Introduction: Wei Guo, Qi Guo, Chu Guo: We are traditional powers, Qin Guo: Why not me? Everyone says: "You are not worthy", from the perspective of historical background and national strength, analyze why the traditional big country is Qi Chuwei, not including the Qin state
We all know that in the Warring States Period, the entire Central Plains region was inhabited by seven major princely states, and these seven princely states also occupied almost all the forces in the Central Plains, and the struggle between them made the history of the entire Warring States Period chaotic and complicated, in fact, in that era, there were not only these seven princely states, but also some small countries like Weiguo, Songguo, Luguo, and such small countries, which were not included in the field of vision because of national development and strength, only these seven princely states were regarded as the objects of the seven worlds because of their strong strength. The history is called the Seven Heroes of the Warring States.
In fact, there are also high and low among these seven princely states, and several countries are regarded as great powers in the traditional sense, and among these countries, they do not include the Qin state, which finally won all the wars in the Warring States era. In a general sense, to ask who was a great power in the traditional sense during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the State of Qi, the State of Chu, and the State of Wei all said that we were a traditional power; at this time, the State of Qin may not be happy, I am strong, unifying the Central Plains, why is not a traditional power; everyone says: "You are not worthy."
so
The traditional sense of the great powers includes the three countries of Wei, Qi and Chu
What is it that people regard as a powerful country with comprehensive strength? And the same as the Seven Heroes of the Warring States, why can these three countries stand out? Even in people's minds, they can surpass the Qin State that finally won the victory, and for what reasons did the Qin State not rank among them?
Today, we will focus on analyzing this problem to see what is a powerful country in the traditional sense, and what are the three countries of Qi, Wei and Chu on?
Before analyzing this problem, we need to emphasize the key points in the problem, we are talking about a strong country in the traditional sense rather than a real power in strength, this tradition is a very important aspect, it means that this country not only needs to have a very strong strength at the moment, but also needs to have a deep historical background, and it has been relatively brilliant in the development process, so now after understanding this key point, let's analyze the reasons.
1.
Wei
The State of Wei inherited the mantle of the old great princely state of Jin
First of all, let's look at the State of Wei, although the State of Wei was not established for a long time, but before that, it was a vassal of the old princely state of jin, and it had very powerful power in the state of Jin, which means that the family's ruling history is very far-reaching, although it is not controlling a country by itself, but in a sense, it is absolutely important for the development of a country. So in terms of the history of governance, it is not inferior to other countries. Secondly, after the arrival of the Warring States period, the State of Wei was the first country to become strong, and it was also the first country to change the law in the Warring States Period, and the changes it implemented were very advanced and subordinate to the rule of law.
The success of Li Wu and Wu Qi's transformation method made the State of Wei the first superpower during the Warring States period
At that time, Li Wu, who was practicing the reform of the law in the State of Wei, was an important figure in the Legal family, and his policy of changing the law conformed to the trend of historical development, and there were economic, political, and judicial reforms, and at the same time there were advanced places on the land; he linked the land development of the agricultural nation with the war needs of the army, brought the relationship between the military and the people closer, and laid a solid foundation for the later military strength of the State of Wei.
Later, Wu Qi carried out military changes in the State of Wei and trained Wei Wu pawns who won almost every battle for the State of Wei. As a result, the State of Wei became the most powerful vassal state in the Warring States Period, and it was also the only superpower in the early Warring States period, and its achievements were beyond the reach of other countries, coupled with the ruling history of the family of the ruler of this country, making this country a country with a lot of foundation.
Wei's reforms and aggressive approach have made people fearful of the country. What is even more frightening is that when Wu Qi led the Wei army to fight, the State of Wei had never experienced any defeated war, and the State of Wei, which had won every battle and was invincible, had since fought in the world, and because it came from the old princely state of Jin, people regarded it as a development power in the traditional sense.
in a word
The State of Wei was able to rank in this rank first by relying on the family's ruling history, and secondly, by its keen awareness of development after the arrival of the Warring States period. On the basis of these objective conditions, it has won a great leap forward in economic administration and justice, thus far surpassing other countries on the road of development, and the most important thing is that the foundation laid by this country in the early Warring States period is exceptionally deep.
Even after that, the State of Wei never experienced any change, it was still able to sustain itself until the end of the Warring States period, and at the end of the Warring States period, it was still a big country in the Central Plains, and it was still a powerful country that the State of Qin could not be underestimated.
2.
Qi Guo
The State of Qi was established in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty and has a profound historical background
Second, let's look at the State of Qi. It is actually easier to understand that the State of Qi can be ranked in this column, and it has the following advantages. First, this country has a deep historical background, although the State of Qi in the Warring States period is no longer the State of Jiang Qi that was divided during the Zhou Dynasty, but the name of the country has not changed, and its national development strategy has not changed, so people generally regard the State of Qi during the reign of these two families as a complete State of Qi.
The inheritance of the State of Qi began during the founding period of the Western Zhou Dynasty, and its first monarch itself was also the famous Jiang Ziya, so whether it was in the early days of the founding of the Western Zhou Dynasty or in the development process of the past, the country has a profound development background; the enduring Qi state will naturally be looked at by people.
The State of Qi once created the peak of historical development and belonged to one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period
The second is that this country once created the peak of historical development, and in the Spring and Autumn Period, the country once dominated the Central Plains. We know that Duke Huan of Qi belongs to one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, and he led the State of Qi to a glorious path. Since that time, the State of Qi has embarked on the road of great success, and since then, the country has also been strong, so there has never been a lack of brilliant deeds in its development process, so it is not difficult to understand the practice of treating it as a strong country in people's hearts.
The State of Qi was perfect, and it once made Yan Zhao Wei Han Dynasty Yu Qi
Third, after entering the Warring States period, it carried out a relatively perfect change of law, that is, the Qi Wei King's Change, we have studied the "Zou Ji Satirize the Qi King Na Zhi", at the end of the article, it said that the State of Qi is a country that has defeated the court, it makes Yan Zhao, Han and Wei all chao Qi, and it is not easy to achieve such a goal.
Although it is not as effective as the military change law of the Zhao state and the rule of law change law of the Qin state, it really gives the people a stable and rich living environment, so that people can live and work in peace and contentment, so that the people can get tangible benefits, so many ordinary people are very supportive of the rule of the State of Qi.
The State of Qi was an economic power in the Warring States period, and was once called the Second Emperor of the East and West together with the State of Qin
Fourth, the State of Qi was an economic power in the Warring States era. We all know that the State of Qi is a country located on the coast of the East China Sea, and it has natural advantages in economic development, especially in the maritime trade. Some historians have shown that the Maritime Silk Road formed during the Song Dynasty has actually existed in the previous historical development process, and the State of Qi in the Warring States period also made important contributions to the development of the Maritime Silk Road.
Therefore, the State of Qi has more superior objective conditions than other countries in economic development, and such objective advantages have created great economic development advantages for them, so the State of Qi has always been an economic power. In the middle of the Warring States period, the State of Qi was called the Second Emperor of the East and the West with the State of Qin, which showed that its comprehensive national strength was also very strong, so it was not special that the country could rank among the traditional economic powers.
3.
Chu
Although the State of Chu has no historical background, the country has a long history of development
Speaking of the Chu State, everyone can imagine its original strength, and at the same time, most people also regard it as a traditional power, but the interesting thing is that the Chu State first has no historical background, and secondly, it has not carried out any changes, so what exactly does it rely on to rank among the traditional powers?
In fact, we say that the Chu state has no historical background, but only that it does not belong to the orthodox princely states, because it has already broken away from the control of Zhou Tianzi and established itself as a king in the Spring and Autumn Period, and its practice did not comply with the rule of the Zhou Dynasty, so it did not belong to the feudal orthodoxy at that time, but this does not mean that the country has no long-term development history. Historically, it is not inferior to other countries.
Although the Chu state did not change the law, it had the largest land area and strong national strength
Secondly, although the country has not changed the law, its national development strength is still very strong. In terms of military, it has always been inferior to other countries, so that when the Qin state finally destroys the Chu state, it still has to use 600,000 soldiers to dare to fight with it, which also shows the strength of its military strength.
Moreover, in the middle and pre-Warring States period, the State of Chu has always been the largest princely state in terms of land area, and at that time, the large land area meant that the number of permanent residents was large, and in the era of cold weapons, the population was related to the country's military and economic development strength. Therefore, the vast and vast Chu state has a natural advantage in development, which is why the Chu state can still maintain a strong comprehensive national strength even if it has not carried out any change of law.
In the end, it has always implemented a policy of division and rule, and the various high-ranking old clans in the country have a certain combat strength in their hands, and the ability of these clans to join forces is very amazing, which is why it was able to defeat Li Xin's 200,000 troops when the Chu state was close to extinction, so even if the Chu state did not carry out any reforms, it was still a traditional power that could not be ignored.
4.
The State of Qin
The State of Qin was the latest, or even later than Han Zhao Wei, and its historical background was relatively lacking
Mention the State of Qin, in this regard, this is a bit embarrassing, the reason why people do not regard this country as a powerful country in the traditional sense, it is because compared to several other countries in the Warring States Period, its founding time is the latest, it is the founding princes of Eastern Zhou, and the State of Yan and the State of Qi are the founding princes of Western Zhou, and the three original Jin states of Chu and Han Zhao and Wei are also old princely states that existed in the Spring and Autumn Period, so it is very lacking in terms of historical background compared to other countries.
The State of Qin only began to grow stronger during the Qin Xiaogong period and rose rapidly
Moreover, the State of Qin is not a country that has always been very strong, it was only after the Qin XiaoGong Shang Martingale Transformation Law, and after the Shang Martingale Transformation Law, the Qin State developed for six generations, and the Great Qin King swept through the Six Kingdoms to unify the world during this period, during which it did not give the Six Kingdoms of Shandong a chance to breathe, its rise was too sudden, and its pace was too rapid, from its rise to the elimination of other princely states in only a hundred years.
Before that, it had always been obscure, and even in the early days of the Warring States period, it was almost beaten back to the Longxi region by the State of Wei, and almost changed from a princely state to a semi-agricultural and half-pastoral tribe, so before the Qin Xiaogong Shang Martingale Transformation Law, this country was a very declining country, and naturally it did not meet the traditional definition we mentioned above.
Before the powerful Qin state, the territory was small, and there were many defeats in war and few victories
In the end, the land area of this country was very narrow at the beginning, and the most primitive Qin people were actually a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral agricultural nation in the Longxi region, because they helped the King of Zhou Ping move east to be divided into a princely state, but at that time the fiefdoms they obtained were no longer actually controlled by Zhou, so there were not many inherent territories for them to develop, so its development has been bumpy. At the same time, in many subsequent wars, it was also inferior, especially in the later battles with the State of Wei, so that the country could not even protect the natural danger of Hangu Pass, so it did not belong to the traditional sense of a big country.
Review
The author thinks
In fact, people's definition of a powerful country in the traditional sense is somewhat vague, more from people's inherent impression of this country, so it is difficult for people to accept a country that has suddenly risen like the Qin State. But what we need to know, many times we can not judge a country by inherent impressions, we often say that the three days of Shibetsu should be impressed, for a person is still so, then for a country with a lot of talent, its changes must be changing with each passing day, and the results of these countries also confirm this conclusion.
Even if the Qin state is not a great power in the traditional sense, even if it was subordinate to the people at the beginning, even if it almost collapsed in the early days of the Warring States, the country has never given up, and has never thought of ending the fate of its own princely states, so in the end it can overcome its own destiny, can establish the first centralized feudal dynasty in Chinese history, and at the same time create an imperial system that has lasted for more than two thousand years in later generations.
And it is not necessarily a good thing to live in the inherent impression of being regarded as a powerful object by people, and the Yan Kingdom is such a country. It has always lived in the pride of being the orthodox princely state of the Western Zhou Dynasty, has always been proud of its own bloodline, and such a pride of not thinking of making progress and sticking to the rules has made the country more and more decayed, and it has also made the country have no ability to fight back in the face of emerging princely states such as the Qin state and the Zhao state, and in the end it can only slowly collapse under the offensive of the Qin state and the Zhao state, and even end up with an eight-hundred-year-old prince who did not even annex a small country in the entire Warring States era.
Therefore, this history tells us that it may not be a happy thing to live in the impression of others, which, as Mencius said, "born of sorrow, died of happiness", if a country is happy for a long time, then it must not be far from extinction.
References: Zuo Zhuan, Warring States Policy, Zizhi Tongjian, Book of Han, etc