Research On Self-accusation Of Emperors In The Song Dynasty

Imperial decree in which the emperor blamed himself for the suffering of people, is the most direct way to express supreme rulers' regret and remorse. The monarch usually promulgated important edicts to charge himself to appease the people. The rulers of Song Dynasty inherited the previous generation.They used to use laws,announcements, imperial decrees and regulations to punish themselves.The reasons behind the imperial decrees in which the emperors blamed themselves can be divided into four categories, including natural disasters, abnormal astronomical phenomena, man-made disasters and comprehensive reasons.The culture of self punishment have pervaded all the fields in the emperors' life. It was directly or indirectly reflected in the rulers' words and deeds of the Song Dynasty. Etiquette and system are very important in ancient China. The rulers of the Song Dynasty used to change reign titles, reduce food, get rid of the honorary titles, stop ceremonies and cancel recreational activities to show their guilt and lament.They also prayed and hold sacrificial ceremonies to express reverence and awe of heaven. Emperors felt guilty because of various disasters. They blamed themselves for the suffering of people and provided all kinds of rescues, including life assistance, legal aids, housing assistance and medical aids. The rulers of the Song Dynasty used to punish corrupt officials, oust the prime ministers to adjust the structure of personnel management. They also focused on improving personnel management and perfecting imperial examination system to rethink their moral characters and policy guidelines.As a king, the emperor's every word and action catch much attention. After the rulers' self-accusation, some rational and calm officials of Song Dynasty paid attention to the sincerity of the monarch. They exhorted the emperors to take practical actions to introspect and concern about people's lives. After the emergence of natural disasters and man-made misfortunes, the rulers of Song Dynasty rejected prime ministers' resignation in most cases. They refused to change the time of the solar eclipse by adjusting leap month. These aspects show the emperors' nous of the Song Dynasty.An analysis of the factors of the formation for self-accusation of emperors in Song Dynasty can help us to understand the original intention of the rulers' remorse. It is the breakthrough point for theresearch on self-accusation of emperors in the Song Dynasty. The thought of the wrath of heaven, the idea of loving for people and the development of Neo-Confucianism cultivate the idea of emperors' self-examination in Song Dynasty. The rulers of ancient China have supreme power. The legitimacy and rationality of this power need to be proved. The emperor blamed himself to prove the identity as a ruler.They also wanted to obtain the trust of people and adjust policy through self-accusation. Self-accusation is one of the laws handed down from forefathers. The related education and scholar-bureaucrats' urging promoted monarch of Song Dynasty paid more attention to self-examination. In addition, the constantly approaching of Nomadic Nationalities also inspired the emperors to blame themselves in the Song Dynasty.