On Liang Ming is a set of political essays written by Gong Zizhen from 18 13 to 18 14 (18-19 years of Jiaqing), with four articles in total. He was only about 23 years old at that time. This article is the second one.
18 13, Tianjin peasant uprising broke out in Hebei, Henan and Shandong, which dealt a heavy blow to the Qing dynasty. Once an uprising attacked the palace, Emperor Jiaqing (Yó ng Y m 4N) was very scared. At the same time, he issued "imperial edicts" one after another, cursing officials for being "shameless" and putting the responsibility for the crisis on them.
On the one hand, it stepped up the implementation of a set of "skills of governing the people" such as "filial piety, loyalty, courtesy, honesty and shame" in an attempt to maintain its crumbling rule. Faced with the fierce struggle between the peasant class and the landlord class, Gong Zizhen felt that the landlord class could no longer rule according to the old one and must be reformed.
Therefore, from the standpoint of the reformists of the landlord class, he wrote On Liang Ming in response to the imperial edict, clamoring for reform and innovation, exposing the decay of feudal bureaucracy from the aspects of the relationship between monarch and minister and the employment policy, and emphatically pointing out that the root of corruption lies in the monarchy's totalitarianism and "not thinking about reform".
The Original Text and Translation of Gong Zizhen s On Liang Ming;
gong zizhen
Original text:
Everyone knows that there is shame, and that country will always be shameless. Shameless is a great shame for the country. Looking back at the modern scholars, they began to enter the new year from the day they played, but unfortunately the shame has existed. The longer officials benefit, the angrier they get. The more you admire, the more solid your flattery will be.
The closer to the land, the more attractive it is. As for being three officials and six officials, it is not noble, but it is the wind in the ancient master's own place, but bandits have never seen, heard or dreamed of it. The minister is full and sweeps the floor for a long time. Not by him, because there is nothing to be angry with the court.
Why are you angry? Say: put the shame of teaching first. Jia Yi remonstrated with Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, saying, "When you meet a minister, if you meet a dog or a horse, you must take care of yourself. In case of being an official, he will take care of himself. " It is said that if the sun, the moon and the stars shine, ancient and modern sages are alarmist, sincere.
A farmer and worker, a son with a burden on his shoulders, is shameless, which is only humiliating to him; Shame on family members with money and shame; Shameless, that's humiliating the country; Dr. Qing is shameless and dishonors the country. From being a scholar in Shu Ren, from a scholar to a small official to a big official, you will humiliate your family from the beginning and then extend to your country.
Peeping at today's dignitaries, knowing horses and chariots, clothes and words is just a matter of fact, and this is not what I know. Honest officials only know calligraphy and poetry in their spare time, which is beside the point. Your majesty's words, exploring feelings and thinking festivals, smiling and enjoying leisure, are full of joy and praise his protege wife. If you are young, you will rush out of the ground. Don't ask your husband to be looked after. Is his heart really awesome?
What should the minister do? Then shamefully said: this is the only way for our generation. As far as his intentions are concerned, those who serve horses and chariots and give gifts to others are not very knowledgeable. He said: "I will be on duty in CCBA sooner or later, and I am already tired." . Those who write books and poems don't know benevolence and righteousness after reading a little, thinking that one day in their own place will be a glorious day.
His descendants were born in the name of the family, and they volunteered to finish it. May his son, Sun Shishi, retreat to advance, and how can he know how to govern my family? Wow! If this is the case, his government will have priority, then doves will die one after another, and few people will demand everything at home.
(selected from the complete works of Gong Zizhen, with some deletions)
Translation:
If a scholar knows shame, the country will always be shameless. Scholars are shameless, which is the greatest shame of the country. I have visited scholars in modern times. Since they stated their political views to the emperor and started to be officials, there are very few people who feel ashamed. The longer you are an official, the worse your sense of shame becomes.
The greater the fame, the more stubborn the bad habit of flattery. The closer the location is to the emperor, the more ingenious the means of catering. Being three officials and six officials is not high, but on them, just like the noble, solemn and exemplary self-sustaining style of ancient ministers, they are not only invisible to their eyes, but also deaf to their ears, and even dare not sleep and dream.
The minister's arrogance of paying attention to moral integrity has completely disappeared. This is not because of other reasons, but because it did not inspire the shameful spirit of court officials.
How can we revive the sense of shame of court officials? A: First of all, it is to educate court officials about honesty and shame. When Jia Yi exhorted Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, he said, "If you treat your minister with dogs and horses, I will treat myself with dogs and horses.
If the monarch treats them like officials, they will demand themselves according to the standards of officials. "These teachings, as bright as the sun and stars, are the warnings of saints and wise men and the best warnings from ancient times to the present.
Those who do farm work and carry heavy burdens are shameless and only know bring disgrace to oneself; Rich people are shameless and only insult their families; Literati are shameless, which can be said to be an insult to the country; If Dr. Qing is shameless,
It can be said that it is humiliating. People who don't know honesty have risen from ordinary people to scholars, and from scholars to small officials and big officials, and their humiliation has spread to the humiliation of the whole world.
I personally observe the officials who are now in important positions. They only know the pursuit of horses and chariots, pay attention to clothes, show off rhetoric, and know nothing else.
Leisure officials only know how to practice calligraphy and oppose poetry, and ask nothing else. The minister's political remarks in the imperial court were all based on the emperor's emotions. When the emperor gave kindness or gave a banquet, they were complacent and came out to boast in front of their disciples, wives and children.
The emperor was a little unhappy, so they quickly kowtowed and quit, trying to please the emperor. Are their hearts really afraid of the emperor? Ask them if they should do this as ministers. But they said with shame, we can only do this. As for their intentions, you can imagine.
People who pursue horses and chariots and show off their rhetoric don't read much. They just say: I am on duty at the yamen from morning till night, which is good enough and tired enough. People who can write calligraphy and poetry have read some books, but they don't understand the truth. They think that if they stay in their posts for one more day, they will gain one more day of glory.
When they resigned due to illness and went home, they educated their children and grandchildren with the idea of becoming famous, and their wishes came true. They also hope that future generations will regard conservative retreat as mature and steady. As for the affairs of the country, why should my family be in charge?
Alas! In this way, in case of an emergency in the frontier, they will fly away like turtledoves and swallows, and too few people are willing to suffer with the court!