What does it take for a country to prosper? Is it a strong military force, or a developed economy? Or is it a vast territory and abundant resources? It is true that these are all indispensable elements of a strong country. However, we tend to overlook one of the most basic and critical factors – population.
Yes, without a sufficient population base, even the most majestic palace is nothing more than an empty city. So, how did the emperors of history deal with the demographic crisis, and what lessons did they leave for future generations?
In 626 AD, a coup d'état kicked off at the Xuanwu Gate of the Tang Imperial Palace. The crown prince Li Jiancheng and the king of Qi Li Yuanji were killed outside the palace gate, and Li Shimin, the king of Qin, successfully seized the crown prince. That's what it's known for"The change of Xuanwu Gate"。
Li Shimin is an ambitious man. He received a good education from an early age, and together with his elder brother Li Jiancheng, he accompanied his father Li Yuan to fight in the south and the north, conquering the remnants of the Sui Dynasty. He has already planted the seed of winning the heir in his heart. After the Xuanwumen Change, he forced his father Li Yuan to take the throne and ascended the throne of the emperor himself, which was for Tang Taizong.
However, after ascending the throne, Li Shimin did not enjoy the glory and wealth with peace of mind. Instead, he faces a number of thorny problems. One of the most serious is the sharp decline in population caused by the war. According to historical records, in the first year of Zhenguan (627), there were only 3.91 million household registrations in the country, and the total population was less than 13 million.
As an eloquent monarch, Li Shimin knew that the number of people was related to the rise and fall of a country. He embarked on a series of policies to revitalize the population.
If we want to grow rapidly in population, we must first solve the problem of food and clothing for the common people. Li Shimin ordered the opening of warehouses to release grain for relief to the victims, and to reduce or reduce taxes nationwide to encourage agricultural production. He also focused on rectifying the rule of officials, severely punishing the most corrupt officials, and allowing the people to live and work in peace and contentment.
Under Li Shimin's wise leadership, society has gradually moved towards stability and people's livelihood has improved. The people no longer have to worry about dying due to lack of food and clothing, and their enthusiasm for childbirth has been greatly improved.
In addition to the traditional tax cuts and exemptions, Li Shimin also came up with a special solution to solve the problem of more men and fewer women at that time. He saw that there were a large number of young and beautiful palace maids in the palace who had nothing to do all day long, which was simply a waste of human resources. So, he ordered the palace maids to be released from the palace, so that they could freely choose their mates and start a family, and give birth to more people for the country.
At the same time, Li Shimin strictly banned the bad habit of eunuchs interfering in politics. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, there were a large number of eunuchs, who not only caused chaos in the government, but also occupied a large number of female spouse resources. Li Shimin first dismissed a group of eunuchs, and then strictly controlled the number and power of the eunuchs, leaving the harem in the hands of the queen and concubines.
This policy undoubtedly made the singles of the time rejoice. For a time, the colorful flags fluttered in Chang'an City, the drums were noisy, and many palace maids found Ruyi Langjun, and the festive scenes of candle nights in the cave room could be seen everywhere.
In order to reproduce as soon as possible, Li Shimin issued an edict lowering the legal age of marriage for women to 15 years old. In the era of parents' orders and matchmakers' words, many girls hurriedly entered the palace of marriage before they had time to enjoy the happiness of single life.
Not only that, Li Shimin also encouraged widowed men and women to remarry. In traditional Chinese beliefs, widows are often considered to be out of line if they remarry. Li Shimin broke this stereotype and made that"Second marriage"、"Third marriage"It's no longer a shame. The imperial court will also give incentives to remarried families to increase their enthusiasm for childbearing.
In addition to advocating early marriage, Li Shimin is also in childbearing"The more the merrier"。He stipulated that any couple that gives birth to three or more children can receive commendations and awards from the state. This has undoubtedly greatly mobilized the enthusiasm of couples of childbearing age to have children.
In the fourth year of Zhenguan (630), the Tang Dynasty made an alliance with the Turks, and a large number of Turkic people moved into the territory of the Tang Dynasty and became the new population of the Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin not only did not reject them, but warmly accepted them and sent them to various places to garrison the frontiers, becoming a new force in opening up the territory and expanding the territory.
At the same time, the Tang army also sent envoys with a large amount of gold and silver treasures to various places to ransom the Han people who had been reduced to slavery due to the war, so that they could regain their freedom. According to historical records, during the Zhenguan period alone, hundreds of thousands of displaced people were ransomed. After they returned to their homeland, they injected fresh blood into the agriculture and handicraft industry of the Tang Dynasty.
Let's turn our attention to Liu Bang, the founder of the Western Han Dynasty more than 400 years ago. He also faced the dilemma of a sparse population. Different from Li Shimin's step-by-step, Liu Bang adopted a more direct and crude approach.
Promulgated by Liu Bang"Leftover women's tax", which stipulates that unmarried women over the age of 18 must pay taxes equivalent to five adult men per year in the family. If you don't get married at the age of 20, the levy will be doubled, and you may even face jail time.
Liu Bang's move is simply an ancient version"Fines for overbirth"。He used naked economic leverage to force the common people to marry their daughters early, so as to give birth to more people for the country. Although this measure has been effective, it is inevitable that there will be a suspicion of abandoning the basics and treating the headache and the pain of the feet.
Although Li Shimin and Liu Bang both want to increase the population through policy means, their specific approaches are very different. Li Shimin paid attention"Get rich first and then be born"On the basis of reducing the burden on the people and ensuring people's livelihood, measures to encourage childbirth will be introduced. His policies were relatively moderate and easily accepted by the people. Moreover, Li Shimin was also relatively enlightened in employing people, absorbing foreign talents, reflecting the inclusiveness of the Tang Dynasty.
Liu Bang, on the other hand, is naked"Forced to live", without taking into account the affordability and subjective will of the people. Although his"Leftover women's tax"The results were immediate, but the after-effects should not be underestimated. The people were afraid of the court's obscenity, and did everything possible to marry their daughters early, which undoubtedly fueled it"Patriarchal"of the trite notions. Over time, the social atmosphere of male superiority and inferiority of women has become more entrenched.
Through the stories of Li Shimin and Liu Bang, we can see that the population problem is crucial, but the ways and means to solve it are very particular. Blind coercion and punishment will only make the people complain and indirectly affect social stability. Only on the basis of respecting public opinion and ensuring people's livelihood can we achieve a double harvest of the national economy and people's livelihood by means of flexible guidance.
Li Shimin's population policy has achieved remarkable results. According to historical records, in the last year of Zhenguan (649), the number of households in the country has reached 3.71 million, and the total population exceeds 52 million, which is four times that of the first year of Zhenguan. The Tang Dynasty also became the most populous country in the world at that time, laying a solid foundation for the later Kaiyuan Dynasty.
On the other hand, in the Western Han Dynasty, although Liu Bang's high-pressure impetus curbed the decline of population to a certain extent, it did not fundamentally solve the problem, but buried the hidden danger of social contradictions. During the reign of Wang Mang, the world was in turmoil, the population plummeted, and the Western Han Dynasty collapsed.
Historical experience tells us that both ancient emperors and today's rulers should base themselves on national conditions, respect public opinion, and let the people truly become the beneficiaries of national development when formulating population policies. Only by adhering to the people-centered approach and grasping both material civilization and spiritual civilization with both hands and attaching equal importance to both hands can we create a prosperous picture of national peace and prosperity. This is the institutional enlightenment left to us by Li Shimin and Liu Bang.
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