The Theory Of“Calamities And Anomalies”and Politics Of The Western Han Dynasty

As a kind of political culture,the theory of “calamities and anomalies” had been affected political operation of the Western Han Dynasty profoundly.The dissertation is focus on the interaction between the theory of “calamities and anomalies” and politics of the Western Han Dynasty,especially on how the theory of “calamities and anomalies” influence the regime legitimacy of the Western Han Dynasty and how political struggle influence the theory of “calamities and anomalies”.In order to observe the evolution of the theory of “calamities and anomalies”,the article divides it into five stages.Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty gave a “criminal imperial edict” due to the solar eclipse and Lu Jia's “calamities and anomalies” discourse had a great influence on the theory of “calamities and anomalies”,so this paper refers to the period of Emperor Wen of the Han as the embryonic period of the theory of “calamities and anomalies”.During the phase of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty,Dong Zhongshu's theory of “calamities and anomalies” was the main clue,which would help us understand the political background and motives for elucidating the theory of “calamities and anomalies” in this stage.Then I would analyze the reasons why Suihong put forward the “demise system” and how Emperor Xuan used the theory of “calamities and anomalies” to improve the legitimacy of the throne.The periods of Emperor Yuan,Emperor Cheng and Emperor Ai were the peak of the theory of “calamities and anomalies”,and this period was accompanied by a strong trend of retro thinking.Therefore,the relationship between the theory of “calamities and anomalies” and retro become topic at this stage.In addition,the political struggles are also important research objects.Finally,the article try to explain the decline of the theory of “calamities and anomalies” in Wang Mang's period.