Hotspot Engine Project When we were young, our elders taught us to walk on the right side as much as possible.
As we all know, right-hand traffic is a basic traffic rule that we are taught to follow from a young age. However, have you ever wondered when China started following this rule?
In fact, as early as the Tang Dynasty, Ma Zhou, the prime minister of the early Tang Dynasty, had already proposed the rule of passing on the right. This man, who pioneered right-hand traffic in Chinese history, is actually a very extraordinary figure.
In 601 AD, Liaocheng City, Shandong Province, ushered in a man named Ma Zhou. Although Ma Zhou was born in a poor family, he was eager to learn, and he studied diligently to try to change his destiny.
However, at this time, in the last years of the Sui Dynasty, the society was in turmoil, wars were frequent, and the world was difficult. At that time, the society paid attention to family background, and only noble-born scholars could become officials in the court.
A poor child like Ma Zhou, although he is outstanding, has no future. As a result, Ma Zhou began to lose confidence in life after he became an adult. When learning cannot change one's destiny, this era is undoubtedly the darkest of times.
At this time, Ma Zhou began to be uninhibited, and his hometown people began to hate him when they saw that he was no longer the hard-working child. However, Ma Zhou did not have any justification for this, because he was convinced that years of hard study had allowed him to surpass the wisdom and talent of ordinary people, and for him, the defense had no meaning.
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Ma Zhou was appointed as an assistant coach in Bozhou, but despite this, he still could not change his uninhibited character. He couldn't stand to teach those ignorant children, and chose to drink all day and skip school for no reason.
His talent is undoubtedly top-notch, but this unexcused absence from work is clearly wrong. Ma Zhou was criticized and accused many times, and finally he resigned from his official position and traveled to Caozhou and Bianzhou, but after several years of travel, he did not find a suitable position for himself.
Between heaven and earth, is there really no suitable place for him?
Ma Zhou, a man who had been cornered, went to Chang'an with the determination to gamble, looking for opportunities. In Chang'an, he struggled to find a job as a doorman in the general Chang He's mansion, but this life did not satisfy his desire to display his talents.
He still maintains an uninhibited personality and is addicted to drinking. However, an unexpected event completely changed the course of his life. During the years that Ma Zhou traveled around the country, the Tang Dynasty underwent great changes, the most famous of which was the Xuanwumen Incident, in which the emperor changed from Tang Gaozu Li Yuan to Tang Taizong Li Shimin.
After Li Shimin's accession to the throne, General Chang He, who Ma Zhou took refuge in, was highly regarded because he guarded the Xuanwu Gate in this incident and helped Li Shimin win, and finally ascended to the throne.
After Li Shimin ascended the throne, he asked hundreds of officials to put forward their views on the issue of government affairs. Although Chang He is a military general, he is not familiar with this, and he can only follow Li Shimin's orders in desperation.
Chang He handed over the task of writing the report to his disciple Ma Zhou. Originally, Chang He just wanted to write a casual article to deal with things, but he never expected that Ma Zhou was very keen on this opportunity, gave full play to his knowledge, and wrote an amazing report.
When Chang He handed over the report to Li Shimin, Li Shimin saw its value at a glance. Of course, Li Shimin knew Chang He's writing level, and he could see at a glance that this report was not written by Chang He himself.
Under Li Shimin's questioning, Chang He had no choice but to admit the fact that it was Ma Zhou's ghostwriting.
Li Shimin saw that Ma Zhou, whom Chang He recommended, was very talented, so he immediately summoned him and had an in-depth conversation. Although we don't know exactly what they talked about, it is clear that this conversation left a deep impression on Li Shimin of Ma Zhou, who considered him a true national soldier.
Li Shimin believes that talents like Ma Zhou should be reused, and should not be buried in the position of teacher or doorman. Therefore, Li Shimin decided to promote Ma Zhou exceptionally, and in the next few years, Ma Zhou, with his talent and hard work, successfully entered the court as an official, and was promoted to Zhongshu Shilang, that is, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, in just a few years.
Ma Zhou lived up to Li Shimin's high expectations and worked hard for the rule of Zhenguan wholeheartedly, and history proves that Li Shimin has a unique vision. During Ma Zhou's tenure, he not only abolished the hereditary system of vassal kings, but also implemented the right-hand pass system, which made a great contribution to the stability of the Tang Dynasty.
In addition, Ma Zhou also advocated frugality and rest with the people, selected talented people, and improved the reward and punishment system of the Tang Dynasty. He was the successor of the state system of the Tang Dynasty, and his contribution was immeasurable.
Because Ma Zhou was younger than Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng and others, Li Shimin thought that he was the ideal candidate for his own orphanage, and often asked him to go to the East Palace to guide Li Zhi in handling government affairs.
Although Li Shimin had high hopes for Ma Zhou, Ma Zhou's lifespan was not long. In the twenty-second year of Zhenguan, Ma Zhou died of illness at the age of forty-eight. However, the nostalgia of the two Tang emperors of Li Shimin and Li Zhi did not weaken because of this.
Li Shimin posthumously presented Ma Zhou as the governor of Youzhou and buried him in Zhaoling. And Li Zhi regarded Ma Zhou as his teacher, and even after his death, according to his last words, he moved Ma Zhou's spiritual seat into the Taimiao Temple and enjoyed the temple court of Gaozong Li Zhi.
If Ma Zhou had not died young, then after Li Shimin's death, he would probably have been appointed as Tuogu Wenchen to assist Li Zhi in ascending to the throne. If Ma Zhou was still alive, many events could have been different during the reign of Li Zhi.
There is an interesting folk story about Ma Zhou's life. It is said that Ma Zhou was originally a heavenly immortal, and he was sent to the world to assist the Tang Dynasty in the last years of the Sui Dynasty, but because of his drunkenness, he actually sank in the world for twenty years, and even forgot where he came from.
It wasn't until he met Yuan Tiangang that Yuan Tiangang revealed his true identity and led him to the Temple of the Heavenly Emperor, making him remember his mission again.
Ma Zhou, a talented man from a humble background, was quickly promoted to prime minister through a book. However, he died suddenly in the later period of Zhenguan, and folklore says that he had completed his mission, and the gods came to pick him up and return to heaven.
Behind this legend, it reflects people's yearning and good expectations for Ma Zhou's experience. In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, it was not easy for children of poor families like Ma Zhou to become officials, and it was not until after Wu Zetian's restructuring that they were able to enter the court as officials on a large scale.
Ma Zhou's life tells us that many seemingly unusual people may just not find their right place. As the famous saying goes: "I am born to be useful", a great talent like Ma Zhou may be unknown when he is a teacher, but he can give full play to his talent when governing the country.
Finding your niche is indeed a crucial thing for many people.