At the beginning of the establishment of the Han Empire, people used their dissatisfaction with the incomplete legal system of the Qin Dynasty to conform to public opinion and carry out political reforms. In order to recuperate with the people, he adopted the ruling thought of doing nothing, which is the first time that Taoist thought has entered the room.
The so-called "indifference and inaction, there is nothing to do, there is no medicine to cure", and the chapter "The Original Way" expounds this ideological principle. Carrying out this principle in administrative practice is just like "getting rid of harshness to get rid of harshness" in Huainan Ming, and "there is no harsh order on the top, and officials have no treatment for the sick" in Huainan Su. Inaction politics seems to have a negative and conservative tendency, but it reveals the spirit of scientific objectivism from another angle. This kind of policy emphasizes that we should not act rashly in administration, and there are few emergency measures to avoid tyranny disturbing the people, so that social life can be stable under natural conditions. This political style is conducive to social stability and economic progress to a certain extent. [ 10]
The Wenjing period continued the idea of governing by doing nothing in the early Han Dynasty, and all political measures were actually carried out around the idea of governing by doing nothing, and the national strength of the Han Dynasty gradually recovered. The relatively broad political atmosphere in Wenjing era was conducive to social and economic development and cultural progress at that time. "History of Food Goods in Han Dynasty" said that "Emperor Wen ascended the throne and bowed to protect the people", which was of great significance to the economic recovery and development at that time.
At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, due to years of war and social and economic depression, the Han court greatly appreciated Huang Lao's ruling skills and adopted the policy of "being frivolous" and "sharing interests with the people".
In the second and twelfth years of Emperor Wendi's reign, he "exempted half of the land rent" twice, and in the thirteenth year of Emperor Wendi's reign, he also completely exempted the land rent. At the same time, it is not easy to send troops to neighboring hostile countries to maintain peace, so as not to consume national strength. This is a frivolous and generous policy.
Emperor Wen of Han lived a frugal life. There were no clothes in the palace, clothes were not mopped, and cars were not added. The curtains are not embroidered, and it is forbidden to contribute exotic things in the county. Therefore, the expenditure of the state was restrained, and the aristocratic bureaucrats dared not be extravagant, thus reducing the burden on the people. This is a rest and recuperation policy.
Emperor Wenjing also attached great importance to agriculture, and ordered many times to persuade farmers to teach mulberry, and set up a number of people, such as Sanlao, Filial Piety and Tian Li, according to the proportion of registered permanent residence, and rewarded them to encourage farmers to produce. Reward hard-working farmers and persuade officials to care about agriculture and mulberry trees. Every spring, they personally go to the fields to set an example for the people.
During the Wenjing period, we paid attention to "educating the people with morality". At that time, the society was relatively stable and the people were rich. By the end of Emperor Jingdi's reign, the granary of the country was full, and a large amount of copper coins in the treasury were not used for many years, so that the rope for wearing money was rotten, and the scattered money was countless.
With the recovery and rapid development of production, there has been a stable and prosperous scene that has not been seen for many years. The people's living standards have been greatly improved, and the material foundation of the Han Dynasty has been greatly enhanced. This is the first prosperous period of feudal society. The rule of Wenjing is the highest level of economic and cultural development in the history of China. The rule of Wenjing also laid a solid material foundation for the later conquest of Xiongnu by Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty.