However, it is such a folly that has the value of contemporary reform and innovation. Why did Zi Zhi Tong Jian almost criticize him and everyone didn't agree with him? First of all, because Wang Mang abolished the emperor and replaced him, it did not conform to the mainstream thought of that year. Second, the history of victory and defeat is written by the winners. Third, Wang Mang's political party lacked successors and was stigmatized as a negative example.
Abandoning the emperor and replacing it does not conform to the mainstream thinking of taking away men. Wang Mang was born in an era when Confucianism prevailed and captured men. At that time, loyalty and filial piety were emphasized, and China always insisted on the eldest son inheritance system in succession to the throne. As a eunuch in the late Western Han Dynasty, Wang Mang was neither the emperor's family nor his son. She immediately abolished the obedient baby of the abandoned emperor, called herself the emperor, and changed to a new dynasty, which was seriously inconsistent with the scholar country of that year. Although he was able to have supreme sovereignty, not bound by many things, and be able to show his talents, he also lost the strong support of many traditional Confucian ministers and sages who were influenced by orthodox thoughts at that time, so Wang Mang was considered an unfaithful and unjust disorderly minister at that time, and of course he would not be recognized by the world at that time and later.
Wang Mang, the winner writes history. As the emperor of the new dynasty, it took 15 years from the establishment of the new dynasty to its demise. Wang Mang was in charge of the world for 20 years and died at the age of 69. The new dynasty became one of the shortest periods in China's history. Because of the short time, the reform and innovation bills she promoted were all implemented in various ways, and the people who should have benefited from the reform and innovation could not get further benefits. In addition, the new dynasty created by Wang Mang also ended in failure. This man is a failure and a usurper. These historians who write history and those who stand on Wang Mang's body are even more difficult to give him a good evaluation, so this is also the reason why later generations did not give him a good evaluation.
Wang Mang's political party lacked successors, and it took a short time to be vilified by the later dynasty as the opposite of the new dynasty. Wang Mang lacks successors, so he can't realize the rationalization of Zen Buddhism and later generations, nor can he exaggerate and fabricate his rebellion.
The brand image of Wang Mang's unfaithful and unjust usurper immediately became a negative example, which needs to be mentioned in almost all periods created by later generations and passed down from generation to generation, thus warning usurpers and unorthodox heirs that no good end will come. In addition, because of Wang Mang's experience, a kind of discipline and an endless inertial thinking have been formed. Whoever gets rid of this discipline will be a sinner forever, as unfaithful and unjust as Wang Mang. So, from generation to generation, Wang Mang was stigmatized.
To sum up, in the case of not conforming to the mainstream thought of conquering heroes, in the fact that success or failure is at stake and history is written by the winner, and in the case of no successor, it is regarded as a negative example by the later Jin Dynasty, and it is vilified step by step, and the yellow ones are all said to be black. Therefore, in Zi Tong Zhi Jian, there are almost harsh descriptions of Wang Mang, which is very common, and later generations will naturally not agree with Wang Mang.