A Study On The Flattery Atmosphere Of Jiajing Period In Ming Dynasty

Jiajing dynasty was a crucial period for the change of the Scholar-bureaucrat ethos in Ming dynasty,and flattery was a very important aspect.The rise and rapid spread of flattery in Jiajing Dynasty is closely related to major historical events,such as "Great ceremony",the worship of Taoism by Shizong,and the offering of auspicious sign by officials and people.It was the product of the special political ecological environment during Jiajing period,which shows a variant mode of getting along with the monarch and ministers.In the early days of Emperor Shizong’s accession to the throne,he was trapped in the embarrassing situation of being a foreign seignior,and was restrained by the former ministers’ fame.The imperial power was once under the cover of the discourse power of the literati headed by Yang Tinghe’s cabinet.However,this situation did not last long.With Shizong’s political maturity,the absolute power given to him by the monarchy over all courtiers was once highlighted,and his strong posture inevitably led to the shrinking of the scholar-officials’ power of discourse,which had been growing since the reign of Hongxi and Xuande.After Yang Tinghe’s cabinet failed to reach a agreement with Shizong because of the proposal of etiquette,a group of middle and lower level officials personally selected by Shizong began to enter the core area of the central system of the Ming Dynasty,formed a brand-new personnel structure of the court in Jiajing Dynasty.However,these officials,who suddenly became prominent by virtue of the ceremony,had to cater to the imperial power frequently in the subsequent relationship between the monarch and the minister because their power came from their close relationship with Shizong,so that the political atmosphere in the court gradually turned to flattery.Not only that,the success of the courtiers also triggered a group of people who wanted to be promoted to follow suit.Since Zhang Cong,Gui E and others came to the top,"people who wanted to be promoted came one after another",and for a while,courtesies became the norm in the imperial government,flattering the court.In the event of "Great Ceremony",the rapid and prominent reality of Zhang Cong and others formed a "demonstration effect" in the court,which stimulated the rise of flattery in the early years of Jiajing,and Shizong’s infatuation with Taoism accelerated the further spread of this trend.Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty worshiped Taoism and reigned for more than forty years.He recruited miscellaneous streams,favored alchemists,built large-scale buildings and built palaces and halls.Not only did he praise Xuanen for everything,but he also advanced and retired officials with a mysterious attitude.This reality encouraged the court to cater to the flattery of imperial power through Xuanen.Since Gu Dingchen got lucky by entering<Bu Xu Ci> in the tenth year of Jiajing,courtiers have been keen on writing Qing Ci as a stepping stone for promotion,even giving up their original tasks to serve,and the flattering atmosphere has become more and more serious.The king’s preference has always been a channel for courtiers to offer flattery.In addition to praising the ceremony and the Xuan,Shizong’s preference attitude towards auspicious omen also aroused the enthusiasm of his subjects and triggered a wave of offering auspicious omen during Jiajing period.The continuous expansion of auspicious auspicious groups in Jiajing Dynasty,the routine process of expressing congratulations and offering praises,and the characteristics of the number,types and time and space distribution of auspicious symbols all indicate the flattering intention behind the performance of auspicious symbols by subjects.Even the group of officials who constantly raised objections to the discussion of rites and the worship of Taoism became an important member of the group offering omen,which shows that the flattering atmosphere was popularized.The prosperity of flattery in the Jiajing Dynasty of Ming Dynasty was rooted in the vicious expansion of imperial power in Ming Dynasty.Since Ming Taizu abolished the system of changing the prime minister,the monarch has achieved absolute control over the power.Even the cabinet ministers who assumed the function of "prime minister" in the middle and late Ming Dynasty were trapped in the shackles of the ancestral system of "not being able to re-establish the prime minister",so it was difficult to really restrain the imperial power.The expanding imperial power used punishment and reward to seize the bureaucratic scholar-officials group,which not only worsened the political ecology of Jiajing Dynasty,but also led to the flattery of officials’ mentality and the flattering of the court political atmosphere.It also disintegrated the restriction mechanism of imperial power relying on civilian groups and accelerated the further expansion of imperial power.