In the feudal dynasty 2,000 years ago, there was an emperor with a modern mindset, have you heard of it? His agrarian reform policy overturned the traditional notion of nationalizing land and distributing it equally among the people to cultivate, and prohibiting private buying and selling. In addition, he carried out bold economic reforms, controlled prices, banned speculation by merchants, provided state loans to agribusinessmen, and even set up interest-free loans for funeral ceremonies. His economic thinking is almost like that of a modern economist!
Even more bizarrely, he also invented many modern tools, the most famous of which was the vernier caliper, whose accuracy has survived to this day, literally ahead of its time. He not only has a forward-looking vision, but also has the wisdom and courage to transcend his time. This happened 2,000 years ago during the New Dynasty, when Wang Mang carried out many strange reforms that historians loved and hated.
He is known as the emperor who travels back in time for modern man. Many of his reforms are so modern that one wonders how an ancient man could have had such an advanced level of thought and knowledge. Next, take a step into history to learn about this amazing figure and discover the story behind it.
Wang Mang was born in 45 BC into a family background that had been an official for generations. His father was a courtier of Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty and was made the Marquis of Xindu. He received a rigorous education from an early age and displayed extraordinary talent and intelligence. He was humble, courteous, intelligent and witty, and gradually won the recognition and respect of the imperial court. His succession to the throne can be traced back to the death of his father, who inherited his father's titles and official positions and gradually rose to prominence in the imperial court.
His focus on political reform and his advocacy of integrity, justice and frugality earned him the support and trust of the people. Wang Mang was good at scheming, and gradually grasped the real power of the imperial court by befriending powerful ministers, currying favor with the emperor, and suppressing dissidents. At that time, the Western Han Dynasty was gradually declining, social contradictions were becoming increasingly intensified, and natural and man-made disasters occurred frequently. In the face of these problems, Wang Mang proposed many reform measures, such as reducing taxes, encouraging agriculture and developing commerce. After years of hard work, Wang Mang gradually gained the recognition and support of the court and the people. In 8 AD, Wang Mang staged a coup d'état and successfully usurped the throne of the Han Dynasty. He was also regarded as a model of hypocrites by later generations, and became the new emperor, calling himself the New Dynasty, also known as Wang Mang's New Deal.
He sought to reshape the social order and political system through a series of radical reforms. Wang Mang's new policy included a series of reforms, the most important of which was land reform. He tried to ease the burden on the rich landlords by expropriating their land and distributing it to the poor and peasants. In addition, he issued a large number of new currencies in an attempt to readjust the monetary system and control prices and inflation. Wang Mang also adopted a number of social policies, such as the advancement of women and respect for Confucian education. He advocated Confucianism, Confucianism, and women's education and feminist awareness, which was quite avant-garde at the time. The original intention of these reforms was good, and they were aimed at the welfare of the general public. However, the actual situation proved that all this was only superficial, and did not achieve the desired effect, but backfired, and became a prelude to the rebuilding of the new dynasty.
First, let's look at Wang Mang's land reform. He tried to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor by abolishing private ownership of land and buying and selling land to equalize the distribution of land. However, this policy angered the state bureaucrats and peasants, who were reluctant to lose their private ownership of their land, and peasants found themselves unable to sell their land to survive. This led to a revolt of the landlords and peasants, and the situation was further unstable. Second, Wang Mang tried to reform the slave system and prohibit the slave trade. However, since the peasants had no land and could not make ends meet, they had to sell themselves into slavery. As a result, the peasants could not survive, and in order to make a living, they had to rise up and rebel. Third, Wang Mang's monetary reform also led to chaos.
He issued many different kinds of money, and the market was full of all kinds of jumble coins, like a scuffle of ancient coins. This chaos led to the collapse of the market economy, triggering an economic downturn and social instability. Finally, Wang Mang's business reforms were also unsuccessful.
He tried to control the economy through state intervention, but the vendors colluded with the local **, resulting in a market flooded with counterfeit goods and black market transactions. The economic system was destroyed, businessmen went bankrupt, workers lost their jobs, and the economy stagnated. All in all, although Wang Mang's reform has good intentions, there are many problems in the implementation process. His reforms intensified social contradictions, sparked revolt and discontent among the aristocracy, landlords, peasants and other parties, coupled with frequent natural disasters and economic recession, the new dynasty gradually collapsed. Wang Mang's new policy led to severe social unrest and political chaos, and his reform measures were resisted and revolted by many opposition forces, and the situation gradually spiraled out of control.
Coupled with frequent natural disasters and a build-up of popular discontent, Wang's rule was in jeopardy. In 23 AD, Wang Mang faced an even more severe situation. Peasant uprisings spread, wars broke out frequently, and social order collapsed. His New Deal was on the verge of collapse. In 24 AD, the new dynasty was overthrown by the rebel army led by the Red Mei Army, and Wang Mang was sentenced to death in turmoil** at the age of 69. And the new dynasty also became one of the short-lived dynasties in Chinese history. Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han dynasty is a very controversial history, but Wang Mang's own controversy is much greater than this history.
After Wang Mang was killed, his head was preserved for a full 272 years, becoming one of the high-profile treasures in history. Just like Gaozu's sword of slashing the white snake and Confucius's clogs, Wang Mang's head became a treasure sought after by Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, which aroused the curiosity and pursuit of many people.
Based on speculation, historians have given three reasons to explain this phenomenon. First, Wang Mang ascended to the throne of the emperor by usurping the throne. For posterity, to be able to kill this usurper and decapitate his head is undoubtedly a symbol of glory and a manifestation of the majesty of orthodox authority. Second, rulers often set an example to warn those who covet power. Wang Mang's head was displayed, sending a clear message to all ministers: even if you have ambitions and monopolize power, you will eventually be beheaded like him. The third reason relates to superstitious beliefs. In ancient times, due to the limited level of science and technology, many unexplained phenomena were often attributed to mystical powers. Some people believe that Wang Mang's head has the function of warding off evil spirits, and possessing it seems to be able to avoid all disasters.
Why did Wang Mang's reforms fail? At the end of the day, he's too far ahead of his time! The social environment and the level of economic development of that era simply could not support his great reforms. Wang Mangkong has a "top-level design", but when it is really implemented in the hands of the people, it is like a fat fish that has been exploited layer by layer, leaving only a bunch of white Sensen's fish bones, which has become miserable. Why did Wang Mang's reform and innovation fail? Mainly because his ideas are too "avant-garde", some are even close to what we do now, but he ignores the specific environment and occasion at that time, and also ignores the difficulty and effect of implementation. The roof leak happened to rain overnight.
What makes Wang Mang even more troublesome is that when the new deal failed and the people's resentment boiled, God didn't seem to be used to him. The people live on food and have no food, which leads to the rise of the world's heroes and their own rebellion. It was precisely because of this that the new dynasty only existed for 16 years before it died. In modern society, while inheriting and carrying forward Wang Mang's spirit of reform, we should give full consideration to the actual environment and implementation results of reform, so as to achieve better results in reform. Wang Mang is still the first person to have the courage to eat abalone, what do you think about it, come and talk about it in the comment area.