The ancients inherited the primogeniture, and experts called it wisdom choice
Since ancient times,"Standing up"The concept is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Whether it is a powerful family, or an ordinary family, for"The eldest son"All have high hopes. So-called"The eldest son", the first son born to the main room.
In the long history of China, men themselves enjoy a high status, and the eldest son is the sustenance and hope of the family.
In the long history of China, there have been 20 dynasties that have changed and flourished, and the heirs of the imperial family are mostly the eldest sons under the influence of Confucianism. However, has there ever been a mediocre eldest son in history?
In the case of low social productivity in ancient times, it was generally believed that the prosperity of a family first required the prosperity of people, and the royal family regarded reproduction as the first priority.
Under the feudal system, having the status of "eldest son" and ascending to the throne was undoubtedly regarded as a commendable achievement. However, as the son of the supreme ruler, is the eldest son necessarily the best?
For example, Liu Chan during the Three Kingdoms period, the famous "Adou who couldn't be helped" in history, was criticized for his weak and incompetent character, which eventually led to the fall of Shu Han.
As the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan always firmly believed in the primogeniture system, and despite the outstanding performance of his second son Li Shimin, Li Yuan still firmly supported his eldest son Li Jiancheng. However, Li Jiancheng has an uninhibited personality and is addicted to fine wine and women, so he is obviously not the best successor.
Li Yuan thus gave Li Shimin a chance, which led to the famous Xuanwumen Incident in history.
Emperor Kangxi, the most outstanding monarch in the history of the Qing Dynasty, led the Qing Dynasty into an era of prosperity. All of his princes are both civil and military, but Yinren, the eldest son, is mediocre and fails to show his due talent.
In desperation, Emperor Kangxi set him up and abolished him, but after all, he could not make him ascend to the throne and rubbed shoulders with the throne.
The eldest son is not always the best candidate, but people are too eager to inherit the eldest son, so they receive a special education from the time they are born. As the hope of the family, the education of the eldest son is of course different from that of other sons.
In addition to the regular learning accumulation, what kind of education do they need to receive?
As the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang educated his eldest son Zhu Biao and attached great importance to it. Because of Zhu Biao's status, he needs to take on more responsibilities.
As early as when Zhu Biao was six years old, he began to study scriptures. Not only moral education, Zhu Yuanzhang also asked the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs to teach him the way to govern the country, which was different from other sons.
Kangxi attached great importance to the education of his princes, so much so that most of his princes had both civil and military talents. Especially for Yinren, Kangxi always takes him with him to educate him personally, hoping that he can better cope with various challenges.
Compared with other princes, the education of the crown prince is more special, so a special institution has been set up to be responsible for the education of the prince. In order to ensure the full development of the prince's education, this institution needs to have a special place for the prince's use.
Although the crown prince is extremely demanding in the selection of teachers, even so, there are still many eldest sons who are not up to the burden of the country. So, why did people insist on the primogeniture system in ancient times?
3. From the Xia Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the eldest son has always played an important role. The course of history is not an isolated event, but a continuous chain, and the continuation of each dynasty is inseparable from a stable social environment and excellent leaders.
So in ancient times, even if he knew that his eldest son was not capable, why did he still let him inherit the throne and take charge of the country? Hidden in this is the wisdom and strategy of the ancients.
The main advantage of the primogeniture system is its functionality. Due to the large number of wives and concubines in ancient times, the number of children also increased. Battles for the throne and property, if left unmanaged, often lead to unrest within the family.
By stipulating the succession of the eldest son, the primogeniture system effectively avoided unnecessary competition and maintained the stability and unity of the family.
1. "The eldest son born to his wife is highly respected for his noble status. The choice of a main wife is usually well thought out, and her status is usually very noble.
It is a well-known fact that since ancient times people have wanted to marry virtuous and virtuous wives, and their children usually have a good education from their mothers and a strong maiden background, which has won them a lot of advantages. "
2. "As the child of the main wife, the eldest son is noble, and the main wife is usually chosen after careful consideration, and her status is very noble.
It has always been desirable for people to marry virtuous wives because their children will have a mother's education and a strong maiden background, which gives them many advantages. "
3. "The eldest son is revered for her noble status, the choice of a wife is usually well thought out, and her status is usually very noble. Since ancient times, people have wanted to marry virtuous and virtuous wives, and their children usually have a good education from their mothers and a strong maiden background, which gives them a lot of advantages. "
4. "The eldest son born to his wife is highly respected for his noble status. The choice of a main wife is usually well thought out, and her status is usually very noble.
It is well known that it is very important to marry a virtuous wife, and their children usually have a good education from their mothers and a strong maiden background, which has given them a great advantage. "
Since ancient times, China has been a country that has followed religious rituals, and everything has traces to follow. Successive emperors have paid great attention to it"Orthodoxy", so they did not dare to change the inheritance system easily.
Because the primogeniture system was the best choice summed up by countless dynasties and countless people, it became the best choice for later kings, and it also reflected the strict system of the dynasty.
From today's perspective, the limitations of the primogeniture system have gradually emerged in the millennia of history, and we may find it difficult to understand the existence of this system. However, in those days, their choice of the eldest son as the successor to the state was clearly an optimal choice.
They are able to maintain the stability of the country with minimal effort. After all, in that era, there were many civil and military officials, and even if the eldest son was indeed mediocre, he would be assisted by others, so there was no need to worry too much.
Although the eldest son in history had many advantages, many emperors still chose to be virtuous and competent, as long as it was beneficial to the development of the country, anyone could become a prince.
However, the primogeniture system can exist for thousands of years, and it must be reasonable. It is also the result of thousands of years of struggle and accumulated wisdom of the ancients.