In ancient China, when officials retired, they had a very elegant title: "Shi Zhi". Literally, it means being an official and taking an official career. In fact, the original intention is "the official position belongs to the king", that is, if you don't be an official, you will retire. In addition, there are nicknames such as "causing trouble" and "provoking politics".
In the Tang Dynasty, the word "retirement" began to appear. For example, Han Yu, an essayist in the Tang Dynasty, said in "Preface to Fu": "Retreat and make fu." In other words, his "Fu Zhi Fu" was written after he retired and went home.
The lower the level, the earlier you leave.
The core of the retirement system is the definition of retirement age, and different dynasties have different regulations. According to the Book of Rites, the Zhou Dynasty was a doctor at the age of 70. Later generations basically followed this retirement period. The Tang Dynasty stipulated: "When an official is seventy years old, his energy is exhausted." In ancient times, people's average life expectancy was not long, and retirement at the age of 70 was basically equal to life tenure for most people. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was gradually changed to retirement at the age of 60. Especially in the Qing Dynasty, the retirement age of junior military attaché s was greatly advanced according to their posts: "Fifty-four generals and fifty-one guerrillas are all guarding forty-eight, and they are all in charge of forty-five." The younger the officer, the earlier he leaves. This is in stark contrast to the retirement of civil servants at the age of 70 and officers at the age of 80 in the Song Dynasty.
Although the retirement age has specific provisions, there are many exceptions, because the emperor is heaven and the imperial edict is the system. For example, Guo Shoujing, a great astronomer in the Yuan Dynasty, applied for retirement many times after he was over 70 years old, but the emperor refused. As a result, at the age of 86, he died in the post of Zhitaishi College. It's really "do your best to die"!
After retirement, it is supported by the state.
Another important content of the retirement system is the treatment after retirement, which is related to the big problem of retired officials' sense of security and respect. All previous dynasties paid more attention to this.
The first is political treatment. The Book of Rites called Dr. Qing "the old man of the country". Ordinary officials call themselves "ordinary old people", from which we can see the respect for old officials. In the Tang Dynasty, a farewell ceremony was held for officials appointed as officials. It's not the same as issuing an honorary retirement certificate now, but the meaning is the same. Officials above the third rank are still allowed to walk around the imperial court and participate in state affairs after they become officials. Officials in the Ming Dynasty are still respected in etiquette, and they still enjoy the courtesy of their original titles when attending banquets, sacrifices and other activities.
Secondly, in terms of economic treatment, there will be good treatment after retirement. According to the regulations of the Han Dynasty, an official with an annual salary of more than 2,000 stone can receive one third of the original salary as a pension when he retires. Retired officials in Wei and Jin dynasties simply appointed a "counselor" and other idle posts to support them; In the Tang Dynasty, the salaries of officials with five titles or above were halved, and the heroes and fathers, with the approval of the emperor, could retain their full salaries after retirement. For example, when Fang and Song Jing became officials, the emperor granted special permission. When officials under six grades retire, they will be assigned a certain number of fields to support the elderly.
The best reason for abnormal retirement is to "report illness". Retirement from illness is called "begging for bones" and "begging for the body", which means please be kind and leave my old bones alone. It sounds pathetic, but it's just a trick of "wailing for the enemy to win". For example, the retirement age of Emperor Taizong's officials is 70, and those who have made great contributions to the imperial court can postpone their retirement age. Li Jing, the founding father, is one of the twenty-four heroes who hang portraits on Lingyan Pavilion in Gongdefang. However, because of his injury, he requested permission to retire at the age of 64.
In ancient times, besides the commonly used "Shi Zhi", there were many sayings about retirement.
In ancient China, officials retired in the middle of the night as "officials", but modern people often understand it as officials. Actually, it is not. In ancient Chinese, the original meaning of "being an official" is "returning the official position to the king", that is, not being an official, but abdicating.
The "official career" in official career is what modern people call retirement. In Chinese ancient books, the words "stop, cause trouble, retreat, retreat and repay" are all nicknames for officials. Another is "begging for bones", and the monosyllabic word "Lao" is probably used earlier. There are more than ten places in Zuo Zhuan, which was written in the Spring and Autumn Period. The disyllabic words that still mean retirement are "please be old", "beg for the old" and "please be old". "Begging for bones", "begging for bones" and "begging for the body" also refer to retirement, which is used quite a lot in ancient history books. Beggars, beggars. I was going to retire when I reached the prescribed age. Why do officials ask for it themselves?