Retirement age in ancient China: 70 from the Zhou Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty

The retirement age in ancient my country was 70 years old from the Zhou Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, and it was only changed to 60 years old in the Qing Dynasty. "Book of Rites·Qu Li Shang" said: "The doctor retired at seventy." The "retirement" here is the retirement age in ancient China today. From the Zhou Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, it was 70 years old, and it was only changed to 60 years old in the Qing Dynasty. "Book of Rites·Qu Li Shang" said: "The doctor retired at seventy." The "retirement" here is today's retirement. Kong Yingda, a famous scholar in the early Tang Dynasty, wrote: "Seventy is old age. At home, he will pass on family affairs to his descendants. When he is an official, he will take charge of the duties he takes on to the monarch, and he will return them to the fields." This means that when people grow old at the age of 70, they should pass on family affairs to their descendants at home, and return their positions to their superiors in the court to allow sages.

The Qin and Han Dynasties followed the example of the Zhou Dynasty. When Wei Xian, the prime minister in the Western Han Dynasty, was in his seventies, he "begged for his death because of his old age." The emperor gave him a hundred kilograms of gold and a house and allowed him to retire. Wei Xian became the first prime minister to retire in history, setting the precedent for a prime minister to retire. However, if an official is in poor health, even if he is under the age of 70, he can retire early, which is somewhat similar to today's "early retirement". "The Eastern Han Hui Hui" records several senior officials who left their posts due to illness."Zheng Jun, the minister, begged for his resignation due to illness, paid homage to the counselor, and reported his return";"Deng Biao, the marshal, begged for his resignation due to illness"... The retirement system of this period has been basically standardized, and the retirement age and retirement benefits are clearly defined.

The Tang Dynasty Order clearly stipulates: "All officials will retire at seventy." However, in the twenty-fifth year of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty, Xuanzong issued an edict: "Those who are old and sick are unable to carry out duties shall (agree) to retire from office." That is to say, the retirement system at this time, in addition to "all officials and seventy officials who are exhausted and retire routinely", also allows retirement for those officials who are under retirement age but suffer from diseases or injuries. There is a line in Du Fu's "Express Hearts at Night" in the poem "Is the name written in the article, officials should retire from old age and illness", which are the two main reasons for the retirement of officials in the Tang Dynasty.

The Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties still practiced the principle of "retiring at 70", with slight exceptions for individual individuals and departments.

In the Qing Dynasty, the retirement age was suddenly advanced by 10 years, and one could retire at the age of 60. However, when civil servants resigned, they needed approval from superiors and obtained documents before they could retire. Therefore, it is difficult for many people to retire at the age of 70, let alone 60. Xu Yuanmeng, a veteran of the Kang, Yong and Qian dynasties in the Qing Dynasty,"resigned because of his old age and inability to handle the criminal case," but repeatedly refused. Not only that, Emperor Qianlong also issued a special edict: "Xu Yuanmeng is mature and has a good reputation. Although he is over eighty years old and is not very tired, he can serve as usual and practice according to his needs. There is no need to retire." It was not until Xu Yuanmeng died in office at the age of eighty-four that it was settled. Military attaches in the Qing Dynasty were "dismissed from deputy generals and below, and those aged sixty were dismissed." This was because military camps needed vitality and taboo lethargy to maintain strong combat effectiveness. However, this rule still does not apply to senior military attaches such as admirals and commanders, who are all on a lifelong basis.