Auspicious And Politics Of Ming Dynasty

Auspicious is an important factor in the ancient chinese political culture. Those categories of Auspicious Sign in Ming Dynasty served as a link with the past.But the types and quantities are much less than those in "Bai Guan Zhi"which was written in Tang Dynasty.However,it shows the Auspicious of astronomical phenomena, object image and personnel.There was no innovation on the understanding of Auspicious Sign for the scholars in Ming Dynasty. They still inherited the thoughts of Auspicious Sign in Dong Zhongshu’s "Theory of Man as an Integral Part of Nature" and "Interaction Between Man and Nature". Emperors of the Ming Dynasty had kinds of different perspectives on Auspicious Sign. They can be divided into two categories:One is humility,the other is celebration, related with the disasters which can control the peace. Believe auspious,then bless auspious. No matter Which one it is. According to the origin, it actually presented the utilitarian attitudes of the emperors. Humility or celebration is one of the strategies for the Emperors to control the people and govern the country.Whereas, among the group of Literati and Officialdom,Some took the advantages of the communicative characteristic of Auspicious Sign and persuaded the conduct of the emperors to limite the power as a king.The others made use of Auspicious Sign to gain the favour from the king.Auspicious Sign played an important role in political life of the Ming Dynasty. It provided a validity proof for the emperors’ rule which is also a political strategy for the emperors to govern the country. In another word,it would keep the basic tone for the problem of Auspicious Sign and help the emperors establish an open-minded King. That looked like the game for the King and his officials. Auspicious Sign is a tool for inducing the country men to piety and look after elders which is also a compass for the Literati and Officialdom. It is obvious that Originally a simple astronomical phenomena, animals, plants, or some unusual phenomenon,trumpeted by the rulers, turned to be the symbol of a special and significant reference. From this perspective, it can be concluded that Auspicious Sign is a kind of belief and tendency,played an important role in political life of the Ming Dynasty.