Respecting the elderly and caring for the young has always been a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation. Feudal society placed great emphasis on the issue of elderly care, ensuring that the elderly had support.
From the pre-Qin period to the Qin and Han dynasties, the elderly were given wine and meat, the orphaned and elderly were provided with rice and cotton, and criminals whose parents were old were pardoned. During the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han, the Three Elders were established to stabilize social order and provide consultation on local affairs.
During the Sui and Tang dynasties, these systems were further improved. Even the Jurchen and Mongol peoples provided some elderly care policies, such as generally bestowing grain and silk upon the elderly.
The Ming Dynasty naturally attached great importance to the policy of providing old-age care. Implementing old-age care measures for the common people was not unique to the Ming Dynasty, but a governing policy passed down from dynasty to dynasty.
At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhu De stipulated that men who reached adulthood at the age of sixteen would be subject to corvée labor, and those who reached adulthood would be exempted from corvée labor at the age of sixty. At the same time, it was also stipulated that if there were elderly people in the family who were over seventy years old, one person in the family could be exempted from corvée labor so that they could take care of the elderly.
As the nation's strength increased, Zhu De also ordered the implementation of additional elderly care measures. Regularly distributing rice, grains, silk, and cotton quilts to the elderly ensured their basic needs were met.
Another category is people with physical disabilities, those who live alone, or those who are extremely poor. These individuals can be admitted to nursing homes.
In fact, almshouses existed at the beginning of the dynasty, but they have been gradually improved over time. For example, the imperial court now wants to expand the scale of almshouses, and almshouses should also be established in some prefectures, counties, and remote areas.
"Grandfather, I plan to have the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Censorate jointly supervise this matter." Zhu Xiong Ying said to Old Zhu with some helplessness, "In recent years, some corrupt officials have been falsifying documents from time to time. Those who should be admitted to the orphanages have not been admitted, while those who should not be supported by the court have tried to sneak in."
There was no way around it; although Emperor Zhu had always been ruthless in punishing corrupt officials, there were still many corrupt officials around. The orphanages, which cared for the elderly and orphans, also had many ineligible individuals. One of them bribed the auditors to falsify his age and financial status, all to obtain government support.
Old Zhu's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Those people deserve to die!"
Zhu Xiong Ying nodded. He wouldn't be polite to these people either. "Grandfather, although the Great Ming Code requires that every prefecture and county in the country should have a charity home, progress is slow. I plan to include charity homes as one of the evaluation criteria for civil and military officials in the future, and the border garrisons should also have charity homes."
Old Zhu nodded with a smile; he has always been supportive of supporting the elderly.
"Respect the elderly as you would your own parents, and care for the young as you would your own children," Zhu Xiong Ying continued. "The elderly should be supported, and some children should also be supported. I think that if their parents died in the war, the court should support them. I am preparing to bring those children to the capital and raise them myself."
Old Zhu was taken aback for a moment, then said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Ying'er, this is no small matter. Can you handle it?"
In those times, seventy was a rare age, and elderly people of that age were few and far between. So, whether it was almshouses or the government distributing grain and cloth, the overall consumption was not significant. However, the number of orphans who died in service to the king was not insignificant.
Zhu Xiong Ying added, “Grandfather, I have also investigated, and the number is not large. Some soldiers died on the battlefield, and the court will naturally provide them with compensation. Their widows or parents can also raise their children. However, there are also some people whose illnesses and misfortunes are unpredictable. I cannot bear to send orphans and children to almshouses.”
Old Zhu nodded, then said fiercely, "What we fear most are those who live off the descendants of the deceased! If the head of the family dies, some of the relatives and clansmen will inevitably die, and some of the elders may not be able to be impartial."
"My grandson plans to create orphans of the Imperial Guards, as a way to give an explanation to the meritorious soldiers. They served the country loyally, and the court will take care of their wives. In addition to the five hundred orphans of the Rainforest, the Imperial Academy and the new schools will be specially granted permission for the descendants of meritorious soldiers to enroll..."
Zhu Xiong Ying was still talking eloquently when Old Zhu suddenly interrupted, "You can set up an Imperial Guard orphanage, we'll support you. We won't say anything about letting the soldiers' descendants study and learn to read and write. But what exactly is this 'new learning'?"
Zhu Xiong Ying, who was secretly pursuing his own agenda, wasn't embarrassed at all; in fact, that's exactly what he wanted to do. He knew that promoting new learning wouldn't be easy and wouldn't be accepted by traditional scholars, so Zhu Xiong Ying sought out students with more upright and patriotic backgrounds.
In the future, civil officials will certainly not be just those who read the classics!
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