Abstract:? Qin Shihuang was the first feudal dynasty in China to unify multiple ethnic groups - the first monarch of the Qin Dynasty. His contribution to our country is very profound, but at the same time it is also controversial, because behind his achievements, there are also many mistakes that should not be made. In this article, let us discuss the merits and demerits of Qin Shihuang.
Keywords: Qin Shihuang/unify the six countries/reform the new system/
English summary: Qin Shihuang was the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, China's first unified multi-ethnic feudal dynasty. His contribution to our country is enormous, but it is also controversial, because behind his achievements, there are many undeserved mistakes. In this article, let's discuss the merits and demerits of Qin Shihuang.
Unify the Six Nations It can be said that Qin Shihuang Yingzheng is unknown to everyone and known to everyone. So does his merit outweigh his faults or his faults outweigh his merits? People have been arguing about it for nearly a hundred years, and everyone has their own opinion. To evaluate Qin Shihuang's victory, the poet Li Bai wrote a poem: "The King of Qin swept Liuhe, how majestic the tiger looked! He wielded his sword to cut through the floating clouds, and all the princes came to the west." Praising his talents and strategies, thinkers in the Ming Dynasty called him "the one emperor through the ages", and there is also "Guo Guo" "On the Qin Dynasty" and "Efang Gong Fu" condemned his wasting people and money and carrying out large-scale construction projects. There was also the conclusion that "tyranny is more fierce than a tiger" and the folk legend of Meng Jiangnu crying at the Great Wall.
What I want to discuss with you today is the dynasty that unified the six countries and created the first unified dynasty in Chinese history, and the owner of the patent rights for the title of emperor - Ying Zheng. I think Qin Shihuang's victory in politics had both merit and demerit. Although Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng is the emperor, the emperor is also a human being, not a god. Human beings all make mistakes and have shortcomings. I think his merits mainly include the following two aspects.
? 1. Qin Shihuang Yingzheng unified the six countries and realized the unification of the world. In the era of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period, the seven heroes stood side by side. Although there was a slight disparity in strength, no one could do anything to the other. In the end, why did Qin destroy the six kingdoms and achieve unification? First, Qin Shihuang, the fifth ancestor of Qin Yingzheng, Qin Xiaogong, implemented the Shang Yang Reform in the Qin State. After the reform, the Qin State abolished the old system and achieved great development in politics, economy, military and other aspects, making the Qin State one of the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period" at that time. The most powerful country. The second was the largest decisive war in the late Warring States Period - the Battle of Changping. The Battle of Changping was a battle of annihilation in which Qin won and Zhao lost, laying the foundation for Qin to unify the six kingdoms. Third, in order to achieve unification, King Yingzheng of Qin widely recruited wise men from various countries. For example, King Yingzheng of Qin abolished the "Expulsion Order" and reused outstanding talents such as Li Si of Chu and Wei Liao of Wei. Advisors and talents from various countries also defected to Qin, strengthening Qin's power. In terms of the unification strategy, King Qin Yingzheng adopted Li Si's suggestion and first conquered the weak Korea, then wiped out both wings, and finally destroyed Qi. King Yingzheng of Qin used a stratagem against his powerful enemy Zhao, causing King Zhao to kill the famous general Li Mu and destroy the Great Wall. He then captured Handan, the capital of Zhao, and captured King Zhao. He also diverted the Yellow River water to flood the beams of Wei's capital, causing its walls to collapse and the state of Wei to perish. ; To deal with the Chu State, King Qin Yingzheng asked the veteran general Wang Jian to command and mobilized all the troops from the country to attack Chu and destroy Yan and Qi like a broken bamboo. In the ten years from 230 BC to 221 BC, the Qin Kingdom successively destroyed the six kingdoms of Han, Zhao, Wei, Chu, Yan, and Qi, unified the country, and established the Qin Dynasty. The Qin Shihuang Yingzheng completed the unification and ended hundreds of years of feudal feudal rule. It complied with the trend of historical development and was of progressive significance. Qin's unification conforms to the wishes of the broad masses of the people. Hundreds of years of war since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period have caused serious damage to social productivity and brought huge disasters to the people. People of all ethnic groups urgently need national unification and social stability, and Qin's unification is in line with the aspirations of the people. Qin Shihuang Yingzheng followed the historical trend and completed the great cause of unifying China in only ten years after taking the throne. Qin Shihuang won the government for the unification and social development of China.
? 2. Qin Shihuang defeated the Zhao army in Changping. From then on, the six countries were no longer able to resist Qin’s offensive. From 230 BC to 221 BC, King Qin successively conquered six countries and established the first unified centralized state in the history of our country. The territory of the Qin Dynasty extended to the sea in the east, Longxi in the west, the Great Wall in the north, and the South China Sea in the south. It surpassed previous dynasties and became the first unified multi-ethnic country in the history of China. In 221 BC, the twenty-sixth year of Qin Shihuang, the unified state of the authoritarian central group officially began to replace the feudal state where the princes were divided and ruled the roost. This is a great event of great significance in Chinese history. It was since the Qin Dynasty that China formed a unified country with the Han ethnic group as the main body. Emperor is a term created by Qin Shihuang, who is the president of the landlord class. The ruling institutions at all levels headed by the emperor are tools used to oppress the working people. But on the surface, these instruments of oppression were framed as mediators of conflicting interests, and the emperor became the supreme protector and notary of each class. The Qin Dynasty lasted only fifteen years, and Qin Shihuang reigned for twelve years. He completed many major projects that were conducive to unification and promulgated many new systems to maintain the country's rule. After unifying the six kingdoms, Qin Shihuang first clarified the supreme power of the emperor's dictatorship. The emperor calls himself "Zhen" to express his supreme status. All political affairs, no matter how big or small, are ultimately decided by the emperor alone. Qin Shihuang also divided the world into thirty-six counties. After that, he successively conquered some new territories until he conquered forty counties. Nashou was appointed by the court and could be mobilized at any time. Each one was responsible for commanding thousands of counties. Qin law stipulates that anyone who has achieved military merit will have his official position determined according to the size of his merits. Therefore, during the period of Qin Shihuang, many warriors became local officials. This is beneficial to centralized rule. However, the political orders in various places were cruel and aroused great resentment among the people. The central official system of the Qin Dynasty included official positions such as the left and right prime ministers, imperial censors, Taiwei, generals, Tingwei, Zhisu Neishi Shaofu and doctors. The local official system includes the county governor, county lieutenant, censor and county magistrate. Township officials below the county level include Sanlao, Shifu, Youhui, and other official positions such as pavilion chief. Various official positions are like parts in a machine, functioning together to form a huge governing network. The person in charge of this machine is the supreme ruler, the Emperor. Before the unification of the Qin Dynasty, the characters of each country were different, which had a certain impact on the exchanges between cultures. By the time of the Qin Dynasty, many different writing styles were unified. The unification of characters is of great significance to cultural exchanges. Once the characters are unified, people can communicate through characters even if the dialects in different regions have different pronunciations. The territory of the Qin Dynasty stretched from the sea in the east to the Five Ridges in the south. Such a vast territory posed a challenge to the country's defense capabilities. In order to prevent the invasion of Huns and nomads, the Qin Dynasty built the Great Wall of more than 10,000 miles. At the same time, this also outlined for us the Li territory of China determined at that time. The economic measures taken by Qin Shihuang were also of great significance to China's economic development. Before the Qin Dynasty, the specifications of Chidao built in various countries were different. By the time of Qin Shihuang, the specifications of Chidao were unified. The construction of Chidao brought great convenience to land transportation. At the same time, Qin Shihuang also decided to open waterways. He connected the waterways built by various countries during the Warring States Period and carried out large-scale water conservancy projects. Shilu Junqu, in particular, showed great creativity. In addition, there are records that Qin Shihuang once ordered Fang Tu to lead thousands of boys and girls on a voyage to seek elixir. It can be seen that the navigation technology at that time was able to support large-scale voyages. The sea, inland rivers and land routes together form a developed transportation network and promote economic development. In 221 BC, Qin Shihuang also issued an edict to unify weights and measures and delineated a unified currency. These two measures were of great significance and had a profound impact on later generations. When Qin Shihuang first destroyed the six kingdoms, he moved 120,000 households. Rich people come to Xianyang. Due to their strong influence in the local area, these rich people annexed land, extended loan sharking, and dominated a township, a county, or even a county, which was extremely obstructive to unification. Now that these people are forced to move to new places, they will inevitably lose their power, and the fields and houses that these people left behind can be dispersed into the hands of others. Qin Shihuang also sent some criminals and fugitives to garrison in Wuling and live together with the natives. Han culture began to spread to the south. This great migration of the Qin Dynasty played a positive role in the spread of culture and the development of production. Beginning in the second half of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, two different land ownership systems coexisted in Chinese society. By 216 BC, individual private ownership of land was finally legally determined.
After the decree was finalized, landlords and farmers with land automatically reported the actual amount of land and paid taxes to obtain land ownership. In addition to political and economic measures, the cultural and psychological "Xing Tong Lun" also had a huge impact on the people. In areas with Han culture, people mainly follow the family system in the orthodox Confucianism of Confucius and Mencius. Qin Shihuang stipulated a series of ethical rules based on the Yin Yang and Five Elements theory of Confucianism. For example, the first day of the lunar month was the first day of the year, and black clothes and flags were considered noble. After the destruction of the Six Kingdoms, Qin Shihuang reigned for twelve years and visited prefectures and counties five times. The purpose was to "show strength and subjugate the country" and declare his merits in unifying the four seas. Qin Shihuang's five tours, combined with the promulgation of unified systems, written texts, large-scale immigration, and various economic measures, promoted the huge implementation of "Xing Tong Lun" nationwide.
Of course, although Qin Shihuang had many achievements, it could not cover up his faults. So let's take a look at what else it's guilty of.
1. At a banquet, 70 doctors came forward to toast the First Emperor’s birthday. Servant Zhou Qingchen took the opportunity to pay tribute and said something in praise of his merits and praises the system of prefectures and counties. Chun Yuyue, a scholar, was very disgusted with Zhou Qingchen's "face-to-face flattery". He advocated following the example of Shang and Zhou Dynasties and implementing the enfeoffment system. He believed that "it is unheard of to do things that can last long without following the ancients." The First Emperor submitted Chunyu Yue's opinions to his ministers for review. Prime Minister Li Si refuted Chun Yuyue's views, and then severely criticized the academic style at that time: "Today's people do not learn from the present but study the ancients, because they are not contemporary, and confuse the head of Guizhou. ... Private study and teaching are illegal, and people hear the order If you go down, everyone will discuss it based on their knowledge. When you go in, you will have a wrong heart. When you go out, you will talk about it in the street. You will praise the master for reputation, take the difference to think you are superior, and lead the group to slander. "He believes that if this behavior is not stopped, "the master will be blamed." "The power falls from above, and the Party and success come from below." It was recommended to issue an order to ban bans, and the specific provisions were prepared as follows: all historians who are not Qin Ji should be burned; those who are not doctorate officials should dare to have "Poems" and "Books" in the world. 》、Those who talk about hundreds of schools of thought shall be burned by Yishou and Weiza. Anyone who dares to talk about "Poems" and "Books" will be abandoned from the market. Those who regard the ancients as different from the present will be guilty of the same crime. Anyone who fails to do so when the officials see it is the same crime. Order If you don't burn it for thirty days, you will be tattooed. If you want to learn medicine, divination, and tree planting, you should take the official as your teacher. Qin Shi Huang immediately approved it and said: "Yes." "That is to say, the above suggestions are promulgated as a formal decree throughout the country. This is the origin of bans such as book burning. In other words, "book burning" in the true sense refers to Qin Shihuang's order to burn historical records of various countries except "Qin Ji" He also strictly prohibited people from talking about "Poems" and "Books" in private during the "Book Burning" period, and vigorously eradicated any private discussion. Death penalty or even genocide; if anyone wanted to learn the law, he had to worship an official as his teacher. Qin Shihuang did not burn all folk literature, nor did he prohibit all ways of learning. Of course, some books such as medicine, divination, and tree planting were not burned. The contents of the book have long been imprinted in people's minds and have avoided the "Qin Fire". Many ancient books that appeared later were restored based on the memories of these people. The biggest impact of Qin Shihuang's burning of books in academic history was that it led to "Sinology". The study of exegesis of chapters and sentences arose. The preface to the New Tang Dynasty Calligraphy and Literature Chronicles states: "Since the Six Classics were burned in the Qin Dynasty and came back to the Han Dynasty, the way of teaching passed down by teachers has been outstanding, and the compilation has been messed up and corrupted. Scholars have not been able to get the original version, and they only have the chapters and sentences of Confucian scholars. Learning is flourishing. "The dispute between the two Han Dynasties and the ancient classics, as well as the dispute over the authenticity of classics such as "Shang Shu" after the Han Dynasty, are directly related to the burning of books by the Qin Emperor. Qin Shihuang did not reject Confucianism at first. After he unified the country, most of the time he used both Confucian and The legal official had seventy doctors as advisors. It is said that this number was specially set after the number of Confucius' disciples. In addition, judging from the stone tablets he left behind, he seemed to be very upholding ethics. He is an extremely confident person and will never allow others to question everything about him. Therefore, the doctor's advocacy of restoring the feudal system is tantamount to criticizing the county system and denying Qin Shihuang. There are still different opinions. For example, the "suspicious antiquity school" that emerged in the Republic of China believed that there was no such thing as "confucianism" and that it was a fabrication by later generations. However, archaeological discoveries in recent years have gradually broken this view. "Confucianism" is suspected of being taken out of context. Qin Shihuang did cheat some people, but these people were not "Confucian scholars", but "alchemists" who quoted Confucian classics to criticize current affairs. This view is generally consistent with Sima Qian's "Historical Records", whose record is Like this: It is said that Qin Shi Huang sent many alchemists into the sea to seek immortality and elixir of immortality. This not only cost a lot of money, but most of the alchemists never returned.
In the second year of the "Book Burning", Fang Shihou and Lu Ersheng agreed to search for medicine for Qin Shihuang, but they knew that they had no results and were afraid of being executed, so they fled with their huge sums of money. What's even more disgusting is that before they fled, they also slandered Qin Shihuang for being violent and conceited, specializing in officials, and greedy for power. Qin Shihuang was furious after hearing this, and immediately ordered a thorough investigation of the remaining alchemists in Xianyang City. Unexpectedly, these alchemists pointed at each other and involved more than 460 people. In the end, Qin Shihuang buried them all alive. From this point of view, it is understandable that Qin Shihuang cheated "alchemists". And these alchemists always used the banner of Confucianism, so Qin Shihuang hated Confucianism even more. The author agrees with this view of "trading Confucianism". After all, Sima Qian lived in the same era as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and he was only 120 years away from the demise of the Qin Dynasty. What's more, he traveled all over China when he was more than ten years old. In the third year of Zhongyuan (147 BC), Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty inherited his father's legacy and served as Taishi Ling at the age of twenty-two. So to be precise, he was only 65 years away from the "burning books and harassing Confucians" incident. In such a narrow time span, with Sima Qian's knowledge and status, it is impossible to be unaware of such a major event as "burning books and entrapping Confucian scholars".
Records and locations of “pitting Confucians” in ancient documents. "Document Comprehensive Examination·School Examination One" records:
"The First Emperor sent the imperial censor to interrogate the case, and all the students reported to each other, and more than 460 people were killed. He also ordered melons to be planted in Lishan Mountain in winter. When he was born, he ordered the doctors and other students to take it as an opportunity to kill more than 700 people. In the second year, Chen Sheng came up and summoned the doctors and other students to discuss, and dozens of people sat down and said "it is not appropriate to say". The above quotation shows that Qin Shihuang raped Confucians twice, and the people he raped in the latter time were the same as Qin II (the method of punishment is unknown). They were all "doctorate students", that is, Chinese students. The first time Confucius was trapped was the time when "Historical Records" recorded "The Confucius was trapped into Yang". The specific location and plot are unknown. The plot of the second "hiding opportunity" to trap Confucians can be found in the annotations written by Yan Shigu of the Tang Dynasty for "The Preface to the Biographies of the Scholars in the Book of Han". The annotation says: "The place where Xinfeng County is now is called Minru Township. There is a horse valley three miles southwest of Wentang, and there is a pit on the west bank of the valley. Therefore, it is said that this is where Qin pitted Confucian scholars. Wei'an's "Preface to the Ancient Wen Shang Shu of Zhao Ding" says: "Qin After burning the book, the world was suffering and would not follow the changed laws, and all the people who came were worshiped as Lang, seven hundred people in front and behind. He secretly ordered melons to be planted in the middle of the pit and valley of Lishan Mountain in winter. The fruit of the melon is what doctors and doctors have said, but everyone is different. This is a destiny, and it is regarded as an opportunity, and all the wise men and scholars will come to Yan. The square phase is difficult to decide, because the engine is used to fill it with soil from above, and it is all pressed, but there is no sound in the end. "This is the so-called "Disaster of Guaqiu", located "in the pit valley of Lishan Mountain", a hundred miles away from Chengyang, the capital of Qin, in the west. Of course, the historical data are not 100% correct, but from this we can infer that Qin Shihuang burned The reasons for his distaste for Confucianism may not only be his inability to tolerate criticism from others, but also his strong desire for control over the past, and his frustration at not being able to find a magic elixir. These are all factors that led to the establishment of monarchical despotism in the Qin Dynasty. The political needs of the system. However, Qin Shihuang used too much medicine, which caused the damage to hundreds of classics.
2. During the Warring States Period, all countries built Great Walls on their borders in order to defend against the invasion of the Huns. The larger ones include the Zhao Great Wall, the Yan Great Wall and the Qin Great Wall. After the establishment of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shihuang sent Meng Tian to lead an army of 300,000 to attack the Xiongnu in the north. He captured the Hetao area occupied by the Xiongnu and crossed the Yellow River, forcing the Xiongnu to retreat 700 kilometers north. In order to prevent the Xiongnu from coming back, Qin Shihuang ordered Meng Tian to build a Great Wall that stretched from Lintao in the west to Liaodong in the east. Under the productivity conditions at that time, building the Great Wall was an extremely difficult task. The only way to complete the huge project in just a few years was to mobilize a large number of laborers, and the main source of this labor force was prisoners. The Qin Dynasty implemented such harsh laws and turned so many civilians into prisoners. In order to obtain a large amount of free labor, it is actually a kind of state kidnapping. Under the majestic Great Wall, there are countless prisoners’ blood, tears and sweat. The story of Meng Jiangnu crying at the Great Wall may be nothing more than fiction, but how many ordinary housewives worked to build the Great Wall. I'm afraid no one can count how many innocent men were buried in the border areas. Confucian political philosophy advocates "making the people use their time" and acting within their capabilities, which means that the rulers should cherish the people's strength and not over-employ the people. The word "cherish" cannot be found in the dictionary. The construction of the Great Wall was just for defense against foreign invasion, but the construction of Afang Palace and Lishan Mausoleum was a complete waste of people's energy. According to "Historical Records", BC. In 212, Qin Shihuang believed that the number of people in Xianyang Palace had increased, and the palace left by the previous king was too small to be used.
I also heard that King Wen of Zhou established his capital in Feng, and King Wu of Zhou established his capital in Hao. It seemed that the area around Feng and Hao was indeed a geomantic treasure, so he started building a palace in Afang on the south bank of the Wei River. The idea at that time was to wait for the palace to be renovated before naming it, so it was temporarily called Afang Palace. However, the scale of this palace was too great. With the courage of Qin Shihuang, hundreds of thousands of prisoners were mobilized to build it, but it could not be completed before his death. Later generations simply regarded Afang Palace as its official name. How big is Afang Palace? This can be seen from the design of the front hall alone. The front hall was the first building built in Afang Palace. It is recorded in historical records as "five hundred steps from east to west, fifty feet from north to south, and can seat ten thousand people." According to later generations' measurements on its ruins, it covers an area of ??about 0.55 square kilometers, equivalent to two-thirds of the Forbidden City in Beijing. There is a pavilion road built in the ring hall, which leads directly from the royal palace to Zhongnan Mountain, and a palace gate is built in Zhongnan Mountain. A passage was built from Afang Palace to the north to cross the Wei River, connecting it to Xianyang. In addition to Afang Palace, Qin Shihuang also established more than 300 palaces in the Guanzhong area and more than 400 palaces in the Guandong area to prepare for his tour needs. In order to review the construction achievements of various places, and also to show off his military force in front of the people of the world, Qin Shihuang began to make frequent patrols. In 215 BC, Qin Shihuang made his fourth tour, and the direction was still east. In addition to shocking the world, this patrol also had an important purpose, which was to send people to find the elixir of immortality. According to ancient Chinese legends, there are three fairy mountains in the sea, called Penglai, Fangzhang and Yingzhou, which are the residences of immortals. As early as the second patrol, Qin Shihuang commissioned the alchemist Xu Fu from Shandong to lead thousands of boys and girls into the sea in a large ship to search for the fairy mountains, but they returned without success. Qin Shihuang was not discouraged, and this time he sent the alchemist Lu Sheng and others into the sea to look for the immortal. As you can imagine, Lu Sheng also came back empty-handed, but he brought back a mysterious book, which contained a sentence: "Hu is the one who destroyed Qin." Qin Shihuang thought that Hu was referring to the Xiongnu, so he sent Meng Tian to attack the Xiongnu. He also sent a large number of prisoners to the frontiers and accelerated the construction of the Great Wall. Every time Qin Shihuang went on a tour, he was accompanied by tens of thousands of fully armed soldiers. The black flag with the word "Qin" covered the sky and the sun, and the bright weapons and armor sparkled in the sun, showing the emperor's majesty and power to the world. He sat in an uncomfortable carriage - although the carriage was modified by skilled craftsmen and the air could be adjusted through the windows, it was still very bumpy - and traveled all over the Yellow River Basin and the north and south of the Yangtze River. "This is the emperor!" People from various places spoke different dialects and exclaimed to each other. They couldn't help but lower their heads and then knelt down. Even those who hated him to the core could not help but feel a little shocked in their hearts when they saw his calm and calm face in front of this extremely luxurious motorcade. But there are also people who have a completely different attitude towards him. When he went on patrol to the south of the Yangtze River, Xiang Yu stood in the crowd of onlookers and shouted loudly: "This person can replace him!" This move made his uncle Xiang Liang beside him pale in shock, and he quickly covered Xiang Yu's head with his hands. mouth, dragging him out of the crowd. When the First Emperor of Qin was on a tour and passed through the streets of Xianyang, Liu Bang, who was the director of the Sishui Pavilion in Peixian County at the time, happened to be participating in the construction of Afang Palace as a minor official. He watched the emperor's motorcade marching solemnly and slowly on the spacious street. He couldn't help but take a long breath and murmured: "This is what a man should be like!"
?The above is the merits and demerits of Qin Shihuang. Through the above documents, can you tell whether Qin Shihuang's merits outweighed his faults or whether his faults outweighed his merits?
? I think his merits outweigh his faults. Because some of the mistakes he has made are reasonable under certain circumstances, such as his excessive pursuit of success and abuse of people's power. These words are bad as soon as they sound. But you said it shouldn’t be built to build the Great Wall? And it should. Because the most fundamental reason for building the Great Wall in the first place was to defend against the foreign Huns. Don’t you think he should build the Lingqu Canal? And it should. In other words, it connects the economic development of the north and the south and promotes social progress.
? To sum up, I think Qin Shihuang’s merits outweigh his faults.