The Han elite in the Yuan Dynasty

 

The Han elite in the Yuan Dynasty

 

In political philosophy and sociology, an elite refers to a small group with strong social power. Compared with other people in society, members of an elite group have better qualities, abilities, wealth or privileges. In traditional societies, nobles and professionals are regarded as an elite. The power elite has three branches: political leadership, military, and business. Members of the power elite recognize each other's high status in society. Usually they accept each other, understand each other, and tend to work and think together.

So, what were the characteristics of the elite during the Yuan Dynasty?

When Agudengba chatted with Azhuo and Chu Sanxing about these things, Agudengba said: The elite class in the Yuan Dynasty seemed a bit unique.

Agudemba explained:

In ancient China, there were great differences within the so-called "scholars" group. There were scholars who came from official families, and this group was very large. There are also scholars who came from the royal family, such as Zhao Mengfu. There are also scholars who are ordinary people, and this group is also very large. There are also scholars from merchant families, such as Li Bai. Scholars from different walks of life have different fates due to their own conditions, including social resources, family wealth, and historical background.

In the society of the Yuan Dynasty, generally speaking, the promotion path for most scholars became more difficult because there was no consistent imperial examination system. However, just like before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, before the birth of the imperial examination system, there were many ways to advance. For example, recommendation, etc., multiple channels have always existed in parallel in ancient Chinese traditional society.

After concluding his conquests of central and southern China in the 1370s, Kublai Khan took some practical steps to recognize the brilliance of the Chinese political system in governing the Han people, which he had relied on for one-sided Mongol military machinery. approach, transforming into a fully cooperative partnership with the civil-bureaucratic government.

Kublai Khan also protected and listened to scholars and officials from the Han Chinese and Sinicized Asian interiors.

Wenzong, who was assigned to manage the Han country for the benefit of the monarch, became the first Han elite after Kublai Khan became emperor. He served as the official secretary of Jing'eting in the academic institution where Sinology and art had been established in the capital. He was A leader who advocated the Han approach to governing the country.

For some Han elites during the Yuan Dynasty, the long-respected Han way of life would eventually overcome the destructive influence of foreign conquerors. However, this desire is not easy to realize.

In 1271, Kublai Khan ordered famous scholars and officials to design a collection of etiquette to guide the behavior of superiors and subordinates in the imperial court, but according to the Yuan History, he still preserved Mongol customs and customs for the affairs of the royal family and Mongol nobles. etiquette. He used the method of recommendation to step up the recruitment of Han scholars to serve as officials. But he flatly rejected the most important suggestion of Han advisers, which was not to hold imperial examinations to recruit officials.

Agudemba continued:

Most Chinese people are not unfamiliar with the titles of ancient emperors such as Taizu and Taizong, but not many people know the meaning of these titles. In fact, these imperial titles have an exclusive name - temple number. The so-called "temple name" refers to the name of the emperor who was honored by his descendants after his death when he was enshrined in the Taimiao Temple to show his intention to forever establish a temple for worship. The temple name is not chosen randomly, but in accordance with the provisions of feudal etiquette. The temple name consists of two characters, which represents the evaluation of the emperor's merits and demerits during his lifetime.

"Renzong" means generosity and kindness. There are 6 emperors with the temple title of Renzong in Chinese history. If you exclude Li Renxiao, Renzong of Western Xia Dynasty, and Yelu Yili of Western Liao Dynasty, who were regional emperors, there are 4 emperors. They are: Song Renzong Zhao Zhen, Yuan Renzong Aiyu Li Bali Bada, Ming Renzong Zhu Gaochi, Qing Renzong Aixinjueluo Yongyan.

Song Renzong was the first Emperor Renzong in history. During his reign, the economy, culture, science and technology of the Northern Song Dynasty reached unprecedented heights, and later generations called his reign the "Renzong Dynasty". It is particularly worth mentioning that Renzong was full of talents. Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi, Su Xun, Su Che, Bao Zheng, Wang Anshi, Zeng Gong, Di Qing, Bi Sheng and other well-known historical figures were all active during the reign of Song Renzong. Song Renzong had virtues such as being good at accepting advice, being diligent and self-disciplined, and practicing benevolent government, but he also had shortcomings such as lack of courage and hesitation in making major decisions. Song Renzong's personal ability was not strong, so although the Northern Song Dynasty achieved certain achievements during his reign, it did not solve many hidden dangers.

Yuan Renzong Aiyu Libalibada was the fourth emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. He had been familiar with Confucian classics since he was a child and had a profound cultural accomplishment. Renzong of the Yuan Dynasty pursued Confucianism in governing the country. During his reign, he vigorously carried out reforms, cut redundant personnel, and rectified the political agenda. What is particularly worth mentioning is that he restored the long-interrupted imperial examination system.

However, Yuan Renzong was very unkind in the matter of succession to the throne. It turned out that his throne was passed down to him by his brother Yuan Wuzong, and it was agreed that "brothers succeed each other, and uncles and nephews succeed each other." According to this agreement, Yuan Renzong should pass the throne to Yuan Wuzong's son after his death, but he violated the agreement and passed it to his own son. This move not only violated morality and was unworthy of the title of Renzong, but also caused political chaos and court struggles in the Yuan Dynasty for twenty years.

After Yuan Yingzong's death, Yuan Renzong's line became extinct. Although Yuan Shunzong's line still had two sons of Wu Zong, Jin Wang's grandson Tiemu'er, as the great-grandson of the eldest son of Yuan Shizu, was the most qualified to inherit the throne. Yesun Temu'er was located in Longju River in Mobei (today's Kerulun River in Mongolia). He was called Emperor Taiding and issued an edict on his accession to the throne. This is the only imperial edict written in vernacular in the history of the Yuan Dynasty and even China. According to the regulations of the Yuan Dynasty, imperial edicts were first drafted in classical Chinese by civil servants, and then translated into Mongolian and promulgated throughout the world. However, Sun Tiemu'er's imperial edict was purely in vernacular. , and it is a direct "hard translation" from Mongolian. It can be seen that there were no Han officials or people who were proficient in Chinese culture around him when he came to the throne.

However, during the reign of Emperor Taiding, he continued to promote Han law, worship Buddhism, build Buddhist temples extensively, built 216 reliefs along the coast, and received Buddhist ordination himself.

After Emperor Taiding came to the throne, he continued to maintain the system of four sacrifices a year. However, he refused to go to the Ancestral Temple to worship in person like Yuan Yingzong did, wearing a crown robe, and instead sent someone to take photos of the sacrifices.

The Hui people who were in power at that time attempted to abolish the imperial examination, but Emperor Taiding vetoed it. Of course, his most important policy of respecting Confucianism was the establishment of the Sutra Feast System.

As a system for explaining Confucian classics and the ways of the emperor to the emperor, Jingyan has been used by the Han dynasty. However, after the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, a formal imperial Jingyan system was not established for a long time. In February of the first year of Taiding (1324), Emperor Taiding adopted the suggestion of Zhao Jian, Zuocheng of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, and opened a sutra banquet. The Sutra banquet of the Taiding Dynasty was "one lecture every three days". In front of Emperor Taiding were the "Emperor Fan", "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", "Da Da Xian Yi", "Zhenguan Zheng Yao" and "Zhenguan Zheng Yao", which had been translated into Mongolian. "The Holy Instructions of the Patriarch" and other books, and listened to the explanations of Confucian officials. Those who lectured for Emperor Taiding included Wang Jie, Zhao Jian, Wu Cheng, Yu Ji, Cao Yuanyong, Deng Wenyuan, Zhang Qiyan, Hudulu Du'ermi, Aluwei and others. They could be said to be "extremely selected for the moment".

Emperor Taiding's inauguration of the Sutra Banquet indeed played a role in winning over the Han people and the Southerners. Han Confucians cheered when they heard the news, and it became a grand event. They believed that "this trip to the classics is truly a message from true Confucianism" and wrote poems to praise " The sacred heart is enlightened, and the scriptures are opened. The ministers take charge of their duties, and the Confucian scholars advance gracefully. They preach the Tao of Chen, Yao, and Shun, and the common people spread the emperor's style. Respect the emperor's learning, and the succession will last for thousands of years."

The officials of the Jingyan Festival also spared no effort to instill Confucianism into Emperor Taiding. Zhang Gui said at the Jingyan Banquet that he "sincerely and sincerely expounds all principles and principles without touching on subtleties, tactics, or tricks." Wu Cheng also retained his words in the Jingyan Banquet. At the banquet, the vernacular speech scripts of "Emperor Fan" and "Zizhi Tongjian" were explained to Emperor Taiding. Zhang Yanghao was called to serve as the official of Jingyan, but he could not take up the post due to illness. He still wrote five chapters of "Jingyan Yuzhi" dedicated to Emperor Taiding.

The reason why the Han Confucian elites were so excited and attached great importance to it was because they regarded the Jingyan as an important signal that the Yuan emperors had become sinicized and that they could rise to the core of the political power. ​

However, the Han ministers during the Taiding period were demoted from the benevolence level to a lower status. Zhang Gui, the political minister of Pingzhang in Zhongshu Province, was the only high-ranking official left from the previous dynasty and the only Han Chinese who could play an important role in the new court. His influence was apparently limited, as his advice was often not acted upon. Other Han Chinese ministers, such as Yang Tingyu, Xu Shijing, Shi Weiliang and Wang Shixi, did not have high official positions.

Emperor Taiding only still showed full respect to Han ministers on the surface. The Confucian elite of the Han Dynasty really overestimated the role of the Sutra Feast. Emperor Taiding opened the Sutra Feast just for the political purpose of winning over the Han people and pretending to respect Confucianism. It could not achieve the effect that the Confucian scholars expected of "making the rulers of Yao and Shun not ashamed".

Emperor Wenzong of the Yuan Dynasty, Bol Jijin Tutemur, was the eighth emperor of the Yuan Dynasty and the twelfth Great Khan of the Mongolian Empire. When Yuan Wenzong ascended the throne, it aroused greater hopes among the Han elites.

Wenzong's Han cultural accomplishment exceeded that of all Yuan emperors before him. His calligraphy is "extraordinary in his writing, and he has the style of the stele in the Jin Temple of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and has become a master of calligraphy." He can also paint, and the sketch of "Long Live Mountain Painting" is "unmatched by his craftsmanship, management, and style, even though he has accumulated a lot of knowledge and expertise." He once lived in Jiangnan, Hainan and Jinghu, and he should have a good understanding of the people's sentiments at that time. He had contacts with famous Han literati and artists, and his temple name was Wenzong. Therefore, as a Mongolian emperor, he seemed to be very well-educated in Chinese, and he was fully worthy of the title.

The coup that brought Wenzong to power represented the victory of the "Confucian" faction in Mongolian politics; this faction emphasized that the monarch's interests lay in governing the Han country. Wenzong's first act as emperor was to establish a new academic institute of Sinology and art in the capital. The institution serves as the official office of the inner court and is named Kuizhang Pavilion. At the same time, there were several high-status nobles in the court, such as Mazartai. His son Tuotuo was the leader of a faction that advocated the Han way of governing the country during the last monarch period of the Yuan Dynasty. Mazartai actively interacted with upper-class Han scholars, hired them as teachers, and sponsored Chinese knowledge in the court. By the 14th century, many privileged Central and West Asians (Semu people) had become learned and cultured members of the Han cultural elite, demonstrating the ability of the Han people to assimilate foreigners with their various values.

At this time, that is, in the decades from the 14th century to the 14th century, many outstanding classical scholars and literati from the highly developed heartland of central China came to serve the Yuan court, most of whom were recommended. Some were appointed through direct appointment, but some were appointed through the newly opened imperial examination. On the whole, young people continued to study classical knowledge in preparation for a career as a native official, not believing that the great norms of their civilization would not once again gain traction. In the first half of the fourteenth century, private academies flourished; through them the elite assumed greater responsibility for the maintenance of this education. Many important regional and local academic centers emerged: Jinhua in northern Zhejiang emphasized the study of classics and their application, producing scholars eager to show their talents in government.

In the last few decades of the Yuan Dynasty's rule, many well-known figures trained by this school went to the early Ming court to serve with excellent results, and influenced the academic and political affairs of the early Ming Dynasty. This discussion of elite attitudes and activities is relevant because China's elites generally accepted the legitimacy of Mongol rule and therefore sought to maintain traditional forms of participation in government. They never achieved full acceptance among the Mongol feudal lords.

In fact, due to the limitations of the political and economic environment, Emperor Wenzong had no choice but to concentrate on pursuing the superficial effects of revitalizing the rule of law during his four years in court. By establishing the Kuizhangge Academy and compiling the "Classic of Classics", he surrounded himself with almost all the famous Confucianists at that time, and only used false worship of Confucianism to win over the hearts and minds of the Han people.

Wenzong only ruled for four years, and the effect of his rule was not good. Many disappointing signs of administrative failure, attributed to a failure to fully adopt traditional methods and values, were all too obvious.

However, the Confucian demand for a fuller adoption of tradition, public responsibility, and constructive service remained strong in the minds of many elites, although many were rejected and retired into independent careers. Devoted only to various personal pursuits such as domestic and local matters. They became increasingly passive in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty. Because they could not enjoy high positions and generous salaries in state affairs, many elites became poor, which forced them to change their jobs and become servants, teachers, professional writers, monks, businessmen, etc. This created an abnormal relationship between the intellectual class and society as a whole.

So on the whole, the Yuan Han elites did not engage in subversive activities, express dissent, or eagerly join in open rebellion against the suffering regime. They accepted the legitimacy of the Yuan Dynasty and only expected it to improve. Even when they encountered inevitable mistakes by the government, they were still eager to maintain the orderly status quo in their hometown. The Han elites shamefully lack national spirit. What is even more shameful is that after the Mongols were expelled, some Han elites wrote articles and sang praises of their early years as collaborators or subjects of the Yuan Dynasty. .

Agudengba sang a "Self-deprecating Song":

 

The wind, clouds, moon and dew, the beauty and beauty,

The cultural elite loves to sing about the wind and the moon;

Relying on talent and learning makes you arrogant and arrogant.

I am the only one who looks down on others.

 

Cold words and ridicule, neither salty nor light,

Playing with the moon and mocking the wind, but poor in thought,

Harsh invectives serve as a source of ridicule,

In fact, they are all frustrated in officialdom.

 

It's strange if it's rare, it's not strange if it's common,

It is common for literati to look down on each other.

Flattery to those above and talk nonsense to those below,

Self-proclaimed elite and social backbone.

 

 

Fighting in close combat, escaping from battle,

When a scholar encounters a soldier, he throws away his helmet and armor.

It is common for people to kneel down and beg for mercy;

Most stinky intellectuals are slaves.

 

The elite governs the country on paper,

But at the critical moment, he retreated and avoided,

Sell your soul when fame and fortune entangle you,

Feeling numb and demented when helpless.