Bamboo root carving medicine picking old man, clear. The author uses a variety of techniques such as carving and round carving to vividly express an old man with a high bun, long hair, clear and strong medicine. **Palace museum.
In recent years, the phenomenon of population aging has gradually attracted attention, and the issue of pension has been widely discussed. Internationally, the proportion of the population aged 60 and over in the total population reaches 10%, or the proportion of the population aged 65 and above reaches 7% of the total population, as a standard for a country or region to enter an aging society. According to relevant statistics, China has entered an aging society. Although population aging is a phenomenon of modern society, human society has been facing the problem of "old-age care" since its inception. So, how did the ancients solve the problem of old-age care? Do they have a retirement salary and pension? What systems did the dynasties have to ensure the lives of the elderly?
When did "pension" start?
China's pension thinking can be traced back to the Yu Shun period. From the Yu Shun period, after the development of the Xia and Shang dynasties, to the Zhou Dynasty, which attached great importance to the ritual system, pension as a part of the ritual system was also initially formed. According to the record of "The Book of Rites and the Royal System": "Where the elderly are raised, there are Yu family with Yan ceremony, Xia Hou family with food ceremony, Yin people with food ceremony, and Zhou people to cultivate and use both." "Etiquette such as swallows, feasts, and food are all used to arrange the sequence of elders and young in the form of banquets on the day of sacrificing ghosts and gods, and demonstrate the ritual of respecting the elderly. The object of old-age care is roughly classified into three categories: the elderly, the elderly, and the elderly who died for national affairs. The Zhou Dynasty pension ritual system involved a wide range of content, not only to allow the elderly to obtain a certain amount of material security such as food and clothing, but also to give preferential treatment to the elderly in terms of servitude and punishment, and the first peak of ancient Chinese pension began to appear. However, the level of productivity at that time has been improved to a certain extent compared with the primitive society, but this improvement is still very limited, the state does not have a strong financial foundation to support, can not give the same treatment to the elderly in the whole society, and can not do the real "all the old are raised", and the hierarchy at that time was distinct, especially in the Western Zhou Dynasty, where the patriarchal system prevailed, the status of the more noble status of the old became the focus of the old-age care. 
Shi Yi's father Ding, late Western Zhou Dynasty, there are 3 lines of 16-character inscription in the vessel: Shi Yi's father is a tribute to the Ding, and its 10,000 years, children and grandchildren will always be used. ** The state of the Palace Museum will give certain respect and preferential treatment to the elderly in terms of clothing, food, housing, transportation and political status, and even in the event of natural disasters or social unrest, there will be corresponding social assistance to ensure the livelihood of the elderly. In addition, some respected elderly people will be supported in school, that is, "learning to provide for the elderly". "There is a Yu clan to raise the country and grow old in Shangzhen, and raise the old in Xiazhen; The Xia Hou clan raised the country and the old in the eastern order, and raised the old in the western order; Yin people raise the country and learn from the right, and raise the old from the left; The Zhou people raised the country and the old in Dongjiao, and raised the old in Yuzhen. "Zhen, order, xue, and glue are all ancient names for schools. Shangzhen, Dongxu, Youxue, and Dongjiao are institutions of higher learning, while Xiazhen, Xixu, Zuoxue, and Yuzhen are low-class schools. Some of the elders who were raised in school were called "three elders and five watches", and their status was very noble, and the monarch did not regard the "three elders and five watches" as ministers, but treated them more like fathers and brothers. When the monarch was uncertain about some national affairs, he would consult these old men, and the old men would also give some advice based on their own experience. "Fifty different meals, sixty lodging meat, seventy two meals, eighty Changzhen, ninety diets do not leave the bed, and meals and drinks are from Youke. "Strange grains, that is, fine grains, the elderly who are getting older do not digest well, so they have to eat fine grains. By the age of 60, the body is even more aging and needs to eat meat ......The state has developed different diets for the elderly at different ages. Unearthed in 1975 in the tomb of No. 253 Huangtupo of Liulihe in Fangshan, Beijing, the inscription content of the inscription is that Yanhou sent the food official Jin to Zongzhou to take care of the elderly Zhaogong diet, and one of the duties of the food official is to provide different diets according to the four solar terms. The above-mentioned treatment of the elderly in terms of food and drink is aimed at the elders of the nobility like the national elders. However, due to the difference in status of ordinary people, they cannot enjoy the same treatment as national elders. For the elderly people, who make up the vast majority of society, the state also guarantees their livelihood, but only to meet their basic material needs. Compared with the refined and appropriate diet of the elderly, the daily diet of the common elderly is relatively simple, "the elderly do not eat in vain", as long as the elderly have simple dishes when eating. However, the Son of Heaven or the princes would occasionally give feasts and wine to the common elderly, and there would be special people to give them wine, cut meat, and cook meals. 
Statue of King Wen of Zhou. ** Portraits of Chinese Celebrities in the Past Dynasties, edited by the Conservation Department of the Chinese History Museum, 2003 edition of the Strait Literature and Art Publishing House, Zhou Wenwang vigorously advocated respect for the elderly, and the trend of respecting the elderly in society prevailed. Every year, the pension ceremony is held in the month of Layue - the gift of drinking in the township. The ceremony of drinking in the countryside is a national activity for the elderly in the Zhou Dynasty, and the ceremony is held in schools at all levels, because "the ceremony of providing for the elderly must be learned." It is also a place to explain etiquette and righteousness. "The monarch set an example by holding a large-scale inspection of the old-age care ceremony in the school, educating the people of the world to respect the old and the old, and teaching people to be filial piety. It can be said that the concept of respecting the elderly in China in the pre-Qin period has been popularized, and the pension system has also become a ritual system in social life and national politics with the support of the state. In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the collapse of the patriarchal system and frequent wars, the number of elderly people that the state could support was more limited, and "the old have nothing to support" began to become a serious social problem. More elderly people can only be supported by their children at home, at this time the implementation of the main body of old-age care began to gradually change from the state to individual families, and at the same time, the family as the basic unit of the neighborhood mutual pension mode also began to appear. 
Painted woodblock painting of an old man in Artemisia from the Western Xia period. ** Wuwei City MuseumHowever, drastic social changes and turbulent situations have impacted the ethical concept of father's love and filial piety, and even the incident of "son killing his father". As the war for hegemony intensified, most of the men fought on the battlefield, and some adult women also had to transport food and salaries, build and defend the city. In this way, many elderly and frail people have no one to support them, and their lives are in trouble. As a result, at that time, some vassal states implemented a certain system of benefiting the people in the country to capture the hearts of the people, and at this time, the focus of the pension object has gradually shifted from those noble old people to the common old people. Guan Zhong has supervised the implementation of nine kinds of Huimin ritual systems in Qi State five times, and the first place is the "old man", that is, the meaning of respecting the elderly, and setting up a special person in charge of the country to ensure that the matter of respecting the elderly can be implemented. In addition, for those elderly people who are suffering from diseases, they also send greetings from time to time, and set up a position of "head of illness" to report the results of the illness in a timely manner. In the Qin State and the Qin Dynasty after unification, the social problems of unfilial piety to parents and lack of support for the elderly have not been effectively alleviated. According to the later "Hanshu Jia Yi Biography", "Shang Jun left courtesy and righteousness, abandoned benevolence, and was enterprising, and at the age of two, Qin customs were defeated." Therefore, the rich and strong sons of the Qin family will pay points, and the poor children will be rich. borrow the father's hoe, consider virtue; The mother took the broom and spoke immediately. Hold his son, and be with his father; If the woman and aunt don't say anything, they will talk to each other. His benevolent son is elderly, and there are several deaths of different beasts. It can be seen that the culture of respecting the elderly and providing for the elderly in the Qin Dynasty was not established. "Pension" began to be institutionalized.
Awareness and attention to the social effect of filial piety culture began in the Han Dynasty - respect for the elderly is not only a virtue, the filial piety ethics derived from it is also the way to maintain the stability of the feudal society, at the same time, the implementation of respect for the elderly can be "filial piety and loyalty", has a great political effect. After Liu Bang unified the world, he emphasized the rule of filial piety in the world, implemented a series of preferential care policies for the elderly and respecting the elderly, and then also attached great importance to the construction of filial piety as the core of the general ethics, the Han Dynasty inherited and developed the ancient old-age thought and etiquette, determined the orthodox status of Confucian filial piety thought, and established the good policy of filial piety. 
From top to bottom, Emperor Xiaowen of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Xiaojing, and Emperor Xiaowu of the Han Dynasty. ** Portraits of Chinese Celebrities in Past Dynasties, edited by the Conservation Department of the Chinese History Museum, Strait Literature and Art Publishing House, 2003.
The Han Dynasty continued to improve and improve the maintenance measures of the previous dynasties, such as the continuation of the reward of wine, meat, corn, silk and other materials, and the reduction of taxes, and improved preferential treatment. Adults in the Han Dynasty ate about one stone, five buckets to two stones of grain and rice per month. Those who are over 80 years old have one stone of rice, 20 catties of meat, and 5 buckets of wine every month. At the beginning of each year, the emperor personally sent envoys or ordered local ** to greet and care for the elderly. More importantly, the ethics with "filial piety" as the core are often extended from morality to a new level of law, and the state has begun to formulate relevant policies for respecting the elderly and providing for the elderly from the administrative and legal aspects, and the impact is far-reaching.
Formalize the "retirement" system
The "retirement" system was produced as early as the Zhou Dynasty, and was established as an important part of administrative legislation in the Han Dynasty, and formed a set of national systems, called "Zhishi". To the one, return also; Shizhi, Shi Eun, that is, the old name of the official position, so "to Shi" is to return (or return, return) the meaning of the official position. When officials are unable to continue working due to old age or illness, the state provides for living expenses. In addition, retirement in ancient China was limited to officials. According to the "Book of Han", Emperor Jing was a person with a higher position, and when he was old, he was a special favor. For example, "Wan Shijun and above the eldest doctor Lu returned to the old family, and became a courtier when he was old". During the time of Emperor Wu, Zhou Ren was the first emperor's important minister, "he was exempted from illness and returned to old age with 2,000 stones". This is the earliest record of the conditions and treatment of Zhishi from the system.
The retirement system of officials in the Han Dynasty had a far-reaching impact, first of all, it was for the retired ** offerings, and the officials had no money before. Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty issued an edict in the first year, and the ** Zhishi with an annual salary of more than 2,000 stone can receive one-third of the original salary as a pension. The second is to stipulate the retirement age, officials generally retire at the age of 70, and the emperor selects those who are over 70 years old and "virtuous and strong". After the Han Dynasty, most of the dynasties were about 70 years old. During the reign of Emperor Qi Ming of the Southern Dynasty, Shen Yuan played in the imperial history: "Those who ascend to seventy in the year of a hundred officials are all ordered." "Approved. Emperor Xiaoming of the Northern Wei Dynasty issued an edict in the fourth year of Zhengguang: All court officials "have reached seventy and ask for a change, and the officials can not play according to the order". The Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties were all 70 years old, but in February of the thirteenth year of Hongwu, an edict was issued that "civil and military officials over 60 years old should listen to Zhishi", and the age of Zhishi began to be relaxed.
Establish a system of conferring royal power at high age
"Stick" means "helping the elderly", dove, which means stability, symbolizing the old man for life; It means that the dove has a wide esophagus and swallows smoothly, and it also blesses the elderly to eat well and be full. The dove cane is a symbol of power and honor. In the pre-Qin period, the dove staff had already appeared and was a symbol of the status of the elderly. "The Analects of the Township Party" cloud "Villagers drink, the cane comes out, and the scepter comes out." In social occasions such as the village drinking ceremony, the others can only leave after the old people with canes have left. In the Han Dynasty, the old man with the dove staff had a higher honor and status, and institutionalized it: in the early Han Dynasty, some old princes and kings were given a few rods, and the recipients enjoyed preferential treatment without being invited by the court, such as Emperor Wen "gave the king of Wu (Liu) a few rods, old, not the court". Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty established a system of awarding the king's scepter in high years, stipulating that all the elderly over 70 years old should be given the king's scepter, and the Eastern Han Dynasty inherited this system. 
The dove staff unearthed from the tomb of Wuwei Han. ** Wuwei City Museum.
Filial piety
Beginning with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, "filial piety" became an important subject in the selection of officials. If a person wants to be selected by the township and enter the official career, he must have filial piety. Raising filial piety will undoubtedly increase the attention of the whole society to the elderly. In addition, the Han Dynasty also tried to publicize and promote the "Book of Filial Piety", and the official and private schools in the society carried out filial piety education.
The old man was "lenient" and punished for the crime of unfilial piety
Starting from Emperor Hui, the old man was given a "lenient sentence", and the punishment for the old man who broke the law became lighter and lighter. However, the leniency given to the elderly by the two Han Dynasty is not unlimited, and those who constitute a personal danger to others, such as "false accusations" and "killing and injuring people", must still be brought to justice. In addition, they will also use legal means to severely punish unfilial people and supervise the people for filial piety to their fathers and elders. At this time, family pension became an important part of the Han Dynasty, and children played an important role in the responsibility of parents to provide for the elderly. According to the Han law, the officials insulted the old man who held the king's scepter, and he rebelled and abandoned the city (in the downtown area where the crowd gathered, the death penalty was imposed). The law also forbade children to sue their parents, and offenders also abandoned the city. In the criminal offenses of the Han Dynasty, the punishment of unfilial piety was an important content, and the state maintained filial piety by increasing the punishment of unfilial piety. 
Ten Janes of the King's Scepter". * The pension system of Wuwei Museum began to move towards legalization and institutionalization, which was a major feature of the development of the pension system in the Han Dynasty. Unearthed in the Han Dynasty, the portrait bricks can often be seen respecting and caring for the elderly, which shows that the Han Dynasty respected the elderly and provided for the elderly. In 521, Emperor Xiao Yan of Liang Wu issued an edict to build the "Lonely Garden", which was the first government-run pension institution created by the power of the state in history. Since then, China's nursing homes have begun to be institutionalized, and there have been similar government-run nursing institutions in successive dynasties, such as the "Beitian Nursing Home" in the Wu Zetian period, the "Futian Hospital" and "Residential Nursing Home" in the Song Dynasty, and the "Nursing Home" in the Ming and Qing dynasties, all of which are similar in model and function. During the Song Dynasty, private nursing homes also generally emerged, and the poor and lonely elderly could be better cared for and protected. Until the Qing Dynasty, the ideological and political program of "ruling the world with filial piety" was still pursued, and the pension measures of later generations were basically adjusted and expanded on the basis of absorbing the Han Dynasty's respect for the elderly and pension measures. The state plans and formulates pension measures in accordance with the law, and the family bears the specific responsibility for the pension. For example, the Tang law stipulates that if there are elderly people in the family, children and grandchildren cannot go away, but must serve by the side of the elderly, otherwise they will be punished, and at that time, a new concept of old-age care was put forward - "color raising", that is, when supporting parents, they should be kind and pleasant, ensure that the elderly are happy, care for their parents spiritually, and give them comfort. In the Qing Dynasty, the "Great Qing Law" further stipulated that if the father hanged himself because he was unable to support his father due to poverty, he should be sentenced to 100 rods and exiled 3,000 li according to the punishment of manslaughter. 
Yueman Qing Tour Atlas - Chongyang Chrysanthemum, Qing, Chen Mei painting. ** The Palace MuseumHowever, there are also great limitations in the ancient measures of providing for the elderly and respecting the elderly. At the "Salt and Iron Conference" held in the sixth year of Emperor Zhao (81 B.C.), the virtuous and virtuous people denounced the secular "inability to respect the elderly", and insulted the old people from time to time, even those who held the royal scepter were not spared. In the late Ming Dynasty, corruption was rampant in government-run adoption institutions, including nursing homes, and the nursing homes in many places existed in name only, losing the significance of their original establishment. In the past, there were problems in respecting the elderly and providing for the elderly, and today, the elderly population is getting larger and larger, and the elderly are a topic that needs to be paid attention to. On the issue of old-age care, both ancient China and Western countries have certain experiences and lessons. Each of us is destined to grow old, and although the pension policy is a promise for the future, it can really affect people's expectations today. Pension is not only because of "filial piety", but also needs the establishment, enrichment and supervision of the pension system at the national level, and the joint efforts of society, family and individuals.