In July 210 BC, when Emperor Qin II took over the baton of Qin Shi Huang, the Qin Dynasty immediately embarked on the road to extinction, and by November 207 BC, the incomparably powerful Qin Dynasty had collapsed after only 14 years of existence. This is extremely inconsistent with the many pioneering contributions of the Qin Dynasty to the Chinese nation, and even more incomparable with the long period of decline and death of later dynasties. This is a huge historiographical black hole in human history, a mysterious exception.
Why did the Qin Dynasty suddenly perish? For more than two thousand years, people have given many reasons from many aspects such as politics, economy, military, culture, leadership personality, strategy and tactics, people's livelihood rules, and guiding ideology. Classified according to the source of these causes, it can be divided into three categories:
The first category: Hu Hai Zhao Gao's treacherous combination directed a series of tyranny that caused the Qin Dynasty to be sent to the road of no return.
The correctness of such views is beyond doubt, and it is the direct cause of the rise and fall of the Qin Dynasty, but it cannot explain why the Qin Dynasty died in an instant. The combination of treacherous in later dynasties is so many that their long period of decay, which is lingering and dying, is as little as a few decades and more than a hundred years. For example, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the combination of the Second Emperor Huanling and the eunuchs caused the disaster of the party and the eunuchs to gain power, which led to the Yellow Turban Uprising, but from the Yellow Turban Uprising, it also experienced the 84th year of the Four Emperors of Huan, Ling, Shao, and Xian before it was destroyed. The combination of Emperor Hui of the Western Jin Dynasty and the demon Empress Jia Nanfeng caused the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, which led to the Rebellion of Yongjia, but it also took 26 years for the three emperors of Hui, Huai, and Huan to perish, and its remnants moved east to Jiankang to form the Eastern Jin Dynasty, and it took 103 years to finally perish. The decline of the Sui Dynasty was fast, but it also experienced 15 years of demise by Emperor Gong and Emperor Gong, which was not an order of magnitude longer than the Qin Dynasty's 3-year demise. The combination of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and the traitors Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong instigated the Anshi Rebellion, but the Tang Dynasty lasted for another 152 years after the Anshi Rebellion before finally collapsing. The four dynasties of the late Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties were also like this...
Could it be that Hu Hai Zhao Gao's treacherous combination had any particularity that could lead to the sudden demise of the dynasty? Although the history books have shortcomings in the record of the entire history of the Qin Dynasty, the destructiveness of the combination of Hu Hai and Zhao Gao has never spared any ink. Hu Hai Zhao Gao's evil methods are essentially the same as those used by the collusion of the treacherous combinations of later generations, trampling on the rule of law and principles, slaughtering clans and ministers, sucking blood and people's strength and social welfare, reusing villains and cool officials, and so on. Hu Hai Zhao Gao has used the means of later generations of adulterous combinations must also be used, there is no particularity. Moreover, we must not overestimate the "creativity" of the treacherous combination and underestimate the complexity and solidity of a regime structure itself. The combination of treachery is only one motivator for the demise of the dynasty, not the whole reason for the dynasty's demise so rapidly.
The second category: the first emperor made a mistake in major decisions and overstretched the national strength.
There are also three aspects to the so-called wrong decision-making of the first emperor:
(1) The large army has been conquest outside all year round, but the Xiongnu in the north and the Hundred Yue in the south, and the local armament is insufficient. There are still many people who agree with this view, but there is no necessary positive causal connection basis, and nothing can prove that this war has a direct causal relationship with the demise of the Qin Dynasty, on the contrary, there are too many examples to show that these two wars have no direct causal relationship with the demise of the Qin Dynasty. For example, the wars launched by Liu Bang after becoming the emperor of the Han Dynasty, such as the conquest of princes with different surnames and the "Siege of Baideng", were not smaller in scale, frequency, and intensity than the two wars of the First Emperor, and the national strength of the early Han Dynasty was not comparable to that of the First Emperor period, but the Great Han still went strong. Moreover, the two wars of the First Emperor in the north but the Xiongnu in the north and the Baiyue in the south were overwhelming victories, and the battle losses were much smaller than those of Liu Bang.
As for the lack of local armament, people have always regarded the failure or timely participation of the Great Wall Army and the Lingnan Army to eliminate the rebels as a reason for the failure of the Qin Dynasty to prove that the Qin Dynasty was underarmed at that time. However, a single county guard led by Li You could make Chen Shi's main force trapped in Xingyang for a long time; when Liu Bang attacked Guanzhong and approached Xianyang, the 50,000 defenders of Hangu Pass, who were close at hand, did not choose to return to reinforcements, let alone the legions far away in Lingnan and the Great Wall. The problem of the empire was not the lack of local armament, but that there were too few "Li You" at that time, and "Zhao Tuo" was everywhere. What caused so many "Zhao Tuo"? This is an important reason for the demise of the Qin Dynasty, and it is specifically used as a aspect later.
(2) The construction of the Great Wall, Lishan Tomb and Appang Palace, which has lasted for several decades, has overdrawn the people's and financial resources. It is certain that these three major projects consume a lot of manpower and financial resources, and perhaps the First Emperor has a little responsibility in this regard, because he has opened this head after all. After the death of the First Emperor, Hu Hai and Zhao Gao greatly accelerated the progress of the construction of the Lishan Tomb and the Appang Palace, and the law enforcement environment deteriorated rapidly, and people were miserable, but it was unfair that Hu Hai Zhao Gao's mistakes could not be put on the First Emperor.
(3) Burning books to pit Confucianism, eliminating cultural diversity, and cutting off the possibility of a new culture in the new era. CCTV once broadcast a documentary "From Qin Shi Huang to Emperor Wu of Han", which told a story: "After the reunification of the country, the first emperor realized the importance of a new culture in the new era, and has been painstakingly looking for a new culture to unify the people's hearts and stabilize the country, but the old literati of the Six Kingdoms have always not cooperated, and they have also mocked it privately." The First Emperor finally couldn't bear to kill more than 400 Confucian students. The First Emperor, frustrated that he could not find a new culture, had no choice but to push the two wars of the Xiongnu in the north and the Baiyue in the south to comfort himself." This story actually justifies the First Emperor's book burning pit Confucian incident.
But there is still a problem that overemphasizes the importance and timeliness of using new cultures to solve new problems, reversing the chronological order of new problems and new cultures. At the same time, it also over-speculated on the initiative of the First Emperor in the pursuit of culture, reversing the primary and secondary relationship between the masses and the emperor in the conception of culture. Although they are all documentaries produced by famous scholars, it is inevitable that the wise people will eventually lose their minds. Throughout human history, didn't that culture gradually precipitate from good ideas, methods, and spiritual substances in the process of solving practical problems? And what kind of culture is not created by the masses and then summarized and expressed by the superstructure? Moreover, the big culture that has a bearing on the people's hearts and systems of the country. The First Emperor was so brilliant and strategic, solved so many unprecedented problems, and implemented so many great civilizational measures, he would not only respect the diversity of cultures, but also did not worry that a new culture would not emerge, and he needed time to solve practical problems.
The shi huang's major decisions were wrong, such views ranging from the han dynasty's intentional blackening of the shi huang for its own rationality, and the reasoning of later scholars' inverse consequences. Because you perished, many of the things you did before must not be correct, or how could you perish? In fact, this is not necessarily true. It is still the great chairman Mao who has a poem to refute this view: "Advise the king to scold Qin Shi Huang, and the burning pit incident should be discussed." Zu Long's soul is still dead, and Kong Xue's name is Gao Shi Chaff and Chaff . Hundreds of generations have practiced Qin politics and law, and ten batches are not good articles. Familiar with the Tang feudal theory, Mo Congzi Hou returned to King Wen."
Third, the legalist ideological governance system is rigid, rigid, mean and unkind, and cannot adapt to the new situation after reunification.
The discovery of The Sleeping Tiger Qin Jian in 1975 and the Liye Qin Jian discovered in 2002 faithfully record the specific content and implementation cases of the Qin Law at that time, clear and compassionate, rigorous and not tyrannical. The original intention of the law is not only to maintain the operation of the country, but also to ensure the daily life of ordinary people. Even the officers who participated in the rebellion in Cangwu County, Minami County, were ultimately punished with tattoos. The First Emperor knew clearly that the identity of the human heart was what he wanted. The Qin Law has already made major adjustments after the reunification of the country. At the beginning of the reign of the First Emperor, the Qin Dynasty, his chancellor Lü Buwei pointed out the shortcomings of the system of knighthood and made corresponding adjustments. In the thirteenth year of the reign of the Qin Dynasty, at the suggestion of Guo Wei, the Commander of the Counts made adjustments again, counting the captives and intercepted materials as meritorious deeds, and avoiding the excessive killing of the Qin army. In 216 BC, the First Emperor issued another edict, ordering Qianshou to eat his own land, acknowledging the land occupation status of the indigenous people of the Six Kingdoms, and the system of granting land for military merit underwent a fundamental change. The whole process is not rigid, rigid, mean and unkind, and it is completely adjusted according to the new situation.
Of the above three types of views, I think that only the combination of treachery is a necessary condition for the demise of the Qin Dynasty, and the other two types are a bit of a consequence-oriented assumption. In addition, I think there are three points that historians have ignored, the first of which is the basic reason for the violent revolutions in all dynasties since the Qin Dynasty, and the latter two points may explain the suddenness of the demise of the Qin Dynasty.
First, the emergence of a large number of peasants with the right to personal freedom
The Qin Dynasty was a major turning point in China's agricultural society, the Xia And Shang Dynasties were subordinate to the agricultural system (or serfdom society), and during the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, due to the strong demand of the princes for agricultural production efficiency and the enthusiasm of soldiers, the subordinate peasant system was gradually reformed, and the self-cultivating peasants, domestic farmers, and rent-earners with personal freedom began to appear. Their appearance made the low-level peasants, who were originally subordinate to the nobility and like the means of production such as cattle and horses, have a foundation-like effect on the rise and fall of the dynasty, becoming the sand that makes up the foundation of the dynasty. The First Emperor realized the unification of the territory and the unification of the economic system at the same time, the subordination of agriculture was completely ended, and the emergence of a large number of peasants with personal freedom became the eternal foundation of the future Chinese dynasties.
However, everything has two sides, and this kind of low-level force that represents the great progress of agricultural society and promotes the unification of the Qin state is no exception. When the cruel oppression of the harsh government or the ruthless engulfment of natural disasters forced the peasants to live, these peasants with the right to personal freedom would spontaneously surge in the direction of having a mouthful of food, and then the organizers would ascend to the top, and these forces would converge into a choppy tide and become a violence to promote the change of the dynasty, so the foundation began to loosen and collapse, which was impossible for the Xia and Shang Dynasties, because the excessive dependence of the peasants on the noble lands, and the harsh suppression of the peasants by the law at that time, made the mobility of the subordinate peasants insufficient. It is also impossible to form a strong synergy. The emergence of a large number of peasants with the right to personal freedom ushered in a new era in which peasants could also deduce their power in the change of dynasties. In this sense, it was the First Emperor himself who opened the door to violent revolution, and Chen Shi was just the first "little demon" to run out. In this sense, it was the First Emperor himself who ended the Qin Dynasty's winning bloodline, providing the possibility for "the prince general Xiang Ning to have a kind of hu". In this sense, it was the first emperor who created the original driving force for the frequent change of dynasties, and injected new leadership vitality when there was a continuation crisis in Chinese civilization.
Second, the Qin Dynasty did not bind the interests of the bureaucratic class enough, and faced the crazy hunting and killing of Hu Haizhao Gao
After the Shang martingale reform, the bureaucracy replaced the aristocratic support for the royal power as a new force. This system had high requirements for the ability and quality of the leaders of the dynasty themselves, so maintaining this relationship was not something that every ruler could do well, and the Qin Dynasty, as the first to use the bureaucratic system to manage the country, highlighted this problem in the second dynasty, mainly in two ways.
(1) The treatment of the bureaucratic class is relatively low. The military merit system of the Qin state was to deprive the nobles of their land and distribute it to those low-level soldiers who had military merits, which had great attraction for both the proletarians and the middle class, and there was no charm for the old nobles of the Qin State and the nobles of the Six Kingdoms, because no matter how much reward they were, there would not be as much land as their original land. Meritorious deeds such as Bai Qi and Wang Qi, they can't afford to raise three thousand customers like the four princes of the Warring States. Some people may say that there are also more guests in the Qin State of Hou Hou Wei Ran and Wenxin Hou Lü Buwei, indicating that their economic treatment is also very high. It should be noted that the source of wealth in these two special cases is not in the Qin State, and the huge fiefdom of the Marquis of Yonghou is Taoyi outside the effective control of the Qin State. Marquis Wenxin was born as a giant merchant in the East, and he was himself rich enough to rival the country. Like Zhang Yi, Fan Sui, Li Si, such a high-ranking official, the income is not as high as the nobles of the Six Kingdoms, and the official positions are not like the Six Kingdoms, there is no possibility of generational accumulation, the reason why they are willing to dedicate in the Qin State, on the one hand, is that they are born in the middle class, and they can relatively get greater economic benefits; on the other hand, the Qin State's theory of being able to grant the throne system can enable these talents who have the dream of pointing out the Jiangshan to realize their personal value. As for the officials below the Qin State County, there is no fiefdom at all, but only a small landlord who is mainly Feng Lu and a general landlord. In peacetime, they can still fulfill their duties, and when there is a subversive crisis in the dynasty, they will not show the desperate resistance and crazy restoration of the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms to protect their huge interests.
(2) Hu Haizhao Gao's wanton hunting and killing. Originally, the strength supporting the Qin Dynasty mansion was relatively single, mainly a bureaucratic system, combined with a limited number of royal relatives. Hu Hai and Zhao Gao also frantically hunted down and killed the imperial family and high-level officials, and also used the deer as a horse to eliminate the virtuous and loyal middle-level officials. As a result, there was a serious fault in the connection of power, and middle- and lower-level officials and generals stationed abroad did not dare to make the slightest change, because any move could become the reason for Zhao Gao's ghost under the sword. In this terrible situation, not plotting rebellion is the greatest loyalty to the Qin Dynasty.
This explains the profound reason why the 50,000 defenders of Hanguguan, who were close at hand, did not choose to return to the aid when Liu Bang led his army to approach Xianyang, and it was also the reason why the Lingnan Army was unwilling to go north, the Great Wall Army was slow to move, and the local county soldiers surrendered to Kaesong. Therefore, Chen Shi attacked Chu, WuChen attacked Zhao, and Han Guang attacked Yan, all of which were destroyed and destroyed, not because they could fight a good battle, but because most of the officials of the Qin Dynasty did not want to fight at all. Occasionally, one or two who exerted the natural and powerful organizational strength of officials made it difficult for the anti-Qin forces to collapse. In addition to the mention of Sanchuan Li You, there is also the Shaofu Zhang Handan, Who is not willing to be only a life secretary, and the executioners of Lishan annihilate the rebels and weak princes, almost extinguishing the anti-Qin forces. However, they are just fish that slipped through the net under Zhao Gao's knife, and the time of death is only the difference between today and tomorrow.
Due to the lack of sufficient interests to bind officials in the Qin Dynasty, coupled with the wanton hunting and killing of Hu Hai Zhao Gao, they would neither take the initiative to organize forces to eliminate the rebels as local officials did at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, nor would they crusade against Zhao Gao like they did against Dong Zhuo, but collectively chose to lose their voices.
Third, the lack of nobles in the Qin Dynasty and the counterattack of the remnants of the nobles of the Six Kingdoms
The word aristocrat does not have much positive color in the eyes of modern people, symbolizes exploitation and luxury, and is the moth and vampire of society. But again, there are two sides to everything. The aristocracy has strong economic strength and administrative influence, and the organizational strength shown in delaying the dynastic state is incomparable to that of the middle class and the proletarian, and objectively made a staged contribution to the progress of human civilization. Successive Qin kings after The Duke of Qin Xiaogong practiced the ideal of the unification of the world, and they wanted not only territorial unification, but also the resolute promotion of the military merit system.
Therefore, over the past hundred years, the possibility of the winning clan and the old nobles gaining a foothold in the dynasty has gradually been diluted by the meritorious people, and by the time of the first emperor, there were no more than a few courtiers with the winning surname, and the last thing that may be missing in Xianyang City is the winning surname, and the winning surname clan and the old nobles are rapidly democratized. When the dynasty is in an existential crisis, although they have a natural emotional identification with the dynasty, they no longer have the strength to organize the forces to save this collapsing edifice. On the contrary, in the newly unified Six Kingdoms region of the Qin Dynasty, the power of the nobility was not exhausted and wanted to move. The First Emperor carried out a large number of purges of the large nobles of the original Six Kingdoms, leaving the complete elimination of their remnants to time.
However, this time in history, the time and space made a big joke with the First Emperor and sided with the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms. In 210 BC, the 50-year-old First Emperor tragically collapsed in the sand dunes, and his successor destroyed everything he founded. The old nobles of the Six Kingdoms, who were full of resentment and still had considerable organizational strength, were moved by the wind. A bloody storm bigger than in the countryside of Osawa came. This view is not mentioned by many people today, and it is not necessarily ignored by everyone. It may be that we have carried out an arduous proletarian revolution, and the mood is still there for the aristocracy that once oppressed us. We instinctively refuse to acknowledge the positive role they have played in judging them.
These three views, together with the previous huhai Zhao Gao's combined views, are not all the real reasons for the sudden demise of the Qin Dynasty, I think it is not true. History is a constantly read and new thing, and in the context of the current search for cultural self-confidence in China's original ecological civilization, all the real reasons for the sudden demise of the Qin Dynasty will gradually emerge.
The dynasty is a superstructure, the emperor is the command center of the building, the aristocratic system and the bureaucracy are the two pillars that support the dynasty, and the low-level peasants with the right to personal freedom are the foundations of the dynasty. The Qin Dynasty was a dynasty with only the pillars of the bureaucratic system, and when the foundation of the Qin Dynasty was loosened and collapsed, and this only pillar was rejected and madly self-harmed by the command center, what would happen to the dynasty except for the sudden collapse!
The author of this article: Judge, "This is the war" to join the author, without the author himself and "this is the war" permission, any media, self-media shall not be reprinted, violators will be investigated for legal responsibility, readers welcome to forward.