An absurd and eccentric emperor ―― a bad king

The emperor was originally the supreme ruler of the country, in charge of and handling military and political affairs. However, in the history of China, there are many bad kings who regard the military and political events of the country as jokes, but they engage in their hobbies with great enthusiasm and main energy, and even form various absurd quirks:

Fans of the emperor. The most typical ones are Tang Xizong and Song Huizong. Tang Xizong likes playing polo very much, and he plays it well. He proudly boasted: "If I get into Jinshi, I will definitely get the first place." On one occasion, there was a vacancy in Sichuan province, and the ministers who coveted this position were Chen, Niu Mian, Luo and others. When Tang Xizong finally considered and confirmed this extremely important official candidate, he even ordered more than four people to perform separately to confirm this extremely important official candidate. Finally, Chen, who played the best, was appointed as our ambassador in Sichuan. As for Song Huizong's love for Cuju (an ancient football sport), it is well known that he appointed Gao Qiu, a street hooligan who was good at Cuju, as the commandant-the military attache at that time. Emperor Fan treated state affairs as a joke, took the ball as an official and appointed non-people, and the result was bound to be chaos and national subjugation.

Merchant emperor. Liu Hong, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Yifu and Song Shaodi in the Southern Dynasties all set up "shops" in the market shops imitating the imperial palace. Both emperors put on merchant's clothes and sold them themselves. Xiao Baojuan, Emperor of the Southern Dynasties, was an expert in this field. He not only set up a trading market in the back garden of the palace, but also had fun with his concubines and ladies-in-waiting in shops that imitated the China market. He also set up a set of "market management institutions", with his favorite Pan Shi as the manager and the emperor himself as the manager under Pan Shi. Those who violated the "market discipline", including the emperor, were whipped, making the palace a mess.

Carpenter emperor. Amin Emperor Zhu Youxiao was a famous bad king. His hobby is to be a carpenter, build a house and operate an axe chisel by himself, which is unambiguous. His bedroom is often filled with all kinds of wood. He often works around the clock when making furniture. When he succeeded, he didn't want to spend time meeting officials, let alone dealing with military and political affairs, and let eunuch Wei Zhongxian take charge of everything, which formed the extremely dark eunuch dictatorship in the late Ming Dynasty for many years.

Beggar emperor. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Gao E, the empress of the Northern Qi Dynasty, had a more absurd "quirk"-she liked to be a beggar. He built a humble hut in Lin Yuan's harem, dressed himself in rags and begged along the street like a beggar. This is not because he wants to experience the life of the poor, but to come up with new ways to play and seek excitement to pass the boring and empty life. As a result, it not only ignores political affairs, but also corrupts the political style.

The opera fan emperor. The first opera fan emperor was Hu Hai. After he ascended the throne, he indulged in singing and dancing. On the basis of Nuo, he ordered people to compose music and write lyrics with orchestral strings, which developed into a drama with plots and became the predecessor of Shaanxi's "Shaanxi Opera". He ordered the establishment of a special opera music institution "Yuefu" to serve the court. He listens to music and plays games all day, but he doesn't know that there is chaos outside the palace. Tang is not only a rare opera fan, but also deliberately turned the pear garden into a gathering place for opera talents. Since then, "Liyuan" has become synonymous with the opera world. He took pleasure in Yang Guifei and handed over state affairs to Yang Guifei's younger brother, which eventually led to the "Anshi Rebellion". Empress Dowager Cixi, who was in power in the late Qing Dynasty, was the biggest opera fan in ancient and modern times, especially Peking Opera. In the face of foreign invasion, she became increasingly aggressive, the mountains and rivers were broken, and the people suffered, but she was indifferent. She watches Peking Opera almost every day, and she has built magnificent stages in both the Palace and the Summer Palace villa. She doesn't like watching traditional Chinese opera. Sometimes she wears costumes and goes out with eunuch Li. Under her influence, the dignitaries of the whole Qing Dynasty were addicted to Peking Opera. Those actors who acted for Cixi became "offerings in the palace" and were worth a hundred times. The famous actor (nicknamed Tian) has become the most admired idol of civil and military officials. As a result, there has been such a situation in Beijing: "Who is in charge of state affairs, the whole city is arguing that it is called Tianer!"

Even more romantic, the emperor indulged in women's sex. Qin Shihuang was the first romantic emperor who loved women. After he pacified the Six Kingdoms, he concentrated the concubines, ladies-in-waiting and imperial daughters of the rulers of the Six Kingdoms in Xianyang, and specially built a magnificent Epang Palace for their lewd enjoyment. It is said that every day, the powder water of Qin Gong's empresses and ladies-in-waiting washes is poured into Weishui, which makes the water float on a greasy layer. Because there were too many concubines, in addition to making wives queens, the emperors of the Han Dynasty also graded many little wives, calling them wives, beauties, lovers, eight sons, seven sons, long ambassadors and few ambassadors. "History of Emperor Wu's harem" contains "thousands of women". It is a famous court scandal that Emperor Cheng of the Eastern Han Dynasty prized Zhao. There are more than 10,000 women in the harem of Emperor Wu of Jin, which is a record-breaking. He often goes to the harem in a sheep cart, where he feasts and sleeps wherever the sheep cart is towed. In the Southern Dynasties, Chen Houzhu favored beautiful women Zhang Lihua and Kong Guiren, and left romantic remains of rouge well in Nanjing until Nanjing perished. Song Huizong even went out of the palace incognito and went to a brothel to visit the famous prostitute Li Shishi. Zhu Houzhao, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, not only had a large number of concubines in the harem, but also disguised himself as a prostitute. He fell in love with Liu Meiren, a prostitute, in Datong, and Li Fengjie, the daughter of the innkeeper, in Xuanhua. Youlong Opera Bone in Peking Opera is a description of this matter.

Idiot emperor

If the heir to the throne is not a doll, but a stupid idiot, he will become an idiot emperor. Idiot emperors are not as many as doll emperors in the history of China, but they are more harmful.

The most famous idiot emperor in the history of China was Sima Zhong, Emperor Hui of the Western Jin Dynasty. He was the second son of Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty. Because of the early death of his brother Sima Gui, he became the eldest son and became the Prince of the East Palace. At that time, the officials in charge of raising the prince in the East Palace knew that the prince was an idiot, but in order to maintain the inheritance system of the eldest son and his future status as an imperial envoy, they cooperated with Emperor Wu of Jin for a long time and concealed the truth. When Emperor Wu of Jin died, Sima Zhong ascended the throne as emperor, and for the sake of Emperor Jinhui, the truth of his idiotic dream could no longer be concealed. Once he went out to listen to frogs, he foolishly asked his attendants, "What's the matter with you? Is it private? " Are these frogs public or private? Hearing this, the attendants couldn't answer, so they had to perfunctory: "The official is in the officialdom, and the private is in the private field." Once, there was a famine in the whole country, and the people had no food and starved to death. The idiot emperor was very surprised after listening to the minister's report and asked the minister, "Since the people have no food, why don't they eat minced meat?" This absurd remark has become a joke through the ages. When the princes and ministers knew that Hui Di was an idiot, they all had ulterior motives: those who fought for power and profit, those who formed a clique for personal gain, and those who coveted the throne. Finally, the "Eight Kings Rebellion" broke out, which led to the invasion of the "Five Lakes", and the world was bustling and the lives were ruined. Hui Di himself became emperor in 17, and he died of poisoning. Soon, the Western Jin Dynasty perished.

Another idiot emperor was Sima Dezong, the Emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. He is the eldest son of Emperor Xiaowu of Jin Dynasty, and he was stupid and dumb since childhood. "Although the changes are cold and hot, there is no way to distinguish them." Dementia can't tell spring, summer, autumn and winter. Emperor Xiaowu knew this son was an idiot before his death, but in order to maintain the hereditary system of the throne and the inheritance system of the county chief, he still had to be a prince. In this way, Sima Dezong proclaimed himself emperor in 397 AD, for the sake of Emperor Jin 'an. Nature is an idiot emperor, who can't manage politics at all, which will inevitably lead to the fall of the powerful emperor, and the ministers will show their magical powers and make a mess of state affairs. Finally, the stupid emperor was hanged by the powerful minister Liu Yupa. Soon, the Eastern Jin Dynasty also perished.

There is also an idiot emperor in the history of China, Tang Shunzong Li Yong. He is the eldest son of Tang Dezong. He was extremely intelligent and knowledgeable, but four months before Hangzong died, he suddenly had a stroke and became stupid and dumb. Tang Dezong was a shrewd emperor, but he couldn't help Li Yong succeed to the throne after he discovered that the prince was stupid. Li Yong succeeded to the throne, that is, Tang, and he was in office for only one year. In this year, Wang, Wang? With the support of courtiers Liu Zongyuan, Liu Yuxi, Han Tai and others, the master carried out the famous "Yongzheng Innovation" (Yongzheng Nianhao Shunzong). However, because this innovation harmed the interests of eunuchs and buffer regions, they United against it. Tang Shunzong was forced to abdicate as the emperor's father, and the throne was succeeded by Chunli, the son of Shunzong, to Tang Xianzong. Two kings and Liu and Liu were naturally demoted. Innocent Shunzong also died of fright the following year. The political situation in the Tang Dynasty experienced fierce turmoil, and the situation of eunuch's monopoly and vassal hegemony became more and more fierce.

When an idiot is emperor, it will cause political instability and national difficulties. This is the evil result of autocratic politics and the tragedy of feudal society.

A ferocious emperor ―― a tyrant.

The emperors who killed too many subjects in history were called "tyrants" by later historians. Tyrants are bloodthirsty. They not only slaughtered the soldiers and civilians of enemy countries, but also slaughtered their own subjects and even their own flesh and blood.

The first tyrant in the history of China who likes to kill people was Qin Shihuang. In the process of pacifying the six countries and establishing the imperial industry, he often brutally slaughtered the soldiers and civilians of the six countries with the victory division. After the unification of the world and becoming the first emperor, he took the people of the whole country as the imaginary enemy, formulated strict and cruel laws, and constantly prevented and severely suppressed all the "bad" behaviors of the people. Even just suspecting that people have dissatisfied ideas, the so-called "condescension" will "abandon the market"-pull it to the street and behead it. His bloody slaughter of intellectuals-"burning books to bury Confucianism" nailed him to the shame column of "tyrant" forever, leaving him with eternal infamy.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, according to the Biography of Wen Yuan in the Ming Dynasty, he killed many intellectuals in past dynasties, which is really rare. At that time, the famous poet Gao Qi was beheaded by Zhu Yao; Yang Ji, also known as the "four great masters" with Gao Qi, was forced to die in the workshop of migrant workers, while Zhang Yu drowned in Lingnan and was imprisoned and killed. Xie Li, who was also called "Top Ten Talents" with Gao Qi, was killed; In addition, famous literati Su Boheng, Fu Shu, Wang Yi, Zhang and Du Yin were killed, Wang Meng and Wang Hongfan died, Dai Liang committed suicide, and so on. Historian Xu Yikui, in his congratulatory message to Zhu Yuanzhang, suspected that Xu intended to ridicule his humble origin, being a monk, and the word "then" being close to "thief", and wanted to kill Xu.

During the reign of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, about 140 years, many literary prisons were created to persecute and slaughter intellectuals, their families and clansmen, such as Zhuang Yan? Press -2 for Ming History, Nanshan Collection, Wang's Essay on the Western Expedition, Cha Siting's Collection, Copy and so on. Every time you press -2, it's like killing someone, killing his wife and children. It's really "killing people like grass, can't hear the sound"!

Many tyrants not only slaughter ordinary people and intellectuals, but also wield swords at subordinate civil servants and military commanders. In the history of China, the most famous emperors who killed heroes were Liu Bang, Emperor of the Han Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Originally, Liu Bang was weak, relying on the military strength of his subordinates such as Han Xin, Xiao He, Sean and Fan Kuai, and the assistance of generals such as Peng Yue and Ying Bu, he defeated the powerful Xiang Yu and won the world. But when he became emperor, he felt that the subordinates of "Lord Gao Zhen" were a threat to his soldiers, so he immediately made various excuses to slaughter these elders with the help of his wife Lv Hou. He first operated on Han Xin, who had outstanding achievements and extraordinary strategies, and arrested Han abruptly on charges of "rebellion" without evidence, and was later demoted to Tan Yin Hou. Soon, stand up, cut Korea, and lay down the three families. Then, Liu Bang killed Peng Yue, the king of Liang, by the same means, chopped him into a paste and wiped out the three clans. Then, Ying Bu, the king of Huainan, was destroyed one after another, and even Ding Gong, who was very kind to him, was killed. In the end, even his closest founding fathers, Fan Kuai and Xiao He, were almost killed.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, first formulated the Daming Law after he ascended the throne, stipulating that anyone who dares to "rebel" will be executed in the middle of the year, and his relatives will be implicated. Anyone who reaches the age of 16 will be beheaded. "Hu Press -2" was the beginning of his hero killing, killing about 30,000 people in succession. Later, General Hailan was executed for "rebellion", and there were 13 families who died in "Jiangan -2", reaching15,000 people. Other generals, such as risking their lives and making great achievements, were once praised by Zhu Yuanzhang as Song Lian, the teacher of the prince, Zhu's children's in-laws, Li Shanchang, one of the top officials, and so on. They were also killed or robbed. Historians of later generations commented on Zhu Yuanzhang: "It is unprecedented to set up the world to take advantage of heroes, that is, to kill all the people in the world." (Zhao Yi: Notes on Twenty-two Histories)

Before and after Wu Zetian came to power, it became common for the royal family to kill each other. Before she became Emperor Gaozong, she strangled her daughter in order to frame her political opponents in front of Emperor Gaozong. After she came to power, she killed her two sons one after another. Li Longji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, killed his three sons in one day. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Shi Hu killed the emperor's younger brother Sanhong and even killed his sister-in-law and nephew in order to usurp the throne. When he became emperor, he killed people like hemp. Later, due to family reasons, he brutally killed his parent-child Xuan Shi, and killed Xuan Shi's wife and 9-year-old son together.

Wen Xuandi Gao Yang of the Northern Qi Dynasty made Yin Gao the Crown Prince. Because Yin Gao was stupid and weak, and his uncles were tough, Gao Yang burned his brothers Jun Gao and Gao Huan alive on trumped-up charges. Gao Yang was very ill and dying. Anticipating that his son's throne would eventually be taken away by his younger brothers, he begged his eldest brother to give a high performance and said, "Take it, don't kill it." But later, shortly after Yin Gao became emperor, he was still abolished by Gao Yan. When Gao Yan was planning a plot, he contacted his younger brother Gao Zhan and promised: "When it is done, I will be the emperor's younger brother." Gao Yan acceded to the throne and made his son Gao Bainian the Crown Prince. Until Gao Yan died, he knew that Gao Bainian was no match for Gao Zhan, so he had to pass it on to Gao Zhan and begged Gao Zhan to be kind to his son. But after Gao Zhan became emperor, he still killed Gao Bainian.