Life of the characters
Since Zhongding, the power of Shang Dynasty gradually declined. The disciples vied with each other to stand for each other, and the princes did not come to the court any more. Pan Geng's father was the emperor's grandson. When Zuding died, Nangeng, the son of his younger brother wojia, became king. When Nangeng collapsed, Yang Jia, the son of his ancestors, ascended the throne. During the reign of Yangjia, the Shang Dynasty continued to decline.
After Yang Jia's death, pan Geng inherited the throne as his younger brother. The Shang Dynasty had moved its capital five times before, and the court had no fixed residence. At the beginning of Pan Geng's accession to the throne, the capital of the state was located in Yan (now Qufu, Shandong). Pan Geng moved his capital to Yin (now the northwest of Anyang, Henan Province), which is known as "Pan Geng moved to Yin". After pan Geng moved to Yin Dynasty, he continued to carry out the policy of Tang Dynasty, and then the common people came from Ning and Yin and Taoism revived. He experienced a prosperous period, so later generations also called Shang as "Yin Shang". After his death, "the common people thought about Pan Geng", but he wrote three chapters of Pan Geng, namely three chapters of Pan Geng preserved in the book of history.
Political measures: moving the capital
From Shang Tang, twenty kings were passed on, and the throne passed to pan Geng. When pan Geng ascended the throne, after several generations of civil strife in Shang Dynasty (i.e. the ninth rebellion, from Xiaojia to wojia), political corruption, aristocratic luxury, fierce Royal strife, sharp class contradictions, and frequent natural disasters, pan Geng was a capable monarch. In order to change the social instability at that time, he decided to move his capital again. However, most of the nobles are greedy for comfort and are unwilling to move. Some powerful nobles also incited the common people to fight against it.
When Shang Tang was founded in Shang Dynasty, the earliest state capital was Bo. In the next three hundred years, the capital moved five times. This is because the royal family often competed for the throne, resulting in civil strife. In addition, the lower Yellow River often suffered from floods. Once a flood flooded the capital, so they had to move.
In the face of powerful opposition, pan Geng did not waver in his determination to move the capital. He called the nobles who opposed the move of the capital and patiently persuaded them: "I want you to move because you want to stabilize our country. Not only do you not understand my pains, but you have senseless panic. You can't change my mind. "
When he learned that Anyang (then called BEIMENG) was rich in soil, beautiful in water, rich in mountains, tigers, bears and other animals, and there were fish and shrimp in the water, he decided to come here for development. In order to mobilize the capital to move, he made an important speech. The word "start a prairie fire" is condensed from the content of this speech. The nobles strongly opposed the move of the capital, so pan Geng issued a proclamation and sternly ordered them to obey. Finally, Ma Xiaoxiao and Che ranling led the people to cross the Yellow River to Anyang, which is known as "Pan Geng moved to Yin".
After moving to Yin, he stopped the nobles' attempt to move back to the old capital with strong means. Shangshu Pangeng is the record of his speech before and after moving to Yin. He also advocated thrift, improved the atmosphere, reduced exploitation, and finally stabilized the situation.
Influence of later generations
Pan Geng happened to be a king of Shang Dynasty with a sense of hardship. He saw the sufferings of the people keenly and tried every means to eliminate them. Pan Geng consciously absorbed the experience of the former king in governing the country, saying, "in ancient times, I did not care only about the people." He believed that before the Shang Dynasty, kings put the needs of the people first, and attached importance to and cared for the wishes of the people.
Although it was mistakenly recorded in records of the historian Yin Benji that Pan Geng moved his capital to Bo in the end, the records of "carrying out the policy of Tang, then the common people came from Ning, the revival of yin and Tao, and the coming of the princes" also showed that Pan Geng made great efforts to rule after successfully moving the capital, which completely reversed the situation of "chaos of the Ninth World" since Zhongding in Shang Dynasty, and realized the "revival of yin and Tao", So that the princes came to court. After pan Geng's death, his younger brother, Xiao Xinli, "Yin Fu is declining, people think about Pan Geng", which also confirms pan Geng's great achievements and noble character from the side, and is deeply respected by later generations.
His general requirement for the officials was that "there is no general manager in the goods, and he is born of mediocrity.". It requires officials not to collect treasure, but to love the people and show kindness to the people. As a king of Shang Dynasty, pan Geng had foresight, completed the most important migration of Shang capital, and laid the foundation for the development of Shang culture.
