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Introduction to “The Edict of Guilt”

The Edict of Guilt

“Guilty Edict” is an oral order or document for ancient emperors to introspect or review their own faults and faults when problems occurred in the court, the country suffered natural disasters, and the political power was in danger. It usually appears in three situations: one is the misplacement of the monarch and his ministers, the other is a disaster caused by natural disasters, and the third is when the political power is in crisis. The intention is self-blame, but the severity of the plot is different.

Detailed explanation

“Shuo Wen Jie Zi” explains the word “Zhao” in “Sin Ji Zhao” as: “Shou Ye, follow the words and call.” Zheng Xuan, a great Confucian in the Eastern Han Dynasty, commented on the “Zhao”, saying: “Zhao, Gao Ye”. Tell, tell, tell people. This person has ups and downs.

The book “Guanzi” records: When Duke Huan of Qi visited Guan Zhong who was ill, he asked Guan Zhong for his good advice on future political affairs: “Why will Father Zhong order the widow?” Duke Huan of Qi) is the emperor, meaning that he wants his ministers to “zhao” (tell) the emperor. Duke Huan of Qi did not regard “jun” as right, but put the word “zhao” in the equal position of the upper and lower monarchs and ministers.

However, since Qin Shihuang proclaimed that “mandates are ‘systems’ and orders are ‘edicts'”, the language power of “edicts” has become the emperor’s monopoly. “Guilt yourself” is the emperor’s “oral order” to blame and introspect himself. When used together with the word “zhao”, it becomes a kind of document to inform the world.

Just a few examples:

1. In the eighth year of Emperor Yongping of the Han Dynasty (65 AD), there was an eclipse in the winter of October. The imperial edict said: “… I will always think about Juejue, and I will give you one person. The group of ministers encourages people to practice their duties, and they are very outspoken.” So all the incumbents sealed their posts and spoke bluntly about their gains and losses. Emperor Lanzhang, who blamed himself deeply, issued an edict to all officials, saying: “What the group of bureaucrats say is my fault. People’s grievances cannot be justified, and officials cannot be restrained; but lightly use manpower to repair the palace. , going in and out without restraint, excessive joy and anger… Always look at the previous precepts, and be terrified.”

2. In March of the third year of Emperor Yongchu of Han’an (109 A.D.), the capital suffered a great famine, and the people ate each other. Renchen, Gongqing, thank you. The imperial edict said: “I am young and flattering Hongye. I can’t spread the weather, but feel against Yin and Yang, so that the people will starve and eat each other. I will mourn forever, as if attached to the deep water. The fault is that I can’t help.”

3. In the seventh year of Yuanhe (812 A.D.), Tang Xianzong believed the false report of the temple official Yushi about the flood and drought in Huaihe and Zhejiang, and expressed doubts about the real report of the disaster by the local officials. As soon as Prime Minister Li Jiang pointed out this matter, he immediately admitted his mistake: “The country is based on people, and we should rescue them urgently when we hear of a disaster. How can we still be suspicious! I don’t think about it if I am fit, and I lose my ears.”

4. In the fourth year of Jiaxi (AD 1240), Emperor Lizong of the Song Dynasty issued a “Zuiji Edict” on Gengchen, the first month of the spring, saying: “My morals are not the same, and I can’t go up to the three lights, but I will live in groups.

The sum of the crimes and edicts, the variation is still frequent, the evidence of blame is bright, and the night is only fear, not Ningkang. It was Xinwei in the first month, and a meteor was seen in the camp room. The Taishi Zhanjue named it Comet, which one was the greatest disaster. The way of heaven is not far away, and the bandits are condemned for their falsehood. If all surnames have had faults, it is only for one person.

Now I am sore and blame myself, how can I slander and flatter me while my reputation is not far away? Will virtuous people get mixed up if the actions are not fair? Rewards and punishments are inappropriate, but truth and falsehood are indistinguishable? Suppressing animal husbandry and guarding evil, but prisons are more prosperous? Do you want people to be relaxed and thugs want nothing? Daoist looking at each other and wandering without a return? There are many polices in the four directions, but I don’t realize it, and the county and Li are suffering, but I don’t know it. It’s very clear to be relegated to see God. Avoid the main hall and reduce the regular meals to show the meaning of practicing sideways. ”

In the past, there was a Sizuo who wanted to benefit the people and endowed him with thirty aids. Now please send Tian Luntai again… It is because the Second Division was defeated (the Second Division’s general Li Guangli’s expedition to Dawan suffered a disastrous defeat), the soldiers died and were scattered, and the grief is always in my heart. Now I invite Yuantian Luntai to set up pavilions and tunnels, which is disturbing the world, not for the sake of benefiting the people. I can’t bear to hear about it today…

The current task is to prohibit harshness, stop unauthorized taxation, support the farmers, and revise the horse restoration order (so that the people will be exempted from corvee if they raise horses), so as to make up for the vacancy, not lack of military equipment.

6. Wanggong factory explosion: It was at 9:00 a.m. on the day after the Dragon Boat Festival on May 30, 1626 (the sixth day of May in the sixth year of Tianqi in the Ming Dynasty), a bizarre explosion occurred in the area near the gunpowder warehouse of Wanggong factory in the southwest corner of Beijing. . The radius of the explosion was about 750 meters and the area reached 2.25 square kilometers. A total of about ten thousand casualties were caused.

After the incident, the clothes of the wounded and corpses near the explosion range were swept away, leaving them naked and naked, which added a layer of mystery to the catastrophe. The emperor Ming Xizong (Zhu Youxiao) had to issue a “Sin Has Been Edict”, thinking that his actions had offended the heavens.