Analysis of Emperor Han Wu’s “Paying Supreme Tribute to Confucianism While Banning All Other Schools of Thought”

周铃

【Abstract】The statement of Emperor Han Wus “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought” was put forward by Dong Zhongshu， which aroused widespread debate. Many researchers think there is an argument and questioning between the saying and historical facts. There is no doubt that the ideology relates to both academic argument and political situation in Han Dynasty. The thesis will explore reasons of the policy “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought” carried out in Chinese feudal society， analyze if Emperor Han Wu only took Confucianism and abandoned other schools of thoughts， and state the influence of Dong Zhongshu on the policy.

【Key words】Emperor Han Wu； Dong Zhongshu； Paying Supreme Tribute to Confucianism； All Other Schools of Thought

I. Introduction

“Paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought” is an important event in Chinese history （Wan， 2002）. After the saying was come up with and carried out in Han Dynasty， it meant that Confucianism became a dominant thought in Chinese feudal society for a long time. It had a great influence on Chinese feudal society， economy， culture， institution， and so on. There was a debate whether the emperor of Han Dynasty used Confucianism instead of other thoughts. In 1993， Sun Jingtan wrote that the saying was unreal and groundless， a historical joke. However， Guan Huailun replied that he disagreed with the point raised by Sun Jingtan and proposed his own opinions from three aspects （Liu， 2007）. In the thesis， it will analyze the reasons why Confucianism was considered as a dominant thought in Chinese feudal society， show whether Emperor Han Wu only took Confucianism instead of other schools of thoughts， and the influence of Dong Zhongshu on the policy.

II. Reasons of carrying out “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought”

1. Political needs of ruling class

In the relationship between Confucianism and political needs， plenty of experts came up with their views. Lin Ganquan connected the political characteristics of various historical stages from the Warring States period to the early Western Han Dynasty with the development and changes of Confucianism itself in the stages. He stated that the status and importance of Confucianism were decided by the political needs of feudal ruling class. In order to adapt to the political needs， Confucianism must make changes. As Xu Guanglie said， with the changes of political situation， Han Dynasty must change the policy from inaction to action；the saying “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism” didnt previous Confucianism stated by Confucius and Mencius， but an outcome mixing Confucianism， legalism， yin-yang thought together. Teng Fuhai thought “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism” was not created and pushed by Dong Zhongshu， but the political struggle， system and ideological construction in Han Dynasty satisfied the demands of ruling class. At the same time， the Confucians seized the opportunity to adapt to the complex environment and become the dominant thought in all Chinese feudal society （Guo， 2015）. Of course， Emperor Han Wu was a statesman， not a scholar. The most important for him was how to consolidate their dominance， and then how to govern the country well. He was not concerned about academic theory， but its ability of serving political construction for the ruling class （Liu， 2007）.

2. Academic features of Confucianism

From the Warring States， Qin and early Han Dynasty， the academic development of Confucianism has got great achievement. In order to survive and develop in that complex condition， Confucianism started to absorb the theory of ordered reform of Yin-Yang and the five elements school， which laid a foundation for the domination of Confucianism in Han Dynasty. Later， Dong Zhongshu raised the divine right of king and the thought of great unity that provided a direct theoretical basis of centralization and conquering other nations， which is what the governors wanted to realize， so Confucianism was regarded as a dominant thought in the whole Chinese feudal society. We could see that Confucianism in that time has blended other school thoughts and could meet the political needs of ruling class. It was beneficial to suppress the thoughts of people and defend the benefits of ruling class.

III. Intension of “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought”

From traditional view， “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought” was that Emperor Han Wu destroyed and forbade all other school thoughts except Confucianism， and it was considered as a policy of cultural despotism. However， a great number of historians questioned the point.

Zhu Weizheng pointed out that “banning all other schools of thought” only rejected the Lao Zi School rather than all other schools and “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism” also was to reject the learners who believed in Lao Zi thought. If the policy aimed at forbidding all other schools， Confucianism has mixed a variety of other school thoughts together， so should we reject Confucianism？Lin Jianming stated that the Emperor Han Wu advocated Confucianism， which was not to forbid totally other school thoughts， instead， to raise the status of Confucianism and regard it as the official rule thought of Han Dynasty. It is mainly to adopt the thought of great unity instead of Lao Zi thoughts and strengthen the dominance of thoughts.

Yan Zheng thought that “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought” did not mean that Confucianism dominated totally in Han Dynasty. Confucianism didnt meet ideological and cultural needs at all levels of society. Although people who learned Confucian classics could enter the official career， the number of doctoral students was limited， and a great number of people couldnt work as officials. At the same time， Confucianism could adapt to the social and political needs， but its historical and moral points could not meet the cultural and ideological needs at all levels of society. Besides， the rulers of the Han Dynasty did not fully follow Confucianism and regard completely Confucians as officials. Therefore， Confucianism could be considered as a dominant cognitive thought and did not occupy a prominent place， which was nothing like that of Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Besides， If Emperor Han Wu wanted to complete the establishment of a unified feudal empire， Confucian alone was not enough， and still needed to gather plenty of legalists who could promote the development of productivity and prosperity. At that time， although the Confucian school was technically orthodox and official， people who were really appointed were mostly legalists.

IV. Influence of Dong Zhongshu in “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought”

Generally speaking， the saying of “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought” often owed to Dong Zhongshu， who played a key role in the process. In fact， he could not be thought as the initiator of paying supreme tribute to Confucianism. When Crown Dou was alive， Wei Qi， Wu An， Zhang Wan and Wang Zang came up with “Confucianism carried out fully instead of Taoist school；as a result， Crown Dou became very angry， killed Zhang Wan and Wang Zang. Later， Jia Yi also put forward “respecting the king and restraining the minister”， which is the pioneer of paying supreme tribute to Confucianism. These people all made great contribution to the proposition of “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought”.

Dong Zhongshu advocated the unity of thoughts， and blended all school theories in the Warring States period into the Confucius theory. Confucianism in Han Dynasty was not the original that in pre Qin dynasty after his transformation. In fact， Emperor Han Wu Dynasty carried out Confucianism， not following the Confucian but respecting emperor. However， he adopted a unified thought， which was conducive to strengthen the autocratic system and defend the unification of country （Zhu， 2004）.

V. Conclusion

When China emerged from a united nation， the whole country appeared a phenomenon guided or governed by an ideology. In Qin Dynasty， the legalist school was thought as the ruling ideology， so it was common that the Confucianism was considered as a main ideology in Han Dynasty （Yang， 2000）.

Although there is a debate about Emperor Han Wus “paying supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought”， it still gets great achievement in its reasons， reliability， historical development process and the influence of Dong Zhongshu. The policy is the combination between the unification of polity and thoughts， which is beneficial to promote the political， economic， cultural development of the whole feudal society. The thought still has an important influence on us today.

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