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Chapter 370: The Poor Boy's Counterattack

In his view, the level of morality does not lie in superficiality, but in whether it can take into account the interests of the majority. If an act can bring benefits to everyone, it is called morality. Many times we hate certain moral behaviors because they only focus on superficiality, are pretentious, and form is more important than content. However, Sima Qian said that Emperor Yao would not harm the people of the world for the benefit of one person.

This shows that Emperor Yao really cared about the interests of all people, that is, the interests of the entire world. He gave up the throne in order to select the most suitable successor.

It was because he valued the world that he was very cautious in choosing his successor and rejected those who had no moral integrity many times. He understood that who to choose as emperor was not only his own business, but also related to the fate of the people of the world.

[The story of a poor boy who fought back and became an emperor] Historical trivia and historical figures

How can he rise from a poor boy to the throne of the emperor? His father wants to kill him, his brother wants to take his wife away, and his stepmother makes things difficult for him. His home, which should have been a safe haven, has become a den of danger.

Faced with such a difficult start, should he choose to swallow his anger and let others bully him, or fight back and solve the problem thoroughly? However, his approach was different.

Perhaps it is this kind of choice that made a great emperor. In this video, we will talk about the last emperor among the Wu Emperors - Shun.

Sima Qian mentioned in the "Records of the Grand Historian" that Shun was a descendant of the Yellow Emperor. According to the family tree, Shun was the 80th generation grandson of the Yellow Emperor. Friends who often read the "Records of the Grand Historian" may have discovered that Sima Qian always emphasized the family tree when describing characters.

This is related to the naming custom at that time. Because at that time, people did not share a common surname between father and son, unlike in later generations when most sons took their father's surname, it was difficult to identify the family they belonged to by just the name. Therefore, Sima Qian recorded the family tree of individuals in detail to help readers understand the origins of the characters.

As for why the people at that time did not have their father's surname, this is a more complicated historical issue. In short, people at that time mainly used their mother's surname to identify blood relations in order to avoid inbreeding.

The surname represents identity and status, and is usually passed down from the father or tribal leader. Some people may also get a new surname due to fiefdom, grant, or change of country name.

Although Shun and the first three emperors were all descendants of Huangdi, due to the long time, by the time of Shun's time, his family had already declined and he was just an ordinary citizen. Therefore, the blood relationship between Shun and Yao and Yu was quite distant, and they could barely be considered distant relatives.

Of course, every successful person has an extraordinary childhood experience. However, Shun's growth process was extremely difficult, which can be called a "hell start".

According to the "Records of the Grand Historian", Shun's father Gusou, stepmother and brother Xiang all wanted to kill him. How could it be so chaotic that his parents and brothers wanted to kill him? Sima Qian explained that Shun's father Gusou was ignorant, and his stepmother died young and then remarried and gave birth to his brother Xiang. These three people hated Shun and always wanted to kill him.

It can be said that Shun's start was hell mode. But the cruelty of reality did not knock him down, but instead tempered his perseverance and noble virtues.

He always abided by filial piety, treated his brothers like brothers, and showed the demeanor of an elder brother. Shun was filial to his parents and cared deeply for his younger brother. He was very respectful every day and never slacked off.

If his family wanted to kill him, Shun would hide and not let them succeed. If it was just a minor fight, he would tolerate it; but if his family needed his help, he would immediately step forward.

Shun's good deeds did not happen overnight, but he persisted and eventually became known to others. As time went by, Shun's kindness and tenacity gradually spread and won everyone's praise. People in all the villages knew that this young man was very good.

In real life, Shun's virtue is not to be at the mercy of others, he is not ignorant, but has his own ideas, not only follows social morality, but also sticks to himself. So, where did such an excellent person come from?

According to Sima Qian's "Records of the Grand Historian", Shun lived in Jizhou, one of the ancient nine states, which is now the area of ​​Shanxi and Hebei. He worked in many industries, such as farmer, fisherman, potter, carpenter, and even businessman. Although he changed jobs frequently, he performed well in each one and showed a strong learning ability.

More importantly, he is good at inspiring others with his own excellent character and making progress together.

According to the Records of the Grand Historian, when Shun was farming in Lishan, the people of Lishan all gave way to the land; when he was fishing in Lei Ze, the people above him all gave way to the land; when he was making pottery by the river, the people by the river were not poor. When Shun was farming in Lishan, the local villagers all gave way to the fertile land; when he was fishing in Lei Ze, the neighbors gave way to each other and caught the best fish; when he was making pottery by the river, everyone was honest and trustworthy and would not make inferior products. It can be seen that Shun changed the customs of the entire region and improved the level of the industry with his personal strength.

Of course, this is not easy. Have you ever met such people in your life? They are cheerful and optimistic, always smiling, and they are the kind of carefree optimists.

In fact, they are very intelligent and have high emotional intelligence. They lend a hand when we are in trouble and comfort us when we are down.

They have a huge influence on the team, but never use power to oppress others, but attract you with personal charm. In fact, Shun is such a charming person. The Book of Songs further demonstrates his talent and charm with another vivid example: "In one year, the place where he lived became a village, in two years, it became a town, and in three years, it became a city."

No matter where he was, as long as Shun stayed for one year, he could attract people to live together and form a village; if he stayed for two years, he could build a small town; if he stayed for three years, he could build a metropolis. This shows that Shun's talent and ability are truly unparalleled.

This is connected to the story we told earlier. In order to observe Shun, Emperor Yao married his two daughters to him and sent his nine sons to live with him to observe his words and deeds. In addition, Yao also gave Shun many valuables such as clothes, cattle, sheep, and granaries. However, these valuables aroused the jealousy of Shun's family, who tried to murder Shun and seize his property.

The first to attack was Shun's father Gusou. He ordered Shun to repair the roof of the granary, and after Shun climbed to the roof, he set a fire, intending to kill Shun. However, Shun relied on his rich escape skills and used the bamboo hat in his hand as a parachute to land safely from the roof. However, Gusou was not willing to fail, so he set up another trap and ordered Shun to dig a well.

When Shun went deep into the ground, Gusou and his brother Xiang took the opportunity to pour mud into the well, trying to suffocate Shun to death. However, Shun had anticipated the danger and dug a passage at the bottom of the well in advance, so he escaped successfully.

Gusou and Xiang thought Shun was dead, so they celebrated their victory triumphantly and began to distribute Shun's property: the grain, cattle and sheep went to his parents, and the two sisters-in-law and property went to Xiang.

However, Shun returned safely again. Shun's acting skills exploded. He said with great sorrow that he was worried that his brother Shun did not expose Xiang's hypocrisy, but expressed gratitude instead.

If it were you, how would you respond after experiencing two deliberate murders? Would you fight back or cut off all ties? Shun chose to be more respectful to his father and brother. Shun's noble character was recognized.

Emperor Yao appointed Shun to an official position and began to observe him. The Records of the Grand Historian records: "So Shun created the Great Music to unite the gods and change the customs of Yu and Xia." Shun lived up to expectations, educated the people, took charge of all officials, and completed his tasks brilliantly, winning the trust of Emperor Yao. In fact, although Shun's tolerance and kindness were rewarded, he did not treat his family well for the sake of seeking rewards.

Instead, he was rewarded by being kind to his family. If he had deliberately shown his noble character just for fame, he would probably not have succeeded. Although he may have other ideas in his mind, we can understand that a person's behavior often reflects his inner world, and what truly reflects his moral level is what he does, not what he says.

After going through many tests by Yao, Shun finally obtained the position of acting emperor.

During this period, he observed the sun, moon and stars, further revised the legislation, held various sacrificial activities to worship the gods of heaven and earth, and established the relationship strategy between the central government and local princes. First, he took back the auspicious jades from the princes, and then summoned the princes and officials on an auspicious day to redistribute the auspicious jades.

This seemingly meaningless move actually contained deep meaning. Taking it back and then issuing it again meant that the emperor had absolute power: "I can give it to you, or I can take it back." The status of the princes was entirely determined by the emperor, thus strengthening the central power.

The improvement of the system marked the gradual maturity and stability of the civilization and morality of ancient society. After dealing with the affairs in the east, Shun rushed to the south, north and west without stopping, and began his tour of inspection.

In May, he patrolled the south, in August, he patrolled the west, and in November, he patrolled the north. All of them were like the first time he returned to the ancestral temple, and he comforted the four directions with a special cow ceremony. After the patrol, Shun returned to the capital, comforted his ancestors in the imperial temple, and then inspected the world. However, is patrolling alone enough to strengthen the rule of the princes and consolidate the central power? The answer is obviously no.

This patrol was just a model set by the emperor for the princes. The princes still had to perform their duties and come to the capital every year to pay homage to the emperor and express their loyalty.

The emperor taught the way of governing the country, set an example himself, reviewed the achievements of various places, praised those who fulfilled their duties, and used special clothes and carriages to highlight the best among them. This was the system of "five-year-old inspection and four-year-old reign" established by Shun.

In addition to governing the princes, Shun also made remarkable achievements in other areas. He divided the country into 12 states, dredged rivers, selected talents, and reused 16 outstanding people who lived in seclusion among the people, namely the "Eight Yuans and Eight Kais". At the same time, he revised the law, prohibited overly harsh punishments, and advocated alternatives to punishment such as redemption with money or exile.

After acting as the emperor for eight years, Shun chose to step down and give up the throne to Danzhu, the son of Emperor Yao. However, the truth was not that simple. After giving up the throne, Shun did not succeed as promised. He gave the throne to Danzhu and lived south of the Nanhe River. Why would he give up the throne that was about to be in his hands?

First, this was a trade-off: as the son of Emperor Yao, Danzhu's legitimacy to the throne was more obvious than Shun's.

If Shun directly let Danzhu succeed to the throne, it might cause dissatisfaction, so Shun adopted a concession strategy and temporarily retired to observe the situation. If Danzhu could win the recognition of the world, Shun could also follow the trend, which was also a consideration for his own reputation.

After that, the princes who came to pay homage did not go to Danzhu, but to Shun; those who sang praises to him did not sing praises to Danzhu, but to Shun. Don't you think this is a bit strange? Everyone came to Shun for business, not Danzhu, the nominal emperor.

However, although Danzhu was the emperor in name, he did not win the hearts of the people. Soon after, Shun saw that the situation in the world had been settled, so he returned to the capital and officially ascended the throne, becoming Emperor Shun.

According to historical records, Emperor Shun remained strict and self-disciplined after he ascended the throne, and was committed to benefiting the people. He recruited talents and improved the official system so that everyone could give full play to their strengths. One day, he asked his ministers: "Who can work hard, follow the will of heaven, and strengthen the great cause of the country?"

The loyal ministers said in unison: "Bo Yu is the most suitable person to be Sikong." "Records of the Grand Historian" records that Shun said to Dayu: "You have leveled the water and soil, and you are very helpful in this regard." So Shun appointed Dayu as Sikong, in charge of all civil engineering and water conservancy power in the world.

During this period of historical records, Shun did not act arbitrarily, but instead consulted his ministers for their opinions first.

There may be two reasons for doing this: first, Shun showed a humble attitude, which inspired everyone to actively offer suggestions, thereby enhancing the vitality of court affairs; second, Shun had just ascended the throne and his position was not yet stable, so he needed to carefully consider the opinions of court officials when selecting talents.

Nevertheless, judging from the governance results of "all the virtues in the world come from Shun", he did not blindly follow the advice of others, but thought everything out in his mind and then sought everyone's opinions.

In this way, he determined the candidates for various official positions: Qi was responsible for farming and promoting grain education; Gao Yao was in charge of criminal law; Chui was in charge of craftsmen; Boyi was in charge of regulating mountains, rivers and lakes; Boyi was in charge of sacrifices; Kui was in charge of music; and Long was in charge of admonition and selection. In this way, Emperor Shun had formed a cabinet of initial size.

During his tenure, Shun implemented a three-year performance appraisal system, promoting and demoting officials according to their performance. As a result, industry was highly valued, talents flourished, and all kinds of industries prospered. If you look closely, you will find that Shun's cabinet lineup is very strong: the ancestors of Xia, Shang, and Zhou are among them.

Dayu dredged nine mountains, opened nine lakes, opened nine rivers, and settled nine states, finally solving the flood problem that his father Gun had failed to solve for nine years. The "Records of the Five Emperors: Shun" also specifically mentioned: "Straight and gentle, tolerant and cautious, firm but not cruel, simple but not arrogant." Shun taught people: music inspires children, teaches them to be strict with themselves and tolerant to others; be upright, not tyrannical, keep simple, and be humble.

He believed that poetry was an expression of inner feelings, and songs were chanted by extending syllables. The pitch of the music should match the content of the song, and standard melodies should be used to make the music harmonious.

The sounds of the eight instruments are coordinated and do not interfere with each other, so that people can achieve the state of unity with God through music.