Unexpectedly, the news of this "bran gate" soon spread all over Beijing. Although it is not a big deal, it is illegally obtained and has a bad influence. Emperor Taizong was very angry when he learned that, and immediately summoned Chen Wanfu. Chen Wanfu was weak in his heart and waited nervously for Taizong's mercy. But instead of punishing him, Emperor Taizong gave him a few pieces of stone chaff and ordered him to carry them home in public. The courtiers immediately moved bags of wheat bran and piled them in front of Chen Wanfu. Full Chao Wu Wen laughed privately, pointing and poking. Chen Wanfu was ashamed and regretful, but he had to give thanks, bow his head and walk back and forth with wheat bran under the eyes of the public.
Jason Wu, a historian of the Tang Dynasty, said in Zhenguan Dignitary: "Taizong gave bran to make him proud and ashamed." It turns out that Li Shimin's "giving bran" is to make insatiable people "know shame": being an official is not cheap, and taking a little extra things is despised by people! On the surface, Emperor Taizong's "reward" was very mild, which was actually worse than the punishment of cutting meat with a knife.
In fact, it was not a whim that Emperor Taizong adopted this method of "governing the mind" to govern officials. A similar incident happened as early as the first year of Zhenguan. Grandson Shunde (the uncle of the Grandson Queen), when he was in charge of "supervising slaves", found several slaves stealing treasures from the palace. He should have beheaded these thieves according to law, but he accepted bribes from these criminals-dozens of silks and satins, and then concealed it. After the incident, Emperor Taizong summoned his eldest son Sun Shunde and asked, "As far as identity is concerned, you are a consort; In terms of credit, you are a founding father. You have a high status and reputation. It can be said that wealth is at home. Why don't you keep your integrity, ignore your reputation and make a scandal of corruption and bribery? " After that, I ordered someone to bring a batch of silks and satins and carry them on his back one by one, saying, "This is my reward for you. Take them all home! "
Sun Shunde, the eldest son, had already lost face, and suddenly he was flushed with shame, deeply regretting that he should not lose the festival because of his greed for small profits. It was with "giving silk" that Emperor Taizong realized his grandson Shunde's remorse. At that time, a young lady in Dali Temple didn't understand and asked Taizong, "Shunde is guilty of taking bribes and bending the law. How can you give him silk? " Taizong replied: "Humanity is better than punishment; It's no use killing an animal if you don't know shame! " It means to "reward" Sun Shunde, the eldest son, with some silks to make a fool of himself in public. This kind of education is far better than punishment. People are spiritual, so we should know the honor and disgrace, and know the shame. If he is not ashamed, unrepentant and ashamed, isn't that an animal? It's no use killing him.
Obviously, when dealing with the "bribery gate" and "wheat bran gate", the focus of Tang Taizong's attention is not punishment, but moral education, shame education for criminals and spiritual redemption. It is unnecessary and impossible for people today to imitate Tang Taizong's dramatic satire on the insatiable greed of corrupt officials. However, his spirit of "ruling by virtue" of "teaching people to be ashamed" can still keep pace with today's "rule by law".
In today's materialistic society, it is especially necessary to strengthen the education of "knowing honor and shame". Chen Yi said in a poem: "How can people be ashamed of the name of grass?" Only when you know the glory can you do something, and when you know the shame, you won't mess around. Only in this way can we truly resist corruption and change and cultivate integrity.