token granted by the emperor(dān shū tiě quàn)

token granted by the emperor

The so-called "Danshu Tiequan" refers to a kind of privilege certificate awarded by ancient emperors to meritorious and important officials, also known as "Danshu Tieqi", which is also called "no death card" and "no death gold medal" in folk narrative. The system of awarding "Danshu Tiequan" originated from Liu Bang, emperor Gaozu of Han Dynasty.

weather phenomenon

Danshu Tiequan (D à NSH à Ti à Qu à n) is commonly known as "Danshu Tieqi", also known as "Jinshu Tiequan", "Jinquan", "Yinquan", "Shiquan" and so on. Danshu: write with cinnabar; Tieqi: use iron certificate. Ancient emperors gave meritorious officials a certificate to enjoy preferential treatment or immunity from crime for generations. The diploma is written on the iron plate in Dan Shu, so it is named. In order to win trust and prevent counterfeiting, the iron roll was cut open, and the imperial court and the princes kept half of it.

Historical evolution

According to the research, in order to consolidate the rule and win over the meritorious officials, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, awarded the Yuanxun "Dan Shu tie Quan" as a reward. After the establishment of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang ordered Xiao He Ci's laws and decrees, Han Xin's application of the military law, Zhang cangding's constitution, and Shu sun's system of etiquette; he also swore with the meritorious officials, and kept the Danshu, Tieqi, Jinkui, Shishi in the ancestral temple. Among them, the "Fu" is also commonly known as the "contract", which is the proof of the emperor's adherence to the rules with meritorious and important officials. "Danshu, Tieqi, Jinkui, Shishi" refers to taking iron as the contract, and taking Danshu as the contract, the letters and oaths between the emperor and the meritorious and important officials are written on the "Tiequan" with dansha, and then put into the Jinkui and stored in the ancestral temple built with stone to show solemnity and ensure the safety of the "Tiequan". However, the earliest "Tiequan" did not have such privileges as immunity from crime and death, and only served as a kind of certificate to increase official rank and confer titles. Among the meritorious officials and their descendants who have been granted iron certificates, there are many who have been convicted or even executed. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Emperor Xiaowen often presented iron coupons to his relatives and close ministers, and even some ministers begged for iron coupons from the emperor to protect their body. After Sui and Tang Dynasties, it became a common system to issue "iron coupons". All the founding fathers and Zhongxing meritorious officials were granted "iron coupons", and even some favoured officials and eunuchs were given "iron coupons". Moreover, since the Sui Dynasty, the words on "Tiequan" were gradually changed from red sand to gold, so later generations called it "jinshutiequan". The most famous "Qian Liu tie Quan" of the Tang Dynasty was awarded to Qian Liu, king of Wu and Yue by Emperor Zhaozong of Tang Dynasty in the fourth year of qianning (897). It is still in the National Museum of China. "Dan Shu tie Quan" had the authority to avoid death, the earliest in the northern and Southern Dynasties. In the early stage, the number of death free of iron coupon was mostly less than 3. From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, the number of deaths was increasing. In the late Tang Dynasty, the descendants of those who were granted iron coupons could even be spared one to three times with iron coupons. In the Song Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin, the Taizu of the Song Dynasty, won the throne from the Chai family in the Later Zhou Dynasty. In order to appease the people, he issued an order to treat Chai's descendants favorably and give them "Dan Shu tie Quan". Even if Chai's descendants committed crimes, they could not be punished. The "little whirlwind" Chai Jin's "Dan Shu tie Quan" described in the well-known novel "outlaws of the marsh" really has its historical basis. In the Ming Dynasty, the system of iron coupons was further improved. Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, legally regulated the awarding objects of "iron coupons of Dan Shu", which were only limited to those who had made military contributions and were granted honorary titles of Gong, Hou and Bo. In the Ming Dynasty, there were seven grades of gold books and iron coupons, among which the Duke was divided into the first grade, the Marquis into the second grade, and the count into the third grade. The size of the first-class tickets varies. The largest Duke's first-class ticket is one foot high and one foot six inches and five cents wide. Generally speaking, the height and width of the other grades decrease by five points. The youngest Earl was seven inches high and one foot two and a half wide. All the iron coupons are made in duplicate. One is given to the recipient and the other is kept in the inner government. When they need to be checked, as long as they are put together, the authenticity can be identified. In the third year of Hongwu (1370), Zhu Yuanzhang was granted a meritorious official. Li Shanchang, Xu Da, Li Wenzhong and other 34 people won the titles of Duke and Marquis, and were given "gold book and iron certificate". When Zhu Di ascended the throne, 26 people, including Qiu Fu, who helped him win the throne, were also given iron coupons. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen also awarded iron coupons to Wei Liangqing, the nephew of Wei Zhongxian, the great eunuch. compared with the iron coupons in the Tang Dynasty, the text of the Gold Book Iron coupons in the Ming Dynasty has changed significantly. One is that treason is not excused, only other capital crimes are excused; the other is that the number of people who are excused from death is less, and their descendants are not excused from death.

Shape evolution

It began with the emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, followed by his descendants. It was originally written in the form of Dan Shu on the iron plate, so it was named. Influx is only a kind of marquis and honor certificate awarded to the officials. after the northern and Southern Dynasties, it had the function of avoiding crime and death. In the Western Wei Dynasty, the secret was given to those who wanted to be attached, as a guarantee of the privileges enjoyed by those who wanted to be attached, and they were handed down from generation to generation. the Tang Dynasty made explicit provisions on the system. The shape and system are different in the past dynasties, and the later generations basically imitate the Tang system. in the Jin Dynasty, the iron coupons were shaped like rolling tiles. They were engraved and painted with gold. Half of them were given to meritorious officials, and half were left in the inner government. The combination of them was the Royal treasure. in 1369, Ming Dynasty, he was appointed a meritorious official. Because of the system of Tang Dynasty, he had some profit and loss. He was shaped like a tile and divided into seven grades. It's second class, one high foot, one wide foot, six inches and five cents; one high nine inches and five cents, one wide foot and six inches. Hou San and others: one is nine inches high, one foot five inches wide; one is eight inches high, one foot five inches wide; one is eight inches high, one foot four inches wide. Bo second class: one is 7.5 inches high and one foot 3.5 inches wide; one is 6.5 inches high and one foot 2.5 inches wide. Inscribed on the outside are the biographical records of the meritorious officials and the number of benefactors, and inscribed on the inside are the number of exempting from crime and reducing the salary. The title of the fourth class, who helped Taizu to establish the world, was the founder of the country, the assistant of the movement, the soldier from Chengzu, the Fengtian Jingnan, and the others were the Fengtian Yiyun and the Fengtian Yiwei. The military minister said Xuanli, the military minister, and the civil minister always kept the integrity of the civil minister. The characters are inlaid with gold. Each of the ninety-seven deputies is given to the meritorious officials on the left and the Tibetan government on the right. If something happens, they should be combined to win the trust. In the third year of Hongwu, there were six gongs and 28 hous who were granted the iron coupons. In the twenty fifth year, the system was reformed and eight gongs were granted the iron coupons. At the beginning of Yongle, Jingnan's meritorious officials were also given.

System Retrospection

Danshu Tiequan is a kind of certificate with the nature of reward and covenant awarded by feudal emperors to meritorious and important officials. It is similar to the modern popular Medal (or medal), but its form is slightly different, and its connotation is relatively broad. But from its origin, function, nature and so on, the iron coupon is the embryonic form of the medal. Tracing back to the form of the iron coupon system, it originated from the bronze festival in the Warring States period. The word "tie Quan" began to appear in the historical records of the Han Dynasty, Gao Di Ji and Ji Zun Zhuan, which are called "Dan Shu tie Qi" and "Dan Shu tie Quan". According to Cheng Dachang's yanfanlu, the iron coupon is as strong as a cylinder shaped tile, with iron gold characters. The two coupons are combined as a whole. The left coupon is issued to the recipient for preservation, and the right coupon is hidden in the royal palace or ancestral temple. In case of special circumstances, the two coupons are combined to check the authenticity and prevent forgery. However, judging from the earliest existing iron coupons, by the late Tang Dynasty, the system of separate collection of iron coupons had changed. The cylinder tile shape was covered with tiles, and no longer divided into two parts. According to historical records, as early as in the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, in order to consolidate his rule and win over the meritorious officials, presented the meritorious officials with Dan Shu tie Quan as a reward. At that time, there was no promise of exemption from crime and death, only as a kind of certificate of marquis. from the northern and Southern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty issued iron coupons to clansmen and close ministers to protect themselves and protect their families. In the Southern Dynasties of song, Qi, Liang and Chen, it was common to issue iron certificates. After Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was a common system to issue iron coupons. All the founding fathers and Zhongxing meritorious officials were given iron coupons, and they were also given iron coupons to favorite officials and eunuchs. in the song, yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, the granting of iron certificates gradually became complete. Since the Ming Dynasty, there has been a complete system. According to the rank of meritorious officials and important officials, the court divided them into seven grades, and each grade was awarded to Tiequan. in Han Dynasty, the characters on Tiequan were filled with red sand, namely "Danshu Tieqi"; in Liang Dynasty, the characters were filled with silver, namely "Yinquan"; in Sui Dynasty, the characters were filled with gold, also known as "Jinquan", so later generations called Tiequan "Jinshu Tiequan". Because Tiequan can be handed down from generation to generation, it is also called "Shiquan". the earliest existing iron certificate is the iron certificate of Qian Liu, the king of Wu and Yue of Five Dynasties, collected in the National Museum. It has a history of more than 1000 years. It is reported that this iron certificate was awarded to Qian Liu in 896 AD by Tang Zhaozong for his meritorious deeds against Dong Chang. It is made of iron. It is shaped like a tile. It is 29.8 cm in length, 52 cm in width, 2.41 cm in thickness, and weighs about 132 Liang. It is inlaid with 350 gold characters. There are 25 lines of the text with 14 characters in each line. The main content of the certificate is to record the contributions of the giver to Dong Chang. Because of his contribution to the imperial court, "Qing Shu died nine times, and his descendants died three times" (that is, the emperor can avoid the capital punishment nine times), which is a kind of reward and Keepsake given by the emperor to his subordinates. Since then, no matter how the shape and content of the ancient iron coupons in China have evolved, their purpose has never gone beyond the scope of "showing morality and justice, leading the world through customs", which is consistent with the meaning of modern medals.

Content of iron coupon

The contents of the inscriptions generally include four aspects: first, the date of the grant, the name of the giver, the official title and the place of the city; second, the record of the achievements of the giver to the imperial court; third, the privileges given by the emperor to the giver, such as escape from death; fourth, the emperor's oath. According to the relevant laws of Chaoyan, the meritorious officials, important officials and their descendants who hold iron certificates can enjoy various privileges granted by the emperor. in the Han Dynasty, the characters on Tiequan were filled with red sand, which is called "Danshu Tieqi", namely "Tiequan Danshu". After the Tang Dynasty, the iron scroll was not written in Dan Shu, but inlaid with gold. According to the record of stopping farming, the iron scroll given by the Tang Dynasty to Qian Liu, king of Wu and Yue, was shaped like a tile. It was more than three feet high and three feet wide, and its words were inlaid with gold. The oath includes the title of nobility, the official position and the meritorious service of being granted, and it is also engraved with the words "Qing forgives nine deaths, and his descendants die three times, or if they commit the regular punishment, they shall not be punished by the court". In the Ming Dynasty, tiejuan was made in accordance with the system of the Tang Dynasty, but "the so-called exemption from death, except for treason and rebellion, is one of the most important

Chinese PinYin : dān shū tiě quàn