ancient punishment of shaving people's hair and forcing them to build city walls or force them to build city walls or servitude). During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Wang Jue (王珪) "sat and leaked the forbidden Chinese language, and moved to Tongzhou to assassinate the history of the left". During the reign of Wu Zetian, the Qiuguan Shangshu Du Jingjian "sat and leaked the forbidden Chinese language, and became the governor of the prefecture". During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Zhang Tingjue, a waiter at the Yellow Gate, "sat and leaked forbidden Chinese language, and became the assassin of Qiuzhou". During the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang, Zuo Shi left Zhang Su "sitting and leaking forbidden Chinese language, and degrading Chen Cheng for more than ten years". The famous poet Yuan Shu, who was equally famous with Bai Juyi, accidentally lost his words when he was an advisor, and his career suffered a serious setback: "Four or five years ago, I made a collection of omissions, and the advice was not secretly known. Who officials were expelled by the command of the officials, and they were far away as prisoners and wives. Both the "Great Ming Law" and the "Great Qing Law" clearly stipulate: "Those who leak confidential and serious matters by a close attendant official shall be beheaded; other officials who have leaked something to a close attendant official shall be beheaded, and their wives and sons shall be exiled two thousand miles away." "During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the military chancellor Yu Minzhong and the eunuch Gao Yuncong leaked secrets, Gao Yun was deposed from being beheaded, Yu Minzhong was deposed, and he never used it again, and the great political future that was expected to rise to the next level came to an end.

(Reprinted from Confidential Work Magazine, No. 3, 2021)