Huan Tan

Huan Tan

Huan Tan (about 23 B.C. - 56 A.D.) was a philosopher, Confucian classics scholar, zither player and astronomer in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Word Junshan, Pei Guoxiang (now Huaibei City, Anhui Province Xiangshan District) people. He entered the imperial court at the age of 17. Later, he was almost put to death in prison for criticizing the grotesque divination in front of Liu Xiu. Later, he died on the way to relegation. He lived in the Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang (New) and the Eastern Han Dynasty. He was an official to Yilang, geishizhong and Juncheng. Like music, good at guqin, erudite, learn five classics, like not destroy vulgar Confucianism. He wrote 29 new treatises.

Personal profile

Huan Tan was a philosopher and Confucian scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The word Junshan, peiguoxiang (now Huaibei City, Anhui Province Xiangshan) people. Like music, good at guqin, erudite, learn five classics, like not destroy vulgar Confucianism. Between Ai Di and Ping Di, he was no more than Lang. Wang Mang was a doctor in charge of music at that time. Liu Xuan ascended the throne and ordered to worship Taizhong doctor. Guangwu emperor, Ren Yi Lang to the matter. Because of his firm opposition to divination theology, he was regarded by Emperor Guangwu as "non saint and unable to" and nearly beheaded. Later, he was demoted to be the Cheng of Lu'an county and died of illness in daozhong. He compared candlelight to human body and the spirit of candlelight. He put forward the famous argument of "using candlelight to describe form and spirit". He asserted that spirit cannot exist independently without human body, just as candlelight cannot exist without candlelight. Wang Chong praised his works as "the case of the world, whether it is obvious or not, false words and false words, all of which can be confirmed.". (Lun Heng Chao Qi) had an impact on the later development of atheism.

Huan Tan's works include 29 new treatises, which were lost early. Now it is said that the article "Xin Lun · Xing Shen" is included in the collection of Hongming. Xinlun is better compiled by Yan Kejun of Qing Dynasty (see the whole ancient three dynasties, Qin, Han, Three Kingdoms and six dynasties). There are 26 pieces of Fu, Lei, Shu and zoufan, including Xianfu, chenshizhengshu and yichenchongshangshu (see Yiwenleiju and this biography). There are five volumes in Sui Shu Jing Ji Zhi, which have been lost. For biography, see biography of Huan and tan in the book of the later Han Dynasty.

versatile

His father was the emperor of Taile when he became emperor. Huan Tan "takes his father's appointment as a man"; or Huan Tan's appointment is recommended by Song Hong. Huan Tan is good at music and piano. When a banquet was held in the palace, the emperor often ordered him to play the piano. He is erudite and proficient, and he studies the five classics all over the world. All of them are exegesis, not chapters and sentences. He was able to write articles, especially liked ancient learning, and repeatedly discriminated between Liu Xin and Yang Xiong. I also like singing and dancing. It's easy to wear, but it doesn't look good. They despise and ridicule the common Confucianists, so they are often excluded.

At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, Huan Tan was not a high official, but he was just a Lang official. He is good with Fu Yan. Fu Yan was the father of empress Fu. At first, he was quite powerful. Later, Dong Zhaoyi was favored by the emperor. His brother Dong Xian used his power because of nepotism. Empress Fu was increasingly alienated, and Fu Yan was depressed because of the loss of power. Huan Tan admonished him to guard against changes in the court, pay attention to Dong Xian's trend, and be restrained and modest in order to avoid disaster. Fu Yan accepted Huan Tan's advice, only to avoid Dong Xian's harm, "so Fu's whole life was in the time of mourning the emperor.".

When Dong Xian became a great Sima, he wanted to make friends with Huan tan. Huan Tan is a decent figure. He first wrote a book to advise him to "use the technique of assisting the country to protect his body". If he was not accepted, he would not communicate with him. When Wang Mang was in power, most of the people in the world flattered and flattered Wang Mang in order to be promoted. Huan Tan is not, "alone, silent", so he was only the Zhangle doctor at this time. During the peasant uprising, Huan Tan took part in the activities and was called as a Taizhong official by the reformed regime.

On current affairs

Liu Xiu became emperor (known as Emperor Guangwu), and Huan Tan was called up to wait for the imperial edict. He wrote that the matter "lost the order", that is, it did not meet the requirements of Emperor Guangwu and was not appointed. Later, song Hong recommended him as Yilang and geishizhong.

He presented Chen Shizheng Shu to discuss the current politics, the main contents of which are as follows:

Appointment of talents

He said: "the rise and fall of a country lies in its political affairs, and its gains and losses lie in its assistance." Therefore, it is necessary to employ talents and strive for "political adjustment at the right time". In his new treatise, he said: "a country governor is the foundation of assistance. He was appointed to be a great talent, who was also the leader of the party. " It means that the emperor's assistance is the foundation of governing the country; the country can take off if it has wings. He thinks that the talented have "five qualities", and the most advanced is "those who are superior to others, raise more funds, and can make contributions to the world are also the people of the world." That is to say, the main characteristic of great sages is that they can make contributions to the country.

He pointed out that since ancient times, there have been some positive and negative experiences and lessons on the issue of employment. There are three difficulties in the discovery and use of talents: first, there are few talents, but there are many mediocre talents, "few are more than many", and the talents are flooded by mediocrity; second, the talents are extraordinary, often not recognized by people, "but invisible by the secular world"; third, the talents are often slandered, suspected, and often harmed. Therefore, he stressed: "it's true that it's not because the monarch and his officials are dense and solid, and they believe in it. If Yi (Yin) and LV (Wang) use their opinions, and Fu (Zhong) and Bao (Shu) trust them, it's hard to achieve their goals. "If you don't listen to it and implement it, it will be useless even if you know it well." That is to say, whether the monarch can use and play its role in recruiting talents depends on the trust of the monarch and the adoption and implementation of his policies.

Try to ban adultery

He suggested that laws and decrees should be made clear to punish those who commit crimes, including those who know and break the law, so as to strive for social peace.

Emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce

He said: "the way to manage the country is to take advantage of our own industry (Agriculture) and restrain the profit (merchants)," We should crack down on the annexers and usurers, forbid the businessmen to become officials, and make the merchants "correct each other", that is, expose the cases of profiteering to each other, and reward all illegal gains to the informers except the income from labor. In this way, the rich merchants can be restrained from stripping the common people, and the common people can be encouraged to work in agriculture and produce more grain.

Unified law

He said: "the law decides the matter, the weight is not equal, or the matter is different from the law, the same crime is different." In this way, it is easy for the traitors to exploit the loopholes and "make the market by reason of fate. If they want to live, they will be born, and if they want to be trapped, they will be compared with death". If they do so, they will surely make the crafty go unpunished and the innocent suffer. Now it is time for those who understand the principles and laws to "revise the laws and regulations" and promulgate them so that all the people in the world can abide by them. Only in this way can the officials and the people have laws to abide by, and it is difficult to act recklessly.

This book was not valued by Emperor Guangwu. The purport of Huan Tan's new treatise is to promote governance. He advocated the rule of "hegemonism mixed", and explained it. What is Wang? "To reward the good and to punish the evil is the king of the feudal dynasties." Wang He Shu? "The rule of the husband and the king is to get rid of people's harm first, and then teach them etiquette and righteousness, so that they can know what's good and what's bad. So Dahua is a place where the world is happy. This is the art of the king. " What is bullying? "It's called hegemony to build up the army, to make an alliance, and to rectify the world with faith." What's the trick? "Those who have great achievements respect the monarch and belittle the officials. They have one power and two policies. Reward and punishment must be believed, laws and regulations must be made clear, all officials must repair, and power must be exercised. This is the skill of the overlord. "

He believes that the reality needs Wang BA's mixed use: "only the meaning of Wang BA's two prosperity, in order to determine the principle of ancient and modern." Hegemonism is certainly beneficial to the current politics: "a king is pure, his virtue is like that, his hegemony is complex, and his merits are like that. There is a whole world, and the monarch, the people and the descendants of chutong are actually one. " According to his theory, there are three main points in his theory: one is to eliminate harm and enrich the people, and educate the people with propriety and righteousness; the other is to strengthen the imperial power and unify the legal system; the third is to repair all kinds of officials, and the power must be carried out. In other words, we should put people's livelihood in the first place and pay attention to consolidating political power and preventing political corruption. This is of certain pertinence and practical significance when the people suffered, the political power was unstable and the politics was corrupt during the Han Dynasty.

Critical prophecy

Liu Xiuzheng, the emperor of time, was superstitious in augury, which was often used to determine problems. The so-called prophecy is a written catalogue of things in the future. Liu Xiu used it as a tool of ideological rule to win the hearts of the people. Huan Tan needle for this, on the "yichenchongshangshu", admonish Guangwu emperor. He said: in the Confucian tradition, "salt is based on benevolence, righteousness and justice, and it is not a strange and false thing.". Confucius can't say the life of heaven. Zi Gong and others can't hear about it. How can the later scholars understand it! "Today's people who are skillful, intelligent, and have a number of tricks, gain books, correct prophecies, deceive and deceive people, how can they not suppress the distance!"

He pointed out that Chenwei's prophecy "sometimes coincides", but just like divination, it is just a kind of contingency, which is not enough to be believed. He hoped that Emperor Guangwu would listen to the opinions of "pingqun's little songs and narrate the justice of the five classics". He firmly believes that his views are correct, beneficial to the right way, and "in accordance with the people's heart and reason". At the same time, Huan Tan also suggested to Emperor Guangwu that in the war of reunification, the soldiers should be highly rewarded to make them serve with all their heart. They should not be allowed to blackmail the people and "plunder their property" so that the soldiers and the people would be suspicious and could not be pacified as soon as possible.

Based on the above point of view, Huan Tan also opposed superstition. He said: "disasters and strange changes are common in the world, but not in the world." As for the strange phenomenon, as long as the wise monarch and the virtuous minister can cultivate morality and "respond to it" with good governance, they can turn the evil into the good, and "the evil will die out and the evil will turn into the good". Although he still retained the elements of the thought of heaven man interaction, he still had progressive significance at that time.

On form and spirit

In his new treatise on form and spirit, Huan Tan focused on the relationship between form and spirit, and seriously criticized the superstition of immortals and alchemy since the Warring States period.

At that time, the rulers imagined that they could rule the people forever and enjoy the glory and wealth. As long as you take the prescription, you can be immortal. Huan Tan believes that human growth and death are the same as the natural nature of all living things. He pointed out: "life is long, and growth is old

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