In ancient China, yellow was usually the patent of the royal family. Yellow robes, yellow roofs and yellow imperial edicts are endowed with different imperial attributes as long as they touch yellow. If ordinary people dare to make good use of yellow, they may be more guilty of taking over, and the consequences will be unimaginable. In fact, it was not until the Ming and Qing Dynasties that yellow was given a unique political significance. Many colors have been used as the theme colors of dragon robes in history. In the Song Dynasty, the robes were mostly ochre red, while the robes of the emperor and Qin Shihuang were neither red nor yellow, but black. ? Above _ Qin Shihuang (259 BC-265438 BC+00 BC), there are different opinions about why Qin Shihuang, who won the surname, dyed his robes black. There is a view that the printing and dyeing technology at that time was underdeveloped and it was impossible to produce bright fabrics with excellent colors. Qin Shihuang wears the same clothes as the funeral every day, which is really helpless. There is some truth in this statement, but it is not all right. Confucius said that "evil purple captures Zhu" and Xunzi said that "shine on you is better than blue", indicating that the printing and dyeing technology at that time was not so primitive, and Qin Shihuang would never only wear black clothes. In that case, wouldn't Qin Shihuang be afraid of bad luck if he wore black every day? In fact, black is not only unlucky, but also very auspicious. Why do you say black Geely? Because black is the auspicious color of Qin, without black, Qin would not destroy the six countries, and Qin Shihuang would not conquer the world. Legend has it that Qin Wengong, the ancestor of Qin Shihuang, captured a black dragon alive when he was out hunting. Can anyone catch the dragon? That must be the only thrill from God. So Qin unified the world at that time was doomed. And this dragon is black, which means that the five virtues of Qin belong to water. Only by doing more water and increasing water can we make persistent efforts. When Qin Shihuang became emperor, he could not forget his roots. In order to show Qin's water virtue, Qin Shihuang only wears black every day. In fact, Qin Wengong's stories about catching the black dragon are mostly made up by later generations. However, Qin really belongs to water, or Qin Shihuang thought that his regime "five virtues" belonged to water. ? Above _ Wude We always look for a temple at random, where there are only two kinds of people who are the most devout and willing to spend money: one is a big businessman and the other is a big official. These people are developing too fast, and they can't figure out how they succeeded in their careers. In order to have a spiritual sustenance, they can only befriend the Buddha. After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, the situation was similar. How did he destroy the Six Kingdoms? Let me talk about political reform. Wei and Chu both reformed before themselves, but both gave up halfway, and the resistance of Qin's reform was not small. Why can they succeed? Isn't this a blessing? Of course, we will inevitably see the rise of Qin afterwards, but the authorities are fascinated and the law of historical development is unknown to Qin Shihuang. Of course, besides wondering why he succeeded, Qin Shihuang also had a set of theories to legalize and sanctify the rise of Qin. If Qin Shihuang is like a successful mentor every day, he will say at a meeting that he can be emperor because of his hard work and his success can be replicated. It's hard to guarantee that any idiot will make another success. When the dragon chair is changed, you will go underground to play chess with the governors of the six countries. Generally speaking, this theory must attribute Qin's success to heaven, make others give up the idea of replacing him, solve the doubts in Qin Shihuang's heart, and convince him that he is the only thrill. ? Above _ Spring and Autumn Warring States During the Spring and Autumn Warring States Period, there are many theories that can explain the legitimacy of political power. Confucianism, Mohism and Taoism have their own set of logic. However, in order to achieve the purpose of Qin Shihuang, Confucianism, which explains benevolence and righteousness and attaches importance to etiquette, will certainly not work; It is not good to ask everyone to be a selfless Mohist; Taoists talk about inaction, which is not to Qin Shihuang's appetite; Legalists pay attention to social rules, not them. Who is suitable? Yin and Yang family. The founder of the Yin-Yang family was Zou Yan of Qi during the Warring States Period. This Zou Yan believes in the Five Elements and Jin Mu's Five Elements. According to the theory of five elements, all substances are composed of five elements: fire, water and earth in Jin Mu. In fact, there is only a wall between the superstition of the ancients and the current scientific theory. Now physicists spend all day wondering what the smallest particle of matter is. They first thought they were molecules and atoms, and then discovered quarks and bosons. I don't know what I can find smaller in the future. Zou can't believe in the five elements, but the theory of the five elements is too specific and can only explain tangible things, and the development space is limited. In order to carry forward the theory of five elements, he blew it up and produced a hodgepodge called "Five Virtues". ? Above _ Zou Yan (about 324 BC ~ 250 BC) At the end of the Warring States Period, Zou Yan, a native of the State of Qi, said that everyone knows that things that can be seen and touched are composed of five elements. Now it is found that things that are invisible and intangible are also composed of five elements. A person's spirit and a country's character are all evolved from the five elements. Wuxing is really a croak cow. Of course, such a powerful five elements can no longer be called five elements, but five virtues. The theory of five virtues has always originated from the five elements, and the principle that the five elements coexist still applies. Water can put out the fire, and water virtue can replace fire virtue. Wood can make a fire, and wood virtue can make a fire. In order to concretize the abstract theory, Zou Yan also endowed the five virtues with auspicious colors: gold is still white, wood is still green, water is still black, fire is still red, and soil is still yellow. When Sun Wu wrote The Art of War, he said that a general should have five qualities: wisdom, faithfulness, benevolence, courage and strictness. Immediately, experts of Yin and Yang pointed out that these five qualities evolved from five virtues. Yin and Yang also said that the five virtues, namely gentleness, kindness, courtesy, frugality and compromise, benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith, also evolved. I don't know how our ancestors came up with so many five-character words. ? Zou Yan, the Six Countries Destroyed by the Qin Dynasty, also said that the downfall and prosperity of so many countries throughout the ages mainly depend on whether they can grasp their five virtues and carry them forward. On Monday, it began to prosper because of their strong soil morality, and later it declined because they did not do well in soil morality. Modern people demand all-round development, so they just say what the five elements lack and what they lack make up. The ancients paid attention to directional breakthroughs and did whatever they wanted. Zou Yan is very clever, knowing that the more ambiguous a theory is, the greater the room for explanation, and the more irrelevant it is. What is Jin Mu's Five Virtues of Fire, Water and Soil? Zou didn't say. He can't say it if he wants to, and it's boring to say it. Want to know what virtue a country belongs to depends on Mongolia, oh no, God prompts. Zou Yan's mysterious theory of "five virtues" can just solve the legitimacy problem of Qin regime. It's a pity that Zou Yan died early and didn't follow the historical context of Qin's destruction of the six countries. Since Zou Yan pointed out the way, future generations should follow it. ? Above _ Lv Buwei (292-235 BC), surnamed Jiang? Shang _ Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals is a famous work of the Huang family compiled by the Prime Minister of Qin State. It is Lv Buwei who is walking on the road. Lv Buwei presided over the compilation of Lv Chunqiu, which said that in ancient times, the Yellow Emperor was the leader, and the big earthworm and the big mole cricket strayed around, and both of them were buried in the soil, so God told everyone that the Yellow Emperor was a soil virtue. When I arrived in Dayu, the flowers and plants were still green in winter, so Dayu was good at wood and soil. Of course, there are several generations between the Yellow Emperor and Dayu. Lv Buwei only picked up the big one and said that the details in the middle didn't deserve five virtues. Mutuko, Tukeshui, Shuihuoke, Huojinke, Jin Kemu, it's the turn of the Zhou Dynasty, which definitely belongs to fire. Legend has it that when Zhou Wenwang made his fortune, there was a big red bird squatting in the ancestral hall, with a little red book in his mouth, watching the excitement, but the fire was still red. Isn't this a coincidence of theory and practice? The iron-like theory is here. Is Qin water? Does Qin, who belongs to water, want to continue to develop? Does Qin Shihuang want to live forever? If you like, continue to carry forward Shuide, Shuide is still black, change my clothes into black first! In addition to black clothes, Qin Shihuang renamed our mother river, the Yellow River, Deshui. At that time, there was a habit of changing calendars. Leaders see which month is the first month of the year, and the number ten belongs to water. October became the first month of the Qin Dynasty. ? Above _ The Qin Dynasty "passed the imperial seal", and the above picture "was ordered by heaven and lived forever", which can be said in the final analysis. How about using the means of Guangda Shuide? It doesn't seem to work well. The State of Qin was destroyed in a few years. Of course, the fact that Qin perished has no influence on the theory of Yin and Yang. Five virtues coexist, aquatic wood, water-based Qin, and Mu Dewang is so good. Don't you think the boy who set fire to Epang Palace is from Chu? Chu, where are those two Woods? Text: Liu Bucheng Reference:
The characters in "A Brief History of Ma Boyong Laughing at China", "The Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu" and "Historical Records" were created by the team of History University Hall, and the pictures came from the online copyright and belonged to the original author.